Roger & Gallet, Iris Blanc. White Iris, 50 ml. or 1.76 oz. Parfum Extrait, 1895, 1900, Paris, France ..

Roger & Gallet is a French perfume house founded by Charles Armand Roger and Charles Martial Gallet in 1862. The history of this house actually begins many years before the company was founded.

In 1695 Giovanni Paolo Feminis 'invents' aqua mirabilis. In 1806 Jean-Marie Farina inherits the formula and opens a perfumery in rue du Faubourg-St-Honore. In 1840 he sells the business to Leonce Collas of Goet et Rifflard, who in 1862 transfers it to his two cousins, Armand Roger and Charles Gallet. They changed the company name to Roger et Gallet.

The company made a name for itself with its luxurious bath soaps, which in 1879 first appeared in their signature round shape, with the crinkled silk paper and seal which are still in use today. In the 21st century, the company maintains its tradition of fragrances based on rare plants and essential oils, in chic and distinctive packaging that recalls the Art Deco era. Roger & Gallet now offers a line of perfumes, scented body products and candles, in a variety of scents for men and women. One of these most famous soaps was and still is Œillet Mignardise, a perennial treasure for all discerning French bathrooms.

While there is little remaining about Roger & Gallet's Iris Blanc, I am able to date it from the award sticker on the side of the bottle, which indicates it won a grand prize in Paris in 1900. It is an exceptionally rare, ultra-vintage French fragrance introduced in 1895 during the Belle Époque era. Because it has been discontinued for roughly a century, it is highly prized today by antique perfume bottle collectors and fragrance historians.

World’s Fair Medallions are incredibly important. You will notice a gold crest or embossed seal on the side or back reading "Grand Prix Paris, France 1900" or referencing the 1889 Exposition Universelle. Fragrance houses routinely printed these award milestones on their labels for decades after the event to signify luxury and prestige to consumers. While history mentions that this would be presented in a Baccarat bottle, there is no mark that I can see.

During the mid-to-late 1890s, Roger & Gallet was heavily experimenting with newly discovered synthetic aroma chemicals alongside naturals .. such as using alpha-ionones in their famous 1894 Vera Violetta.

L'Iris Blanc centered around a powdery, elegant, and soft white floral iris profile, relying heavily on precious Orris root extract to ground its clean, delicate, and classic "clean linen/boudoir" essence.

Orris root is famous for a rich, cool, and distinctly powdery aroma reminiscent of vintage makeup, luxury face powder, and cold suede. Up close, it carries a deep, earthy, and slightly root-vegetable or carroty quality, which transforms into a velvety, floral-violet warmth as it dries down on the skin.

Orrise root is powdery and violet-like. It is dominated by aromatic compounds called irones. It offers a dry, cool powdery scent similar to Parma violets. Orris root is buttery and creamy. High-end orris butter has a rich, fatty, waxy, and suede-like grain that feels structural and luxurious. It is at the same time earthy and possesses subterranean undercurrents. Freshly cut or un-aged phases retain a raw, rooty, damp-clay, or carroty vegetable aspect. It requires aging to develop. Fresh iris rhizomes are nearly odourless, and the complex scent only emerges after 3 to 5 years of drying and slow chemical oxidation. It is a very expensive and coveted perfume ingredient, rarely found nowadays.

Perfume notes will include Orris Butter, Violet, Heliotrope, Rose, Jasmine, Carrot Seed, Sandalwood, Amber, and Musk.

I took my time to actually open this bottle because my curiosity was on fire as to how it had aged and how it smells today. I was delighted to find that it is absolutely gorgeous and subtle, with a distinct Orris note, and I can certainly detect Heliotrope there and the Musk.

This is a precious collectors item .. very very rare .. some fleabites at the top of the label ..