Orris

What it is

Iris root by another name, dried for two to three years before distillation. Orris butter is the most expensive natural in regular use, so most listings are partly or wholly synthetic.

What it smells like

Cool, powdery and faintly earthy, with a carrot-like quality at higher concentration. It is what makes an expensive fragrance smell expensive, and it is almost impossible to notice until somebody names it.

Where it sits

Which layer of the pyramid it is listed in, across every fragrance here that carries it. A base note is one you smell for hours; a top note is usually gone within the first.

What it turns up with

How much more often than the catalogue average. 1.0x would be chance, so these are the things that genuinely travel with it rather than the things that are simply common.

When it is worn

Against the average fragrance here. The line marks that average, so a bar past it means this is worn in that season or setting more than most.

Houses that use it most

Counted across the fragrances here, which reflects what we cover as much as what a house makes.

Amouage (11), Al Haramain (9), Byredo (7), Givenchy (5), Bvlgari (4), Calvin Klein (4).