Ok, so anyone who reads Now Smell This regularly already knows I love iris. Prada's new Infusion d'Iris is only the latest in a long list of iris fragrances that make me swoon, and I'm still mourning Chanel's 28 La Pausa, which I adore but refuse to buy inasmuch as it is just too costly for such an ephemeral experience.

But I don't love everything iris. Angela recently wrote a lovely appreciation of Le Labo's Iris 39, and I was very glad she did because I had nothing nice to say about it. And while I get the idea behind Frederic Malle's Iris Poudre, I have no desire to wear it. Same goes for Dior's justifiably lauded Dior Homme.

Iris Ganache, which was added to Guerlain's L'Art et la Matière range (see Cuir Beluga, Rose Barbare, Angelique Noire and Bois d'Armenie) earlier this year, sounded like it might not be my sort of iris...

...an iris butter ‘worked like a pastry ganache’. A mouthwatering scent, like ‘white chocolate shaded with floral notes’ and enhanced with cinnamon, bergamot, patchouli, white musks, cedar and a slightly ambery vanilla note. (via osmoz)

...and as it turns out, it isn't. I like chocolate, and I like iris, but the creamy-gourmand Iris Ganache was very nearly a scrubber on me. I can't say the chocolate is overdone — it is actually rather subtle — but what there is of it is awfully sweet. The cinnamon provides a bit of an antidote in the heart notes, but it is eventually drowned out by the vanilla sugar in the far dry down. It seemed to get sweeter and more overwhelming the longer it was on my skin, despite the fact that it really isn't a strong fragrance overall.

Nearly everyone else likes Iris Ganache at least somewhat better than I do. You can check out reviews ranging from lukewarm at Bois de Jasmin to glowing at Aromascope, or somewhere in between at Perfume Smellin' Things. Me, I'm intrigued by the the idea but not the execution. How often do you start to redesign a perfume in your head almost as soon as you put it on? I substituted a dark, nearly bitter chocolate for the white chocolate, took out all of the patchouli and all but a dash of the vanilla, amped up the cinnamon and woods. There, that's better.

Guerlain Iris Ganache was developed by perfumer Thierry Wasser, and is available in 75 ml Eau de Parfum. For buying information, see the listing for Guerlain under Perfume Houses.