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Orris Absolute

Q: Is Orris Absolute natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Produced from orris concrete by washing with ethanol, filtering, and concentrating. This removes the non-volatile fatty acids (myristic, palmitic) and concentrates the volatile irone fraction. Yield from concrete to absolute is approximately 15-35%. The material commands even higher prices than the concrete..

FLOWERS / floral · powdery · sweet

Orris Absolute

Category	FLOWERS
Subcategory	floral · powdery · sweet
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	Iris pallida / Iris germanica
Appearance	Pale yellow to amber oily liquid
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	Italy, Morocco
Pyramid	Heart

clean, purely powdery-violet with the fat removed. Orris absolute is orris concrete distilled to its essence — cleaner, more intensely floral, less waxy.

Scent
Terroir & Origins
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Clean, powdery, violet-woody. More clean than orris concrete — the buttery-fatty quality is reduced, leaving a purer violet-powdery character. Dry, restrained, with earthy-rooty depth. The iris character is more focused and intense. On blotter, excellent tenacity with slow, graceful evolution.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Clean powdery-violet opening. Refined, dry, elegant.

After a few hours

Woody-earthy iris heart. Powdery character intensifies.

After a few days

Persistent iris base. Earthy, powdery, supremely tenacious.

Terroir & Origins

Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.

The Full Story

Produced by further processing orris concrete — washing with ethanol to remove the fatty acids, then concentrating the irone-rich fraction. Orris absolute has a higher irone content (typically 15-40%) than the concrete, and a cleaner, more purely floral-powdery character.

The scent is clean and restrained — powdery, violet-like, woody, without the buttery-fatty quality of the concrete. It is the purest expression of the iris scent: dry, powdery, distinctly violet-like with earthy-rooty undertones. The absolute is easier to work with in formulation because it dissolves more readily in alcohol.

Orris absolute is even more expensive than the concrete — the additional processing step removes 60-85% of the material (the fat), concentrating the precious irone fraction.

This note in Première Peau. Nuit Elastique · Rose Monotone. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Related: Alpha Ionone · Alpha Isomethyl Ionone · Beta Ionone · Boisiris · Diviniris · Iris · Iris Butter · Iris Pallida

Did You Know?

Did you know?

The total global production of orris absolute is estimated at only 50-100 kilograms per year. Given that a luxury iris perfume might contain 1-5% orris, even a small-batch niche fragrance can consume a significant fraction of the world's annual supply.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Produced from orris concrete by washing with ethanol, filtering, and concentrating. This removes the non-volatile fatty acids (myristic, palmitic) and concentrates the volatile irone fraction. Yield from concrete to absolute is approximately 15-35%. The material commands even higher prices than the concrete.

↑ See Terroir & Origins for origin-specific methods.

Molecular Formula	Complex mixture — principal odorant: alpha-Irone (C₁₄H₂₂O)
CAS Number	8002-73-1
Botanical Name	Iris pallida / Iris germanica
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	orris root, orris oil, orris concrete
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Lasting Power	296 hour(s) at 100.00 %
Appearance	Pale yellow to amber oily liquid
Flash Point	> 200.00 °F. TCC ( > 93.33 °C. )
Specific Gravity	0.93000 to 0.95000 @ 25.00 °C.
Refractive Index	1.46000 to 1.51000 @ 20.00 °C.

In Perfumery

Heart-to-base note in luxury iris compositions. Orris absolute provides the purest iris character available — used where the concrete's fatty quality is undesirable. It is the preferred form for fine fragrance, where clean, powdery-violet character is the goal. Functions as both a character note and a fixative. The ultimate luxury ingredient in perfumery.