Papillon Perfumery Angélique: Chameleon In the Woods

Catherine Jeltes Painting, "Modern Brown Abstract Painting WinterScape." Etsy Store, GalleryZooArt, linked within. (Click on photo.)

Catherine Jeltes Painting, “Modern Brown Abstract Painting WinterScape.” Etsy Store, GalleryZooArt, linked within. (Click on photo.)

An ethereal spring bouquet of silvery iris and white flowers dusted with mimosa’s golden sweetness. Then, a lush, orchid-like, champaca vanilla infused with boozy, fruited liqueur and smoky guaiac. Finally, an extremely woody fragrance with masculine elements of burnt leaves, smokiness, and musk. That was the very surprising progression of Angélique, a chameleon scent that first filled me with visions of bridal white (and thoughts of how well it was named) before it astounded me by rapidly morphing into a completely different fragrance, one that was quite a pleasant surprise. In fact, at times, I was sniffing my wrist with much appreciation. Although the drydown changed things for me, there are parts of Angélique that can well be called “exquisite” or “beautifully lush.”This is a fragrance that is so evocative at times that I’ve just barely managed to stop myself from explaining its development solely in terms of a series of images. That said, please pay close attention to the photos in this review, particularly to the sharp changes in colour, style, mood, and background, as they reflect changes within the perfume itself.

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Papillon Perfumery Tobacco Rose

"Romeo and Juliet," by Sir Frank Dicksee. Source: caitaratartaglia.wordpress.com

“Romeo and Juliet,” by Sir Frank Dicksee. Source: caitaratartaglia.wordpress.com

Tobacco Rose is a rich, saturated, luxurious rose fragrance from Papillon Perfumery that would probably have inspired Shakespeare to write another dozen sonnets or plays. In Romeo and Juliet, he said “a rose by any other name smells as sweet,” arguing that names do not matter, only the essential nature of a thing. He’s right, but I don’t think that his philosophy always holds true for perfumes. Names do matter in the expectations that they create, and “Tobacco Rose” is no different. Yet, in this case, I find none of darkness that is suggested, and I think that the scent would appeal far more to a “Juliet” than to a “Romeo.” That said, if a particular Juliet were a really passionate rose fanatic, I suspect she might swoon far more over Tobacco Rose than any words spouted by a pimply Romeo.

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Papillon Perfumery Anubis: Leathered Darkness, Smoky Gods

"Ancient Egypt" by Wiccka. Source: DeviantArt.

“Ancient Egypt” by Wiccka. Source: DeviantArt.

Anubis rose from the darkness to survey his kingdom. The Underworld was a vortex of blackness from the incense in the air and the monstrous lava waterfall that cascaded a torrent of sticky, smoking, balsamic resins into the thick, turgid brown rivers of musky, leathered castoreum below. Anubis, God of the Dead, was himself made of these same things: his black body was smoking leather, tobacco’d resins, and incense turned as hard as obsidian, then covered with the musky, animalic sharpness of castoreum oil.

Anubis. Source: statueforum.com

Anubis. Source: statueforum.com

Yet, there was also colour in this dark kingdom of spirits, subtle though it may be at times. The river banks were made from darkened cloves, then covered with pink lotus blossoms that smelled like dark green oakmoss. The path to Anubis’ throne was strewn with blood-red rose petals and sweet white jasmine, though the incense had rendered them dry and darkened. Creeping decay tinged their edges brown, as did the earthiness of pink lotus blossom absolute. Tiny flickers of yellow and orange came from fireflies made of citrus, which darted in the air by Anubis’ throne where Bast lounged almost naked. Continue reading