Liz Moores of Papillon Perfumery Facebook Page

Papillon Artisan Perfumes may have only launched a year ago but in that short space of time the debut fragrances Anubis, Tobacco Rose and Angelique have received critical acclaim. Nominated for three Fragrance Foundation UK  awards, the artistry and skill of Papillon creator Liz Moores is undeniable. The original collection is intricately composed, alive with nuance and emotion.

 Salomé  Dancing before Herod, Gustave Moreau, 1876.

The latest release is Salomé a scent that has caused much excitement in the fragrance community in recent months. Liz is an extremely approachable lady and has a genuine interest in the opinions of folk like ourselves, so I’ve been lucky enough to experience Salomé as it has made its way from concept to finished perfume. From the first modification it was always going to have an intensely vintage vibe; of sex and skin and sultry air. The note list is dripping with as many authentic ingredients as it was possible to cram in under strict IFRA guidelines. There’s jasmine, carnation, turkish rose and orange blossom, patchouli, bitter orange and bergamot, africa stone, oakmoss and styrax. The resulting perfume is truly capable of time travel. It’s as if one has unstoppered the lid of a bottle hidden in the depths of a velvet lined trunk for 90 years, releasing a passionate genie, full of lust and longing.

 Salomé Pierre Bonnard

“Salomé has to be one of my favourite literary characters; the ultimate femme fatale, sexy, demanding and utterly determined to achieve her desires without a care for the cost involved. The perfume was built around an idea of the smell of her skin after her Dance of the Seven Veils…I imagine her dancing over furs and animal skins. The smell of hot skin and lust.”

German Actress Hedwig Reicher as Salomé 1905

To begin there is a billow of carnation; crimped crimson petals cascading in a fragrant torrent onto the skin. The brightness of orange and bergamot lift this heady floral opening and allow, very quickly, for the intensely animalic character at the heart of the scent to settle in. As with all of the Papillon perfumes, it’s rather hard to deconstruct the individual notes once the theme has begun. In Salomé, the deeply sexy flushed skin effect is mostly probably achieved using Africa stone (derived from the crystallised faeces of a small rodent called a hyrax) and styrax resin. Oakmoss and patchouli bring a dampness akin to that of passion drenched sheets. Indolic jasmine, neroli and a swooning rose fill the air of the boudoir with a waxen quality, like candles left to burn low in their holders. This is a fragrance that refuses to put it’s clothes on and go out for supper. Salome languishes ecstatically in her nakedness, tosses the covers aside and begs you to climb back in next to her.

Dance of the Seven Veils by the French painter Gaston Bussière (1862-1929)

And yet, as Liz explains, “Salomé isn’t skanky just for the sake of it.” There is controlled intent behind the waves of predatory lust, a beautifully structured chypre balance that allows the old fashioned florals to bloom in technicolor at the bedside. After a few hours on my skin, the animalic growl is almost gone, replaced with an elegant and warm powdered musk, traced with a fingertip onto cooled bare shoulders. Something that I find wonderful is that although the fragrance has an unmistakably old school feel to it, it’s a modern perfume. There is nothing melancholic or wistful hidden behind the veils of scent, no feeling of a life once lived. Liz Moores has effectively plucked a 1920’s courtesan from her boudoir and set her firmly down in the high definition world of the 21st century. Salomé  is living and breathing, this is no fading memory.

Theda Barry as “Salomé 1920s

If you are someone who appreciates the greats, such as Guerlain Shalimar and Jicky, then I would urge you to seek  out. Ms Moores has the unique ability to titillate and tantalise parts of the olfactory memory that you didn’t even know were active, so whether you want to emulate the sultry beauties of the past, or have an entirely new experience, I think this perfume will be able to take you there.

Disclaimer- Sample gratefully received from Papillon Artisan Perfumes. Opinions my own.

Susie Baird- Editor and editor of Epiphany.

Art Direction Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief

Sarah Bernhardt as Salomé

 Editor’s Note: In the New Testament,  Salomé was the seductive step daughter of King Herod who in Matthew 14:8 speaks the famous line “Bring Me the Head of John The Baptist“, (although her name is never given), when Herod seeks to indulge her. She is the femme fatele archetype and has been the inspiration for theater,  paintings, sculpture, operas (Richard Strauss), modern and classical dance, television shows (True Blood), movies (Theda Barry, Rita Hayworth), Video Games (Femme Fetale) and notably Oscar Wilde’s one act play written in1892, performed by the legendary Sarah Bernhardt in 1896 when she was 50 and while Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for sodomy. Now she is memorialized in a perfume MC

Thanks to Liz Moores of Papillon Perfumes we have a sample of Salome for a registered reader in the US or EU. To be eligible, please leave a comment with what you will remember about Susie’s review of  Salomé , why you would like to win and where you live. Draw closes July 2, 2015

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.