Papillon Perfumery – Anubis
Hi there Posse peeps! It has been a while since I have written anything for you as life has been a bit tricky of late. Things are better now and I am very happy to be here today to tell you about a fab new indie line! Papillon Perfumery is based here in England, just outside of the New Forest, and is the creation of Elizabeth Moores. Papillon Perfumery will launch in April with 3 scents; Anubis, Angelique and Tobacco Rose. I was fortunate to ‘meet’ Liz through Twitter when I commented on a photo of the bottle that will house her new line of 3 scents. (By the way, the bottle is gorgeous- classic and elegant, the kind that you will always pick up to sniff, regardless of what you may or may not know about the contents. ) We struck up a correspondence and Liz very generously sent me samples of the her creations, along with a brief description of each. As I love all things Ancient Egpytian, Anubis immediately grabbed my attention. As you all know, I am terrible at parsing out notes so I cannot give you a ‘technical’ review but I CAN tell you the story it told me….
Sunset in Luxor, Egypt:
After a day spent wandering the markets of Luxor, nibbling on honeyed treats like kunafa whilst perusing the great piles of spices and testing scented oils, you head to Karnak to watch the sun set over the temples. The heat of the day is starting to wane and warm golden light suffuses the landscape turning the temples to a dusty gold. The scent of jasmine bloom rides the currents of the ebbing heat. As you relax together with your lover, you can feel the heat of his body next to yours and can smell the lingering traces of the spices he touched earlier emananting from his skin. Your senses are on overload and the heat has made you languid and dreamy. You imagine what these temples must have been like thousands of years ago, when priests and priestesses kept sacred fires burning in the gods’ houses and magical ointments and unguents were crafted by hand, filling the air with scents of frankincense and saffron. Music would play gently to honour the gods and foodstuffs would be placed on an altar to feed them. Most of this activity would be largely hidden from public view and so only sensory fragments would reach those outside the temples, just enough to stir the imagination..The sun has now set and you are climbing aboard a felucca for a private evening cruise along the Nile, a gentle breeze lifting your hair as your lover helps you climb in and then settles next to you, his face filled with secret intentions….
For me, there is no denying the eroticism of Anubis- it is sweet, warm, post-coital skin touched with incense and makes me feel very ‘soft-focus’, if that makes any sense. I adore it and encourage you to try it as well. Liz will be offering a sample service and she has kindly offered to send a sample set of Papillon Perfumery’s 3 scents to one lucky commenter! Tell me what you think of Anubis, your favourite jasmine, favourite Egyptian art or just say hi and I’ll enter you into the draw. Good luck and please do come back and tell us what you thought if you are the lucky winner!
*Notes via Papillon Perfumery: Suede, jasmine, pink lotus, immortelle, frakincense, myrrh and saffron.
https://www.facebook.com/PapillonPerfumery
Hi! Anubis seems to be a spiritual jasmine, I’d love to sample this. Jasmine is one of my favourite notes either blended in a perfume (A la Nuit, or in lighter form Nicolai’s Eau d’Ete), or as pure Absolute.
I had a huge fixation with ancient Egypt when I was younger — I went so far as to try to teach myself hieroglyphs using some nice E.A. Wallace-Budge reprints. I was about 8 or 9 at the time and made little headway 😛 Anyhow, I’m happy that life is going well for you, and may it continue to do so! 😀
NP
Hi, it would be great to be able to sample these
Anubis is a demanding name for a fragrance- I am very interested
thanks for the draw
please, please, please…
Right now, I’m loving Allegradonna by O’driù, ultra-complex, spicy, skanky jasmine, under-the-radar even for the niche world!
I’m a fan of Liz Zorn’s work, so hope I won this draw.
Thank you!
Hi!
I liked reading this description, especially the light. Would love to sample!
favorite jasmines are : L’Artisan The Pour Une Ete, Natio Jasmine Attar body cream, one of the Tokyo Milk fragrances I smelled today.
Your description was so beautiful and romantic. I would love to sample the fragrance that inspired this post. Thanks for the draw.
I really love A La Nuit, but my husband hated it, and he generally doesn’t care. Can I claim that Jour d’Hermes is a jasmine scent? It’s been on my mind this week. I’m sure you could find a hint of jasmine in there somewhere. I tried Bulgari Jasmin Noir yesterday at Ulta, and I can’t say it seems very jasmine-y at all to me, more of a gourmand on my skin.
Mmmmm, sounds gorgeous! I have a split personality where Egypt is concerned – part of me loves the romance of Ancient Egypt, picturing it “as if painted by Alma-Tadema” (did he paint ancient Egypt? He should have, in any case!), an idealised place with doe-eyed dancing girls and sultry lovers. Another part follows the news and thinks poverty, revolution, Cairo megalopolis swallowing the pyramids, very questionable status of women, etc. etc. A third personality part goes belly dancing, loves the music, would like to go strolling in a spice bazaar (second part reminds her that she’d get panic attacks when accosted by countless shopowner trying to make her buy their wares) and own a dancing costume by Madame Abla, even if she (i.e. third part) is way beyond dancing on a stage. It’s all rather complicated…. sighhhh.
My favorite jasmine is The Different Company’s Jasmine de Nuit.Anubis sounds amazing! Thanks for the draw!
wonderful sounding fragrance. thanks for the wonderful review and sample set
I would love to be the lucky commenter that receives the complimentary trial pack. The name Anubis sounds very sensual and in a way romantic.
Ooh, just looked at the Facebook page…the bottles look gorgeous!
I have my beady eyes on Anubis! I find him intriguing as a deity, not forbidding, and also my husband gave me an ancient little statue made of faience last year which I love.
Would love to try all these perfumes!
I haven’t tried anything from Papillon, but Anubis sounds wonderful. I had to look up what kunafa was, but it also sounds amazing 🙂 My favorite jasmine (I haven’t tried many yet…) is SSS Jour Ensoleille and I am also looking to try more incense-y perfumes. Thanks for the draw!
Papillon sounds like a great line to try — and yes, those bottles are gorgeous! Thanks for the draw.
Jasmine is oen of the perfume notes I am most interested in trying. I really like Songes, Joy, and Jasmin et Cigarette… I also liked Love and Tears and Nasomotto’s Nuda, though to a lesser degree. The Egypt spin sounds really lovely. My dad spent a lot of time in Egypt as a young adult, as well as in other parts of the Middle East, and always insists on sniffing at the perfumes I try that are said to have Middle east inspirations. Today he is celebrating the Persian New Year. Happy first day of spring!
I don’t know enough jasmin fragrances, but I’m crazy about EL Jasmin White Moss! Thank you for the drawing!!
My favourite jasmins are: Love and Tears by Kilian, A la nuit and Sarassins by Serge Lutens
Thank you for the draw and looking forward to reading more from your reviews
Oh yes, I tend to fall for the Egypt theme myself. I would have to say my favorite Egyptian olfactory experience so far is the utterly divine handmade Kyphi incense that Mermade Magickal Arts makes. If you’re into incense (the real deal, not the perfume concept) then I can’t highly recommend this enough. Thanks for the draw y’all.
I think my favourite jasmine might be Lutens La Nuit, but that one is a bit beyond my price range so I’m always looking for a cheaper subsitute – anyone got any suggestions? Thank you for entering me!
I really like the notes and would love to sniff this one. I love jasmine but I love frankincense and myrrh even more. Put my name in the hat please.
I love love love incense and jasmine, and am thrilled to hear of a perfume company called Papillon, as I have Papillon dogs. 🙂 My favorite jasmine is Nasomatto Nuda. 🙂
Its about time there was a perfume brand called Papillion! As for Anubis, he is one of the more ominous gods out there…
Thanks for the draw:)
I’m wondering how immortelle will fir in. My favourite Jasmine in a fragrance is Puredistance M, by far.
How exciting! The Jasmine is blooming here in southern California, I love to catch it on the breeze…
Well, this pretty much couldn’t sound any more appealing! Thank you for the draw! I’m glad you brought up Jasmine, as I don’t have one in my collection yet (albeit, my very small, in-progress collection), and that is something that could work for me for the summer. I think of Jasmine as having a green aspect to it unlike other fragrances, and I always need a little earthiness mixed in with everything 🙂
I have always loved the Egyptian pantheon, and Anubis is a character in the book I am reading right now! (Neil Gaiman’s American Gods – good stuff!) I would love to be entered in the draw, thank you!
Oh my. These sound wonderful. I love many jasmine scents – it’s one of my favorite notes – but jasmine and incense would be…we,, oh my indeed. And Angelique was my name in French class, many years ago, so I need to try that as well. Thank yo for letting us know about this line.
Beautiful review. My favorite jasmines are either Love and Tears or Floral Curiosities Poet’s Jasmine.
What an evocative review! Really looking forward to trying Papillon scents when I can, lovely to have a new perfumer here in the UK 🙂 Please count me in for the draw, thanks!
Nice review ! It really paints an attractive picture. My favorite jasmine perfumes are SL A la nuit and Ysatis (Givenchy). Thank you !
Also a SL A La Nuit fan, so would love to try this one. Your writing skills have not suffered, as I saw myself in Egypt. Thank you
I am so glad that the review transported you- good luck in the draw!
DNEM Meredith, glad to see you back. I love a white flower and Egypt.
One of the fun things we did there was take a Nile Cruise. At night there are hundreds of cruise boats tied together in a huge 3-4 story raft and you have to hope the boy from your cruise boat remembers you or you have to ask EVERYONE where your boat is. When you do find it you may have to walk through five other boats to get to yours in the middle of the river.
Portia xx
That sounds absolutely fantastic, Portia! I’ve not been to Egypt yet and I think now we’ll have to wait until my girls are a bit older but I am already getting them into all things Egyptian! xx
I have the loveliest memories of Luxor 30 years ago, and anything that sounds like Ancient Egypt gets my attention. My favorite jasmines have an Arabian slant; Sarrasins and Tawaf are at the top of the list. I’d love to sample these. Thanks for the draw.
I do like quite Sarrasins in small doses! Hopefully when you sniff Anubis it will transport you right back to Luxor!
These sound lovely! My favorite jasmine is ELdO Jasmine et Cigarettes. Anubis sounds great. Oddly enough, I just added Soivohle Anubis to my wish list! Would be fun to compare these Anubi back to back.
Soivohle Anubis is on my sniff-list as well. We can sniff the Anubi!
When I think of Egyptian art and architecture, it’s Luxor that represents the whole of it for me. I am completely fascinated by the fact that there was a container of perfumed salve still fragrant after thousands of years when Tutankhamen’s tomb was opened in the early 20th century. I would love to win the sample set! Thanks for the draw.
It is amazing isn’t it? Makes the ancient past so tangible..
Welcome back. Delighted to read you life trials are behind you. You piece is evocative and sensual. Suede and Jasmine notes? Sounds intriguing.
Good to know the UK indie scent scene is growing.
Please count me in for the draw – these sound a must sniff. Thank you to all concerned for the opportunity
Thank you and you are most welcome! One of the great joys of fumiedom is sharing something wonderful, don’t you think?
I have to say my favorite jasmine fragrance is A La Nuit by Serge Lutens. It is the most natural smelling jasmine there is. It starts out heady, full and indolic, then calms down to a soft delicate skin scent. I have never tried Lust by Guerilla Perfumes. I have heard good and bad things about it, but I am sure it will not surpass A La Nuit in its loveliness.
A la Nuit and Lust have a lot of fans today. Name’s in the hat!
OMG…I just went to their site on Facebook…..DROOL…these ‘fumes are to die for….MUST GET SOME….!!
Get some! They are wonderful- keep an eye out for launch information. Good luck in the draw!
Anubis is the god of the underworld. Jasmine, which can have the scent of decay – lotus, the flower of death and rebirth – immortelle – myrrh, an embalming oil – frankincense, used by the Egyptians in religious rites. Would love to try this.
I know- its that rare fragrance that has a cohesive concept from juice to name! You are in the draw.
Hi, lol
A minimalist, I see!
Thank you for such a beautiful review. Based on your description alone, I am dying to try Anubis, not to mention the other two perfumes. =)
It’s a pleasure- I am glad you enjoyed it! Do keep an eye of Papillon Perfumery’s Facebook page for the official launch. Good luck!
Favorite jasmines include A La Nuit and Lush Lust… I like my jasmine intense!! Thank you for the draw. 🙂
I guess you do! Your name is in the hat.
Definitely my favorite jasmine is CB I Hate perfume Cradle of Light. I just love the tomato leaves and the green strength of it. I on the other hand, cannot stand Songes which I bought for my wife who loves jasmine but she didn’t like it either.
Thanks for the draw 🙂
I can’t do Cradle of Light, too ‘tomatoey’ for me but I am glad that you love it. You are in the draw!
my favorite jasmine is grand bal and a la nuit. Any image with Thoth is favorite of mine. I really love egyptian imagery.
thanks for this draw. it sounds amazing!
Thanks for the reminder to sniff Grand Bal, I am so behind! You are in the draw.
“a gentle breeze lifting your hair as your lover helps you climb in and then settles next to you, his face filled with secret intentions…” **sigh** That sounds so lovely! I love jasmine and my favorite is probably Songes but nothing beats the plant itself in full bloom.
Wow! There is nothing there I don’t love! And my daughter’s fave show is House of Anubis, so it’s destiny! Destiny, I say! Thanks for the draw!
all of the notes are beautifully blended- I hope you like it when you try it! I’ve put your name in the hat.
Oh wow!! That sounds amazing! I would love to try all three!
It is really wonderful! You are in the draw!
Beautiful story, and the perfume sounds wonderful. “Your senses are on overload and the heat has made you languid and dreamy.” Lovely feeling!
Welcome back!
It is such a nice feeling isn’t it? You are in the draw!
Yep. I cussed upon reading the names of the fragrances. Absolutely of course, I *Must* sample Angelique.. It doesn’t matter that I have 15 samples of other perfumes (and 65 *wishes* on http://www.surrendertochance.com ) … This mystical scent of my same name must be experienced.
Oh, my blissful hot heavens!
Please tell me … what does this sampler service entail?
Love the description, the names, and the bottle sounds divine.
Woo-hoo!! So happy to see you here on the Posse, Meredith — we missed you and are very glad you are back! Thanks for a beautiful, evocative review of what sounds like a gorgeous line. (No draw for me, of course.)
P.S. My favorite jasmine was A La Nuit, but it just might be de-throned by Dior’s lovely Grand Bal.
Thanks Ann, it is good to be back! Do try this, it is really well done and makes me long for a languid desert holiday.