Binet-Papillon Perfumes

So. I was quite excited to write about this brand – and I’ll share the story below.

But, on day 5 of my covid infection (ie, Saturday) I sprayed on the last of the Binet-Papillon fragrances I’d chosen to write about and … realised I couldn’t smell anything. I tried some really strong citrus, then incense and nothing. The evil stupid round things with those spikes have caused me to lose something that has been a huge part of my life for a long long time. From what I’ve read, there’s a good likelihood the sense will return – perhaps soonish, perhaps it will take some months.

I can smell a very tiny bit of cinnamon or peppermint oil, but lavender, orange flower and tea tree nothing at all.

I still have my sense of taste but it’s muted, which implies how much taste is related to smell.

It’s really really unsettling.

I seriously do not recommend catching covid. Beyond feeling awful you might end up with this.

But, Binet-Papillon. Thankfully, I tried a number of these before things went upside down. I had read about the brand when doing research for the Paris part of my recent trip. The fragrances sounded interesting and the shop (there appears to be only one) is located in one of the passages I wanted to visit in Paris, Galerie Vivienne in the 2^nd arrondissement.

So, I managed to check the opening times of the shop and showed up to … lo and behold, a locked door. I looked left, looked right, then looked up and there was a little sign saying ‘we’re away at an industry meeting – if you want to smell anything ask the woman at shop number 6 to open up for you’. How great is that? A private smelling/shopping experience.

So, I went to number 6. The woman very kindly agreed to help me but: she didn’t speak English and my French was not up to a conversation on buying perfume samples. So, another woman who worked in the Galerie stepped up. Shop opened, little boxes for samples procured. Then, on to an amusing half French/half English discussion about numbers (the perfumes are labelled with names and numbers) in order to fill my two six-section sample boxes (see pic). Much amusement about pronunciation.

All good. But no, not quite there yet. The credit card terminal didn’t work. So, they sent me five minutes away to the closest ATM and when I returned with cash, the two women had a little bag ready with an invoice, business cards, and my sample boxes all tied beautifully with a ribbon (sadly, I had to ditch the bag and wrappings to get everything in my suitcase and rucksack, and stupidly didn’t take a pic before deconstruction).

A quick reprise of the five perfumes I was able to try.

10 – Malt Night Fighter. Carnation, malt, smoked tea. Mandarin, carnation, violet, ylang, malt, smoked tea. Starts mandarin with undercurrent of smoke and carnation. Then, heavier carnation and smoked tea with a bit of violet. I really really like this (well, liked, given I can’t smell it any more). In fact, I see a 30 ml (the company offers 30 and 100 ml sizes) at some point in my future. The smoked tea note is wonderful.

11 – Amiral Royal. Bergamot, incense, birch. Bergamot, cardamon, lavender, incense, birch, vetiver. Fresh-woody, with a big nod towards the fougere style. Contains two of my least favourite notes (lavender and vetiver) though the incense helps to modify them a bit. Only a bit. Not for me.

12 – Kombawa Cloudless. Incense, jasmine, gaiac, kombawa, incense, hyacinth, jasmine, gaiac, musk. Opens citrus-flowery water and moves into soapy incense. No pong. Fresh, soapy, nice floral.

6 – Cuir grand tigre. Fig, leather, oud. Prickly pear, coriander, black pepper, tuberose, vanilla, leather. Weird herbal green opening. Then, pepper, leather, maybe a bit of vanilla. Gentle musk drydown.

17 – Tubereuse mandragore. Green leaves, tuberose, vetiver, ylang. Light green tuberose. Soft and pleasant. As it warms, a sappy floral where ylang becomes apparent. If you like muted tuberose this is worth having a look at.

There are something like 15 perfumes currently and different sample sets (including a build your own).

The 30 ml size is £107-ish; the 100 ml £205. Website is https://binet-papillon.com/.

If you’re visiting Paris, the shop is a treat of a jewel box. And if the proprietor isn’t there, maybe the woman at number 6 and the woman from the café can open up for you.

Pics: Mine