WHAT I SMELL: Papilio opens with a soft and serene warmed magnolia that immediately hugs the skin. It’s enchanting, rather demure and very inviting. The soft florals blend with just a hint of the vegetal which brings the earth towards the ethereal bouquet. Blended so incredibly, the perfume at this point is less the sum of notes and is more of an expression of peacefulness with an added layer of fresh dewiness. Papilio slowly builds in a radiant warmth that seems to born in a soft breeze emanating from the skin as it moves and lifts to the nose. The perfume then begins to settle in to a light leathered wood that is covered with a hazy powder that sits above the warmed base. Overall it’s pretty, delicate and light as a feather. Papilio goes straight to the heart with its endearing beauty.
From the Puredistance website:
PAPILIO is multifaceted, lively and vibrant. Created by Nathalie Feisthauer in Paris. ‘Embrace your true nature’ is the concept of PAPILIO (Latin for ‘Butterfly’). Butterflies come in all shapes and colours and accept themselves as they are – in each phase of their life..
Top notes: Bergamot Oil.
Middle notes: Magnolia Oil, Neroli oil, Carrot oil, Orris, Lily of the valley, Hedione HC, Heliotrope.
Base notes: Cedarwood, Vetyver oil, Amyris oil, Intense woods Ambroxan, Opoponax resinoid, Benzoin resinoid, Vanilla, Touch of Peach, Leather Ambrette, Cashmere, Muscenone.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Butterflies in flight.
THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE PAPILIO: soft, uplifting, comforting
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT PAPILIO: CaFleureBon
BOTTOM LINE: I think I should be tired of saying that Puredistance has once again graced the perfume world with another magnificent creation. But here we are again and it’s a wonderful addition to the Puredistance collection. Sometimes a beautiful perfume is hard to put into words, but instead describing its persona is the best way to give it life in words. Papilio is incredibly soft and somewhat demure and unassuming, but at the same time it embodies strength and beauty. And most of all, it’s absolutely gorgeous!
- Bone Rating: 4.5 out of possible 5 bones
- Scent: Floral Woody Musk
- Nose: Nathalie Feisthauer
- Classification: Unisex, but leans feminine
- Expense: Starting at 175 Euros for 17ml parfum extrait (25% perfume oil).
WHAT I SMELL: Izayoi opens with a fresh green citrus that quickly moves to a putty like plastic-ish yuzu and rose. It’s pretty, but it reminds me of a plastic bottle that would hold shampoo, bubble bath or some product for infants. At this stage the perfume is rather light with a very subtle and subdued projection, but after a few minutes the perfume begins to build with a lightly peppered spice. The spice, mixed with a slightly metallic rose, is again subtle and subdued as it adds just the perfect amount of depth to what I find to be an overall crisp and clean perfume. And not soon after, a vetiver slowly moves the florals out of the picture and together with some anise it takes the perfume in a woody direction. But thankfully the perfume remains light and full of air. In the end, Iazyoi is a light woody vetiver whisper of a perfume.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Japanese Shoji lamp; peaceful beautiful light.
WHAT I SMELL: Purple Suede opens with a dry and warm sweet and smoky leathered lavender that is soon met with a pronounced suede. It’s inviting and wonderfully soft in tone and texture. The perfume moderates the leather with the lavender as if the leather contains a powder from a lavender sachet. This powdery mixture is muted and surprisingly dreamlike like for a leather perfume. But of course as soon as I write about how soft and muted it is, Purple Suede begins to turn to the more robust with an undercurrent of peppered oud that begins to push itself in from beneath. The leather begins to sharpen, and to me, turns from the unisex to the more masculine with a deep and increasingly heavy presence with a nod to the funky with the addition of civet. Thankfully after awhile the leather comes back into play, but it never returns to the soft and muted suede that I liked at the beginning of the journey.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Little John, played by Alan Hale Sr. in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). A nice enough fella with a good demeanor, but who might need to clean up just a bit.
The Scented Hound 