01/12/2022

Kurai
388 Reviews

Kurai
Helpful Review
12
Femme Fatale
The story of Salome - her dance before Herod with the head of John the Baptist on a platter - has been an inspiration to artists for centuries. She has become an early icon of female seduction, a temptress who lures you away from salvation.
Now, I can tell you upfront that wearing Papillon's Salome is not going turn you into that spellbinding seductress. Except to a very select audience maybe. In the eyes, err nose, of most people this scent is so intimidating that it has the exact opposite effect. However, the drama is certainly there. The contrast of that young girl's dance and the brutally severed head can be found in the appealing floral heart versus the feral musks.
The scent profile has a lot in common with the classic floral chypres. Typically, these perfumes have a pronounced floral heart on base of moss, with some support of animal musks. Papillon's Salome reverses the ratios in its composition so that the musks take a much more prominent role amongst the floral chypre accords.
The opening is very intense with its hyrax-furry type of musk. It is accompanied by a good set of florals and a serious amount of moss. Slowly it all settles down into something more castoreum-like: warm and enveloping, almost balsamic-oriental.
Salome is often compared to Muscs Koublai Khan and Musc Tonkin because of the animalic character. The similarities are obviously there, but to me Salome is not so much a stand-alone musk hommage. It feels much more like a re-worked classical chypre theme and a quite successful one, if you ask me.
Despite its intensity, I would put it in the introvert section. It's a perfume to wear on evenings at home, while reading a book for example, so you can fully dive into its depth and complexity. Social settings are a no-go, at least for the first hour or two.
Now, I can tell you upfront that wearing Papillon's Salome is not going turn you into that spellbinding seductress. Except to a very select audience maybe. In the eyes, err nose, of most people this scent is so intimidating that it has the exact opposite effect. However, the drama is certainly there. The contrast of that young girl's dance and the brutally severed head can be found in the appealing floral heart versus the feral musks.
The scent profile has a lot in common with the classic floral chypres. Typically, these perfumes have a pronounced floral heart on base of moss, with some support of animal musks. Papillon's Salome reverses the ratios in its composition so that the musks take a much more prominent role amongst the floral chypre accords.
The opening is very intense with its hyrax-furry type of musk. It is accompanied by a good set of florals and a serious amount of moss. Slowly it all settles down into something more castoreum-like: warm and enveloping, almost balsamic-oriental.
Salome is often compared to Muscs Koublai Khan and Musc Tonkin because of the animalic character. The similarities are obviously there, but to me Salome is not so much a stand-alone musk hommage. It feels much more like a re-worked classical chypre theme and a quite successful one, if you ask me.
Despite its intensity, I would put it in the introvert section. It's a perfume to wear on evenings at home, while reading a book for example, so you can fully dive into its depth and complexity. Social settings are a no-go, at least for the first hour or two.