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Spell 125 Papillon Artisan Perfumes 2021

7.6 / 10 163 Ratings

A popular perfume by Papillon Artisan Perfumes for women and men, released in 2021. The scent is resinous-green. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Resinous

Green

Woody

Smoky

Spicy

Fragrance Notes

Omani green frankincense

Siberian stone pine

Hemlock fir

White ambergris

Indian sandalwood

Ylang-ylang

Perfumer

Liz Moores

Ratings

Scent

7.6163 Ratings

Longevity

7.9130 Ratings

Sillage

6.9132 Ratings

Bottle

7.594 Ratings

Value for money

6.767 Ratings

Submitted by BeScho · last update on 12/12/2025.

Source-backed & verified

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Reviews

11 in-depth fragrance descriptions

10/13/2025

8Scent 8Longevity 6Sillage

Catodon
19 Reviews

Catodon

6

Can a whale wander through the thundra?

Spell125 stands among the top fragrances in two categories of excellence in the world of perfumery: the best ambergris fragrances and the best incense fragrances. Looking for high-quality ambergris? Spell125 offers it in abundance, featuring the rare and precious white variety in exceptionally generous quantities. Searching for the finest incense? You’ll find it here: Hojari, the most prized and refined incense from Oman, renowned for its purity and sophistication.

Spell125 is an evergreen forest in a bottle, an olfactory journey that captures the essence of the wild. Siberian pine roars to life in the opening, delivering a bold, green, balsamic freshness that envelops the senses. Then, the star of the show, Hojari, adds depth with its resinous sweetness and unique terpenic profile—distinct from the classic frankincense. This resin exudes vibrant, green, sap-like nuances that feel alive. And then there’s the ambergris. Here, it reaches extraordinary heights, rarely encountered in fragrances, especially at this price point. Damp, misty, saline—this is ambergris as you’ve never experienced it. Imagine a dense marine fog rolling into an evergreen forest, bringing with it an enigmatic allure. Have you ever pressed your nose against the inside of a large, damp seashell? That’s the ambergris you’ll find in Spell125. It evokes not a warm desert, but rather a boreal coastline where ocean winds sweep through the forest, carrying mystery and majesty.

Spell125 is like a white whale, a ghost gliding through the forest: powerful, multidimensional, and enveloping. The ambergris mist almost obscures everything else, giving the fragrance a powdery, textured feel. Yet, there is a ray of light: the touch of ylang-ylang. This floral note introduces an unexpected brightness, a breath of lightness that prevents the composition from becoming overly dense. It’s the perfect contrast, balancing and adding elegance to a fragrance that would otherwise be monumental. Spell125 is not just a fragrance—it’s an experience. It’s the song of the wind through the trees, the breath of the sea, and the mystery of untamed nature, all captured in a bottle.

07/25/2021

6.5Scent 10Longevity 6Sillage

Drseid
828 Reviews

Drseid

Helpful Review 3

A Slightly Flawed Spell...

Spell 125 opens with a fine, radiant frankincense with underlying coniferous green pine before quickly transitioning to its heart. As the composition enters its early heart the frankincense remains, first in support of the pine now coupled with slightly sweet leathery green coniferous black hemlock , then taking the fore again after about 30 minutes, as a faint, near-transparent doughy floral accord and a hint of the slightly sweet, smooth sandalwood rising from the base join the conifers in latent support. During the late dry-down the coniferous aspects gradually recede, leaving the frankincense and sandalwood tandem to dominate through the lengthy finish. Projection is good and longevity outstanding at nearly 24 hours on skin.

Spell 125's note list is just about as compelling as possible... frankincense, multiple coniferous greens, florals and sandalwood. I went into trying my sample prepared to love it, and certainly it has a lot of merit. Alas, while the radiant frankincense open is heavenly smelling, it somehow doesn't quite mesh with the coniferous green elements in the heart as much as I would have expected. There also is the dough-like aspect resembling yeast that is just a tad off-putting that takes you out of the spell 125 is trying to cast on the wearer. Then the perfume shifts gears to the sandalwood and the incense again during the late dry-down that seemingly lasts forever and smells great. On the whole, one has to call the perfume a success, but with a little more tinkering of the key heart accord it could have been really special, and that is a bit of a shame. The bottom line is the $215 per 50ml bottle Spell 125 captures the wearer in its captivating frankincense driven web, but the spell dissipates when the conifers and florals join-in, still yielding a "good" to "very good" 3 to 3.5 stars out of 5 rated moderately successful effort and a modest recommendation.

11/13/2024

9Scent 9Longevity 6Sillage

Tealight10
19 Reviews

Tealight10

Helpful Review 2

Spell 125: Between Heaven and Earth

Liz Moores’ seventh fragrance has surprised and bewitched me. I was so put off by my first impression—sour, musty, smoke—that I banished the vial to a drawer in the garage and washed my hands. Then came Halloween. Dressed as goth ingenue Lydia Deetz from the 1988 film Beetlejuice, I supposed that Spell 125 could be the perfect way to spice up my costume.

After the application of several generous smears, the experience was a revelation and a reminder of how many fragrances require our warmth to come fully to life. I have since spent many days and nights with Spell 125 and can confirm that body heat is the essential ingredient that allows Spell 125 to create its ethereal, otherworldly veil.

The initial opening is a smoky and sharply tannic medicinal scent that now feels cleansing. The hemlock is gorgeous but short lived as a distinct note. It quickly blends with the pine and incense which hover for hours, creating a sense of meditation and solitude in an ancient forest.

I would not call Spell 125 an attractive scent, though I now recognize it as truly beautiful. I would not wear it to draw others to me. The pine conveys a tremendous breadth and strength, with deep roots and soaring heights which are reinforced by and contrasted with the weightlessness of the rising smoke and incense. It is all quietly holy and expansive and does not incline me to casual activity or company.

Heavier application more clearly reveals the ylang ylang in honeyed rays that break through the forest canopy to catch the curls of smoke. This floral note adds light and dimension to the fragrance along with the ambergris which shimmers throughout the entire scene. The ambergris gilds the ylang ylang and melds with the sandalwood to create a creamy golden base that takes its time to settle entirely. The heart and base notes dance about each other, trading places for my attention over several hours.
In the final hours (next day) the skin scent is captivating. Arousing. Sweet, salty, animalic.

When in the right mood, I honestly cannot get enough and could spray Spell 125 with ecstatic abandon.

In the wrong mood, it would be easy to mistakenly dismiss Spell 125 as pine cleanser and abandoned ashtrays as I first did. It is not a fragrance for everyone or every occasion. But for those looking for an introverted, contemplative fragrance and an invitation to inhabit the great mysteries of life and death, Spell 125 does not disappoint—if you are willing to give it the time, respect, and attention it requires. Liz Moores is a high priestess of her craft without a doubt.

I see myself continuing to wear Spell 125 in cooler weather, darker times of year, or for any occasion involving the greater mysteries. Even with heavier application, the scent stays relatively close and lasts several hours.

09/09/2022

Mlleghoul
465 Reviews

Mlleghoul

3

Conjuring peace & well-being

Spell 125 from Papillon Artisan Perfumes is a scent entwined and imbued with deep magic, history, and ancient mystery. If I understand correctly, it is a fragrance inspired by the Egyptian Book of the Dead, and the ritual and ceremony pertaining to the weighing the deceased’s heart against a feather, wherein if one passes this trial, they reach the eternal paradise of the Field of Reeds. If not, well then too bad, I guess. They probably get eaten by a monster or something. Shoulda behaved better, not taken milk from the mouths of babes or festival loaves from the gods and whatnot. I believe this is meant to be a very atmospheric scent, and while it *is*, I don’t know that I’m getting what the perfumer intended from it. But who’s to say whether that’s a good or bad thing if one enjoys the result? From Spell 125 I get a strange vanilla salt that’s somehow sweet and savory, bright and dusky, earthy and airy at once, evoking both terrestrial concerns and something lighter and loftier. A sweetly green herbaceous melange conjures imagery of cool aromatic, woodsy marjoram incense, an offering to household gods (I can envision clearly the canvas painting by John William Waterhouse) lit for the afternoon, the smoke cleaning and clearing the domestic spaces, and left to smolder and disperse with the windows open, on a cloudless day in early autumn. This is a fragrance which conjures the loveliest peace of mind and sense of well-being, and although I don’t yet know otherwise, I’ll hazard a guess and say it’s splendid to experience such a thing while you’re still above ground.

10/19/2022

8Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Holscentbar
105 Reviews

Holscentbar

3

excellent composition

this opens pungent. resinous pine, a little earthy that rounds, and a little balsamic. it evolves little by little like a beautiful sunrise, which is why it seems to me like a winter sunrise in the beautiful Italian countryside. fog, and resin accompanied by animalic and pungent notes of burnt woods. how beautiful this, I find it so evocative. some flowers touch all this to round the edges. perfectly balanced and versatile. I love Papillon and I rabbit this. immediately it could be perplexing if the nose is not very trained. leave it time and relaxation on the skin.

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