Papillon Artisan Perfumes

Papillon Artisan Perfumes was established in 2011 by perfumer Liz Moores. With a headquarters located in the heart of the New Forest in the South of England, Papillon Artisan Perfumes is surrounded by the spoils of nature – the perfect backdrop for Liz to create high quality, nature-inspired perfume. The belief at Papillon is that perfume is the perfect expression of metamorphosis; transforming exotic raw materials into captivating fragrances. Scent can remove you from the ordinary and transport you to the extraordinary. The French for butterfly, Papillon perfectly captures the spirit of transformation and natural beauty that the company is founded upon.
Liz is a lover of deep, dark scents, which entice fragrance lovers with their mysterious allure and demure sophistication. The timeless appeal of Papillon’s oriental themed perfume compositions have led to the brand establishing itself as one of the leading classical modern niche perfume brands of today.

Papillon Artisan Perfumes: Modern Luxury

Quality is at the core of the Papillon ethos. No gimmicks, no slick marketing campaigns, simply the highest quality materials insightfully worked into exceptional perfumes. Liz’s astounding niche perfume compositions are produced using the classical methods, blended in small batches and completely handcrafted. With a prime focus on the classics in traditional perfumery, Papillon is able to use rare and costly ingredients for its perfumes, sparing no cost in sourcing high-grade absolutes and oils from every corner of the globe. The result is scents with an incredible depth of texture and roundedness of aroma.

All Papillon perfumes are genderless and and androgynous, to be worn by anyone who enjoys them. The belief is that there should be no limitations set on olfactory exploration for today’s discerning follower of the luxury fragrance world,

Niche Perfume meets the Age-Old Luxuries of Nature

Papillon clients can rely on the purity and authenticity of the brand’s more exclusive and/or oriental materials. The jasmine used in the brand’s iconic Anubis fragrance is the Egyptian variety – one of, if not the most, important natural perfume materials on the market. Papillon uses a number of select frankincense varieties for various interpretations of the godfather of scents. The delicate and lemony Serrata variety highlights the uplighting lightness of frankincense while the heavier Carterri foregrounds the ceremonial pomp and sacred origins of this ancient incense.
The orris used in Papillon’s earthy, floral accords is the finest orris concrete available in the world and is used exclusively by Papillon and one other famed perfume brand in France. Sourced from the prestigious Firmenich company, Papillon’s orris butter contains the highest percentage of irones at 15% and currently costs an astounding £24,000 a kilo.

An artisanal perfume brand with a personal touch

Far from mass market commercialism, Papillon Artisan Perfumes is a small scale, family run venture. From compounding materials to sealing bottles and making boxes, every step of the Papillon process is completed by hand. From conception to creation, Papillon perfumes are, per definition, truly artisan.
Liz understands the way we associate scents with stories. Perfume molecules weave their way through our olfactory channels and connect with our brain; igniting our personal memory banks and our back-catalogues of shared cultural references. Papillon scents are accordingly treated as multisensory experiences – conceptual narratives greatly influenced by periods of history, romantic and literary concepts, nature, people and artwork. When creating a perfume, Liz thinks of colours, textures and places, people and stories, fragments of cultural heritage. She also imagines the people who may wear her fragrances and hopes that her perfumes will help them conjure their own unique and personal allusions.

Sustainable and environmentally conscious perfumery

Sustainable materials and ethical matters are central to the values of contemporary niche brands. A sharp focus on the origins of ingredients is a key feature at Papillon Artisan Perfumes and emphasising the quality and fair trade origins to customers is crucial in sharing the brand’s story. A transparent approach to sourcing enables customers to educate themselves on where their perfume materials come from. All perfumes are cruelty free and not tested on animals. Only synthetic castoreum and civet are used in the production of the brand’s scents. The ambergris in Tobacco Rose is beach combed and therefore classified as natural flotsam. Hyraceum is collected in the wild from the fossilized latrines created by large groups of the Cape Hyrax. This material is collected with no harm or adverse effects to the animals. Anubis and Tobacco Rose contain ethically harvested beeswax from commercial hives in Italy, not wild. Angélique, Dryad and Bengale Rouge are suitable for vegans. Each formula is roughly a 50/50 ratio between natural absolutes, resins and oils to synthetic materials.There is no outsourcing; all Papillon formulas are compounded and bottled in the lab.

Awards

Papillon: Winner of the Best Brand Award (Basenotes)
Liz Moores: Winner of Best Perfumer Award (Basenotes)
Full perfume collection reviewed by Luca Turin FIFI Awards 2015 – Papillon made history as the first brand ever to have an entire collection nominated.
Papillon Salome Eau de Parfum: Nominated at the FIFI Awards for Best New Independent Fragrance. Nominated in the prestigious Perfume Extraordinaire Category against brands such as Armani and Killian. The first time an independent has been nominated in this category.