Papillon Artisan Perfumes has been on my list of independent and artisanal perfume houses to try out this year. I’m a little embarrassed that it has taken me this long to get around to trying some of Liz Moores’ work, but I’m finally here!

Angélique

I wanted to compare Angélique to Jo Malone’s Mimosa & Cardamom, which I enjoy but not enough to spring for a full bottle in my collection. Angélique is lovely and definitely its own scent. Mimosa & Cardamom kind of shouts “yellow floral!” in my face, whereas Angélique does not. There’s a touch of green here, and a touch of bitterness. I actually wanted more from the galbanum! Angélique leans a little more floral on me than I expected, and it’s quite dry from the cedar and incense accord. It’s very pretty, remains fairly linear on me, and only lasts for 3-4 hours. If I could squeeze 5 hours of wear time out if this, I’d consider purchasing it, but the longevity is just not there. It’s so lovely though and I’m glad to have sniffed it.

Dryad

I was intensely curious to sniff Dryad! I have to say, on my skin, it’s an oakmoss bomb. I get oakmoss right from the opening, not just in the base. This is not a bad thing, but it’s A LOT on my skin. It’s damp, earthy, green mossy all at once. It’s also sweaty. This may have been amplified by the fact that I wore Dryad out to dinner during one of our first true warm weather evenings of this spring. It was actually slightly sweaty weather, as opposed to the extremely dry, cold winter we’ve had. My body chemistry was probably adjusting. I have used half of my Dryad sample vial, and I’m excited to get a couple more wearings out of this. Right now, it’s less green than I was expecting on my skin. It’s oakmoss overload for about an hour on me, and then settles into a skin sweat smell. It mainly captures the way I smell after a vinyasa yoga class, right before I take a shower. Its not a bad thing — a little natural sweat is normal and very human. But it is slightly jarring to smell it. I’m so glad I ordered a sample of Dryad because it’s given me a lot to think about.

I want to explore the Papillon line much more in-depth, but I’m glad to have started with these two. Angélique has given me a very pretty composition to admire, and Dryad is a challenging one to really think about. Judging from instagram, it looks like Liz Moores is launching a new creation soon, so that will be exciting!

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I ordered my Papillon samples from Twisted Lily.

The photo of my samples was taken by me.