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airidasz – :
I thought I had written a review on Salome but I guess I was too busy wearing and enjoying it. Papillon as a whole, is one of the few brands that keep my faith in indie, niche, and artisanal perfumery. While long time players have been going mainstream for the last 5 years or so, Liz Moores goes slowly and steadily towards curating a line that is both fascinating and rewarding. Salome is my favorite.
The concept behind, and the inspiration, was an old photograph from the turn of the century. And the scent itself could easily belong there, as it follows the footsteps of Shocking and even Femme; sepia toned, glowing warmth. Gentle spices, a French floral heart and a chypre backbone, Salome bends olfactory families and draws the best from them; expertly blended, it’s hard to pinpoint the notes. There’s effervescence in the opening from sparkling bergamot, spicy florals in the heart with a beautiful rose and carnation like you don’t smell anymore, and a beautiful animalic drydown that mixes civet, castoreum and hyraceum with musk and smoky patchouli. Just like older fragrances, the animalic notes enhance and magnify the whole composition, and don’t scream just for the sake of it. While dirty and skanky at times, mostly from the touch of cumin, the animalic notes make the scent far bigger than the sum of its parts.
Here is where Femme comes into play; Salome feels like a worthy Roudnitska descendant in the best possible way. One relies on the erotic qualities of ripe fruit (plums, hence Prunol base) while Salome relies mostly on ripe florals past their prime. The spices are gentle and warm, merely glowing forever, and there’s a strong oakmoss bone that transcends standard orientals and chypres. Salome is art, expertly conceived, translating into pure pleasure to wear. Long lasting, noticeable for hours, and unabashedly sensual when worn, and sexual when smelt.
In this time and age, when IFRA is the big bad wolf that has forever destroyed many beloved masterpieces, fragrances like this show that while there are restrictions, quality perfumes can still be made, as long as there is a coherent vision, zero focus groups and marketing, and no need for ass kissing big aromachemical corporations. As long as there is talent and people who believe in perfumery, there are still many more Salomes to come. And while IFRA will only get more restrictive, perfumery isn’t yet dead. Not by a long shot.
wert007 – :
Marvelous stuff… my next full-bottle-worthy frag.
Salome is a complex, witchy brew expressly designed for erotic contemplation. Cumin and animal musks create an animalic raunch that is undeniable… Yet those of us who adore skanky perfumes will love it. While it is being compared to animalic chypres of yesteryear, no fragrance from perfumery’s “Golden Age” (say, 1912–1970) ever dared to be this barnyard dirty… unambiguously so.
Texas cedar figures very prominently in this blend, and I’m surprised it’s not offered as one of the notes in the above diagram for rating. There also appear to be some Indian “ayurvedic”-type notes present in this scent, not mentioned either. There is, for instance, a medicinal aromatic afoot… I think it’s camphor… an unusual note I love.
Something in the opening notes smells, to me, like the potties one smelled on 1970’s Greyhound buses. As in: clean trying to mask un-clean.
Fragrantica, above, lists “leather” as one of its keywords. I guess it’s the styrax + castoreum they’re observing.
The scent dries down to what seems to be a very…um… woman-like smell, if you catch my meaning. But not *her*.. rather, the guy whose fingers she left it on. (TMI ?) This scent is animalic far beyond that of Muscs Koublai-Khan, Rochas Femme, Kouros, Shalimar, Tabu, Absolue Pour Le Soir, Bal a Versailles. In fact, its only competition for skank-factor might be Brent Leonesios’s NO. 8
Yet Luca Turin is correct in that, this melange of notes is blended so expertly, so smoothly, that one cannot fault it… It does that classic thing of creating a unique Gestalt all its own.
But I love SALOME. I’m a guy, and will wear it happily anywhere I want.
Liz Moore had better not tone down one iota of the skank in this wonderful number! Teenyboppers, cheerleaders and sorority sisters, cast your eyes elsewhere towards your sugar-faux vanilla-berries perfumes.
krios – :
Tried a tiny dot, because the reviews had me thinking I would reek of sex if I tried more. Well, there are definitely notes that remind of warm groin, as much as I hate to say that. But it’s not filthy. There is a fabulous perfume structure behind that warm body smell. Surprisingly, it doesn’t offend, which surprises me, because I can be unexpectedly prudish about carnal perfumes,but this is actually pleasant and comfortable while at the same time being WAY too much about sex to be wearable to work or the grocery store. I don’t hate it, I don’t love it, but it’s fairly amazing. Huh.
Naruto001 – :
I don’t know what took me so long to finally try this, everyone has recommended it to me for forever and I’ve been hearing raves since it came out but somehow I just kept forgetting to try it. But HOLY WOW this is one fantastic vintage style fragrance. Smells literally vintage in the opening, to me it’s like Tabu or something that style, an animalic oriental, a little chypre but not a full blown one, multi layered and chypre is just one layer but I don’t smell it and think “chypre” in the same way as Tabu. I just think more earthy oriental, deep and sensual, and from another time. I don’t have many on my want list anymore but this is going on it. This is the kind of fragrance that is so good it makes me want to try everything in her line. I have already tried a couple and they were great, but this one is so good I need to go back and retry the others and pay more attention. If you love stuff like Tabu, Bal a Versailles or sexy animalics or anything remotely in that style, put this at the top of your want list.
QuiellalAdada – :
A bold earthy musk, florals and powder. This musk has an animalic feel but I don’t really get much leather. Wafts of patchouli in the background. Salome is sultry and dirty; “stankey”. I’m reminded quite a bit of Jovan Musk but higher quality. Flashes of Kouros as well.
Salome has an old lady vibe but I think a guy could pull it off. Probably too bold for work. This is how I’d like a woman to smell (maybe not all the time though). A sexy beast ready to pounce; the prey doesn’t stand a chance! Above average projection and sillage. Lasted eight hours on my skin before becoming soft. A cooler weather scent but I’m sure this would roar gloriously in the heat. Pricey but the notes smell high quality and the composition is nice. Excellent scent!
Pesscoags – :
A vintage style floral chypre with animalic overtones, this is a gorgeous creation for those who can handle heavy “adult” perfumes. The perfume begins on a rather innocent citrusy note of orange peel and bergamot and then starts transitioning into a carnal flower with rose, tobacco, carnation, jasmine (prominent), and hyrax. Finally it settles into a leathery musky woody base of styrax, vanilla, hay, patchouli, oakmoss, cumin, birch and castoreum. This is your vintage sensual female perfume, something like what Anais Nin would have worn while writing her diaries. Bold, dense, leathery, erotic floral, which has a moderate to strong sillage and tremendous lasting power. Could be quite shocking for many used to wearing mostly todays floral woody perfumes without any element of skank. But for those who enjoy a bit of vintage erotica, here is a beauty that you will treasure in your perfume collection. Enjoy!
valgol09 – :
This is the real modern day Opium. Only for women who believe they can. Do you?
priora-666 – :
Salome is unforgettable. It has a very specific scent that I love tucked inside of it. A kind of dirty scent that I’ve rarely encountered in perfume (appealing halitosis?). For this I keep going back to it and feel the need to always have a small decant on hand.
cqx414Unlogrere – :
In my first review of Salome, I commented that it reminded me of Molinard’s Habanita, despite their sharing few notes.
There was another perfume which Salome reminded me of, and it took a few weeks of sleeping on it and not thinking about it for that perfume to come to mind. I had sent another Fragrantican my Salome sample (purchased directly from PAP) and decants of both the EDT and EDP of the perfume I was thinking of; I wanted her opinion, as she could test them side by side and let me know whether time had distorted my memory. She agreed with me though, and so…
I added Theo Fennell Scent to the previously undefiled virgin territory of Salome “reminds me of…”. I came back to read Salome’s most recent reviews and I can see a couple of people have agreed with me; this gives me nearly as much pleasure as writing “undefiled virgin territory” in the same sentence as “Salome”.
Theo Fennell’s Scent is discontinued and the prices are starting to creep up. If you love Salome, you are very likely to – at the very least – “like” Scent. It also attracts similarly polarised reviews.
For what it’s worth, in his Perfume Guide, Luca Turin awards Scent 5/5 stars and describes it as a “modern masterpiece… original, memorable and technically brilliant.”
Rotten1985 – :
I just tried my sample of this, and OMG it’s beautiful! Reminiscent of the wonderful Tropic of Capricorn (must be the hyrax) but instead of decaying tropical fruits & flowers I get lush tobacco, oakmoss, hay, and sexy florals! The cumin isn’t amplified on my skin. Immediately added to want list <3 If you’re looking for a sexy animalic that smells modern, you’ve got to try this!
sstaslkers – :
Peppery, soapy, spicy, earthy, musky and luxuriously animalic, like walking into one of any number of windowless head shops dotted around the globe with burning incense and little vials of precious oils. Salome is unapologetically sexy and strong. Too much fun to dot onto a hem of clothing so that it leaves an intriguing wake everywhere I go.
Мариель – :
Nothing should ever be aloud to stink this bad! Can’t wash this stuff off!!! Help!
(_HOMA_) – :
This smells similar to the bottle of supremely aged Bal à Versailles in the cupboard of an old woman I know. I visit her regularly and always take a chance to sniff the bottle.
This old woman once wanted to be a rabbi but, as a woman, was not allowed official entry into the training program. Undeterred, she went anyway, uncredited, invisible yet never unnoticed, just a complete baller with ultimate self-respect who was not in the slightest interested in the approval of others, only in the path to knowledge.
Reading the reviews about crotches and sex, you might think this an odd mix with either rabbinics or the elderly. I think not. First, I smell a strong soapy note. I think this is just a genetically-determined reaction to one of the components of Salome (and Bal à Versailles), so make sure to try before you buy. I love this effect and think it blends superbly with the other ingredients. It might not be for you although it sure is better than what I guess a urine smell would be like.
Second of all, although Salome herself is depicted as an ineffective seductress in the Christian tradition, in Jewish history she was actually a serious queen. So it often is that the strong women of one tradition are portrayed as shallow sexual vampires by the (male-centred?) tradition which seeks to overwrite it. Well, you need to be a queen to wear this perfume. Some people WILL hate it and you have to rise above that and deliver with supreme confidence.
You weren’t allowed in? You go anyway, and excel to the shock of everyone. That’s the essence of this fragrance to me.
Zekimilmgeami – :
This is profoundly sexy juice and not for lightweight noses as it is chock full of skank. The best kind of skank though, warm and fuzzy. Cumin and civet, a would-be MKK extrait concentrate squared. This is drunken youthful passion, sweaty, animal, hormones burning into the wee hours and waking up unshowered for another round with that one irresistable lover that sends electricity through your very core and quivers in all the right places. This is the scent of waking up next to them the next afternoon lol.
HigCoonee – :
ok what’s going on?!? this is so far from filth on my skin that it’s crazy to read all your reviews of animal monstrosities taking over. but by god, this is a beautiful retro smelling fume that is Strong with a capital S!
to my nose this is a very mature scent, something a classy older lady would wear or a hollywood starlet of the film noir variety. or just a plain ol woman (or man) of magic. up close it’s very overpowering, the notes blend into one another and makes it hard to distinguish what is what other than a strong leather accord that remains through-out. from a distance this fume really, really shines. it has a beautiful longing to it, a warmth touched by spicy, perfectly balanced lightness juxtaposing between a foundation of heaviness, almost like silk being pulled through layers of thick wet oakmoss and deer’s tongue (you have to smell this plant if you ever get the chance). does that make sense? i am wearing it right now and trying to envision what i smell.
i am very sensitive to detecting oakmoss in fragrance and i looooove oakmoss, this fragrance has a good splash of it- realistic oakmoss and i also smell rose, leather, pepper, soil (?) and perhaps a touch of musk. it does have a gasoline vibe to it, in that there is something metallic and sharp but again, that’s up close and personal on my skin.
you know what else is reminds me of? so many things actually. ever been to an occult shop or magic shop where there are shelves of incense sticks ranging from wood blends to planetary blends to spell blends, etc? it smells like that, the blend of all the incenses in the air, faintly meshing in with the atmosphere. in fact, it smells almost identical to this incense i once had called Egyptian musk from said occult shop. it was my favorite and it was meant to evoke images of ancient rituals, sand dunes and the magic of the pyramids. salome is a fitting title for this fume, but i also think a magical Egyptian title would be appropriate too.
song(s) that come to mind with this scent? Fleetwood Mac – rhiannon OR gold dust woman
in fact, there is this scene in american horror story (coven) where character misty day is dancing in her swamp house to fleetwood mac (i think), she’s twirling around in her bohemian attire and looking free spirited, witchy and almost floating. i imagine her wearing salome.
ok so after wearing this scent, typing this review and listening to fleetwood mac, i have pulled the triggered and bought a bottle from luckyscent. i kinda need it.
v.fearless – :
My first comment did not make it through the filter, that just shows you how this one smells. I was very descriptive to say the least. Lucifersan said it right and here is a very experienced man agreeing with everything you wrote. This one is a monster! I do not advise blind buying, I however did, but I like sniffing some weird stuff, I own a bunch of very very strong perfumes and this one is now in the top 5, it is very very strong. Thank you Liz Moore.
4ap57 – :
I really enjoyed trying Salome, but it was vetoed my the nose most often smelling my perfume due to strong cumin presence. To quote: “it smells like a New York City cab driver, trying to mask the smell of B.O. with incense.” Well that’s one to look at it, I guess.
Another way to look at it is as a very realistic snapshot into an ancient time. It seems impossible, but I don’t smell the urine notes with the intensity that others do- they are but eclipsed. I get a lot of orange blossom, oakmoss, and hay. There is a lot of cumin, sometimes it’s an overload and sometimes cumin and hay pair up and give a hot earthy powder accord. It reminds me of clay pottery in a kiln. With the incense, and residual cumin left as a free radical I get this ancient setting. Bodies washed a lot less than they are today, ceremonial incense. To my nose, it’s heavy.
One thing I truly love in Salome is the expression of the rose note. It smells like red wine. Wine specifically spilled on an earthen floor.
Yet another way to look at is as an old school vampy fragrance. Like 60’s boudoir. Talking corsets, french body powder, and heavy winged eyeliner. If the cumin were omitted or reduced, that’s what it would be.
I love Salome, but I don’t think I’d have enough opportunity to wear it. Such is life.
welzool – :
Never was a perfume more aptly named. This is pure animalic filth. I mean that as a deep and sincere compliment. (and I don’t even go for animalics or musks so much.) This is a thing apart and further proof of Papillon’s mastery. Just overwhelmingly full of base mammalian instincts. It sexuality is so utterly in your face and up your nose that it’s completely outrageous. Far beyond flirtatious, or seductive, or even flamboyant; this is so relentlessly sensuous it’s kind of discombobulating. This is the kind of character you could lose your head, your heart and parts further south to in a matter of moments.
Like others here – it just floored me. I blushed and flushed a bit the first time I smelled it. Could swear I felt my pupils dilate. Not often that an unexpected fragrance makes me squeak “oh my GOD!” at first spray. Something in this phreaks my pheromones completely.
It is total alpha female territory: there’s a lot of rose and sweetness and almost powderiness from the geranium in there, but Salome’s kind of femininity has absolutely nothing ladylike about it. Because, yes there is undoubtedly sweat and groin (tobacco?) and, unmistakably, a few tiny notes of wee here and there (those friendly rodents, or their secretions, or chemical mimics of the same) in this too. It sounds disgusting. It’s definitely well over the top and almost insanely raunchy. I would agree this is much much too rude for a workplace! But an extraordinary, breathtaking achievement all the same. Even writing about it a few days later makes me start to babble incoherently.
It does – well, “calm down” is the wrong phrase entirely – mellow out a bit on further dry down, with the animal reeks receding a little and the flowers and spice blooming more richly. The urinous tinge peaks about 2h in but ebbs away gently. Overall it gets sweeter and milder – but definitely no more discreet or restrained – the longer you wait. Longevity and projection both absolutely kickass.
Words are not enough here. Definitely not for blind buying, do not be tempted. But if you want to be completely poleaxed by something unlike the vast majority of scents on the market, try this out. It will do things to you which – even if you don’t want to repeat them – will have been well worth the trip.
jofa333 – :
This one is so weird, it smells very stinky but not BAD. I totally get the comparison to armpits, it smells like sweaty armpits, but not like nasty or dirty sweaty armpits, it just smells like perfume that was sprayed on an otherwise clean woman after a moderate workout, lol. It is oddly appealing, like it smells like pheromones or something, natural and animalic but in a sexual way, but I could never wear this out, that would take some serious balls. This is the kind of animalic scent that I “get” I’m just not sure if I could ever pull it off, but I get how it makes “dirty/skanky” smell good at the same time. I might even purchase a decant to wear at home and get a better understanding of it, maybe one day I will be able to wear it out without blushing lol. And I typically HATE civet, so that says a lot about how cleverly it is used here.
ETA: I bet this would be easier to wear if layered with florals, it could definitely add some sexy bite to an oherwise boring or sterile floral. I don’t usually even consider layering but Salome seems perfect for it.
durbek – :
Heinous. I smell armpits and at least two different types of animal urine. Didn’t even know I could discern between different animal piss odors until just now.
Cannot believe this came in an “essentials” sampler set. Won’t scrub off the back of my hand. Now I’m stuck in the house on Saturday afternoon.
van_dal – :
Everything in this takes a backseat to carnation. Is it animalic? Yes, but only slightly. I wish the note breakdown was actually how it’s been voted…but no! This is super overpowered by carnation…because of that, this is a big NO for me. This is one that you should definitely try before you buy…very glad I did.
virgis – :
This is the most animalic perfume I have ever smelled. More than Bal a Versailles or Paloma Picasso. This is sweaty sex and a touch of pee and FLOWERS and SPICES. This is kinky. This is not to be worn to work and I am not someone who generally cares about that sort of appropriateness but damn I couldn’t talk to my boss while wearing this, no way.
erurlertyq – :
Papillon Artisan Perfumes / Salome
The olfactory group: Chypre Floral
Odor Characteristic: Hot and bitter
high durability
Play smell: Suitable
Starting note:
The first spray The first thing you’ll find is the smell of bitter and sour citrus chords. It will not take more than a few moments.
Rhubarb leaves and dusted wood are old and earthy next guests you experience.
Then the scent gets a bit steady and you will find on the side of smoky, woody, black and burned leather.
Middle notes:
The smell of black-and-white chocolate flavor is a little more. At this stage, the scent of bitter taste, floral and powdery flavor in the fragrance is less fragrant, and the chords are slightly less easily dissolved, but they are heavily dull, animal, dirty and dirty.
Final note:
There is not much difference between notes of this fragrance.
You can clearly see the chords of the previous notes in this stage of perfume.
One of the differences between the notes is the smell of bitterness, the smell of smoke and the presence of a weak vanilla scent that comes with the heat and bitterness I saw first.
At this stage, the weight of the work is reduced and the aroma of black and chocolate will make you enjoyable.
Papillon Artisan Perfumes Salome
Leather aromas are wooden, black, animated and spicy
A collection of heavy notes …!
Heavy and slightly uniform scent.
Hearty aromatic fragrance so I feel I do not understand the fragrance.
I had not seen any perfume so heavy that it was difficult to separate the chords.
Wearing such an aroma for anyone is not possible. It is dry, heavy and harsh.
You did not expect this perfume to feel excitement and excitement. It may make you feel tired and depressed.
Do not expect much feedback.
The imagination of people around you is scented with smell of silt, heavy leaf and burned wood with warm leather …!
An image of perfume in your mind will see you in an adult person who has one-handed wine and in the other hand a mint-tobacco cigar and wants to enjoy the magnificent 20th century party.
Your receipt of this perfume will be a person who is decorated, dignified, mysterious, calm and at the same time proud and rogue.
Papillon Salome
You can get dressed for special occasions
For adults, it will be beautiful with raincoats and dark and gray trousers.
I wanted to make the salome a bit more refreshing, more flexible and relaxed, so do not let it off, that this fragrance is suitable for middle-aged adults and I still have to wear it.
Salome has a bipolar state and is full of contradictions, you may fall in love with or hate
Sillage: 4/5
Longevity: 4/5
Scent: 3/5
Overall: 3.75 / 5
Geos7777 – :
Salome portakal çiçeği ve gül ile açılıyor. Bunların yanına acı portakal ile çok az karanfil çiçeğinin tatlımsı kokusu ekleniyor. Başlangıcı büyülü. Elinizle saten bir kumaşa dokunduğunuzu hayal edin. Gerçekten bu koku size bu hissi yaşatıyor. Kokudan hayvansallık beklerken o bana çiçeksi bir açılış sundu.
Daha sonra koku 10 dakika gibi bir sürenin ardından bir anda sizin o naif hislerinize güçlü bir pençe geçiriyor. Meşe yosununun o tozlu yapısı ve deri ile beraber sert bir hayvansallık kokuya ekleniyor. Tam bir maskülene dönüşmüş halde koku yayılımına devam ediyor. İnanılmaz derecede yüksek bir hayvansallık bu. Çünkü kurban bayramlarında o çadırlara girdiğinizde hissettiğiniz hayvanların kokusu çok net şekilde hissettiriyor kendini. BAM!!! Ne oldu demeden koku yaseminle birlikte hayvansallığı yansıtıyor. Teninize yaklaşınca çiçeksilik artarken uzaktan çok net şekilde o hayvansı kokuyu hissediyorsunuz. Ancak tiksindirici değil gerçekten güzel bir hayvansılık bu.
Salome bu hayvansılığı 3 şey ile sağlıyor. Castoreum denilen kunduz yağı, hyrax denilen kaya porsuğu(kırsıçanı) ve sigara dumanını andıran tütün. Oldukça kirli bir hissiyat yaratıyor. Ayrıca karanfil ile biraz yapışkan bir hissiyat da yaratmakta.
Salome’un başarısı iğrenç kokan şeyleri öyle başarılı işleyip ortaya kirli, hayvansı ve seksi olabilecek bir koku yaratmak.
Kesinlikle beğendim. Bu kadar kirli ama güzel bir koku pek bulunabilecek bir çalışma değil. Her koleksiyonda bir adet şişesi bulunması gereken gerçek bir güzellik.
Koku ilk 2-3 saat iyi bir yayılıma sahipken ardından tene yakınlaşıyor. Farklı ve etkili bir yapısı var. Tam bir maskülen ve kirli bir koku.
Ancak kokudan tiksinemiyorsunuz. Kirli ve hayvansı kokuları seviyorsanız kesinlikle bu koku tam size göre. Ancak denemeden almamak ve kokunun bir genel beğeni kokusu olmadığını belirteyim.
Puan:7,5
Koku Güzelliği:8
Kalıcılık:9
Yayılım:7
Fiyat/Performans:6
Roman113312 – :
@ I.D. Adam
Papillon Artisan Perfumes is based in the UK. The UK is (still) a member of the EU.
Papillon Artisan Perfumes (including Salome) are therefore IFRA compliant.
Try searching Kafkaesque’s blog; there is an interview with Liz Moore (the nose behind Papillon) in which she shares detailed information about how she ensured the perfumes are compliant with the (ridiculous, in my opinion) IFRA regulations.
asdfgfggrgkuymhkj – :
This perfume is much more animalic than Muscs Koublai Khan and much less floral. This is a cumin bomb, at least for the first hour or so. Later on the oakmoss and jasmine come out, I don’t get any leather though. The cumin starts to fade a couple of hours after the first spray. By this time the combination of notes becomes powdery, it smells like a mixture of body powder and skanky musk. Sillage is moderate, longevity is 12+ hours.
I can see mature women loving this, it’s definitely not for girls. Not a safe blind buy, sample first, you might love it or you might hate it, it’s a polarizing scent.
savelliy – :
Hello, heaven.
Not since my first encounter with my mother’s Youth Dew as a child, not since the vintage Opium EDT that catalyzed an obsession, and not since vintage Fracas swept me entirely off my feet has a perfume completely arrested my ability to reason. Salome is a stunning creation. How Liz Moores managed to pull this off despite the draconian IFRA regulations on raw materials is nothing short of marvelous.
I suppose I should backtrack – the real culprit in all of this, aside from that keen olfactory memory of Youth Dew, is Kafkaesque’s blog and their riveting write-ups of vintage and niche perfumery alike. Kafkaesque is the real reason why I ultimately surrendered and sprang for a sample of Salome, my mild trepidation about the animalics aside. That, and the reassurance that I somehow manage to wear vintage Opium almost exclusively in November’s chill without becoming totally overwhelmed. Since vintage Opium has become my comfort, my rapture, and my second skin, I (foolishly) thought that surely, surely Salome couldn’t be as potent, surely I would be safe to try a sample.
My god, I was taken before I could even open the little glass vial. It permeated the entirety of the little package of samples, all cumin and resin and musk. I had forgotten about the other samples entirely and immediately dabbed the tiniest drop on my wrists.
That’s all that was needed for the next 8 hours. Admittedly, the very forward musk and cumin did, in fact, do a “barnyard” thing for a brief period after application that other folks on here have mentioned, just shy of being objectionable. Strangely enough, this stage felt warm and comforting in a weird pastoral way. Soon after, the florals started coming through, all heady, rich roses and golden jasmine, blossoming over that persistent musky, cumin-dusted, resinous base. Oakmoss and patchouli too, their verdant dark green shadows a lush and lovely border for the glowing, heated florals at the heart. At times, Salome does feel like an analogue for vintage Opium as well, perhaps a little more rose-forward and much more animalic.
And yes, this does smell like sex. Yes, Salome has a vintage-skewed skank that is outrageously, gloriously femme and lush and calescent all the way through.
On the drydown, I got a blissful shadow of nag champa incense, that reminded me exactly of a burning stick left in the window of a beautiful encounter from my college days in Santa Cruz. Rain outside, incense within, and the glorious scent of heated bodies absolutely spent. So vividly, so precisely did this perfume evoke this particular, precious memory it nearly brought me to tears. That’s not hyperbole either. Salome is powerful. Salome is primal. Salome is an evocation, a spell. Salome is a fragrance that stands out, perhaps even stands alone among modern creations.
Salome is by nature completely polarizing, and I would also go as far to say that Salome is uncompromising. You must be quite comfortable with edgy animalics to wear this, but I also really want to smell this glorious scent on everyone, haha! The things this fragrance can do to one’s natural skin musk are positively mesmerizing. Perhaps this is living dangerously, but I have managed to pull this off at the office without incident – but only the tiniest drop, which makes for a focus on the rich florals rather than the musks and cumin. In more generous application, this is a head turner with beautiful sillage and longevity, that makes me go completely out of my mind with adoration. I literally cannot stop sniffing my wrists. This is some exquisite debauchery, my friends. My hedonist, libertine soul is hopelessly, desperately in love.
Feaftavestven – :
I bought a sample from Papillon which arrived today and – possibly rashly – I sprayed it directly on skin and am sniffing my hand right now.
I must be immune to skank, I think – I have no idea how anyone could possibly be offended by this. It reminds me of Habanita, a little; they have few notes in common, so I really don’t know why.
This is gorgeous and I must have it.
preangevase – :
Made the mistake of wearing this to work and had a coworker ask “Why does it smell like wee in here?”
I said I didn’t know.
But I did know. I’m pretty sure it was me; it was my perfume.
I don’t care though. I love it!!
kallianda – :
For some reason, I can not stop smelling my wrist. The skanky barnyard smell starts to disappear after 20-30 mins of wearing. This is a lovely, intoxicating scent. I must have this in my life. FB worthy with a capital “W”. Most might ask, where would I where this fragrance? Answer…”Anywhere I damn well please!!!! This is a LOVE.
Xeroxwsnqb – :
Papillon Salome is a nice skanky animalic floral perfume, kinda old/vintage style. It’s a very complex and challanging perfume. At the begining you will get castoreum/styrax and cumin, but cumin is too much, I wish cumin would have been toned down a bit (cumin note is quite similiar to what you get in Le Labo Rose 31). In the dry down you will get a nice hint of jasmine and oakmoss. It reminds me of another frag, but I can’t recall wha