No. VII Petits Papiers Nobile

I first found this perfume spritzed in a bell jar in La Basílica Galería in Barcelona -- the shop is a bit of an accessory shop disguised as a natural history museum. Even without the advantage of being warmed over skin, lifting that jar was like being brought into a room I never realised I'd entered before -- Dark wood bookshelves stretching from floor to ceiling; a coal fire glowing away supplemented by a few pieces of peat giving off a mineral tang and an earthy savour; a well worn leather armchair, just close enough to the fire where the surface hums with a comfortable warmth begging to nestled into; the lingering sweet scent of tobacco clinging to the spines of the books and settling between the dust motes on forgotten tomes; the sharp smell of ink and the soft, feathery scent of old paper. Nothing overpowering, nothing headache-y -- just pure nostalgia for something you've never experienced before. Each 50ml vial comes with either a spray top or a dropper for application. I've been just dipping the dropper into the liquid and giving the barest swipe on my solar plexus and applying whatever's left to my wrists. The staying power is amazing, and with that small quantity, I'm able to smell it in wafts whenever I move without causing what I would imagine to be an enormous sillage cloud around me. This perfume is definitely a private experience for me, but that little boost of aroma is just a perfect way to enjoy a bit of escapism during the day. The vanilla and tobacco notes are definitely the most lingering, but the drydown doesn't lose its complexity and the aroma is still completely palpable even after sleeping with it on. I didn't initially buy the perfume after smelling it, but after a full day of just trying to inhale my own wrists I made my way back to the shop and purchased it from their own perfume department across the street. They had about 8 other scents in the line -- I was too afraid to smell any others seeing as how quickly and how hard I'd fallen for this one. I half regret it and half congratulate myself on my restraint. Maybe another time.

This is supposed to be paper smell like! It's more of a sticky sweet vanilla & mate. Maybe heliotrope but definitely no paper smell in here at least so far (13 minutes in). The very top note was overly cloying sticky sweet that was awful and as it calms down the sticky sweet vanilla is still there but less sticky. I really don't know what the idea behind this fragrance, and definitely this doesn't contain anything with papers., it's a very sticky sweet yet cloying and mate blend.