Papyrus Moleculaire

This might be a little esoteric, but bear with me: Papyrus Moléculaire by Maison Crivelli reminds me of the midcentury furniture of Cuban-Mexican designer Clara Porset, specifically her butaque chairs. Porset’s designs embraced both industrial and handcrafted production and, like the Bauhaus teachers and peers she studied with, she aimed at elevating living standards and bringing modernist aesthetics to the masses—while also preserving Cuban and Mexican folk art traditions. Her celebrated butaque chairs were based on a colonial-era hybrid of Spanish X-frame seating and pre-Columbian ritual stools. Their ergonomic forms are crafted from polished wood and materials like wicker, leather, or woven agave reeds. When I read that this woody, tobacco-accented perfume was inspired by Thibaud Crivelli’s first encounter with papyrus root powder among a group of tattooed women smoking cigarillos, I immediately imagined Clara Porset’s wood-and-woven chairs being crafted by women smoking Cuban cigars. The fragrance is deep, warm, and smooth, but with bright and peppery vegetal and mineral top notes. I find that papyrus comes across a bit like vetiver: grassy, both green and dry, it feels grounded and a little serious, but the addition of coriander and elemi resin makes this fragrance zing with citric greenness. Like Porset’s designs, this scent is like modernist aesthetics encountering the rootedness of natural materials and craft traditions. I initially noticed this fragrance being touted as a more interesting alternative to Le Labo’s Santal 33, and I’ll say that they’re very similar, but Santal is heavier and more leather-ish, creamier and more enveloping, while this one is fresher and more lively. I tried them at the same time and Santal’s luxurious soft-focus felt almost flat, dull even, compared to the witty crackle of Papyrus Moléculaire, which rings out as bright and clear as a laugh. It’s an incredibly well-balanced fragrance, delicious and satisfying, totally unisex, that I think could be worn in any season for almost any occasion. I burned through my sample vial of this in record time and promptly bought a full bottle.

I want to start by appreciating Maison Crivelli design - the esthetical appearance is just so so so pleasant to the eye, the minimalistic design with a sort of metallic cap with a stamp on it creates a very luxurious minimalistic feeling with very thought-out details. Beautiful design indeed - that is pleasant also for a male and female! Papyrus Moléculaire is one of those scents that put me in this deep deep 'zen' zone, such a relaxing, calming and enveloping perfume. I love this slight greenish lactonic note that I get, the perfectly pronounced carrot seed note gives this perfume a light sweetness and gourmand feeling, maybe it's tonka also, but I don't get a lot of tonka notes personally. To me, it's not a powdery scent but a juicy one - that just proves how differently we found and smell the scents! To me, this is a warm hug of a loved one... Yes... I found those kinds of perfumes like an expression of love, they give me those warm feelings, very calming and soothing. I just relax in those scents, I let my mind flow and daydream. Every time I smell this I get this warm warm feeling when I just want to close my eyes and enjoy the smell. BEAUTIFUL! Such a great creation! I was very surprised to find out that there is no sandalwood in this perfume! I don't know how a single note of papyrus smells like so that would be very interesting, but to me, it does have this pickle-like sandalwood note that I adore. The scent is unisex 100%, I see this as a versatile perfume for all seasons! The projection is strong, definitely creates a huge aroma cloud around you, and the same with longevity I would even say enormous! I can smell this strongly on my clothing the second day and the sillage is still there - RADIATING! The perfume is worth your attention for sure!

I blind bought Santal 33 immediately when it first came out in 2011. I was excited about the notes but I could not stomach the scent back then. I found it too strong and too weird to wear and so found the people around me. I soon sold that bottle.. Years later I started noticing this fragrance again. People started wearing it. It became one of my best friends favorites and I thought it smelled great on him. I wondered if Le Labo changed the recipe a bit or did everybodies nose change? Today, I got a sample of Papyrus Moleculaire and I got immediate flashbacks to Santal 33. I find it less heavy though. It is more fresh and less sticky then Santal 33. I love it and I ordered a full bottle. Also for me this is finally a parfum with Elemi done right. I tried many parfums before with Elemi. I found Elemi always thick and nauseating. DIOR for example ruined in my opinion the amazing Eau Sauvage Parfum with Elemi. The original note in the composition was Myrrh but DIOR reformulated ESP with Elemi instead of Myrrh. The Myrrh in ESP made it one of the best fragrances I have owned. Anyway, my encounters with Elemi were never good until my review here. Going into the dry down of Papyrus Moleculaire I get more of the Papyrus. I have been to Cairo several times and it reminds me of visiting the Nile Delta. This scent is very nice and easy to wear. It has indeed similarities with Santal 33 but in the end it is a different experience.

I went hunting for a new fragrance with no criteria, if only to just trust my nose, as I took in the many options the Scent Bar in Los Angeles had to offer. Upon smelling this fragrance I immediately loved the powdery, fresh, woody, yet subtly sweet notes, and placed it on me to see how it would mature with a little time on the skin. As i shopped around some more, and made a few more sprays up and down the arms, i found myself continuously coming back to the spot I had placed on Papyrus mellowing out to a warm pleasing scent of wood and tobacco while keeping a little bite of some fresh spicy tang to it, it had what i would consider a modern-masculine appeal to it but certainly unisex enough to be categorized as such. I was finally able to dwindle my choices down to two, when the lady working the counter suggested for me to go outside of the shop, away from the taint of the other fragrances, and see how the sun would brighten the scents and Papyrus came off as the clear victor. After wearing this a few times, i can say it’s definitely a crowd pleaser and good for about any occasion, its inoffensive and versatile, good for daytime group settings, but also sexy enough for a date at night with someone you may wanna show off a little masculinity too while not coming off as a total machismo. This one will be in my rotation for a long time, and am very happy with this purchase.

I blind bought this based on the notes: papyrus, coriander and tobacco being the standouts. I already had tried Diptyque Papyrus and liked it very much but something about it felt flat not inspiring. I own DS& Durga Coriander and it's one of my all time favorites but more of a summer fragrance. And recently I bought Diptyque Volutes, a sweet tobacco fragrance, and I really like it. Maison Crivelli has impressed me first with their presentation. The bottle design and fonts are very appealing to me. I know that is superficial but I would never buy certain fragrances that come out gaudy bottles. Crivelli is modern and understated. So what does Papyrus Moleculaire smell like? When I spray it on, it immediately reminds me of a mash up of favorites: Le Labo Santal 33, Diptyque Volutes, and Diptyque Papyrus. There is a warm, sweet, tobacco, honeyed, papyrus group of notes that is expertly balanced by the subtle addition of pepper and coffee notes. Olibanum is also listed in the notes and whenever I smell that note I think of baby diaper creme, which is a strangely pleasant sensation to me. Nothing in Papyrus Moleculaire is overdone, it all works together like a well practiced orchestra. I like it so much I'm going to explore the other Maison Crivelli fragrances and see if there's anything else to buy.