Hera

Ms. Moores moves away from Egyptian (Anubis), Near-East (Salomè), and Celtic (Dryad) mithology and looks at the European centre of culture (Hera is Zeus's wife) transforming with her Hera the centre of vintage European perfumery tradition: the Guerlinade (iris, rose, jasmine, vanilla, tonka, bergamot). Hera is Moore's contemporary adaptation to the guerlinade, but an adaptation that has its own life. This scent will enter history. Some drops on my wrist and what I though of was "Let there be light!" radiant and alluminous, this deity extends her hand and invites you to contemplate her. I would focus on 4 structural elements that for me are very important in this composition: narcissus, orris butter, ambrette, and the not-listed resins. Hera opens up with the most beautiful narcissus I ever smelled since Ruade (Parfums d'Empire): not buttery, not maltholate sweetness added, but a natural yellow-pollen smelling flower with evident hay undertones and leathery nuances. I am holding my breath and inspire and inspire and inspire to capture this beautiful rendition of my fav flower. Rose, jasmine, and ylang form the classical French flower bouquet that smells so inviting, slightly sweet, but natural with no added sugar (ethyl maltol) Moors is a master in the use of orris butter here done to perfection; she created that texture, slightly creaminess, and earthiness that complete the picture. The base is made by ambrette and probably a balanced dose of synthetic musks: warm, deep, with slightly boozy undertones, mildly animalic. The more I smell it, the more I am convinced there are resins stemming from the base: some balsam? pehaps even some olibanum? Dear Ms. Moores, This is a prayer, nay a plea: try to make it available in Italy again. Long are gone the time when Papillon were available at LeoPoli and Adnan, but your creations are something that should be share as widely as possible because the emotions you convey are too beautiful to remain an act of selfish exclusiveness. Follow me on IG @alexolympia6

Hera was created by Liz as a special gift for her daughter Jasmine to wear on her wedding day, the name relates to Hera the Greek goddess of marriage and childbirth. Hera opens as a lively white floral bouquet with a fizzy feel, the bergamot adds a fresh citrus tone but doesn’t make it citrusy. Quickly I feel a concrete dust (iris) mixing in with the bright florals. This opening reminds me of some of TRNP’s floral perfumes, Blue Lotus and Honey Amber spring to mind, but when the iris comes in I’m reminded of Irises and Ekaterina. Liz has confirmed there is a very high % of naturals in Hera and it really shows. I find the florals bounce around and sometimes the orange blossom is the most noticeable, other times it’s the jasmine or ylang. I don’t really spot the rose as a single note but I’m finding different things with every wear. I start to feel a creamy iris, like a body cream melting into the bouquet, a little like a drop of Teint De Neige was added (or maybe that new Chanel fragrance mist) but the exotic and heady florals still take centre stage. Gently a hint of green roots start to come in which I believe is the oakmoss (reminds me of freshly chopped up tree roots), there’s a fluffy like powder and also a bit of a spicy carnation but very subtle (think Guerlain Terracotta Voile D’ete but dialled right down.) As time goes by the florals mellow down and the oakmoss gently gains momentum, I also feel a hay like sweetness, maybe a touch of tobacco leaf and some really light sweetness that reminds me of benzoin ( I don’t specifically pick up on vanilla). Hera feels special and I feel special when I wear her. Hera is not for running errands, she deserves a champagne brunch, romantic date or a wedding of course. Sadly I have none of these planned but I’m still going to have Hera in my life and take her to the pub 🍻

Hera is a scent I have been keen to try for a while, given its description as a great powdery floral. It is my first to try from this house, and it lives up to its good reviews. Hera, named for the Greek queen of the gods, is a fittingly regal powdery floral. It is made from high-quality, realistic-smelling ingredients, and is well-blended throughout. To my nose, it is primarily a yellow floral scent, deliciously powdery throughout, and punctuated by a rose-iris lipstick accord. In perfumery, these are a few of my favourite things, and here, it is done beautifully. It has a vintage feel to it, and is reminiscent of two classic Guerlain scents: the iris-led powder of L'Heure Bleue and the aldehydic yellow florals of Vol de Nuit. Hera opens with soft, powdery yellow florals, led by hay-like narcissus. Powdery, clean jasmine is present from the opening, and feather-light aldehydes add a sparkling brightness up top. The orris develops in the background, amping up the powder. As it develops, powdery rose emerges, rounding out the bouquet. Muted ylang ylang adds smooth sweetness as it develops. The musky base emerges, marrying beautifully with the powdery florals. It is a soft, clean musk, somehow cosy, with ambrette being put to excellent use. I get an almond-like nuance thanks to the heliotrope, bridging the gap from the florals to the musky base beautifully. The remnants of the floral heart remain until final fade, forming a sweetly musky, powdery skin scent. Sillage is moderate and longevity is long-lasting. It is feminine-leaning in my opinion, and is a transeasonal day scent. A soft yet sparkling powdery floral, Hera is an excellent example of its genre. Beautifully-composed with good-quality ingredients, it is classic in style throughout. A gem. 4.5/5.

Thanks Tourtiere for the positive review. I got lucky with Salome as my first introduction to this house. What a treat Salome is. Sweet sex in a bottle. Salome is complex and very addicting. Highly recommend Salome to anyone that enjoy's sweet sexy scents, I say it's blind buy worthy. It's my favorite at the moment, I really can't get enough of Salome. I thought I found my holy grail scent with Amouage silver oud. This one is so yummy, with the Mandarin and bitter orange with the Jasmine, I think really make this one shine. I have been looking at other great fragrances with Hyrax and they all seem to have similar ingredients, with orange and Jasmine as notes together in a lot of them with Hyrax. Looking to try Bengal Rouge and Anubis with that really dark juice, I think I will love it, and Bengal Rouge I see has high marks with one very rich reviewer on you tube with a collection of over $100,000 in value I will take is word for it. The bottle has to be one of the most perfectly designed bottles, not to big, just perfect and these bottles have tops that can spin. I prefer 100 ML bottles just because you get more juice and 100 ML is the perfect size to really give a fragrance a good wear, unlike my Terroni bottle which is practically empty right now, I can say with certainty Papillon has the perfect bottle design over anything I have seen so far, the only possible improvement would be to give them a magnetic cap, would could ruin the experience not allowing the cap to spin. If you have not tried Salome by Papillon you are really missing out on this house and all of it's masterpiece's.

Had a chance to wear Hera a few times and to me it is a major success. On my skin whole composition is soooo smooth and pleasant like a quality sateen. Start is a mix of galbanum, neroli, jasmine and orris. Not a bitter, but contrasting golden green start. I dont necessary sense ylang at the start, but i think when it goes into the 2nd phase(at around 20-30 min mark) - thats where it helps orris glow in white and yellow tones. flowery and balmy, clean and so luxurious. 3rd stage emerges after 3-4 hours, and thats where green chypre comes out of nowhere with its smooth but unmistakeable classic character. It is something close to a more chypre like version of Noun. This stage lasts for another 1.5 to 2 hours, after which it turns back again to a smooth balmy orris and flowers, dying on me around 7th or 8th hour. I have found no issue composition wise, performance wise, ingredients are superior, balance of notes is superior, just overall love from me. I dont quite remember how dryad smells like, as it was pretty boring to me, but mere fact that Hera impressed me so much makes me believe that they share nothing in common, except maybe a galbanum note. It does kind of lean somewhat to feminine side, but in this case i dont care. I will be seeking a bottle, hopefully some discounts will come up, or a bottle on secondary market with a discount, but its so good it moved to #2 spot of my yellow floral compositions right away, just barely losing to Divine by Divine. Very good perfume and definitely should be experienced.