Bengale Rouge is perfumer Liz Moores’ love story to the miraculous beauty that nature displays each day in her forest compound. Inspired by her oldest Bengal cat, it was Mimi’s green eyed feline beauty that inspired this dizzylingly brilliant perfume. The scent itself is about the flora as well as the fauna.

This is a perfumer who is spiritually connected to the forest and it shows. She shines a shaft of sunlight on the leaves, flowers, earth, mosses and trees that surround her and bottles it up as if it were a sylvan genie.

Bengale Rouge contains the precious and sought-after gifts that nature only surrenders after much patience. Turkish rose can only be harvested during a six week window once a year. Orris butter, from the iris root, takes a year to obtain. Its lofty silken smoothness fits perfectly here in the centre of the radiant Turkish Rose.

Plaiting together leathery labdanum (think imaginary leather blossom) with myrrh and cosy tonka, a golden gauzy veil falls between you and the rose, letting it breathe on you with a benevolent warmth. The sweetness here is a cross between a passing lick of honey and pollen dust. It reminds me of the trumpet of a daffodil, yet it is imbued with human intimacy like sitting cheek to cheek at the end of the day. The potency of this Queenly rose wreathes around you like a will o’the wisp.

This is Liz’s sixth fragrance and like her previous launches, the quality and longevity are outstanding. But to me, the point of them is this: Her fragrances make a mundane day into an extraordinary one, where anything feels possible, even magic. You may have been tamed, but always remember that you are part leopard.

Where to Buy it

You can buy  Papillon Perfumery Bengale Rouge online or in store at the two branches of Les Senteurs in London.

Disclosure

Liz Moores very kindly sent me a sample with no obligations. Thank you Liz! Featured image from Papillon Perfumes. Cat painting is from The Tate Britain and is called The Awakening Conscience by WH Hunt. Header by me. This article has been updated for 2026 since it was first published on my blog v1.0