Ever since perfumer Elizabeth Moores launched her perfumery, Papillon, in 2014, I have been impressed, nay, blown away by the calibre of her fragrances. Superlatives overtook each other on every new launch and this fifth scent, named Dryad, was much anticipated by me and the many cohorts of Papillon fans. To say that I was not disappointed would be a vast understatement. In fact, I feel that this was made just for me, even though I know it wasn’t.
My favourite genre of scent is the green chypre. It’s hard to get the good ones these days, especially since IFRA made everything so safe that the fragrance industry suffered casualties in the purge. Green chypres have never quite regathered themselves into that glorious retro mustiness that I am always seeking. Like the end of the rainbow, it eludes me the nearer I get. Well, there’s a happy ending to my quest and that rainbow has ended in my lap with a pot of gold, because that’s how I felt when I sprayed my sample of Papillon Dryad.
Dryads are mythical wood nymphs, whose lives are intrinsically entangled to the tree they inhabit. When the tree dies, so do they. There’s a wonderful message in Dryad. In all the hectic noise of modern life, it is time we slowed down and inhaled the moss and the leaves and listened to the birdsong, because when the trees die, so do the dryads.
It didn’t surprise me at all that Liz Moores chose this as the name of her fifth fragrance, after all, she lives a sylvan existence nursing broken wings and wrangling stripy tailed lunatics in the heart of the New Forest. So the big question is of course, what does it smell like?
What does Dryad smell like?
Papillon Dryad opens with bergamot and oakmoss and a mass of flowers. It’s unusual for oak moss to come out straight away: it’s usually a base note, sneaking in at the end. Dryad, though, is all about the oakmoss and it’s pretty much the main figure in this beautiful composition. The greenery is all encompassing: musty, mossy and mysterious, like a dark lichened route through a forest. The middle note reminded me of genuine, vintage, Dior Diorissima: that classic lily of the valley chypre. You can still buy Diorissima of course, but it’s not the same as the authentic 1970s version I smelled from a vintage bottle a few years back, because that beauty was no simpering angel.
The base of Dryad, whilst never wavering from the chord I’ve named Oakmoss Major, is a little bit Guerlinade, but more floral. There is narcissus (Daffodil’s cousin), rose and jasmine and they merge and move around like weather clouds.
My overall sign off from Papillon Dryad is a picture in my mind of green woods, overrun by thick moss, a delicate glove from a vintage handbag, a Dior advertisement poster for Diorissima, lily of the valley, and a fluffy talcum puff. Deep sigh of contentment.
Where to buy it
You can buy Papillon Dryad from the Papillon Perfumery website or from selected stockists.
Disclosure
A version of this article was previously published on my earlier blog in 2017. My opinion of it has not changed. I was sent a sample of Papillon Dryad by Liz Moores herself, with no strings attached. Opinions are my own.
Further mossy facts
If you like green mossy chypres as much as I do, then you might also like 4160 Tuesdays Oakmossery. If you ever want to see an extraordinarily mossy forest that has been used for Star Wars The Last Jedi, Merlin and many others, then do visit Puzzle Wood in the Forest of Dean. I’ve also just finished the novel of the Same name, The Puzzle Wood by Rosie Andrews, which uses the forest as an atmospheric backdrop to a very gothic Victorian mystery.
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