Parfumerie Generale - Papyrus de Ciane

Parfumerie Generale was one of the first niche-perfume brands that I encountered. And I was so impressed with the first three perfumes I tried from them, Aomassai, Brulure de Rose and L'Ombre Fauve. By now, I have tested many, if not all, of Parfumerie Generales perfumes, and even if I don´t love all of them, they´re usually very interesting and excellent made.


I´ve got a little sample (from Parfumerie Generale) of their newest scent, Papyrus de Ciane. Usually I am not that in to green fragrances, but still I was curious to test this. And what happened was quite strange...


Top notes on me: Fresh, tart and squeezed lemon that blends with some almost glowingly green papyrus juice. This smells like something my skin could drink. Like an interesting and healthy new kind of juice. Olfactory I can´t think of many scents more wet then papyrus de Ciane, still it is mych to saturated to become aquatic. It is refreshing, sparkling and very, very green. The note of lemon is tart and fresh, while the papyrus smells more aromatic and grassy. During the opening the notes aren´t blenden, but goes in and out of each other all the time, like if you´re mixing a punch bowl.


Top notes on my husband: Ok, on him it is like the punch is allready mixed. The citrus is more like a fresh and crispy feature in the papyrus greenery. On my husband it isn´t as wet and juicy, more kind of ripe. And on his skin I find a note I don´t smell at all on me, a soft, subdued floral note and after thinking about it for a long time, I guess it is neroli (orange blossom) and maybe a lightest touch of some tuberose as well. This make the scent more creamy green than on me. If it is similar to something I would say Frederic Malle´s Carnal Flwoer, but much greener.


Heart notes on me: The citrus and papyrus has melt together now. But something in the blend become very bitter on me (galbanum I suspect). The bitter note isn´t that prominent from some distant, but as soon as I try to smell the scent up close it is very bitter. Apart from that Papyrus de Ciane is soft and comfy, like a green comfort-scent.


Heart notes on my husband: Well, this is something very different than on me. It can be the sexiest green scent I have smelled. It is green, with lingering citrus still there and the little floral note, but mostly green, like thick, dark green velvet. never nauseating, still parts of the scent is very fresh. And I can smell the bitter note on my husband too, but on him it seem to rather prevent Papyrus de Ciane to become stale or to heavy.


You realise that I become quite confused. It is like we had two halfly different perfumes from the same sample. The green part is the same, but the rest is very different on each of us. On em, something I can´t wear because of the bitter note, but on my husband maybe the best green scent we have tried (OK, we haven´t tried that many) And he isn´t only a patient guinea pig, he seem to enjoy Papyrus de Ciane quite much.


Bas note (on me and hubbie): Finally the two meet. The base is almost the same on both of us, still with green notes, but also very soft, comfy and warm. On my husband I think it is really excellent all way through. Sillage is medium and it is longlasting.


If you like green scents, Papyrus de Ciane is a must try. If you´re sensitive to bitter notes, test it with care. And if you´re lucky, it might end up smelling as good on you as on my husband.





Pic: Expressen