Heritage
A house, in its own words
Liz Moores founded Papillon Artisan Perfumes in 2011, establishing the London-based house after pursuing formal training through the Fragrance Foundation. Her journey into perfumery began with study rather than accident, and she credits that foundational education with shaping her understanding of raw materials and composition. Moores created her debut fragrance Anubis in 2014, inspired by the Egyptian deity associated with death and mummification, before expanding the collection with her first releases. The name Papillon, meaning butterfly in French, suggests Moores' interest in transformation and metamorphosis, a theme she frequently explores in her work. From her home in England, Moores personally hand-blends, matures, and bottles each fragrance, maintaining direct control over every stage of production. The house operates as a small artisanal company, allowing Moores to work with rare and costly ingredients that might be impractical for larger commercial houses. She has described imagining the people who might wear her fragrances, hoping each creation helps wearers conjure their own personal associations and memories. The collection draws influence from periods of history, romantic and literary concepts, nature, people, and artwork, reflecting Moores' broad creative interests beyond perfumery alone. Moores approaches perfumery guided by instinct rather than formula, allowing each fragrance to reflect genuine human emotion and artistic freedom rather than market research or commercial calculations. She has stated that her creative process involves imagining the people who may wear a fragrance and hoping the perfume helps them connect with their own unique personal allusions. The house describes perfume as having the ability to retrieve deep memories, stir the soul, and remain an intrinsic part of individual identity. Rather than chasing trends, Papillon maintains a deliberate pace of release, producing only a handful of fragrances each year to ensure each creation receives adequate attention and development time. The brand positions itself against mass production, emphasizing sincerity and individual expression as core values. All fragrances are marketed as androgynous, reflecting Moores' belief that there are no sexual or gender boundaries when wearing perfume. The house aims to continue the beauty and tradition of the ancient art of perfume making within a contemporary context.