Virginie and her World of Perfumery
The Maison Binet-Papillon was created in 2010 by Virginie CHONÉ.
As a little girl, Virginie, creator and founder of Binet-Papillon was introduced every summer to the magic of scents in her grandfather's aromatic garden in Lacoste in the South of France. Twenty years later, Virginie joined GUERLAIN as Marketing Director for France; she has never left the world of perfumery.
At the age of 14, Virginie experienced her first perfumery crush with a perfume that has now disappeared... What a heartbreaker it is to see these fragrances enchanting our senses before disappearing!...At the age of 18, it was Jicky by GUERLAIN that captured her heart, this legendary fragrance created by Aimé Guerlain in 1889 as a tribute to a young English girl, a perfume that was adopted by English dandies at the time of its creation and which, in 1921, became the basis for Guerlinade (the house recipe used in the composition of the famous Shalimar launched in 1925).
Virginie's olfactory peregrinations would then lead her into the arms of CHANEL's audacious numéro 19, which itself would fade away in favour of CARTIER's voluptuous Must in its perfume extract version and then to the woody creations of SERGE LUTENS...
Then come all the Guerlain perfumes that Virginie, having joined the house of GUERLAIN as Marketing Director for France, will wear in turn to better tame them: from Après l'ondée to L'heure bleue, including the unlikely Mouchoir de Monsieur and her favourite: Vol de Nuit.
Virginie's olfactory approach is intimately linked to what she sees as the true role of perfume since Antiquity: to awaken the senses.
The Latin etymology "Per fumum", which means "through smoke" reveals both the immaterial nature of perfume and its mystery. Sometimes sacred, sometimes seductive, once an oily ointment, then a ceremonial object at the Royal Cour Parfumée of Versailles, and now a global accessible luxury item, perfume accompanies the times by constantly metamorphosing, like a butterfly being an immediate delight as perfume should always be!
For Virginie, fragrances must express a strong creative perspective; a complete break with the ready-to-wear fragrances of the past few decades: "While perfume is supposed to reflect your personality, the world's top 25 fragrances are worn by nearly a quarter of consumers!".
Virginie opposes the Marketing diktats, leading to consensual fragrances created to please the many. She created her own perfumes collection in 2010, with the ambition to elevate her fragrances to be modern and unique works of art.
She grants herself total freedom of olfactory writing and refuses to accept a conventional approach. She focuses on the search for improbable olfactory accords, which, in her words, aim at "scratching the soul”. She wants to go back to the original role of perfume: to create a pure emotion, which resonates and reveals your intimate nature.
Each fragrance is created to provoke a specific emotion at the very heart of our identity. Created in Grasse, from the highest quality natural ingredients, Binet-Papillon has a collection of a dozen uncompromising mixed Eaux de Parfum that you'll want to keep to yourself ! In addition to this first collection, the founder also developed a collection with 6 Extraits de Parfum collection entirely dedicated to the raw material Patchouli.
Her signature fragrance: Alkemist Pepper
The perfume she is most proud of: Rose Impolie
The perfume she is currently wearing: Myrrh Blood-Drop
Its new fragrance, which is attracting an ever-growing following: N•21 | Magnolia Underground
Her work: As an architect-perfumer, the creator and founder of Binet-Papillon house develops in a fourhanded work complex perfumery creations with the self-taught perfumer, Jean SAUVAGE, who designs fragrances exclusively for Binet-Papillon. Her range of fragrances with poetic names inspired by butterflies and 17th century traditions are dedicated to "perfume lovers" looking for a personal signature scent.