Byredo has launched Bal d'Afrique, a new fragrance inspired by "Paris of 1920's, balls of Saint Germain and the style of Josephine Baker ..."
A warm and romantic vetiver inspired by Paris in the late 20's and its infatuation with African culture, art, music and dance. A mix of the Parisian avant gardism and African culture shaped a unique and vibrant expression. The intense life, the excess and euphoria is illustrated by Bal d'Afrique's neroli, African marigold and Moroccan cedarwood.
Additional notes feature lemon, bucchu, violet, jasmine, cyclamen, black amber and musk.
Byredo Bal d'Afrique is available in 100 ml Eau de Parfum. (first quote via firstluxe, second quote and additional information via intertradeurope)
Other recent launches from Byredo: Fantastic Man.
Update: see a review of Byredo Bal d'Afrique.
Thank you for the link for ‘bucchu’ —I had no idea what it was or what it would possibly smell like. Pepperminty…interesting. Sounds like quite the masculine scent. Must be a day for guy stuff—-currently I’m sampling Bois 1920 – Come la Luna—very manly! Just a drop or two and I can feel my estrogen level waning….
Really? I’ll have to try that one again, I don’t remember it being THAT masculine!
On me it sure is…..taking on a sweaty note now…. maybe I’ll go watch some sports then go kick someone’s butt…..or just wash it off.
Mmmm- sounds like something to seek out….I still haven’t gotten to sniff Pulp- someday….
mmm, yes! I’m still looking to give Pulp a sniff.
Just received a sample of that Pulp. Tart rhubarb BLAST! Sort of variation on a high-pitched theme of Calyx… on a higher plateau.
where’d you get a sample? not luckyscent, TPC?
TPC—dang! 5.99 for 1ml. Holy cow, it’s bad enough that I can rack up quite a bill just putting 3.00 samples in the cart….clearly I don’t need to sniff everything!
Per Kevin, there is a Dawn dishwash liquid that smells just like it. Citrus Blast, or something? Whatever it is, I haven’t been able to find it.
That might be worth checking out. I’m not sure yet if I could wear Pulp, but I wouldn’t mind that kind of blast when I do the washing up.
R/J: Dawn Direct Foam Citrus Kick! It works especially well on WARM surfaces to make the citrus pop (I use it on my stovetop to smell it! HA!)…probably smells good when used with warm water too. http://www.dawn-dish.com/en_US/directfoam.do
Thanks K! I’ll find it eventually.
I’m not sure what to expect from a perfume inspired by Saint Germain’s balls…
LOL
SNORT!!! acck, coffee up my nose!
Me too, with the coffee up the nose! A whole new meaning for “ballgown” and “ball gloves”… and now I must stop before I get totally out of hand.
Josephine Baker was QUITE the woman. However, the notes don’t appeal. “Intense” and “excess” just screams, AVOID THIS! to me. Those of you who live for intense excess, have at it.
Go listen to the AC/DC song “big balls” 😀 It takes the ball pun to full length song levels.
Ballgame? that’s for the after 8pm crowd
ball gloves must be for when it’s reallllly cold outside….
And a foul ball is not just out of bounds, it’s been out in the sun for nine innings. And for pool players, once the ball is in the side pocket, all bets are off!
Ack!
The copy reads a bit “orientalist” but I love the name and the inspiration. I’m a big Africa-phile (I studied abroad in Ghana). I’m very curious and anxious to get a sample.
And I had to quickly Google the history of St-Germain-des-Prés — and also that “African marigolds” (Tagetes erecta) have absolutely nothing to do with Africa and seem to be the same as the common “Mexican marigold”.
I also love the name and inspiration!
(I don’t know marigold, but I love cedarwood-based fragrances)
BTW, thanks for the “cedre” tip you gave me on Tuberose some time ago: I checked it out and I quite liked it.
(Maybe it is not FBW yet but SL always deserves proper testing – so it might eventually grow on me! 😉
Joe, they had me at “warm and romantic vetiver”…the rest doesn’t even matter 😉
Yep, me too. Unless all the other stuff drowns out the vetiver. Then all bets are off
We’ll have to keep our fingers crossed…
I love the smell of marigolds! Might like to sniff this one.
I like the smell of marigolds ON marigolds… not on me.
Must try this. This is the first perfume that I know about with a buchu ( the ch is pronounced as the “ch” in “loch”) note. Living in Cape Town, buchu is a popular herb often infused in brandy or as a general tonic. It grows wild in the area, and has a beautiful earthy-wet fragrance that lingers. Great for freshening cupboards!
Thanks, that sounds lovely!
This sounds really nice….but OH the 100ml limitations from this company! I was lucky enough to snatch a 30ml pre launch of Pulp from Sniffapolooza. Not sure I would ever go through 100 ml of anything! We all know how finicky MOI can be. HA!
Yes, 30 ml is perfect, esp. for Pulp which I adore but probably wouldn’t wear often.
I am hoping to find someone to do a split with!
This scent sounds too divine!
Good luck!
I had a chance to try it in passing at Barney’s — it was nice (woody/spicy?) but not too memorable. I remember it being better than Chembur though. It did not strike me as masculine, it was pretty unisex.
Thanks! I’m behind, haven’t even tried Chembur yet.
Chembur was sort of ‘meh’ — watery incense (?) It smelled good on a strip, but fell apart when I put it on skin.
Ah. Time saved then.
Sniffed this on the strip at Barney’s this past weekend. I’d like to try it again–can’t say I would have remembered it as a vetiver ‘fume (sorry, R.)–it was more of a woody pudding–warm, with gentle spices. Not nearly the big intensive blast of Pulp, which just made me laugh out loud.
Ah, but wood pudding sounds good too!
Wait … did someone say wood pudding? NOW I’m interested.
Exactly.
I’m usually not swayed by ad copy, but the name and the description are gorgeous to me. I *must* sniff this one!
Hope it lives up to its ad copy!
A Barney’s rep I know made me a sample of Bal d’Afrique and sent it to me. (She hooks me up with a lot of new frags.) It reminded me of a more masculine version of Gypsy Water (which I own along with Green). I keep sampling Pulp and there is something compelling about it, however, it’s very gourmand to me and I don’t think I really want to smell that fruity.
Pulp, to me, is more of a mood-lifter than a perfume!
Hey there–I sniffed this at Barneys last Friday.
I wasn’t bowled over or anything like that, but it could be worth a whirl.
I still love Pulp, and it’s by far my favorite of the line.
Hugs!
Thanks R! Not as good as Pulp than maybe I won’t need it, which would be just as well 🙂
Everything about this perfume sounds amazing, I can’t wait to try it out! <3
It does sound great.
I’m just getting into Bal a Versailles, so I think I will learn the steps of that one first before getting to grips with bucchu…
LOL!