Memo Paris Perfumes: A Complete Guide to Every Fragrance (2026)

By Redolia · Published October 3, 2026

Memo Paris is a French niche perfume house founded in Paris in 2007 by the husband-and-wife team Clara Molloy, its creative director, and John Molloy, its president. Every fragrance is named after a place the founders have travelled to, and the gold label on each bottle illustrates it. Redolia stocks seven, all eau de parfum at $350 for 75 ml.

The story of Memo Paris

The conceit is travel, and unusually for a perfume house it is literal rather than decorative. Each fragrance takes the name of somewhere the Molloys have been — a Texan desert town, a headland on the Saint-Tropez peninsula, a Sydney harbour suburb, two Paris districts — and the house works to the line that the journey is the destination. The bottles carry it through: each one has a small illustrated gold label depicting its place, so African Leather wears a leaping leopard, Cap Camarat a lighthouse, Darling Point a harbour full of sailboats and Marfa, in the house's own description, a wide-open eye. The label also prints the collection the fragrance belongs to in small type beneath the name.

The range is organised into named collections rather than a single line. Cuirs Nomades explores leather through destinations, and it is where the house made its reputation. Fleurs Bohèmes is the floral side, and Graines Vagabondes the newest. We carry bottles from all three.

The house nose is Aliénor Massenet, who composed five of the seven we stock and whose other work includes fragrances for Chloé, Giorgio Armani and Maison Margiela. The two newest bring in other hands — Nadège Le Garlantezec on Cap Camarat, Gaël Montero on Palais Bourbon.

What surprised us when these arrived was how little they overlap. Seven bottles from one house usually means a recognisable accord running through all of them; here a cold green leather, a candied rose, a tuberose and a dense pepper-and-incense amber sit side by side with very little in common. The house identity is the naming and the bottle, not a signature accord.

Every Memo Paris fragrance we carry, explained

Memo Paris Irish Leather (2013)

Pepper, mandarin and juniper berry open it, and the juniper is the signal note — resinous and cold rather than citric. Iris, clary sage and green maté sit in the middle, then green leather, cedarwood and vetiver. This is leather in daylight: herbal, dry and nothing like a tannery. Composed by Aliénor Massenet for the Cuirs Nomades collection. Memo Paris Irish Leather — $350 / 75 ml

Memo Paris African Leather (2015)

Cardamom, geranium and pink pepper up front, rose, patchouli and cinnamon through the heart, then a leather accord with oud and amber. Where Irish Leather is cold and green, this one is warm and spiced, and it is the Memo most people mean when they say they like the house. Composed by Aliénor Massenet for the Cuirs Nomades collection. Memo Paris African Leather — $350 / 75 ml

Memo Paris Marfa (2016)

Mandarin and peach open soft and nectar-like, then ylang-ylang, tuberose and orange blossom take over. Cedarwood, vanilla, tonka bean, sandalwood and musk close it. Tuberose is the material that decides it — creamy and heavy, the note that makes white florals divisive. Composed by Aliénor Massenet for the Fleurs Bohèmes collection. Memo Paris Marfa — $350 / 75 ml

Memo Paris Odéon (2020)

Rose absolute alongside a candied rose accord — the absolute dark and winey, the accord sweet — over sandalwood, cashmeran and patchouli, closing on tonka bean, dry amber and musks. Rose treated as a dessert rather than a bouquet, and the dry amber is what stops it cloying. Composed by Aliénor Massenet for the Fleurs Bohèmes collection. Memo Paris Odéon — $350 / 75 ml

Memo Paris Palais Bourbon (2024)

It opens on five materials at once — black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon bark, incense and geranium — which is unusual and announces the density straight away. Peru balsam, benzoin, cistus, tonka bean and vanilla build the heart, then sandalwood, patchouli, guaiacwood and vetiver. The heaviest thing the house makes. Composed by Gaël Montero for the Graines Vagabondes collection. Memo Paris Palais Bourbon — $350 / 75 ml

Memo Paris Cap Camarat (2026)

Pink peppercorn and watery apple open it, ylang-ylang, jasmine and vanilla form the heart, and sandalwood, benzoin, amyris, patchouli and labdanum finish. It does what most amber-vanillas cannot, which is work in heat — the watery apple and the amyris keep it from turning heavy. Composed by Nadège Le Garlantezec for the Fleurs Bohèmes collection. Memo Paris Cap Camarat — $350 / 75 ml

Memo Paris Darling Point (2026)

Cinnamon, pear and apple make an unusual opening — the cinnamon is dry bark rather than bakery, so the fruit reads crisp. Jasmine, orange blossom, saffron and rose follow, then moss, cashmere wood and praline. The lightest and sunniest thing in the range. Composed by Aliénor Massenet for the Graines Vagabondes collection. Memo Paris Darling Point — $350 / 75 ml

Memo Paris comparison table

Which Memo Paris fragrance should you choose?

Start with Irish Leather. It is the house's origin story, it is green and dry rather than heavy, and it is the only one of the seven we would put in front of someone who has to wear it to an office. If you already know you like spiced leather, start with African Leather instead — it is the bottle the house is known for and the warmer of the two.

Skip Palais Bourbon as a first purchase. Five materials in the opening and a base of sandalwood, patchouli, guaiacwood and vetiver make it the densest thing here, and it makes much more sense once you know the rest. Skip Marfa if tuberose has ever been the note that ruins a fragrance for you, because there is nowhere to hide from it.

For warm weather the range narrows to two: Cap Camarat, which manages to be an amber-vanilla that works in heat, and Darling Point, the lightest thing they make. And if it is rose you are after, Odéon treats it as a dessert rather than a bouquet — our guide to the best rose perfumes puts it against the rest of what we stock.

Frequently asked questions

What is Memo Paris?

Memo Paris is a French niche perfume house founded in Paris in 2007 by the husband-and-wife team Clara Molloy, its creative director, and John Molloy, its president. Every fragrance is named after a place the founders have travelled to, and the house works to the motto that the journey is the destination. Redolia stocks seven, all eau de parfum at $350 for 75 ml.

Why is it called Irish Leather?

Because of the founder. In the house's own words it is 'a nod to the Irish origins of Memo Paris' co-founder', and the fragrance blends a leather accord with juniper berries and green maté absolute. It was the first of the Cuirs Nomades line, which explores leather through destinations rather than through a single tannery note.

Memo Irish Leather vs African Leather: which is better?

They are opposites built on the same accord. Irish Leather is cold and green — juniper, clary sage and maté over a dry leather — and wearable in an office in spring. African Leather is warm and spiced, with cardamom and pink pepper over rose, patchouli and oud, and belongs to cold weather. Reviewers report African Leather projecting hard for the first hour, and Irish Leather wearing closer but steadily.

Is Memo Paris worth it?

At $350 for 75 ml it sits at the upper end of niche, and what you get is unusual materials used properly — green maté in Irish Leather, tuberose absolute in Marfa, a candied rose accord in Odéon. The argument against is price: this is one of the more expensive houses on our shelves, and several of the florals occupy similar ground. Sample before committing.

Does Memo Paris last long?

Reasonably, and it varies by bottle rather than across the house. Community reports on African Leather describe strong projection in the first hour settling to something close to the skin at around six hours; Irish Leather is described as steadier, with a respray worth considering after about five. Palais Bourbon is the densest of the seven and wears the longest.

Is Memo Paris unisex?

Yes. All seven we carry are sold without gender and the house does not split its line. Marfa and Odéon lean conventionally feminine in structure and Palais Bourbon and African Leather conventionally masculine, but all four are bought across the board in our shop.

Who makes Memo Paris fragrances?

Aliénor Massenet composed the house's signature fragrances and five of the seven we stock, including both leathers. Two recent releases bring in other noses: Cap Camarat is by Nadège Le Garlantezec and Palais Bourbon by Gaël Montero. Massenet's other work includes fragrances for Chloé, Giorgio Armani and Maison Margiela.

What are the Memo Paris collections?

Three of them appear in what we stock. Cuirs Nomades explores leather through destinations and holds Irish Leather and African Leather. Fleurs Bohèmes is the floral line — Marfa, Odéon and Cap Camarat. Graines Vagabondes is the newest and holds Palais Bourbon and Darling Point.

Which Memo Paris should I try first?

Irish Leather if you want the house's origin story and something you can wear to work — it is green, dry and easy. African Leather if you already know you like spiced leather and want the bottle the house is best known for. Skip Palais Bourbon as a first purchase: it is the densest thing they make and it rewards knowing the range first.

All seven are in stock and ship from New Jersey with free standard shipping on US orders of $79 or more. This is a house where the bottles look more alike than the fragrances do, so smelling before choosing matters more than usual — all seven are open on the counter at our Somerville, New Jersey boutique. The full range sits on our Memo Paris collection, with Aliénor Massenet's work for us on her perfumer page and the rest of the house's leathers alongside ours in the leather collection. Questions: info@redolia.com.

Updated October 2026.