Bal d’Afrique

Launched in 2009, Bal d’Afrique is the woody floral Jérôme Epinette composed with Ben Gorham for Byredo, as a tribute to Africa, its dance, its art and its music: buchu, tagetes, bergamot and blackcurrant, a heart of violet and cyclamen, and a base of cedar and vetiver softened by tonka bean and musks.

Brand: Byredo
Launch year: 2009
Perfumer: Jérôme Epinette
Gender: Unisex
Olfactory family: Woody
Secondary family: Floral
Concentration: Eau de Parfum

Published November 12, 2026

Where to buy

My collection

Now Smell This reviewed Bal d’Afrique in June 2009, two months after announcing it, and named Jérôme Epinette as its perfumer. Byredo was then drawing on 1920s Paris, the balls of Saint-Germain and the style of Josephine Baker.

A tribute to Africa

The house now presents Bal d’Afrique as a tribute to the cultural heartbeat of Africa and its profound influence, particularly the way its countless cultures have shaped dance, art and music.

Another page of the house sees in it an olfactory translation of the travel diaries kept in Africa by the father of Ben Gorham, Byredo’s founder. AnOther Magazine, in 2026, presents it as a co-creation of Jérôme Epinette and Ben Gorham.

A woody floral

The house describes it as a warm woody floral, for women and men alike, and offers it as an eau de parfum in 50, 100 and 250 ml. Osmoz classifies it among the musky woody florals and also dates it to 2009.