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.
Now Smell This finds Bal d’Afrique rich without heaviness and sexy with a sense of humor; the editors of AnOther Magazine tie it to summer memories.
What critics say
Kevin, Now Smell This, June 3, 2009
Kevin finds Bal d’Afrique rich without being heavy, warm without being stifling. He considers it sexy, without the perfume taking sexiness too seriously, and recognizes a joyful side, “something fun about the fragrance.”
AnOther Magazine, June 24, 2026
Four editors of AnOther Magazine, including Emily Dinsdale and Dominique Sisley, speak of it in intimate terms: one makes it her summer holiday perfume forever, another still loves it after more than ten years, and Violet Conroy calls it sentimental.
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