Hanae Mori Perfumes

Why Is There A Butterfly On Hanae Mori's Perfume?

Well before Hanae Mori had a perfume called Butterfly, she had a fashion house known for dressing people in butterflies.

After opening her studio in Japan in 1951, she started creating outfits for movies in Japan. She then took her fashion to New York and then Paris. She became the first Asian woman to join the couture association in Paris in 1977.

Mostly, her designs included bright prints of flowers and butterflies. It became such a big part of her branding that she became known as Madame Butterfly. It's only fitting that when she came out with perfumes, they would also include the butterfly.

Although the perfume does not have much to do with butterflies. Usually, you would think a fragrance that includes butterflies would be airy and light. But Hanae Mori Butterfly actually smells quite dense. It's packed with berries, floral notes and woods.

Which leads me to why some people think this perfume smells like cake.

Why Does Butterfly Smell Like Cake?

There are a lot of strawberry notes in this perfume. If you add too many strawberries to a perfume, you run the risk of it smelling like candy. So by adding blackberry and blackcurrant, they almost doubled their chances of it smelling like fruit sweets.

By adding flowers and woods to this fragrance, they were able to make it less sweet and candy-like. Butterfly by Hanae Mori was created by perfumer Bernard Ellena in the mid-1990s. It quickly became the best-selling perfume for women from this house.

What people notice most about this perfume is the fruity opening. There is strawberry, which gives off a nice, sweet scent. The blackberry will also give off a sweet berry scent. Blackcurrant can have a bit of a tart smell to it as well.

Once you get past the fruity notes, you'll start to smell the floral notes. This perfume has notes of jasmine and rose. According to the brand's website, it also contains notes of plum blossom.

It finishes off with almond wood, cedar and vanilla. This is where the perfume starts to smell like cake to some. Sandalwood is a smooth wood that smells almost creamy. Cedar is usually a bit drier. And then you have the vanilla to round off the scent.

It's a very nice smell if you like fruity perfumes but want a little more substance to them.

What's the Difference Between Blue, Pink and Red Butterfly?

This is where things get confusing with Hanae Mori perfume. You can find pictures online of old packaging that has the butterfly on the bottle in different colours.

From these images, you can tell that:

• Blue Butterfly was the Eau de Parfum version.
• Pink Butterfly was the Eau de Toilette.
• Red Butterfly was the Parfum.

This can help you if you're looking at old packaging and trying to identify what version of Butterfly you have.

Just keep in mind that there are a variety of versions of Butterfly. It can come in the three versions listed above.

So when purchasing Butterfly online, make sure you know exactly what you're buying. If you want to find out more about what notes go into the different concentrations, click through to the individual product pages.

Hanae Eau de Parfum

Another one of Hanae Mori's perfumes that has strawberry in it is Hanae. So if you thought Hanae Mori Butterfly smelled like strawberry, you'll love this one. It contains notes of bergamot, blackcurrant and cherry in its opening.

Followed by wild strawberry, iris, jasmine and orange blossom. Finally, caramel, vanilla and cedarwood.

With the addition of caramel, you can almost smell the cooked sugar that it produces. Iris can also smell a bit powdery depending on the amount that's used in a perfume.

Whereas Butterfly is mostly berries and florals with some wood notes, Hanae is made up of cherry, iris and caramel as well as strawberry. So if you want to know which one you'll like better, here is a quick comparison.

Strawberry, blackberry and sandalwood = Butterfly. Cherry, caramel and iris = Hanae. Hopefully, that helps you decide which one to buy.

What's the Difference Between HM and HiM?

Similar to the women's fragrances, Hanae Mori also has two male fragrances with very similar names. HM and HiM both sound like they should be similar. But they actually smell quite different from each other.

HM was the first male fragrance that Hanae Mori produced. It's a woody aromatic scent. It starts off with notes of lemon, bergamot and lavender. Then comes jasmine, violet, sage and mint.

Ending with tonka bean, musk and sandalwood. As you can see, HM is a nice, fresh perfume, with mint and sage giving it that herbal feel.

Lavender is another floral scent that adds to the fresh aroma. Then the sandalwood and tonka bean give it some warmth. Now let's take a look at HiM. It contains notes of mandarin and pink pepper in the opening.

Then cinnamon, iris, apple and clary sage. Ending with amber, cedar, vanilla and tonka bean.

Where HM is more focused on its aromatic notes, HiM has a bit of spice added to it. With cinnamon and amber, it gives the fragrance a bit more warmth. So when choosing between HM and HiM, know that they both contain woody and aromatic notes but smell quite different.

What Do the Tops Mean on the Male Fragrances?

Did you notice that the tops of the HM and HiM bottles are a little different from those of the women's fragrances?

Instead of having a butterfly, they both have a similar design to the top of a katana. The tsuka (handle) of a Japanese sword. The tops on the male fragrances are both inspired by this.

One is silver and the other is gold. While the women's fragrances all have a butterfly on top, the male ones are a little more understated.

Magical Moon Eau de Parfum

Not all of Hanae Mori's women's fragrances contain strawberry. Magical Moon is a perfume that they sell that contains notes of plum.

According to their website, Magical Moon has notes of plum, pink pepper and osmanthus. Osmanthus is a floral note that smells a bit like apricots. It can also have a slight leather smell to it.

Then it's followed by rose and incense. Ending with sandalwood, cedar and musk. The incense in this perfume is what makes it stand out from the other Hanae Mori fragrances. If you like fruity perfumes but want something a bit different, Magical Moon might be a good choice for you.

Just keep in mind that there is a lot of different information about the notes in Magical Moon on different websites. So make sure you double-check what you're buying.

Know the Difference Between Eau de Parfum and Parfum

As you can see, Hanae Mori has some fragrances that come in more than one strength. Like how Butterfly can come in an Eau de Toilette, Eau de Parfum or a Parfum.

The men's fragrances can also come in different strengths. These all just mean the amount of fragrance that's in the bottle. There is no specific rule on how much each one should contain. But usually, a Parfum will have more fragrance in it than an Eau de Toilette.

Just because a fragrance comes in a stronger concentration doesn't mean it's better. Some people prefer their perfume to be a bit lighter. So make sure you read what the different versions smell like before purchasing.

Some customers have told us that they prefer the Parfum version of Butterfly because they like the woody scent more, whereas others may like the lighter scent of the Eau de Toilette version of HM.

Hanae Mori Perfumes Available Online

There is a wide variety of Hanae Mori perfumes to choose from. From sweet berry scents to spicy cinnamon, there is something for everyone in this line of perfumes.

Make sure you browse all of the options we have to offer and pick the one that suits you best. Whether you're looking for a Hanae Mori perfume for women or men, we've got you covered.

As you can see, just because they all have a butterfly on the bottle doesn't mean they all smell alike.

FAQs about Hanae Mori Perfume

Why are there different colours of butterflies on Hanae Mori perfume?

Older styles of the Butterfly perfume used colour to denote strength. The blue was for Eau de Parfum, the pink for Eau de Toilette and the red for Parfum. Always check the bottle when purchasing.

Does Hanae Mori Butterfly smell of vanilla?

It does contain vanilla, as well as almond wood, cedar and sandalwood in its base. But with the use of berries and flowers, it will give off a fruity floral scent.

Are HM and HiM by Hanae Mori the same fragrance?

They are not. HM is a mixture of lemon, bergamot, lavender, mint, sage and sandalwood. HiM consists of mandarin, pink pepper, cinnamon, apple, amber and vanilla.

What Hanae Mori perfume smells of caramel?

Hanae Eau de Parfum contains caramel and vanilla in the base notes. Other scents in this perfume include cherry, blackcurrant, wild strawberry, iris, jasmine and orange blossom.

Why does Hanae Mori have a butterfly?

Butterflies were a theme throughout Hanae Mori's clothing designs and were adopted as the logo for her fashion house. She then decided to put them on her perfume bottles.

Is Magical Moon similar to Butterfly?

Not really. Butterfly is more berry-, flower-, vanilla- and woods-based, whereas Magical Moon now has an official scent of plum, pink pepper, osmanthus, rose, incense, sandalwood, cedar and musk.

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