Patchouli (1996)
by Lorenzo Villoresi

In the course of the first two minutes after the first spray this one turns  out as a sort of fierce mix of Al Oudh L'Artisan Parfumeur and Patchouli by Etro, so dusty, earthy and aromatic in its cloud of incensey, mentholated and aromatic lavender, resins of woods and dry patchouli. As well as sprayed, at least on a paper (unfortunately i didn't taste it on skin), it smells as a sort of less dusty-incensey and more airy Dzongkha. The  prickliness is sheer but on the side of a sort of watery and cool fluidity coming from a starring lavender, a key element in this wonderful and masterly balanced concoction. Spices? I would have said yes at first spray but spices are not listed, it's the earthy patchouli supported by a rooty vetiver and a dusty lavender that produce that sort of prickly and aromatic whiff. The fragrance is almost minty and slightly boise', it doesn't develop too much , is instead linear in flavour and just tends to lose with time its pungency in order to smoothen towards something still aromatic but slightly creamy, smoky and endly talky, something represented by a blend of musks, resins and balsams. The patchouli is really starring but is neither too sharp not too creamy, is just dominant in its ancient, moldy, exotic chessel. The cedarwood is another fundamental note in its neutral and balancing role and its opaque taste is complementary to that one of the same patchouli. A woodsy tribute to a note that is the star of parfumery.

14th November, 2011. (Last Edited: 14th December, 2011.)

Lorenzo Villoresi’s Patchouli is a pretty straightforward interpretation of its title note, expressing more of the herb’s minty, astringent aspect than its earthy, quasi-animalic qualities. I don’t find much to analyze or discuss here, nor to I perceive much development as the scent wears. (That's the cue for somebody to flame me for insulting their favorite patchouli fragrance.) The patchouli does become suggestive of pipe tobacco after an hour or so, then grows a bit musty before it slowly fades away. This scent’s appeal will depend entirely upon your feelings toward simple, relatively isolated patchouli. My own preference is for more complex treatments of this note, whether in the animalic vein of Parfumerie Générale’s Intrigant Patchouli or Parfums de Nicolaï’s crisp, aromatic Patchouli Homme.

26th February, 2010. (Last Edited: 27th February, 2010.)

I bought a whole 100 ml bottle of LV Patchouli back in 2007. Have a whiff of it and it is sitting in my wardrobe. I was arranging my fragrances the day before and now it is somewhere in the back of my cupboard. It is a good scent for a rather confident man but as a woman, I find it too strong for me.

9th May, 2009.

Simply the best patchouli on perfumery. Masculine, elegant, old in the right way, refined on the right side. Not vanilla, amber or another external sweets elements : patchouli rounded by rose. Quite dark, black point of it. A masterpiece for men.

4th May, 2009.

Notes:
Top: Lavender, Patchouli
Middle: Patchouli
Base: Patchouli, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Cedar, Oakmoss, Musk, Benzoin

The notes pyramid gives the impression that Patchouli is loaded with patchouli, but thats not the case. Yes, theres a good quality patchouli note in there, but there's also a whole lot of other typical Villoresi notes bonanza clamouring about in this golden brown juice.

If you aren't familiar with Villoresis signature style, Patchouli will initially impress. A sweet earthy herbaceous patchouli note dominates at first, supported by a green-musty accord of lavender, galbanum (although not listed in notes) and a woody cedar note. The patchouli note satisfies - it exhibits a rich wine-like sweetness at first, a quality indicative of top shelf aged patchouli oil, with slight bitter-musky accents. Strangely though, the balsamic intensity of the note dissipates fast and the patchouli is swallowed alive by the growling green-musty accord. To people familiar with other Villoresi compositions (especially Vetiver), Patchouli's structure will seem all too pedantic, adhering to the tried and testing formula: green-musty-lavenderish accord + [insert classic note]. Solid, but a little too predictable, like a Nickelback album. Longevity and sillage are moderate, clocking in at around 6 hours.

Patchouli is well put together, but it also smelss like Villoresi's phoning it in. Take a well established "house" structure, and drop in a quality patchouli oil note. To a certain level it works, but I find both its patchouli note and supporting structure somewhat uninspiring. Interms of overall intensity, it lies somewhere between the rich sumptuous patchouli blast of Borneo 1834, and the light elegant mass-appeal patchouli of Patchouli Patch: less forceful than the first, grittier than the latter, yet strangely less alluring than either. Patchouli may be a victim of the success of its brethren.

Rating: 7.00/10.0

9th November, 2008.

At first, I dismissed this one until my partner (who likes very few fragrances) took a distinct liking to it and wanted a bottle of it, which is very unusual for him, as he owns very few fragrances. He says that it smells like being in the forest at the mouth of a cave and smelling the cold, earthy cave smell emanating from the cave. In fact, he doesn't call it "Patchouli." If I ask him what he's wearing and it's this one, he says, "Cave." That pretty much says it all.

5th July, 2008.