Patchouli (1996)
by Lorenzo Villoresi

Raw, dark, pungent and utterly disgusting patchouli. Yuck!

[Original submission date: 25 May 2008]

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.

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.

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

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.

My Singapore patchouli oil has a certain licorice quality to it, but Villoresi's Patchouli is dark and bitter, it smells what a bitter infusion of medicinal herbs taste like, to the point of almost reminding one of damp wood beginning to mould. I could swear there is also immortelle in this, providing a salty-spiciness faintly reminiscent of Sables. Dry-bitter-salty woodiness. It’s intriguing in its sheer intensity, but I would not want to wear it as a perfume.