Patchouli Antique
by Les Néréides

Vanilla and musk tell you exactly the tone Patchouli Antique means to strike. In its favor, it's lovely and smooth, emphasizing the rich, powdery-dusty side of patchouli. The downside for us perfume thrill-seekers is that from the first sniff I felt that I knew exactly where PA was headed. And I was right. Still, if you just want to relax into your patch, PA does the trick.

30th August, 2011. (Last Edited: 31st August, 2011.)

The best patchouli antique of parfumery will always be in my opinion the baroque and boldly retro' Habit Rouge old formula that is the fragrance of Palais Royal with its vintage beat. Patchouli Antiques is a good smooth patchouli that despite being enough earthy lacks of that complex baroque temperament that could be imprinted by a citrus-neroli-cedarwood-rose-patchouli accord plus vanilla, a touch of tobacco, resinous amber or benzoin. This fragrance is a woodsy-musky patchouli civilized by a touch of amber and vanilla. It's basically a real patchouli slightly resinous and moderately sweet, nothing else apart a touch of musk and smoothness. A good real patchouli but not sumptuous or "antique".

22nd May, 2011.

What?? It's a simple and blunt patchouly fragrance with only slight hints of vanilla and musk. So if you're looking for a strong and long lasting patchouly with earthy, raw, yet also rounded and full-bodied quality, your search might end right in here.

Good luck with getting over the associations of those lame and annoying 60's hippies, shagging in the bushes.

8th April, 2011.

A mellow, rich, and sweet patchouli fragrance with the barest suggestion of chocolate buried deep inside. Patchouli Antique is one of the softer and less adamant of patchouli scents, without the kind of aggressive projection and carnivorous bite you'll find in Mazzolari Patchouly, Black Aoud, Profumum Patchouly, or Bois 1920's Real Patchouly. Instead it's a more suave and cultivated patchouli, the kind that anyone could wear in public without feeling the least bit self-conscious. Oddly for a patchouli-heavy fragrance, it fades rather quickly to reveal a powdery musk and wood base that lingers as a skin scent for several hours.

Pleasant in the end, but disappointingly weak in character. I for one prefer my patchoulis much more dangerous.

17th December, 2009.

Patchouli is a love it – hate it note with me. I am intrigued by the note but I haven’t found a patchouli scent that I truly enjoy wearing …until now, that is. For me and on my skin this is the perfect patchouli scent. First, there is no doubting that this is patchouli; it’s not a head shop patchouli, it’s not a patchouli partnered or hidden (as hard as it is to hide) under chocolate or birch tar or tobacco or some super resinous accord. It is not hidden by floods of civet (although I love civet), and it is not an excessively sweetened and / or diluted patchouli. It is patchouli! Patchouli Antique manages to be both a bit dark (a touch resinous) and also soft and warm at the same time: Exactly my image of and what I’ve always liked about (the note) patchouli. The vanilla is barely determinable and the musk knows how to stay discreet. There’s also a slight aromatic edge that I can’t account for… everything else is patchouli. By the drydown, the whole scent is discreet – it hugs the skin with its subtly rich accords. The price is extremely reasonable, making it a must buy for me. It could, though, afford a better longevity.

9th March, 2008.