Patchouli (1970)
by Réminiscence

Reminiscence Patchouli is the ultimate hippie patchouli scent crafted into a perfectly useable fragrance. The patchouli is very potent but of extremely high quality. This is the strongest patchouli of any I've tried and one spray judiciously applied over several spots is certainly enough juice to give you a powerful presence. The description states it is blended with cedar, sandalwood, tonka bean and amber and you do feel more than smell a slight sweet background to the patchouli that is more noticeable on the drydown than initially. The cedar pumps up the intensity a bit and sandalwood softens the mid notes. There is also a very green grassy note that weaves into the patchouli odor that may in fact be one of the types of patchouli used but it definitely has a raw grassy green patchouli feel. Other ultra strong patch fragrances often leave hard edges and sharp corners as part of the raw patchouli experience (Etro or SMN) but this fragrance has a very smoothe transition from beginning to end. A fine creation. Reminiscence is bold but ethereal and will undoubtedly be a holy grail fragrance for the devoted patchouli fan. In my opinion this is equal to Mazzolari Patchouli or Fragrancia Annunziata's Patchouly Indonesiano for pure patchouli perfection.

This is a very sweet ambery mix. Very masculine, so I share this with my husband. Closer to hippie patchoulis that any other I have smelt, but for me this is a good thing, although I know some would find this offputting. I like this as I cannot detect any vanilla, which seems to be included in lots of patchouli fragrances, and for me makes them sickly. I like to think of Jim Morrison wearing this in the desert, however this is just pure fantasy!!

Exists in 2 versions : woman or man; the second one is exactly the same fragrance as the 1st version but in a lighter way. So, for the same price, you'd better buy the woman one (which is a bit like an eau de parfum) ! If you like sweet but strong patchouli, this one has definitely no rival...

I never see this brand spoken of here on Basenotes, though from what I understand it's pretty common in Europe. Patchouli, while listed here as feminine, smells more unisex leaning masculine to me. It's pretty approachable. Compared to other "patchouli" scents like LV's or SMN's, this one by Reminiscence is sweeter, warmer, with a comfortable ambery drydown. Imagine someone blending lots of patchouli into L'Artisan's Ambre Extreme. For another reference point, it's not as complex or masculine as a few other patch-heavy fragrances that come to mind like Mazzolari's Lui, Tonatto's Re, or even JHL. Longevity was very good - into the next day.