Reviews of Patchouli 24 (2006)
by Le Labo

This is not a patchouli fragrance. However, if you enjoy smelling like "Katenschinken" (a heavily smoked North German ham) it is just the right perfume for you. Since I dislike Lone Star Memories and Bulgari Black intensely it's no surprise I can't stomach this one either. The other notes in this are entirely irrelevant, if you don't have a huge love affair with excessively sooty smoky birch tar and, like foetidus, I can't stand the stuff except as an accent in more complex leather compositions, such as the far superior Knize Ten. Extremism for its own sake, recommended for leather-clad demons from the eighth circle of hell (where those dwell who do violence to others and themselves).

I have come to realize that I really hate birch tar. Too much for me in this fragrance: These are not the kind of animalic notes I like…I’ll take civet and indoles, but they can keep their birch tar away from me. This smells horrendous to me. Patchouli 24 has incredible lasting power; I can smell it twenty hours after application, even after scrubbing, but I actually like the fragrance once the birch tar wears off … I can even smell the patchouli, and it’s an excellent patchouli fragrance – without the birch tar, that is.

this is a very exciting perfume that somehow seems to pull off what a lot of the fragrances its compared to don't really: mixing a bunch of kinky funky elements to result in a fragrance that is really seductive.

although when I wore it in class the other day and put too much on the teacher just said she smelled something very chemical and the way she krinkled her nose it appeared she clearly wasn't loving it.

this is a perfume for your modern wearer, musically it's the like the fragrance equivalent of a Bartok piano concerto or something.

I really liked this, from beginning to end. The super smoky opening notes were great, and the dry down, which is sweetly vanilla, really appeals to me. I kept thinking that the end notes were awfully familiar, and I realized that Black Orchid smells like this at the end, too, though maybe not as sweet. This is a real keeper for me.

Finally, a smoky fragrance I can wear. Can't smell the patchouli with the birch tar, smoke, and wood covering it up. A few hours into the drydown, I can detect a faint trace of vanilla but it's barely there. Reminds me of Fumidus and Lonestar Memories (sans toothpaste note), yet Patch 24 works very well with my chemistry as opposed to the former.

Whoa, tar, gasoline, and leather, I like it! This would be a very butch fragrance if it wasn't for the vanilla, and I'm actually not overly fond of the vanilla. Vanilla-drenched tar is just... weird. And I like weird, but not sickly-sweet weird. I do detect the patchouli too, a dry, woody, refined patchouli like the one in Montale's Patchouli Leaves.
I must give Le Labo credit for this original fragrance, but it is a bit over-the-top with the CdG Synthetic/Lonestar Memories/Bulgari Black-thing AND the vanilla sweetness, I think this is a scent that could easily cause headaches and nausea.

The Le Labo folks are not kidding when they say that patchouli is not easy to detect in this fragrance. The birch tar takes center stage, to my nose. I'd call this dark, thick, smoky, leathery, animalic, and even a bit rubbery. It's closest parallels I would say are Lonestar Memories, Nostalgia, and Bulgari Black...probably in that order. It lasts well too. Unusual and interesting, if a bit weird, it brings to mind images of people wearing masks and whipping each other for enjoyment.

When I first heard the buzz about this one, I honestly thought, "Oh no, not ANOTHER niche house claiming to be unique!" I thought it had all been done. But, trying this one, I saw that I was incorrect. Some say this is in the same universe as Bulgari Black (and both were created by the same nose), nevertheless this one is quite unique and worth the price and search.

Nevertheless, the name is slightly misleading, as it takes a while to find any discernible patchouli. Instead, you get birch tar, smoke, woods, and eventually some patchouli. Sillage is good and longevity is amazing; if I wear this out on a Saturday night, I'm still smelling it well into Sunday afternoon.

All in all, it is definitely worth a try and a wonderful cold-weather fragrance.