Reviews of parfums*PARFUMS Luxe: Patchouli (2007)
by Comme des Garçons

Strangely enough this is the one scent that really stands out from the CdG line. Patchouli like no other. Or not? I am 100% with Trebor in that it shares a lot with Borneo 1834. Probably the same origin of patchouli. The greatest differences are the incredibly strong immortelle note in the opening of Patchouli which is replaced by the light camphore note in Borneo. In fact it is immortelle/fenugreek/curry/basturma all mixed together and only for the brave. The topnotes also have an increddible texture, thick, resinous and salty.You can almost feel the scent in your nostrils. If you don't enjoy the initial shock and awe of the opening this will equal an assault with gas. But if you like immortelle and shocking scents you will be rewarded by smoky heartnotes and the driest illusion of chocolate. The chocolate notes with a hint of smoke stay on the skin for a good 24 hours.
Well let's get to the point: is it worth the money? If you are looking for a patchouli signature scent that you are going to wear every day, then probably yes. And you will get your money's worth because it will stay on you for the whole 24 hours. This is parfum strength.It is stunning. Drier and more commanding than Patchouli Leaves. In any other case probably not. But if you are patchouli fan try to find a sample of it.

Patchouli is a favorite ingredient of mine without a doubt, but I don't consider this a patchouli fragrance necessarily. That is, I guess, by the name, it would be hard for someone to imagine what this fragrance will be like. Patchouli as an ingredient brings many other fragrances to mind such as Borneo 1834, Givenchy Gentleman, Patchouli Leaves, or Real Patchouly among others. But I don't see Luxe: Patchouli belonging in that group... Where I do see it belonging is with the immortelle fragrances which I love so much including Sables, Eau Noir, and I suppose I'll include the over the top and slightly messy Fougere Bengale. Ok, so in this case the sensation is fenugreek and not immortelle, but the sensation is similar -- the golden, richness that is like being surrounded by a thick syrup, dark ambery golden brown in color, and very very warm but with fenugreek, the sensation is more on the side of sweet hay.

So yes, the patchouli is there, always. But it so well blended that it adds a hue to every other ingredient rather than sitting on top of the composition supported by the other notes. To my nose, the fenugreek sensation (that syrup mixed with curry and hay, sprinkled with a .05 mm layer, just the smallest hint of a dusting of anise) is the star, and it paints a picture in my mind of a flowing river of golden syrup with ribbons of purple and green silk (the green is the leafy patchouli sensation, the purple, the curried anise impression). The great thing about this is that it's all countered by some real grit... a wonderful earthy, woody, herbal texture that ends up being enveloped by the dense, dark, syrupy sweet curried elements of the fragrance and brings it into perfect balance.

The luxe nature of Luxe: Patchouli comes from the opulence of textures and sensations. There isn't a bright, whimsical, crisp or lightly textured moment in the fragrance journey, which incidentally lasts a full day. That said, there is nothing unbalanced, aloof, or over-the-top about it either. It's a baroque painting: dark, rich hues of brown, gold, dark, earthy greens, rich dark reds and purples and so in a way, that to me explains this uber luxurious feel. It's tone is gothic yet modern.

A very powerful angelica root note overpowers this fragrance - almost like a homemade perfume which uses too much of it. Underneath that lies a sweet violet note which seems to be some sort of synthetic irones (the "violet" component of orris). If you are looking for a true patchouli, you won't find it here. I would vote neutral, but for the $200 per ounce price, this imbalance is inexcusable.

Thick tar like patchouli. Herbal and far from the headshop patchouli however still makes you think of that style of patchouli. Long lasting. Too rich for my blood in both price and scent.

What a fantastic opening -- I almost fainted -- thick and resinous patchouli, woods and opoponax assault your senses - point blank! I think this must be some special type of patchouli as I haven't experienced anything like it before -- I mean AG's Sables version is practically unwearable. I also don't get any chocolate either -- what you do get apart from the patchouli is a lot of luscious and slightly smoke tinged woods, mainly oak, cedar and sandalwood touched with CDG's nearly ever present spicy peppers and vanilla to quite it. She ain't pretty though -- this is a really dark scent. Sillage and longevity are both superb. The price is outrageous, but 'what's mine is mine'. Where do you go from here though?

Thick and rich chocolatey patchouli. Oh YES. Price is absurd, but that is not the fragrance so thumbs up.

How to steer between rising damp and smoky bacon crisps, that is the question for patchouli designers. This one veers rather than steers – now vegetating liquorice, now cocoa dust. I expect LUXE means : very expensive materials, and this does smell classy but also clueless, over-endowed and under-conceived. Cf. King’s College, Cambridge. There’s a real waft of dopey smoke, though. No jokes about King’s College, Cambridge, please. But it does not avoid the greatest patchouli pitfall : smelling like left-over curry still in the polysterene container (that’s the fenugreek in it). The dry-down eventually stabilizes to doughnut suavity.

Luxe Patchouli is essentially Borneo 1834 intense, with the richness, complexity and tenacity that the Lutens creation severely lacked. The only downside is the horrendous price for a 45ml bottle – if the retail price dropped by about a third, I wouldn’t hesitate in obtaining a bottle for myself.

I’ve never been a Comme des Garçons fan but this scent has really impressed me. A thumbs up, regardless of my reservations about the price.

I've become a big fan of patchouli fragrances lately and was interested in what a $285/45ml CdG patchouli would be like. As Vibert notes, the opening is rich in woods and resins, and I identify pepper as well. The resinous notes are at once rich and a little sickly-sweet. Of course a dry patchouli note is ever-present in the background. I would have hoped for an incredibly rich patchouli to be front-and-center, but that is not the case. The sweetness of the resin does fade, and what's left is a smooth, peppery patchouli balanced with woody notes. For your money you get quality - 2 sprays lasted about 10 hours on my skin.

If you're looking for a 'luxury patchouli' I'd recommend Chanel Coromandel ($200/200ml), or, if you can get it, Serge Lutens Borneo 1834 ($175/75ml). If you're looking for a strong, resinous fragrance that includes patchouli, and money is no object, this might be for you.

Thumbs up because this is a quality fragrance, but if I were to factor in cost it might point sideways.

This is a Comme des Garcons patchouli, so it's going to hit you over the head just like everything else Comme des Garcons produces. I'm not certain I've ever smelled a CdG that wasn't singularly insistent in its own way. That said, I love this patchouli. It's richly layered, smooth, warm and a little bit sweet -- and it lasts all day! There's not a bit of the old hippie-dippie quality here, just blatant pandering to the upmarket crowd, and that's not a bad thing. I tried it once and ordered a bottle the next day. I had to have it.

Big fan of CDG here. When I heard that this fab company was developing a luxury serie I have two feelings: the first one was that they were tending to mainstream, and they were leaving behind the avant garde (real pity) and the second though was to be patient and hopeful.
The fact is that i don't dislike this perfume, Its nice indeed, dark, smoky, oversweet, mysterious and well finished, but the reality is that reminds me a whole range of perfumes on the market as "Eau Noire or Sables", and " Patchouli", on my nose it's nothing expectacular, as for example Black Orchid that just blown me away, so, sorry,, but neutral one for this juice...

Wow! Comme des Garcons Luxe Patchouli whacks you over the head with its opening. Forget about the usual topnotes. This slugger hits you with smoky woods, patchouli, and sweet resins in a very heavy, dark, viscous accord that hovers between a spiced dessert and a Turkish bazaar. Fenugreek is a conspicuous component of this fragrance, and it establishes a tangy/bitter/sweaty undercurrent that runs right through the heart of the fragrance. There's plenty of the expected patchouli earthiness in this blend, but also a sweet decadence that I attribute to a generous dose of opopanax in the base.

As time goes by the drydown starts reminding me of something else...something sweet, warm, and woody, with the barest hint of the gourmand about it. What could it be? Of course! It's Mechant Loup. That's right, Luxe Patchouli dries down into Mechant Loup. I don't know how many basenotes (if any,) they share, but the resemblance is remarkable. I love Mechant Loup. Mechant Loup costs $85. CdG Luxe Patchouli costs $285. I've done the math and I think I'll stick with Mechant Loup.