Jean Patou Homme/ Privé

[blue]David,

While both are the creations of legendary Patou in-house perfumer Jean Kerleo and share similar names, they are quite different. *Patou Pour Homme*, is a high-powered, very 1980s fragrance. Its a complex, deep woodsy, herbal fragrance with spices which are blended masterfully. It has a subordinate green, fougère element to it, provided, by among other things, the lavender note. It dries down to a rich woodsy spicy accord with a hint of leather. No one element predominates. It's accord is an instance of fragrance art at its highest, and such a blending of elements and the use of clearly quality ingredients are what one usually expects from niche fragrance houses.

*Patou Pour Prive* starts with the most beautiful and joyous lavender note imaginable, and is lighter, both literally and in terms of the lack of dark woodsy spicy notes. Prive is greener, more herbal, and definitely more transparent; the lavender is not secondary here; it's predominant at least until well into the drydown. *Patou Pour Homme* is basically a Oriental Fougère whereas *Prive* is more of an Aromatic Fougère . Very different scents actually despite their almost similar name, but they do share that fougére element. To reiterate the former is really a predominantly woodsy oriental fougère while the latter is clearly more aromatically green and herbal throughout the drydown with no spice. It has a "new mown hay" note, a dry green note that balances the aromatic lavender nicely and dries down to a smooth, prominent sandalwood base with just a touch of vanilla. Both are exceptional fragrances, and I don't just mean that as an empty superlative. They definitely don't make them like these two anymore.

Best regards,

scentemental[/blue]

Beautiful descriptions Scentemental. Patou PH is as close as my HG scent as I'll probably get.

Good luck in finding these masterpieces. They're out there, but you'll pay.

Here are some places that carry these. Beware of sticker shock!

Edit: I have removed the links because I don't wish to lead anyone to a bad vendor. I replaced them with the prices that were being asked just so people could get a little laugh.

Jean Patou Pour Homme
2oz $299.99
4oz $499.99
4oz after shave $349.99


Privé
2oz $149.99

Just a heads-up:
www.1stperfume.com has a reputation of having terrible, bordering on criminal, customer service. I believe that there are threads about this fairly recently.

As for Patou PH and Prive, they are genuinely inspiring works of art. I have a small sample of each and ration them out on special occasions. Patou PH nets me more compliments thatn any other fragrance I wear, even as infrequently as I wear it.
Thanks to scentimental for the great reviews.


Slim

Try this instead, off E-Bay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Patou-for-Men-by...QQcmdZViewItem

Slim,

Thanks for adding the warning. I wouldn't want to cause anyone any grief although I doubt anyone would pay those prices anyway. Just thought some might be shocked at what these people are asking for this scent.

BTW, I have a sample of Privé (thanks scentemental!) and it really is a wonderful work of art. Sure wish I could score a bottle without taking out a second mortgage!

Here's a link on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/PATOU-PRIVE-HOMM...QQcmdZViewItem
Although I am very sketchy about this seller as he/she always overprices everything because apparently everything is hard to find. Where else could you buy a bottle of Geir for $95 Try searching their store to find other items, ya never know.

I picked up a 60ml splash bottle of the eau de toilette
of Prive at Perfume Gallery in Valley Fair mall, Santa Clara, CA.
I think it was about $70.

There were more there at the time, so if anyone wants to
track down the store's phone number via Google, they could
probably pick up a bottle at a reasonable price.

It's a good fragrance. My packaging shows no evidence of
Proctor and Gamble ownership, so I'm guessing it is a few
years old.

Alas, they only had Prive at this store. The original Patou Pour Homme
is extremely hard to find.

trumpet_guy

It was my quest to find my 5th bottle of Patou PH that brought me to Basenotes.
While the original quest to find Patou (at a real price) may have failed, I have adapted the quest into a discovery of niche fragrances which has been rewarding.
Diptyque, Creed, MPG, L'Artisan etc are all revelations to this Brisbane boy.
Perhaps it's time to let go of the past...

I agree wholeheartedly on all three points godzilla. On top of all that, *Patou Pour Homme Prive* is definitely the more original creation.

scentemental

Here is the phone # to the store: 408-423-8900

I talked to the manager last week and he said that the store will ship to anywhere in the U.S.

The store used to have the original Patou PH but I guess it's sold out now.