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If I walked into your room wearing a Patchouli fragrance, would your nose recognize its name without

post #1 of 11
8/5/10 at 4:56am
Thread Starter 
... thinking twice?

And I mean Patchouli as the name of the fragrance and its solo player.

Would you tell Mazzolaris Patchouli from Etros Patchouly or Montales Patchouli Leaves, or Molinards Patchouli, or even from the patchouli essential oil (on someone wearing it).

Im excluding the fragrances that have patchouli as the leading character, like Givenchy Gentleman or New Tradition by Etro or Prada or Borneo 1834. (I can tell these immediatly when I sniff them, or smell them on someone).

I dont think I can tell the former ones from each other (on someone passing by), although I can tell immediately its a Patchouli fragrance...
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post #2 of 11
8/5/10 at 6:15am
If the question is whether various frags called Patchouli-This-Or-That are distinct from each other, I'd say very much yes. In fact patchouli shows up in such different forms--herbal, earthy, light and dark--and can nearly disappear into a composition to such an extent, that with my middling nose if you blindfolded me and asked me to tell you what, say, Patchouli Patch, Etro's Patchouli, Patchouli Homme, and Voleur du Roses had in common, I'd probably guess that they were all pretty expensive.
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post #3 of 11
8/5/10 at 6:21am
If you were wearing a patchouli fragrance I owned and was very familiar with, I do believe I could guess it within a couple of tries. I certainly can smell a difference between Reminiscence Patchouli, Mazzolari Patchouli and straight up, hippie patchouli oil.
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post #4 of 11
8/5/10 at 6:23am
No.

I could probably recognize that it was patchouli but I don't think I would know the fragrance. Perhaps I could distinguish whether it was a lighter or stronger, brighter or earthier, sweeter or drier fragrance, and toss out some names, but it would be more like guessing than knowing.

I hardly ever smell any strong patchouli fragrance on anyone other than myself, anyway.
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post #5 of 11
8/5/10 at 7:22am
I'd have to think more than twice and probably wait for the base accord to kick in before making a solid, educated guess.

Molinard and Mazzolari are very similar to me in their openings. Mazzolari starts to part ways after 15 minutes, but it's hard to tell before then.
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post #6 of 11
8/5/10 at 8:29am
No probably not. I might have a better chance to guess the specific fragrance if I spent too much time way to close to you. But, just from walking in the room I would only be able to tell you have patchouli on. One reason is that patchouli projects so well that the patchouli itself will fill the room rather quickly if it was freshly applied. But, the other notes that really define what a fragrance character is do not project with the same intensity. You would have to pick up the honey note to know its Mazzolari and that animalistic note hovers close to the skin whereas the patchouli shouts. I don't know if I could tell the difference between my favorite patchouli fragrances on someone else by just smelling the room (Mazzolari, Patchouli Patch, Patchouli Noir, Patchouli Empire, Micallef Patchouli, Profumum Patchouly). Now if it were Farmacia Annunziata's Patchouly I think I could pick that one out because it is so cold and earthy.

A person that I sometimes buy clothing from Alii, said, "I know your fragrance because I wore it for years! It is Givenchy Gentleman right?" "No", I said. "It is Borneo 1834 and it has chocolate in it." To him it smelled exactly like the Givenchy Gentleman which was his primary fragrance for years. It is very difficult to pick out specific fragrance brands on another person, especially when the primary note is something as dominating as patchouli.
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post #7 of 11
8/5/10 at 8:30am
interesting question and scenario. if im given the chance to sniff closely, i think i maybe able to tell. not by the sillage..
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post #8 of 11
8/5/10 at 8:36am
It's interesting that you asked this. Do you find it difficult to distinguish between these fragrances? I recently got a bunch of patchouli samples, including some that you mentioned, and to me, they all seemed pretty distinct. I haven't worn them enough to know them that well, so I won't be able to name them just by sniffing, but I feel that just as I can distinguish different vetiver fragrances, I probably would be able to do so with patchouli.
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post #9 of 11
8/5/10 at 9:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by supperman View Post

I recently got a bunch of patchouli samples, including some that you mentioned, and to me, they all seemed pretty distinct.........I feel that just as I can distinguish different vetiver fragrances, I probably would be able to do so with patchouli.

Agree.
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post #10 of 11
8/5/10 at 9:50am
I don't know if I'd recognize it. I might, because like several posters I do think the different patch scents smell different (easy to distinguish some of them more than others), but I know KV that if you walked in I'd be worried about saying the wrong one and thus feeling silly. So I'd say I couldn't be sure.

I was wearing L'Artisan's old Patchouli once and an acquaintance asked if I was wearing a patch oil, so for him the distinction wasn't there I guess. But for me I think the heavy patchoulis, like Molinard's, might be hard for me to distinguish on someone else. Too much chance of variation in how much they've applied, how much exertion they've gone through, and how long ago their application was. On me though, I think I would know the difference.
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post #11 of 11
11/23/10 at 2:29pm
Interesting thread, especially as I have been sampling patchoulis like mad as of late. But the same could be said of any singular note - insert your own - rose, vanilla, tobacco, citrus. When lumped together on paper, it seems like they will all be similar. But the reality, as we know, is that so many even within the same genre, or single note will be quite different.

I originally wanted to buy one - just one patchouli. I went with Patchouli Patch. I love it, but have really come to appreciate the nuance. Now I want another one, but less sweet and hippyish. So long answer, but right now, I could probably tell the difference between a L'Artisan, Le Labo and a Mazzolari.
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