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Patchouli: Did my sense of smell change?

post #1 of 5
12/21/11 at 12:33am
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My wife recently tried Chanel Coromandel and I was expecting something completely different than what I got. It's been described as patchouli mixed with vanilla to give a chocolaty effect. I was thinking soft, what I got was very sharp, almost chlorine in nature. Then, while looking at other fragrances I sniffed Lorenzo Villoresi's Patchouli and got the same sharpness. Extreme fresh cut grass is the best way to describe it.

This is way different than the head shop patchouli oil that was ubiquitous when I was in University.

Is this the note to expect with patchouli (cut grass on steroids) in quality scents or is my nose wired in a weird way?
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post #2 of 5
12/21/11 at 2:03am
donmadrid, try essential oil patchouli. Its more intense than Coromandel or Patchouli Imperial.

If you want to smell almost essential oil patchouli in perfume format try the Patchouli by Reminiscence or Patchouli elixir by Reminiscence.

Cut grass to me smells wafer like, thin, slim if you can even describe a smell like that. Patchouli to me smells dense, dusty and feels like it would weigh a ton.
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post #3 of 5
12/21/11 at 6:03am
As you suggest yourself, not only are there different qualities of patchouli, but also perfumes are compositions, and perfumers prefer to highlight certain aspects. As you point out, a certain quality of patch is associated with headshop, and perfumers want to avoid this. Rather, more upscale patch compositions focus on the grassy, vegetal, or earthy aspects of patchouli. Other examples of the style would be l'Artisan parfumeur patchouli patch, Montale's Patchouli leaves, or Serge Lutens Borneo 1834.

cacio
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post #4 of 5
12/21/11 at 7:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hedonist222 View Post

If you want to smell almost essential oil patchouli in perfume format try the Patchouli by Reminiscence or Patchouli elixir by Reminiscence.

Either one of these is excellent IMO
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post #5 of 5
12/21/11 at 7:47am
Also, natural patchouli has a tendency to grow sharper with time-eventually it may wind up smelling like straight urine (the chlorine note you described)-I like the synthetics better for that reason alone-their qualities tend to remain stable.
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Just Starting Out › Patchouli: Did my sense of smell change?