Comme des Garcons Series Luxe: Patchouli

I finally pulled the trigger and purchased a bottle of LUXE: Patchouli, after nearly a decade of parsing the lovely elixir, drop by drop, from samples and decants. I, like another reviewer here, was determined to find a patch that surpassed, if not at least equalled this—one of my all-time favourite scents, at a lower cost, and although I've amassed a halfway decent collection of the genre, I came to the conclusion that it's a false economy to purchase a dozen scents in my quests, that I like, but don't LOVE. Life is too LONG to be bored by 100s of dollars' worth of fragrance. Finding it for less than £150.00 certainly didn't hurt, either. LUXE: Patchouli could be considered a challenging scent, but there is little else out there that so evokes sweet, loamy, earth—all raw umber, burnt sienna and ochre. It makes me feel amber-eyed and slit-pupiled...absolutely f@!!able... straight from purrr to rumbling growl. and this time of year being my favourite, it is all that I crave in an Autumnal scent: golden sweetness (like others, I sense immortelle flower in spades), dried grasses, black earth...nature preparing for winter slumber. Fall is a time for reflection, for being close, relishing the copper slant of the sun warming old brick, rusted iron and decaying wood. Even asphalt and concrete come alive when awash in the crisp reds and oranges of fallen leaves. I do "feel"—I sense CdG fragrances sometimes as much as, if not more than, I smell them, and I'm not trying to be hip about it, I just do— a bit of tar, a dollop of maple and a smudge of earth-in-decay with LUXE: Patchouli, and it works SO well. So well, that none of the Tauers, Lutens, L'artisans, Lubins, Diptyques etc, etc., although incredible in many aspects, could make me forget. Okay..L'air du Desert comes close, and I do like it, but it lacks the...generosity, the hot throb; all ashes and no embers in comparison. But we're talking patchouli as the headliner here, not just another desert-incense-wood yawn with a bit of patch thrown in...SERIOUS, authentic Sumatran patchouli; most patchouli-poseurs would shriek like a vampire at sunrise in the wake of LUXE, and it's precious and pure here, not "dirty" and not teetering on the edge of cuminesque skank, either. The use of pure patchouli, and the fact that it's made in small batches warrants the price tag, but it's understandable that it would have to be signature-worthy for one to pay nearly 300.00 for 45ml. Essentially, you must want to wear a patchouli that comes close to wearing you. In the best way. For those of you feeling ambivalent about purchasing this, I say get it while you can or you'll sorely regret it when you realise it's been discontinued; CdG has discontinued several fairly popular series (RIP Red, Leaves and Synthetic, Sweet. I'd give a nut for a bottle of Sequoia, Palisander, Skai or Tar) and if what I've read is any indication, LUXE is a hard-sell, firstly because it only appeals to a very slim margin of the scent community and secondly, although it can be located for much less than the original price, it took nearly a decade to go down, and most were so sticker-shocked at the 300.00 tag, they scratched it off of their wish lists then and there. It was just too expensive for 45ml, especially for CdG, typically not an overly high-didge brand—which I'm heartily grateful for. Price aside, you're talking to the wrong person if you want to know why there's no hype surrounding this, as I don't "get" the obsession with Tobacco Vanille, Back To Black, and Musk Ravaguer (sp) and, to me, those houses aren't doing anything as compelling or unique as CdG; LUXE: Patch should be up the alley of the die-hard fans of Sables as well. These are all dark, brooding, and I guess, sexy scents, and the first three I listed aren't cheap by any means, so I think that thirdly, the added focus on scary patchouli nailed its coffin shut. If it had been called something Northern African maybe it would've succeeded. As far as boring bottles...I don't think any that I just listed are particularly interesting (I tried TV, and was a bit miffed that a fairly costly fragrance had a crooked gold sticker for a label), but I agree with Mr. Almond that Rei Kawakubo could've given us more for our money, and not one of those detestable flat, oval-ish bottles, either. Get yourself a sample if you can find one, catch the setting sun, perhaps at the end of an Indian summer's day, and put LUX: Brian Eno on repeat. Nothing to do with the coincidence in names, it just fits, and I've always felt that Eno's music goes hand-in-hand with CdG's atmospheric scents, e.g. Standard Artek and Music For Airports (or For Films) create an absurdly lovely vibe together. Just at least try this if you're a patchouli lover; I didn't consider myself one, not as a main accord, but LUXE recruited me. For good.

149) the dead of the flared pants Who said that patchouli was a teenage hippie scent in the seventies? Not Comme des Garçons anyway. The impression of wealth and compact mass that emerges from the first notes attests. Created by Antoine Maisondieu, the nose of the unforgettable Rush for Men, Armani Code and quite some Etat Libre d'Orange. ( Why Frangrantica gives so little attention to identify the real creators of fragrances?it is very disrespectful no?) Here we find the moldy note who looks like a fermented yeast with a little culinary evocation of English "Marmite" without being disagreeable. A aniseed and peppery accord upgrades this massive building,by fusing and spicy freshness. The woody facet of Sumatra patchouli used here (the best quality) is enhanced by the presence of smoke and dry cedar, vetiver and sandalwood, while his dark undergrowth side is amplified by the resins (opoponax), the vanilla and oak moss. Comme des Garcons did not need to name it Luxe, simply smell it convinces that true luxury in perfumery today is more in this avant-guarde Franco-Japanese brand than in the so-disantes niche luxury brands, who declined all their fragrances on the Oud, the sugary fruityPatchouli ( and all what their market analysis department tell them to do.

I don't know if it worth its price, because that's the first "luxuous" fragrance I smell. So I can't compare with other like Killian, or Amouage... But for the perfume itself, let me tell you that's the BEST patchouli I ever sniffed. I am really tired of sweety patchouli all around the market. This one is not sweet as all, very masculine, deep, lovely sharp. A beautiful oriental / powdery / spicy gem. The longevity and the sillage are INSANE, it surrounds you like a mystical aura, as you were on an oriental palace on Sahara, full of spices. I won't buy it, because of the price, but I'll jealously keep my 1ml sample of this wonderful stuff. Just... Wow. If you want to put the price on an awesome but expansive fragrance and you love patchouli (not AT ALL sweet) with spices, go for it. 190€ the 45ml... but wow, you only need one spray to wear you for a long time with a mysterious sillage. LOVE LOVE LOVE

Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes, No...? "Yesss!" $300 / 45ml ???? "Hellll Noooooo!!!!!" "Damn it, CdG, I'll take it!" The best patchouli ever. Hands down. (if you turn the bottle around, it looks like a $3.60 nail polish) WTF Rei Kawakubo? Can't you give us something better than this? -Mr. Almond-

this is a fantastic patchouli. it has a sweetness to it that wafts underneath the strong notes and makes the scent SO inviting. i was quite impressed with it. sillage was good for a while and the longevity has been 'okay'. i think the drydown is rich with what i can only assume is a very high quality sandalwood. at $650 per 100ml this juice is just super-pricey. they're making Creed look cheap and giving Xerjoff a run fo their money! i'd love 45ml of it, but i'm gonna sample every damn patchouli scent on the planet before making that commitment. if you like patch, you owe it to yourself to try this! UPDATE: so i've collected literally dozens of patchouli scents and have been slowly doing fairly seriously comparisons between them. one thing worth mentioning is that (IMO, FWIW) the distinctiveness of this juice is a function of the opoponax being mixed in with the quality patch. that's where its 'sweetness' comes from when compared with other patch's. it's a shame Opo + Patch isn't more common of a mix than it seems to be!