Patchouli Mania

I don't like patchouli. To me, it smells dirty, slimy, skunky and its always been the main ingredient in every granny perfume. So my concern was that I would indeed hate this perfume, that it would honk and would not scrub off no matter how hard I tried. But on the plus side, as a South African, I've grown up with dried coriander seeds in almost every meal and snack imaginable, and I absolutely love them. And I love a nutty, cacao smell that isn't sweet. So let's just say I wasn't sure what to expect from this perfume as a whole, but was hoping that the sum of its parts might be a pleasant surprise. Cut to today. It's cold, grey, and miserable outside. I've been slowly and deliberately working my way through the sample set, and this was next in line. I sprayed the tiniest two drops onto my wrist and braced myself for an assault from the imaginary patchouli boogeyman I'd built up in my mind. The opening certainly made an impression, the first 2 hours are confrontational. I wont lie, its arresting, but the oily, skunky pong I had been dreading never arrived. Its more sharp, sour and chokingly strong. After about 3 hours it smelt dry and textured, almost vetiver-like, with hints of juniper tracing around the edges. Beneath that, a soft, velvety iris began to emerge. Gradually, the fragrance relaxed, as though someone had lifted their foot off the accelerator and the car had settled into an effortless coast. At the 5 hour mark, the projection had softened considerably, retreating closer to the skin and becoming something gentle and quietly pleasant. Now, 6 hours after first contact, I'm left reflecting on what a surprising encounter this has been. Not an explosion, but more of a confrontational reveal. Unfortunately no cacao, nuttiness or coriander were present at any time during this journey. I won't be buying a full bottle. But I can see myself investing in a smaller size and spending considerable time with it. Developing a relationship, perhaps. Getting to know its moods and quirks. Update: Its roughly a year and a half down the road, and its summer now. I tried it this morning. Its around 17 degrees Celsius in Ireland, with loads of sunshine. Unfortunately for me, as soon as a drop of the Patchouli Mania touched my skin, it was really unpleasant, and stayed skanky for about 6 hours then disappeared, thank god. I did try to wash it off, but ultimately, the dish soap just managed to make its smell worse. I was tempted to use bleach, but thought better of it. So my take away from Patchouli Mania is: if you are a person who likes the stinkiness of patchouli, wear this perfume in summer, when its hot and sweaty. It would be akin to a buttoned up version of what you already like. For those of us who find patchouli an unfavorable ingredient in perfumes we wish we could love, wear it when there's snow, during the bitter cold iciness of winter. This would be your opportunity to have a wild experience and flirt with danger. Patchouli Mania is unequivocally not a safe blind buy, and could NOT ever be thought of as office safe! If you wear this to an office, you should be shot on sight. Consider yourself warned!

This one is severely underrated when we talk about Essential Parfums. This is one of the most beautiful patchouli's I've ever smelled, and for a while I was a certified patchouli-hater. I would avoid anything with patchouli. Now this isn't like a beginner friendly "throw it at someone" kind of patchouli. It definitely requires a slightly more mature nose, but once you approach it with an open mind it's actually gorgeous. Yes it is patchouli forward, but that's not the only note there. It's the cacao and the hazelnut that really offer depth to this scent. It is not a gourmand. Let me repeat. IT IS NOT A GOURMAND. However, gourmand-like notes make the scent easier to digest, especially for me who gravitate more towards gourmands on the regular. The cacao offers this rich, chocolate-y element. Cacao is a more earthy gourmand note to me, and because it's simply the smell of like roasted cacao it's not at all milky. Patchouli also has a chocolate-like smell to it in some facets, so it blends together beautifully. The nuttiness from the hazelnut amplifies the woody aspects, as well as the cacao. I personally don't find it to be green. I don't pick out the davana. And the tea note isn't prominent. Really it's the vetiver I pick up on. And I love vetiver. The vetiver here is slightly smokey. I find vetiver at times can kind of give off like a savory almost salty aspect. Again not food, but it's like when fragrances contain sandalwood to contrast with sweeter lighter notes. The slight smokey, salty, woodiness from the vetiver almost makes it smell slightly clean. Not like fresh out of the shower clean, or like Bleach and Fabuloso, but like a clean person with like slightly salty skin. This one is after my heart with that vetiver. If it wasn't here and if I couldn't smell it, this would be forgotten in my collection. I found this while trying to find a new wearable perfume for a new chapter in my life. Trying to be more down to earth, conscious of my spending and consumption, etc. This scent is beautifully earthy, but not dirty. Like it's not giving hippie who hasn't showered in a week. It has woody elements, slight smokiness, and of course the patchouli and cacao but it's not heavy. This is a very wearable patchouli scent, and I see some people criticize how it lasts and projects-- but patchouli is often a very challenging note for many people. The fact that it is light and it's not constantly "skanky" as I've heard some describe patchouli-- is a good thing in my mind. It doesn't give me headaches. It's a great year rounder, though in sweltering summer where you sweat a lot, perhaps the cacao and patchouli could come off a bit... musty. Essential Parfums is also just a great house. A more affordable price point for big bottles. They're refillable, so you don't have to buy new bottles and just throw out old ones. So it is more sustainable. The bottle design is also just simple but gorgeous. A simple rectangular bottle with a plain black cap, but the label isn't tacky. It's elegant but also modern.

Really nice. Big win for Essential Parfums in trying to craft something unique, complex, and affordable. This doesn't smell like a big, full patchouli note to me, and it seems that Clearwood is essentially a very clean and lean version of the note. The cacao stretches that soft transparent woodiness into something more familiar of a rich patchouli accord, but it lacks the typically damp, deep earthiness I pick up in other fragrances that lean into the note. This feels balmy and warm like a gust of tropical air, with the davana and coriander helping imagine a densely humid field of herbs and bushes alive with spicy freshness and balsamic undertones. The biggest twist I pick out comes from hazlenut. The effect comes across as fatty, slightly savory, and sharply aromatic. I haven't tried Les Indomedables Patchouli Noisette, but it appears similar. I do own Guerlain's L'Homme Ideal Intense and the aromatic almond note is in a slightly similar style, but the nuttiness here is much more prominent. I forget what L'Instant smells like, but in general this is giving me Guerlain vibes with how smooth, sensual, and refined it feels. The tea and ambroxan-like base enhance the weightless clean feeling. There it feels radiant, warm, and intensely woody while retaining a waxy, aromatic hazlenut aroma for a while. I find it hard to guage the sweetness because it's equally balanced by bitter, spicy-herbal notes, but it does feel like a dark chocolate treat of some kind and deserving of the "gourmand" title. Overall a great addition to the line while being a bit more adventurous than the others. edit: surprised to see the rating of this one so low. Coming back to it now even in the late August heat, I'm finding it is a really lovely, oddly fresh, aromatic, sensual patchouli with a beautifully refined tea/cacao/ambroxan aroma. Really not as dark and patchouli heavy/overpowering as some of the reviews will have you believe. Way more transparent.

Slightly animalic opening, almost in the vein of Kouros from YSL. It dissipates fast however. The hazelnut and patchouli really blend well here, and they are the most discernible notes I get. Tea and vetiver together with some floral and green accents come through eventually but never take over the limelight. If there actually is a cacao note in addition to the patchouli I could not tell you, because I have had scents without cacao listed actually smelling more of it than this, as in Jovoy’s _Psychedélique_. A mention of Guerlain’s Héritage also seems proper, although it is various L’Instant iterations from that house most people think about in association with PM. My rationale for mentioning the former, is that PM has base notes that I think makes a full wearing being more reminiscent of Héritage — at least after a couple of hours. PM feels like it is made with more minimalist approach, that strips away lavender and all powdery aspects, but it is still sharing a baseline as a recognisable DNA it inherits (hrm) from Héritage. All in all: Nice year around (maybe avoid high heat) male signature scent, but yet so modern that it would be interesting to smell on a woman. Having mentioned Héritage, I should also comment on Parisi’s _Brutus_ that has more barbershop and Gualtieri’s (in)famous musk over it too, where PM is lighter and is less attached to traditional barbershop vibes. If Brutus challenges Héritage’s elegant wearability with said musk, PM’s weapon of choice is a bouquet of raw materials that remains more unrefined, but of a quality that does not require any taming at all. It feels greener and woodier but so gently so that you feel no tree was harmed in making it. When my bottle of Brutus is gone, I will seriously consider Patchouli Mania as a purchase (I have other scents to carry the torch of traditional male perfumery instead).

Received it few days ago and tested a few times now! This is another great release for price quality wise from essential parfums. The patchouli as the name says is not in your face or very dark. Instead this opens very minty anis kind of thing, but that’s the nutty effect this perfume has with some coriander. While this happens the patchouli is very gentle and soft in the background.. and this immediately reminds me of oud wood from TF but with patch instead of woody notes and vanilla. While it develops the cacao, vanilla and patch starts to shine! This is the moment I realised I love the perfume, the opening could be to much anis Vibe but later it’s perfectly balanced. I expected a more patchouli scent but it’s a aromatic thing tbh with patchouli always there but always relaxing... like a father, always there but not necessarily in the front page, but on the background checking if everything is fine.. Longevity is really good specially for a patch which my skin eats easily. But projection is just ok after an hour and that’s the moment when it really gets amazing unfortunately... that’s why 9/10. If you like aromatics and if you like patch or want to be surprised and start discovering patch world start with this!

In a way this is as much of a gourmand i’d probably ever wear, and this is not a diss! I really cherish it for this unexpected personal discovery. Even though Patchouli is one of my favorite ingredients, i can forgive this for not being what this poorly chosen name would suggest. Patchouli is not the central player here. I am actually getting a lot of dark, dry chocolate and wonderfully roasted bitter hazelnut with even some more lighter sweets such as green tea rice mochi in the background. It is pretty rare that i can get each note attributed here as clearly. To me the artemisia davana only gives as much of a medicinal property as this wonderful herbal family would rightly give your hearty stew, and thus sparing your stomach from overbearing. A small amount of toasted coriander seeds posits this even more firmly in edible range. This array of festive treats rest in a smooth, polished wooden bowl, right next to a dark, but illuminated green. Only fitting that this was a quite lovable companion during this christmas season! Lifting the solemn and sombering into delicious comfort while oppositely grounding the sparkling and sticky-sweetnees unto earthy cushioned roots. Underrated in my book!

I have tried all of the samples in Essential Parfums' discovery set and, to my great surprise, I really love them all -- yes, including this one, which, looking at its Fragrantica score, doesn't seem as well liked as some of the others. I will admit, the opening of Patchouli Mania is very weird -- on my skin, it smells like peanut butter or maybe pralines -- I assume the result of the hazelnut and cacao notes working together. It doesn't smell bad, but it's not at all what I was expecting and not exactly how I want to smell. In the grand scheme of things, I don't really know what purpose the hazelnut serves. Thankfully, that phase doesn't last too long. In stark contrast, the mid and dry down have a very pleasant, almost soapy (in a good way) patchouli-mint scent profile. In my opinion, another very good creation by Essential Parfums.

Lovely. This scent fills a void in my collection, as someone generally not a fan of ultra heavy vanillic scents. This gives me a rich and luxurious scent wearable in winter, yet it retains a fundamental woodiness, lightness, and freshness. Something about this is regal to me. Pure class. It's a sunny and glorious patchouli, and frankly my favorite that I've smelled so far. It is modern, but still unabashedly patchouli forward. I will wear this for years to come. I had to buy a FB. Well done.

Right from the start, it's classic chocolatey patchouli mixed with hazelnut. As it develops, coriander, tea, and vetiver begin to surface, giving the composition a green edge. It more or less stays in this vein through the drydown. Despite what the name might suggest, there's nothing damp, musty, or crypt-like about it. On the contrary, I think it's very easy to wear and quite versatile. Not a safe blind buy, but a very good entry point for anyone interested in exploring patchouli.

Beautiful opening that unfortunately loses its spark in the dry down. Would be one of my favorites from the house if not for the fact that it loses that beautiful dark bitterness from the opening which really sets it apart. Still really enjoy it however. opening - 9.8/10 dry down - 5/10 (UPDATED TO 8.1/10) overall - 7/10 imo (UPDATED TO 9/10 imo) EDIT: TRIED IT A FEW DAYS AGO AND THOUGH I STILL PREFER THE OPENING, THE DRY-DOWN IS STILL SOLID. HERBAL, DARK, AND EARTHY.

Patchouli Mania deserves more than it's current rating of 3.72. it's a lovely patchouli scent that nutty with Abit chocolatey. Young and immature noses may need to give it a few minutes to settle from the opening spray, however many mature noses will like the bitterness to last longer. That said, it's not too difficult to wear Patchouli mania, it's not that strong, it's airy not too strong patchouli and woody aromatic. Good for most occasions. Good for the masses.

I was expecting plain (yet extraordinary) patchouli and I got complex perfume with various, genuine semblances. The opening is quite green and piercing, but almost immidiately gets more sweet and soft. Cocoa nuances calmes the fragrance and woody aspects start developing. It is perfect, well-balanced scent: warm, comforting, delicious in its crafted purity. I am not patchouli maniac, but I enjoyed it very much.

This is great. Bravo Essential Parfums. This is my second favourite, just after Fig Infusion. It has similarities to Profumum Roma's Patchouly and Psychedelique from Jovoy, and also some cocoa facet similar to Suma Oriental from Une Nuit Nomade. All in all it's a very pleasing and well crafted scent, and I'm glad that Essential is better with every new release, which can't be said for many fragrance houses.

This is one of the most beautiful patchoulis I've had the pleasure to smell. Oriental and slightly earthy, but with a soothing, enveloping, and tender hint of cocoa and hazelnut, it creates a completely different aspect of this olfactory note. It's comforting, pleasant, warm. The scent lasts for several hours, but it's not overpowering; the sillage is rather close to the skin. A beautiful composition.

Essential Parfums has done it again. Taken a popular perfume note and created a high-quality fragrance by a renowned perfumer highlighting that note in a familiar way, yet with subtle unique touches (in this case a nutty accord). Patchouli is not my thing, but this is very pleasant and an incredible deal for the price. Longevity seemed average to above average.

What a cool and interesting fragrance. It’s both a patchouli bomb and also... chocolate hazelnut? Like there is an obvious Nutella accord without any gourmand sweetness and it’s one of the best, most prominent and most realistic cocoa notes I’ve encountered. There’s also something anise- or coriander-like. The overall effect is something I can’t stop smelling.

I love patchouli and this is my favorite! I fell in love with patchouli while on the grateful dead tour huffing balloons with hippy chicks. I have tried many and hardly any have that gritty, earthy patchouli that I was looking for. This and Psychedelique do have it. This one is cheaper and performs perfectly! I get 8 hours with about 3 foot projection. 8.75

Started out as a chocolate patchouli goodness, finished as a polished tea-woody smart scent. Sophisticated and earthy. Patchouli even for someone who isn’t crazy about it. Unisex. Great value! This brand is "too safe" for my liking, and Patchouli mania is the only one a little more out there from the line. associations: earthy glam, vintage rings

Patchouli, what patchouli? Unfortunately all I get is an incredibly realistic hazelnut in the first minute then a fragrance that resembles Tygar. Really disappointed with Patchouli Mania. No patchouli detected throughout my first wear. Longevity is excellent at about 12 hours. I'll wear this in the summer; it's bright, airy.

Yeah, yeah I do like Patchouli I just found out. Smells very chocolatey, like crumbled darking baking chocolate. Drydown is definitely leagues ahead of the opening. Good longevity, It's detectable on my skin for about 9 hours, very soft projection though. More intimate scent.