Patchouli

The perfect Patchouli fragrance for my soul. It has a bit of everything - nature-like smell, dank, earthy, dusty, liquor-like, spicy, medicinal, only slightly sweet, and with a brilliantly poetic addition of rose. It is a soul-stirring, unfiltered, and brutal depiction of this note. I love many approaches to patchouli, from the dusty cocoa to the ambery ones. The variety that leaves me indifferent is the "modern" and "clean" patchouli scents a la Coromandel and Co. I like them as musty, dusty, earthy, and close-to-nature as possible. The Santa Maria Novella is that and more. I think it might be too literal for many, specifically if one is used to having their patchouli pampered by balsamic, woody, and floral notes. This one is as close to nature as it can get, further made challenging by the cold, almost metallic, and medicinal blast from the opening (very clove-forward), the raw earthiness (practically can nearly chew it), and the minimal sweetness and fillers. As with other perfumes from this house, it smells very high quality, quite butch, and medieval. With this one, I picture a dank cellar in a castle. The cold and wet opening, coupled with the boozy, liquor-like facet (like a liquor made from the earth) and the earthiness, all make me think of a cellar. There is, however, one aspect that helps bring out a lyrical and romantic face of the fragrance, and that is a vivid rose accord. It comes across as such and may be the suggested imagery of the combination of eugenol, geranium, and rosewood listed among the notes. Still, it's a rose nonetheless. Crimson petals of a withered flower dangling on the cold and wet earth. It allows a sensitive side of the perfume to show and prevents it from being too simple-minded and brute. This duality of darkness with speckles of diaphanous light makes me reminisce of the way Lestat dreamed of Claudia: "The smell of crushed rose petals wafting from her curly hair." I can see a character like Lestat de Lioncourt as an embodiment of this scent. The perfect balance of malevolence, starkness, timeless beauty, with a hint of romance. CAVEAT: Review based on the frosted bottle version, which differs from the current, clear-glass, and paper-label one. IG:@memory.of.scents

In the beginning it's chocolate patchouli, the chocolate smell only lasts for a few minutes (fortunately), otherwise it's earthy patchouli, the spicey character of it tickles my nose, it has also a little licorice character. It maybe just turned on my skin little to chocolately side, when i sprayed it on shirt its from the beginning earthy/rooty smell. After an hour, I stop registering it, over time it changes to the earthy smell. In our language we use the same word for spice and root, this smell smells like spicey root, when someone said i smelled like spices im not sure if he mean spicy or smell of roots, for me is mainly earthy smell. Patchouli is the same as in Marescialla. I use Marescialla on my neck and I put 2x Patchouli spritzs on my chest under my shirt, after a few hours when I stop registering Marescialla I start to smell the earthy scent of roots from under my shirt, these 2 scents complement each other. I started to be huge fan o SNM. I get chance to get original formulation, dark brown almost red juice in milky bottle. Its much different than current version. Velvety dark mysterious aroma, almost fruity red berries with vanilla tones, its not so spicey and earthy like current version, but more ambery and somehow powdery if you can said it like that. So old formulation is using absolutelly different patchouli with different qualities than the current one. Despite the fact they are still the “same” perfume, you need to look on them like 2 different perfumes. Both of them are nice, the mistake is they keep the same name. I will say main difference between them, that the current one is more sharp and earthy/rooty, the old one is more smooth and fruity with nice herbal black tea drydown. If you are interested in old formulation, let me know, the guy have more bottles of this old juice. Oh men, if you combine patchouli after shave from them with patchouli (old formulation) perfume, georgous combo. The other things i found these days that it have this glue quality in the opening, it smells like glue, will not say it’s synthetic smell and its somehow pleasant, but never noticed it before.

This perfume and particularly the patchouli causes me to go back in time not to my own time, but to one or more unknown times.. A time when knowledge, progress whether real or not, did not yet exist. It is a time when time passes to the rhythm of boredom, daily labors and the little miracles of life: such as the days sunny with the smiles that bloom on the faces encountered, an unconditional respect for life in society in a barely submissive nature! In short, natural time. This perfume brings together a part of that, but with all that one can expect from a pure patchouli..a note of camphor almost minty even of eucalyptus or pine, the smell of mushroom, of cellar, a dusty aspect and old, and finally the smell of earth in the background.. oh my beloved! This perfume in its frosted bottle (the current one being transparent with a white label on the front side), lasts quite long on my skin.. even if the smell seems close to the skin, I'm sure it diffuses very suitably (and it is an eau de cologne). In any case, for all patchouli lovers, it's a must have.. and the only one that I will keep as a standard meter! I don't find it dark or harsh...just pure and assertive. On the other hand, with this strong camphor (or even turpentine) note, it is difficult to show himself in the first half-hour...but little by little he becomes more able to be sociable. I think it's a good perfume on which you can juxtapose after the first hour other perfumes of which you would like to emphasize the patchouli or add its particularity! I don't find it close to that of Rem who with his overly imposing cistus labdanum weighs down the note of patchouli without emphasizing it, in other words, it stifles it. Here patchouli is the key word and it breathes deeply and so do we! ⁝

[OCT. 2021] UPDATE: No doubt, this is delicious patchouli. But don't go expecting a boozy-choco here or any sort of replacement for Nasomatto Pardon here. I feel... "how sad!", since Pardon is quite expensive for a 30ml compared to SMN Patchouli's 100ml, but even to this day there is still no beating the bush that even after 3 or 4 years Pardon is STILL the best undeniably boozy dark chocolate in the market around my area today. And I've tried Xerjoff and Lubin's takes-- also deliciously boozy but more like having Xerjoff's box of Lindt or Lubin's bite of Loacker than Pardon's Ferrero Rocher Noir...! By comparison, SMN's Patchouli is a vintage wooden cabin! Also, thank you to tiberije for a comparison! In short: "SMN Patchouli is a true patchouli, dry but never grating. Jovoy's Psychedelique turns from patchouli to delicious vanilla cafe-patchouli in 30 minutes. But my favourite is still Givenchy Gentleman (Boisee)." Hi tiberije, thank you for the PM! I'd love to hear what you think about Margiela's Jazz Club. I find just as delicious as Gentleman but with a bit of smooth sweet-patchoulish depth thanks to the Margiela tobacco flower note. Enjoy! [SEPT. 2021] I'm glad I'm not the only tester here that gets the boozy dark chocolate qualities of this patchouli. I'd love for someone to compare this to Jovoy's Psychedelique because these two by their reviews both praise these patchouli bombs/soliflores as having a delicious, addictive bitter dark chocolate semi-liqueurish quality to them. I'm leaning to this one because of the much more accessible price tag and just my ability to pick this one up locally in Fortitude Valley, QLD. A side-by-side would make for an interesting review video!

My favorite patchouli so far. The strong patchouli blast in the opening is a tad harsh but give it some time and you’ll be rewarded with a clean, smooth patchouli that has a beautiful, soft, soapy, slightly rosy drydown. The patchouli is thick, warm and spicy (pink peppery) but it dries down lighter without ever being too heavy unless you overspray. Really love this gem. It’s the kind of scent that will blend nicely into your skin and create a long lasting fluffy patchouli cloud around you all day. Actual notes are rose, jasmine, rosewood, patchouli, sandalwood and oakmoss but it's blended so perfectly that you mostly just get patchouli. About 95% patchouli and 5% Rose. I also get a nice, smooth clove note in the drydown. Even those who don’t like rose will probably love this because the rose works so well and remains subtle. I own a full bottle of this and also Lorenzo Villoresi Patchouli but I prefer the Santa Maria. It’s a must have for patchouli lovers. Some say it's not as strong as it used to be but I applied two sprays last night at 9:00 and my wife smelled it from several feet away this morning. Patchouli is all about the sillage. It can't be enjoyed with your nose buried in it. It can only be enjoyed when floating in the air after drying on the skin. NOTE that this review is for the older formula with darker red/brown juice, not the newer reformulated gold juice with paper label on bottle. I hope they didn't destroy this masterpiece with a shit reformulation.

This is my first fragrance from SMN house. After first sniff I‘m completely in love with this one, however this is nothing easy. Very very very deep and dry. It doesn’t contain any vanilla which is common element in almost all patchouli colognes or perfumes. Even Profvmvm Roma Patchouli is small smiling baby in comparison to this one. Try to imagine old house surrounded by old trees during the late fall. Outside is cold and rainy the rotten leafs around with very deep and characteristic smell. You are going to the house were nobody was living for decades... everything seems to be dead and completely frozen by time. You feel scared but no one is around. The wind makes noise and you feel cold moisture everywhere. The only way is to escape as soon as possible. This fragrance never ends. Even you are faraway from this place you will always remember it. This is Patchouli by SMN. If you are not scared go ahead and try this. But always be aware... evil can catch you ;-)

This scent has many things for me. Like the country I know and love. It’s not too hot, and the day’s about to end... The sky grows dark, and the world is big and wonderful, and very familiar eyes look at me, so full of wisdom and laughter, and the flowers are special, and the world turns. And there’s another something for me here, the scent has two stories... or three. There was a time when I had to pass the cemetery on my way to school. I went home using the same way, of course. The smell I felt every time there, by the cemetery... I was afraid of it at first, then I grew to love it. And yes, I know what else is here. The smells of some kind of soap, medicine for terminal patients and chemicals that are used to make a body last long enough to look more or less normal at the funeral. But the flowers are there, and the sky is beautiful, and I remember the eyes full of wisdom and laughter, and the world is big and wonderful, and it does turn.

Beautiful, easy to live with patchouli; quite expensive for an eau de cologne, but worth it, imo. It starts pretty great & strong, but settles down in 10-15 minutes, and gradually turns into a skin scent (on me) in 45 - 60 minutes, which is typical of an eau de cologne. It ends up as very round patchouli & a little mint on me, very soft and subtle. I love it so much that I reapply it a couple of times a day when I'm wearing it. I will still catch a slight whiff of it upon awaking the next morning from the day before. Extremely high quality ingredients. You'll find nothing else quite like it. Givenchy Gentleman is much more "perfumey", but it does have a similar vibe (but without the mint, and with some leather thrown in). I own them both & love them both. But the MSN Patchouli is really in a class by itself. I don't see how anyone could be offended by this, unless they have an overtly excessive aversion to patchouli. Truly unique.

At first, all I can smell is a giant, loamy, forest floor patchouli. It smells like the black earth of a deciduous forest, but somehow retains a sense of "cleanliness" rather than dirtyness or "stink." It almost smells like the dried-down base of Aromatics Elixir, which is my reference for a "smooth" patchouli (as opposed to a "raspy" or "sanpapery" one). Slowly, some complexity emerges, although patchouli is still the main note. Stitched into the giant velvet curtain of patchouli is a very faint barbershop accord reminiscent of Proraso shaving soap: a minty-menthol eucalyptus mist that floats on top of the endless waves of patchouli. Projection is large, but by no means overpowering—it's a very transparent and well-behaved scent, but I have been catching arm's-length whiffs of the two sprays on my wrist off and on for about six hours. If what you want is patchouli, you've found it. This stuff is great.

EDIT: just took this out of the perfume closet (4/2024) after not sniffing it since September and NOW I SMELL IT! it is actually quite potent. I wonder if it needed to rest. This is truly the most magnificent patch there is. NO AMBER thank g d. It is very dry, elegant and sexy as hell. Could be my signature. I just purchased a small bottle after coveting for years and going through many small decants dating back to 2011. Maybe I am noseblind but this disappears very quickly now unfortunately. It’s a very special perfume , very dry and natural and like nothing else out there. Sad it’s not lasting longer. The bottle is super pretty with a beautiful heavy cap that closes smoothly and the SMN engraving on the back.

My thoughts on the new style bottle (clear glass, white paper label) I bought last year in the SMN shop in London. It fills the room with 2 sprays and easily lasts 10 hours on my skin, and forever on clothes. Even my wife, who normally says nothing about fragrance immediately asked what I was wearing when I walked into the kitchen today, 30 minutes after spraying. I don't get the reviews that talk about it being watered down or weak - it's absolutely not the case with the bottle I have. It's pure, deep, dark patchouli to me, with a tiny hint of rose to soften it. I don't find it sweet and chocolately like Psychedelique, nor green and dry like Tempo - it's very old school and closer to patchouli oil.

Everything has been said, without a doubt and by far the best patchouli. BUT so weak today. Since Santa Maria Novella, the oldest perfume house in the world, decided to become modern "niche" and appeal to the masses, things have drastically changed. Some 15 years ago, "Patchouli" still was so incredibly strong that it lasted more than 3 days on skin, shower after shower, and so dense that the sprayer had to be cleaned every week to prevent it from clogging. Weaker reformulations, discontinuations, mundane creations... Did I prefer when there was only one store in Florence, which offered some of the most exclusive and rare perfumes on earth ? Of course I did.

One deep breath of this and I've tapped into the deepest root of the apothecarian legacy that made the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella. This is a pungent, earthy, dark, rich patchouli which feels ancient and aromatherapeutic. It's also beautiful in a serious, focused way. It has the medicinal vibe of an elixir which sits in balanced energy on the spectrum of life <----> death; a timeless, humus-sweet healing concoction suspended in amber-coloured liquid. I have affection and a great deal of respect for my treasured bottle. Distillation: Italian friars ancient apothecary timeless and healing

patchouli! purely! all in it's green, medicinal, dark wood, chocolatey glory! i love the journey one note can take you on and this is a great one to be in. it really feels like a gigantic damp log covered in moss; like dark green earth. it also nicely portrays how patchouli could smell like dark chocolate. it's like going for a walk in a very damp, overgrown forest, while eating a chocolate bar. being an eau de cologne, it is a bit of a short ride for a patchouli, but i appreciate it nonetheless.

small mint dark chocolate bars straight out of the wrappers. ive had someone say i smell vintage and another person say i "smell like i have my shit together". you have to commit to the bit wearing this, do not try to blind buy if you dont know whether or not you like patchouli -- it /needs/ to be your thing. the most "true" patchouli scent to me and i'll definitely upgrade to the 100ml once i finish my 50ml (:

Forest foliage Definitely the best patchouli in the world of scent. The only personal objection I have, is that I would love it to be even more intense! Spicy, resinous, dark brown and golden like leaves on the forest soil, sensuously elegant eau de cologne that never, never "goes over to the hippy side". For late autumn; the first cold day of the year; the solitary walks in the early evening darkness. 5/5

This is deep and medicinal but not moist and dull like most other patchouli scents. Imagine lying down on a bed of soil with some green plants and several roses surrounding you. It is a cool, dry afternoon in fall, and the breeze that occasionally tickles your nose is what this perfume smells like. Very earthy and herbal, somewhat woody and floral. Best patchouli themed scent I’ve tried.

This is the best Patchouli. I've tried Reminiscence, Réserve Naturelle, Profvmvm. They are all very similar and too sweet. SMN is not sweet, it is very fresh herbal. Don't be afraid, this stuff is Eau de Cologne, but it is nuclear. And the price here is right: 90 EUR / 100 ml. The dry down is like black aoud without the rose.

this on me is just straight dirty earthy patchouli, I almost get a lemony undertone from it. I ordered online directly from SMN and it shipped amazingly fast. Wow reminds me of my mom, she was a patchouli lover through and through. I love it! Not sure how the longevity is yet or the sillage. Highly recommended 10/10

If Santa Maria Novella dared to fuck with the original formula (frosted glass bottle/dark amber juice) then I would say shame on them for eternity! I’m about half way through my original formula bottle but considering trying the new lighter colored formulation, but doubting it’s nearly as good.