Patchouli Eau de Parfum by Molinard

I bought Molinard Patchouli blindfolded, and honestly, it didn’t disappoint. Upon opening, it’s an earthy, clean, and direct patchouli, without sweetness or modernism. At first, there’s a citrus note, like orange, which gives freshness but fades quickly. There’s also a floral touch, probably geranium, which softens without losing character. On my skin, the king is the patchouli: dry, elegant, and classic. The base notes aren’t very noticeable yet; I’ll have to give it more time. To me, it clearly smells like a man, without being rough or extremely vintage. Good longevity and moderate sillage; it’s an honest, well-made fragrance that stays true to its name. A patchouli without pretensions but with personality.

It opens like nitrogenated peas, a violent green of asparagus that’s scary, leaning more towards cat pee. As it dries, soap enters: old, floral, and musky, which combines with that damp-basement patchouli. But the Molinard one doesn’t smell like ruins or old; it’s more like a sepia-toned 19th-century filter. It evokes a white bathtub with lion legs and an ornamental faucet. For me, it’s a bubble bath at a country house with rain outside. Note: as it dries, it gets dirtier, the green fades, and the musks and rough camphor notes rise. It has a funerary part, but very aseptic, nothing gore. It’s a well-arranged corpse’s tomb, like a civilized and sexy lich, just like the villains in The Mummy.

It threw me off. It was a blind buy, a sport I love. I’m not much of a gambler, but buying perfume without testing it carries a risk I enjoy; it reminds me of the blind bags at the fair, where sometimes you’d get shit on a stick, but you kept buying for the thrill. In this case, Molinard’s Patchouli didn’t please me, but it’s far from ‘shit on a stick’—it’s a good fragrance. It opens, develops, and closes with patchouli. Watch out, nothing like the fluorescent patchouli of Angel or the fruit-patchouli of the past decade, that astringent neon. Here, there’s patchouli of mothballs and closed wardrobes, the classic. It has an earthy touch, but not as wet and cask-like as the one I like; it’s bushy, with that narcotic touch of decomposing earth. It makes me think of a warren, and that’s how patchouli smells. It’s similar to Villoresi’s, but that one is rougher and tarred by the acidity of a terebinthine lavender that stings. This one is calmer, yet not easy. It smells like sarcophagi, royal exoticism, and fungal nature. And fuck, I love the fungal part, and the earthy too, but it feels too sharp and fermented. I think the geranium, with its floral yeast aftertaste (I’ve never tolerated it), helps the patchouli have a side of oppressive, dirty oil. I don’t feel the sandalwood or neroli, only vanilla starting from the heart phase, pressed, fortified, and woody like crème brûlée. Overall, an excellent perfume, decent quality, patchouli and geranium, very English and strict. They say unisex, but for me, it’s masculine, lacking or having too much for me to wear. If you like it, the longevity is very good and it shines with grace. P.S.: Molinard has a catalog of the best; Habanita is in great shape, and its flanker La Cologne surprises with quality and beauty in this era of single-layer perfumes.

Just bought a small bottle. Obviously, the patchouli is noticeable from start to finish, but on my skin, the dry-down feels a bit ‘rough,’ perhaps due to the vanilla. I use it a lot because I love patchouli, even though it’s not very well-regarded in my country. I mix it with a jasmine perfume from L’Erbolario. Anyway, it has good projection for a few hours and is very long-lasting. I love it!