Eau de Patchouli
Réminiscence (2009)

Very closely related to two favorites of mine in the ambery-patch genre, namely the same brand's Inoubliable Elixir and the original Patchouli, only much lighter, woodier, and with a powdery incense quality that reminds of the coating on papiers d'armenie. The famous 1970s-style Reminiscence patchouli treatment is in ripe old form here, i.e., fallen autumn leaves rotting slowly and nobly into the sweet, honeyed voluptuousness of amber. But the texture deviates by being far less treacly and rich. Some air has been let into the room and it is all the better for it.

Sadly, I think this has been discontinued, which makes me wonder if Reminiscence missed a trick by not going the full hog with this and turning it into a summer cologne-style treatment of the original patch-amber accord, instead of tinkering only slightly with the model and ending up with a result that, in its failure to mark new territory, is clearly a child who has loudly declared their independence from its parents only to move into a house right next door (with Mum still doing the laundry).