Patchouli Leaves fragrance notes
- Amber, Bourbon vanilla, Labdanum, Patchouli leaf, White musk
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Latest Reviews of Patchouli Leaves

Patchouli Leaves definitely opens with a blast of patchouli. Not skanky or hippie, or any of those unflattering adjectives people sometimes use to describe patchouli. After a while the fragrance relaxes and remains for a long time on the skin, exuding sweetness and earthiness, displaying that chocolaty patchouli that I enjoy so much.
You can wear it year round, especially at night and in cooler temps. It's quietly alluring in a "you don't know how good you look" kinda way. Sexy as hell and not trying. Silage is low, but I like that aspect because as we all know, patchouli can be a polarizing scent.

A dark (not only the colour of the juice) patchouli that explodes on my skin, rich and intense, with a discreetly resinous undertone, but, surprisingly, it is rather smooth. It lacks harshness and sharpness - this is no Purple Patchouli and comes across as much softer that Tom Ford's paradigmatic creation. Soon, quite soon, it is accompanied by an amber note that is equally brooding but remains an accompaniment only; nothing dents the predominance of the patchouli leaves here.
The main notes that contribute to the mix and add additional shades and variations are a nice labdanum, as well as a vanilla note that adds sone sweetness, although the latter is also provided by the judicious application of some white musks towards the end. Whiffs wood, oak mainly, as well of a slightly bitter cocoa, act as a counterbalance and keep the sweetness in check.
I get strong sillage, excellent projection, and a good nine hours in my skin.
This scent for warmer winter evenings is a luscious patchouli creation that is a good choice for someone who wants to explore patchouli compositions but dislikes the grating sharpness that they sometimes display. It is a bit linear at times, but overall it offers just enough development to entice. 3.75/5
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Over the years my attitude to patchouli has matured a bit. I realize that its full throttle expressiveness can take the wearer on a journey, that its intensity has rewards, helping draw together sensation and emotion into a palpable rush. But it is a scent I still always approach with caution and could never think of wearing every day; I need to be in a frame of mind capable of channelling its power.
All that throat-clearing is just to say that one needs that receptivity to love Montale's Patchouli Leaves. It's a one-spray perfume presenting a huge but properly rounded patchouli realization the narcotic main event ringed first with enticing humid soil and phenolic accents and then gathering up a creamy, dark chocolate layer before yeasty vanilla and a rich amber base finish the experience. All the time it stays true to its dominating ingredient patchouli nothing in the composition deviates from it. This singlemindedness has won it many fans. I won't argue with them, but my own preference is for something a bit more characterful, a point of imbalance even, say the Lethe-like darkness and density of Goutal's Mon Parfum Cherie Par Camille, the booziness of Patchouli Antique or the smoke-and-wood luxuriousness of my current patchouli fave, Meo Fusciuni's Narcotico.


