Reviews of Tempo 
Diptyque (2018)

Tempo reminds me of being out in the woods, stepping outside in the morning and taking in all the smells of the wet grass, the water and the forest around me. Here the patchouli is more on the woody side likely due to the cedar note.

The pink pepper and cedar are both very discernable and blend well with the patchouli. Interestingly, for me this fragrance actually gets much fresher in the heart phase and I notice the bergamot and clary sage only after the first 30-45 minutes have passed. The drydown is essentially a sweetened light patchouli.

The overall effect over and over again is compellingly beautiful, a fresh faced patchouli scent never cloying nor leads to olfactory fatigue like many other patchoulis. This would be great for day and/or night wear in Winter and the pink pepper would allow it to hold up during even a humid summer night. Very good people's reactions.

Now THIS is a fragrance I can really love! I am not one to chase fragrances made by candle makers, or purveyors of room fragrances; however someone suggested I try Tempo and I'm so glad I did.

Wow...this fragrance is so me, it really is!! I'm not a fan of dark, syrupy patchouli fragrances, nor am I a lover of church-y, masculine incense notes. But Tempo seems to match the best of these worlds and for me, Diptyque gets it completely right!

Initially out of the bottle, I am not a huge fan. Not sure what to expect, I detect strong and overpowering PEPPER (not a fan) and citrus...like fizzy, hit my nose, overpowering pepper & fizz. Pushing through, a delightful blend of patchouli emerges, patchouli that is balanced by violet leaf, Cleary sage and mate. I imagine the mate, sage & violet leaf even out the intensely dark & syrupy nature that can be patchouli, thus contributing to the unique balance of this beautiful & delightful scent.

Not so sure what makes this read "incense" on my skin but for some reason, I frequently detect that fragrance, or note (which I love). Now, I am not a perfume expert but I imagine the addition of sage & mate give this fragrance its balance of herbaceous burning incense.

Hours into my application, I find myself sniffing my forearms & wrists. Hours in, wafts of smooth, soothing patchouli with mild incense elements frequently hit my nose. I would say longevity is pretty good at 6-8 hours and silage is moderate. This is not a fragrance that remains close to the skin, nor does it scream 60's hippie, or head shop. To my nose, while the patchouli is definitely present, the sum of the parts makes this fragrance special.

In general, I like this patchouli fragrance a lot. I'm going to give it a few tries because in the end, it may be full-bottle worthy for me.

The opening blast is bright and cheery, with bergamot and a violet-leaf-impression greeting me right from the start.

This friendly greeting leads over into the drydown soon, with a green slat appearing, which starts off a bit herbal; clary sage and whiffs of fresh grass are noticeable at this stage. Soon a fresh mate impression arises, but in never really moves into the foreground on me.

Then the main player makes its appearance, a bright and mildly crisp patchouli impression, which is probably the most important in the olfactory creation overall. Towards the end touches of white pepper arise, and whilst the intensity of the overall mix weakens with time, at the end the pepper, accompanied by a dusty and earthy-woodsy undertone constitute the final impressions the prevail on me.

I get moderate sillage, very good projection, and ten hours of longevity on my skin.

This spring scent is nice and pleasant, with few original touches that, however, are not particularly titillating. Still, it is crafted quite well, not too generic, and overall a good experience. 3/5

Tempo is a mature patchouli kept warm by mate and kept modern by a screaming pink-pepper-reinforced violet leaf that -- unfortunately because it's my favorite note in the composition -- is much more prevalent on paper than my skin.

The frag is unlike anything else I've smelled while the bergamot, violet, and pepper are around. Too bad they aren't around longer. At that point what is left is a patch/powder that is familiar but not a retread -- mature but not old. Unique, but not quite special. Right before the end, the powder clarifies into a warm lavender that rides into the sunset.

It's a perfectly nice patch that defies convention just enough to be an entertaining wear as well as eschew whatever associations patchouli brings immediately to mind.

I really like this. It's got a slug of mate, which is a tea-lover's dream note, smelling of sweet, dried leaves. Also good nature-lovers, it has a dose of clary sage which imparts a clean, minty aroma. Violet leaf accents the green aspects of the patchouli. Pink pepper opens it up with a spicy airiness.

One would expect something nose-searing and dry, but no. Somehow, it manages to sweeten on the skin. How is that so?

I suspect the trick is to use patchouli isolates, in which the heavy, smoky, dirt and wood fractions are removed. Then they blend, blend, blend with complementary, lighter, fresher notes to achieve a phantom sweetness. Bravo, Tempo!

After I came to terms with the fact that many, many people detest patchouli, I gave up wearing the woody patchouli bomb of Santa Maria Novella Patchouli. But what then? It's hard to add sweetness to this note without going wrong. Vanilla can be too edible, too nauseating. Fruitchouli can, and does, annoy me very soon and very completely. I loved Coromandel until the EDP reformulation.

In Tempo, I've found a natural, honest patchouli that is stretched out over a framework of outdoorsy notes. It's discreet enough to wear in public. My sample did not project very far on my skin, but it was detectable for a long time. I will have to find a new bottle to evaluate its strength.

Diptyque pulls a clever trick with Tempo – they take a head-whirling patchouli creation, all hippie flares and caked make-up and dial it down so it becomes something a bit sophisticated rather than just a throwback. So, the first thing to note about Tempo is its well-judged sillage – you're unlikely to have the person next to you run for cover, gasping for breath, a reaction some patchoulis can provoke.
And then there's the bouquet – this is a unashamedly ‘perfumey' patchouli. By perfumey, I mean it isn't just ‘Ah, patch – tick!', but seems to have an orchestra of floral elements, soap bubbles and fatty litpsticky notes surging within it. Patchouli lovers will feel shortchanged on the earthier, sultry and dark aspects, which are missing here. The herbal zing of sage brings a touch of ‘gents cologne' freshness to the mix and the accent of dusty bitterness from the mate provides moderate intrigue.
Tempo's essentially temperate nature is perhaps a drawback for thrill seekers, but here is a well put together patchouli suitable for everyday wear which is likely what Diptyque were after.

Love this! I grew up in Notting Hill and lived a 2 minute walk from Portobello market...my memories back then are walking through the market smelling a heady, dirty smell that was Patchouli...it was a lot danker and pungent than Tempo, and my quest for this goes on, but in the meantime Tempo is a great everyday fragrance for me. Great fresh opening and not as ‘skanky' as I've heard from others. To paraphrase Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds track Holy Mountain, “...she smelled like 1969.”

Tempo comes across to me like a Creed Bois du Portugal (1987) for hippies, and I mean that as a compliment. Yes, I know Bois du Portugal doesn't contain patchouli, but that's the point. This is a classic gentleman's parfum built up by Olivier Prescheaux from patchouli in the same way Pierre Bourdon and Olivier Creed built up Bois du Portugal from sandalwood and ambergris. Bergamot heads them both, but where one goes strait into lavender and fougère tones, the other takes a playful meandering way through some classic barbershop notes and clever swap-outs to achieve the same smooth, heady, mature end point. Put another way, Bois du Portugal is the very top-end option for the guy who loves the rich, sweet, powdery barbershop fougères a la Guerlain Héritage (1992) or Tiffany for Men (1989), but Tempo is the version that same guy would pick after retirement when he lets his hair grow out, replacing those Armani shoes with a pair of Gucci sandals on the beach. Tempo is also a good option for fans of the original Givenchy Gentleman (1974), or even Giorgio Beverly Hills for Men (1984), but wishing the civet or benzoin growl (respectively) was swapped out for something more genteel in nature. Tempo is worn to art and music festivals by the same man who wears any of the others to the office, as it's not "raw patchouli" enough to capture images of The Grateful Dead or Bob Marley posters illuminated by black light, but has the wild side there, tucked under all the blending.

Tempo opens up with bergamot and violet leaf. There smells to be a bit of petitgrain here too but it's not listed, which regardless of a ghost note or not, is the biggest link back to the 70's/80's gentlemanly vibe. This very loud opening is also on par with the aforementioned Creed scent, so go easy on the trigger. The middle of clary sage and mate adds another familiar masculine depth, with the latter adding a hay-like dryness which controls the patchouli base from getting too pungent when it shows up after a few minutes on skin. Pink pepper is the only really modern element here, and it's probably just used to add a bit of piquant brightness to once again keep what is a three-patchouli blend from really taking the scent into head shop territory. Pogostemon Cablin, Pogostemon Heyneanus, and Pogostemon Hortensis are all in the base with a bit of oakmoss, finishing this up in a surprisingly mature and stately manner. The differences between each patchouli type are frankly lost on me, and they're blended here anyway so I'd never be able to tell them apart, but I can say this has none of the "incense" or "marijuana chaser spray" qualities typically associated with the smell, but it's also because there's essentially a fougère accord sitting on top of it. Longevity is nuclear, and so can sillage be if not careful. I'd say you can take this to the office, because it's not readily apparent as a patchouli fragrance, but just to be safe, maybe only wear it on casual fridays when you want to inject a bit of irreverence into an otherwise classy scent trail.

Tempo's logo is perhaps best of all, as the font type used on the bottle could easily be on a 60's acid rock or 70's progressive rock album cover. I also get images of old Hammer House movie posters too, or even font types used in various Scooby Doo iterations over the years. The whole package just reeks of nostalgia, within the context of Diptyque's oval bottle and label designs, and it's just great. This stuff may be a bit pricey to some, as $125-$180 is a pretty stiff order for a parfum-strength hybrid between a gentleman's fougère and a hippie de toilette, but you won't at all feel out of place wearing this to a high-end shopping district, nor a Coachella festival, so there's that. All of the stuff from this style just seems to stem back to Pierre Cardin Pour Monsieur (1972) and Givenchy Gentleman anyway, so you could just buy those and layer them together if you really wanted to go cheap, as you'd still end up not even near half the price of Tempo, but that isn't the point of this review. Stuff like this reminds me that niche can still be a lot of fun, and not everything has to be a museum piece in a bottle with a long explanation about royal warrants, perfumer accolades, and rare sourced ingredients. People who hone in on those things are really just trying to abate some social anxiety or insecurity they have anyway, and they pay dearly for it, trust me. If you want to have fun with your fine fragrance, and have the cash to burn, pick this up. You won't regret it.

Starts with (my favorite) juicy bergamot. The pink pepper is a nice touch. The violet leaf and mate are tender. The sage is light, not too herbal-ish or bitter. All these notes settle into a cool, musty cloud, until patchouli kicks in. The patch is sweet and amber-like. Tempo overall becomes a powdery scent on my skin. Not overly femme, just right. A refreshing fragrance for the summertime.

I say another winner from Diptyque. Once the assault of AC Bergamot settles.
At first it seems just another de-clawed Patchouli. As I dig deeper I realize that the angle of lighting is Con-tempo-rary. Violet Leaf and Baie Rose dance above creating an accord quite elegant. Clary Sage is a nice surprise and draws at my Masculine senses. The Mate adds the Hay to the mix. Even whispers of the Camphour are light and airy, offering a pretty picture. Oh! They don't forget the touch of dry soil to complete the scene.
Very close to the arid Fragrance du Bois Sahraa Oud.
I have a feeling I'll be spritzing this often and like the Oud Palao,recognizing I need another bottle.
Totally wearable.