Volkswagen - Mémoire de Pētrole by Frau Tonis Parfum

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Volkswagen - Mémoire de Pētrole Frau Tonis Parfum 2015

6.6 / 10 32 Ratings

A limited perfume by Frau Tonis Parfum for women and men, released in 2015. The scent is spicy-powdery. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Spicy

Powdery

Oriental

Sweet

Leathery

Fragrance Notes

Iris

Pepper

Fuel Green violet Leather

Leather

Ratings

Scent

6.632 Ratings

Longevity

6.821 Ratings

Sillage

6.523 Ratings

Bottle

6.030 Ratings

Submitted by Staricon · last update on 01/23/2026.

Source-backed & verified

Interesting Facts

The scent was created in a collaboration with car brand Volkswagen. Only 4000 samples of 2 ml were made.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Noir Eau de Parfum

G I R L by Pharrell Williams

Fancy Nights

Coco Noir Eau de Parfum

Reviews

9 in-depth fragrance descriptions

03/11/2015

1Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

TVC15
216 Reviews

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TVC15

Top Review 24

It stinks and stinks and stinks and...

The marketing gimmick is quite nice. The e-Golf no longer smells like a gas station, which is why a corresponding scent was created to preserve the younger generation's memory of the olfactory pleasures of refueling. Unfortunately, the congenially titled "Memoire de Petrole" doesn’t smell at all like spilled super fuel, but rather like the oriental homeland of the fuel when it was still called crude oil. For me, this is pure amber pestilence once again. Squeaky sweet, broodingly warm, and still annoyingly lingering in the air half an hour after the fragrance-enthusiastic executive secretary has left the boss's office.

You can't blame Volkswagen's marketing department; after all, this sticky gourmand diesel smells like what most first-time car buyers imagine a successful perfume to be, and you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Nevertheless, VW could have certainly gotten a more authentic approach to the subject from, for example, Comme des Garcons.

You shouldn't get too far with sugar in the tank.

01/25/2017

7Scent 7Longevity 6Sillage

Taurus
1186 Reviews

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Taurus

Very helpful Review 11

When Something Stinks to High Heaven...

...then it has undoubtedly been the emissions scandal of Volkswagen, also known as Dieselgate, over the last 1.5 years.

Trick the US environmental authorities with manipulated emissions values for newly approved diesel vehicles might be seen internally as a clever move, but in principle, it was hardly surpassable in stupidity and arrogance. How could one assume that this would never be noticed?

And how could one think that the consequences for all involved would be mild? The penalties are drastic, amounting to several billion dollars, plus buyer compensations and expensive retrofitting costs. The damage to the brand's image is enormous. Moreover, the far-reaching scandal is still far from fully uncovered and could have many more legal and financial repercussions. There is talk of long prison sentences, the dismantling of the Volkswagen Group, and similar tricks at other car companies. This chapter is certainly not closed yet and might still offer one or two unpleasant surprises.

A more pleasant surprise, however, was undoubtedly the marketing campaign for the launch of the e-Golf in the form of 4000 perfume samples "Memoire de Petrole," with an olfactory memory of gasoline, which is supposed to ease the farewell to gas stations.

According to the advertising spiel, the scent creates a powerful, spirited, and passionate olfactory perception of gasoline in the top note and then unfolds into an inspiring, energetic, and pleasant scent on the skin. All the ingredients of the perfume are natural and pure essences.

Okay, at least the perfume is not meant to be sold to the public, but the e-Golf - and for that, the campaign is at least something different. To what extent it was successful or contributed more or less to Volkswagen's green image can probably only be judged by the marketing department - if at all.

However, one should not be misled by Volkswagen here either. Memoire de Petrol is not a 1:1 copy of gasoline but a relatively pleasant-smelling perfume. It starts off with nasty synthetic accompanying notes, but after a short time, it develops into a peppery violet scent, enveloped in a powdery iris cloud with a sweet-spicy charm. Not bad at all and it essentially reminds me of a duller drugstore version of Tom Ford's Noir as Eau de Parfum. It is also no coincidence that both scents share a few relevant ingredients, and I am glad that FabionO also picked up on this and apparently did not deceive me.
Unfortunately, the octane rating here does not reach the upper range of quality standards, as now and then one gets the feeling that a few fossil elements from the lignite sector are swirling in between.
The leather is rather marginally perceptible.

Later in the drydown, one still believes that the gasoline note could take over, but it primarily remains peppery and powdery. Well - on hot days, I would rather not wear this kind of Sp(i)rit.
But let’s remember: it is not supposed to be a perfume that you find on offer like Mercedes, Jaguar, or Bentley in the perfumery, but rather function as a marketing gimmick.

I think the folks behind Volkswagen's e-mobility are a bit cleverer and much more awake than the engineers and technicians from the diesel emissions department along with the then-board. However, they also had long enough to miss the trend.

03/03/2015

8Scent 5Sillage

Kiwi2
2 Reviews

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Kiwi2

Helpful Review 6

Surprising, but convincing.

Today my sample of Mémoire de P?trole arrived. It was, despite being a free sample, packed in a black box. I opened it and a note with the description of the fragrance came out. The note stated that the top note would smell like gasoline, so that this scent would be "preserved".

After this disturbing prologue, I applied the sample. However, it did not smell like gasoline at all, but rather reminded me of "Tabac Original", just fresher.

Moreover, this scent was not overpowering, but smelled gentle and refreshing.
I would say that if this fragrance could be bought normally, it certainly has the potential to become a classic.

03/03/2015

8Scent

Franciska
46 Reviews

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Franciska

Helpful Review 6

Memories? Yes... To the gas station? Rather no...

First of all, here’s a little confession: I am a marketing aficionado. I love well-crafted advertising and enjoy engaging with it. Therefore, I was super curious about the "fragrance launch" (which so far has actually only been a sample launch) from VW. It is supposed to remind one of gasoline, for all those who have probably already bought the new electric VW and miss the good old gas station scent so much. In terms of fragrance, I didn’t expect much, rather an almost horrendous gasoline can scent, just a good gag. After I had mentally already written off the whole action, the sample arrived, nicely packaged in a black mini box, embedded in a gas pump.

Based on my expectations, I was initially unsure whether I should dare a bold test on my skin, but I did it anyway. Cautious sniffing... Hmmm... this is good. What came to me was really pleasing. The fragrance has at least in the top note nothing of the promised gasoline. It starts spicy, slightly powdery-oriental, a bit sweet, but without drifting into gourmand territory. My friend immediately associated it with Trussardi Uomo, which I cannot confirm or deny since I don’t know that fragrance. On the tear-off tab of the fragrance package, the question reads "What will it remind you of?" and I have been thinking since the beginning of the test that it really reminds me of something. Not, as intended, of the last gas station visit, but rather of a fragrance that is also in my collection. Only after some time does it dawn on me that it must be Noir by Tom Ford. This one has that very combination of masculine spiciness embedded in a cuddly base of vanilla and mild resins. A direct comparison on the back of my hand further confirms this impression, with the Ford being softer and a bit fresher compared to the VW, and developing more intensely.
Since Memoires de Petrole has convinced me on my wrist, it can also directly become my daytime fragrance. Over time, the spiciness is still clearly recognizable. I keep sniffing intensely to perhaps catch a whiff of gasoline, and indeed I think I find it occasionally in the base. However, very subtly and always in combination or overlapped with the other notes. The fragrance doesn’t undergo a significant development on my skin, which I don’t find particularly tragic. The spicy notes become a little softer over time, and the powdery-oriental aspect comes out a bit more.
The longevity is relatively good; even after 6 hours, I still perceive it intensely. The sillage is moderate, well noticeable, but not overwhelming. And I definitely perceive it as unisex.

The fragrance really surprised me positively, and if it were available for purchase, it would definitely be a candidate I would consider. Still, I wonder if my expectations are playing a trick on me again? But this time the other way around than usual. That I like the fragrance so much because I expected something terrible, definitely unbearable. VW has definitely succeeded with this action, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the fragrance is perhaps launched regularly after all. Kind of like an ace up the sleeve if it is well received.

03/06/2018

1Scent 5Longevity 6Sillage

Nosynora
10 Reviews

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Nosynora

5

No Soul

Was it just a promotional gag, or did Volkswagen really want to sell me perfumes? If so, the cessation of production is probably due to the diesel scandal. Because when I hear "Volkswagen" now, I immediately think of fuel, fraud, and fine dust; no bottle at Douglas needs to remind me of that. On the contrary, if today a German car manufacturer, who completely disregards environmental protection, were to throw "Mémoire de P?trole" at me from the perfume shelf, there would be at best confusion, or, much more likely, biting mockery and scorn, something like "go back to the highway to play" or "I'll give you 20 cents, tell it to the parking meter."

The sample was ordered by my neighbor Mark somewhere; he originally comes from the countryside, more precisely from Sauerland, and because the lowered alcohol-fueled rides to the club and the Mainstreet cruising around the village square shaped his youth, the vehicle still holds an unreasonably high status for him even in an urban environment. He was certainly a bit proud when he casually offered me a test of this exclusive rarity.

The perfume smells sweet and sticky, and it is rubbish. And that's no surprise, because it can't be a vision for a fragrance to say, I want a bit of gasoline in the top note that quickly evaporates, and then something nice comes. And if it could be a vision, then the execution has failed. Crude, flat, cheap, greasy, no soul, not even in the slightest. As if someone went to the perfumer and said, make me something funny with a bit of gas station odor, and it has to be ready by tomorrow. Well, fine, I'll do it, but only for the money. And that's exactly what it smells like; money stinks after all.

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