Top Notes 
Gurjum balsam
Orange zest
Myrrh
Heart Notes 
Indonesian patchouli
Texas cedar
Gaiac wood
Base Notes 
Amber
Siam benzoin
White musk
DrB1414
271 Reviews
DrB1414
Helpful Review
4
Great Value, Full-Spectrum Patchouli
While looking to expand my Patchouli wardrobe, I have stumbled upon Honoré Payan, a house with plenty of decades behind it (established in 1854 in Grasse) and an impressive track record. They are the ones behind the well-acclaimed Les Nereides Patchouli Antique (that suffered plenty of reformulations over the years), and I believe they also worked for Reminiscence. Therefore, if you are still longing for those perfumes in their original shapes, now you know where to find them.
But the one I'm talking about in this post is another patchouli perfume they released in 2025 called Patchouli XO. This was a second run after they did a lower-yield batch earlier this year. I trusted them to create an amazing patchouli perfume after I had sampled all of their patchouli offerings, and they didn't disappoint. My favorite from their regular line was the Patchouli Antique, now renamed Patchouli Original. I was planning to get that one at some point, and then they announced Patchouli XO, and since there was no way to sample beforehand, I decided to go for it blindly. I was right to do so, as I find it to have a strong resemblance to Patchouli Antique, but it tones down the more appealing aspects of the latter, while feeling more nature-like, intense, and higher quality. Just like the Antique, Patchouli XO is a patchouli fragrance that places a strong emphasis on woody notes, but the cocoa-like facets, balsamic notes, and sweetness are significantly toned down. It opens up spicy, slightly boozy, and woody, progressing into a dank, earthy, musty, and verdant direction. There are hints of camphor, but nothing that will clear your sinuses. It has a "dank cellar" vibe, but never goes full-on in that direction; rather, I find the generous addition of oakmoss to pull it more into a "forest-floor" type of feel. And it does indeed make me think of patchouli growing in a forest. There is also a hint of muskiness to the far dry-down, but overall, it feels woody, earthy, and green, with a good amount of mustiness.
I would say it's a middle ground patchouli - it has its challenging aspects, yet the subtle sweetness from the balms and the hints of cocoa next to the velvety moss and the musks help to smooth and round its profile so that it doesn't go as hardcore as the one from Santa Maria Novella or the Farmacia Annunziata. However, it will feel like a next level of "purity" for those coming from patchouli perfumes like Borneo 1834, Psychedelique, Patchouli Noir, or Patchouli Antique. If you like your Coromandels, Patchouli Imperials, Tempos, and other polite/safe patchoulis, you can safely skip this one.
IG:@memory.of.scents
But the one I'm talking about in this post is another patchouli perfume they released in 2025 called Patchouli XO. This was a second run after they did a lower-yield batch earlier this year. I trusted them to create an amazing patchouli perfume after I had sampled all of their patchouli offerings, and they didn't disappoint. My favorite from their regular line was the Patchouli Antique, now renamed Patchouli Original. I was planning to get that one at some point, and then they announced Patchouli XO, and since there was no way to sample beforehand, I decided to go for it blindly. I was right to do so, as I find it to have a strong resemblance to Patchouli Antique, but it tones down the more appealing aspects of the latter, while feeling more nature-like, intense, and higher quality. Just like the Antique, Patchouli XO is a patchouli fragrance that places a strong emphasis on woody notes, but the cocoa-like facets, balsamic notes, and sweetness are significantly toned down. It opens up spicy, slightly boozy, and woody, progressing into a dank, earthy, musty, and verdant direction. There are hints of camphor, but nothing that will clear your sinuses. It has a "dank cellar" vibe, but never goes full-on in that direction; rather, I find the generous addition of oakmoss to pull it more into a "forest-floor" type of feel. And it does indeed make me think of patchouli growing in a forest. There is also a hint of muskiness to the far dry-down, but overall, it feels woody, earthy, and green, with a good amount of mustiness.
I would say it's a middle ground patchouli - it has its challenging aspects, yet the subtle sweetness from the balms and the hints of cocoa next to the velvety moss and the musks help to smooth and round its profile so that it doesn't go as hardcore as the one from Santa Maria Novella or the Farmacia Annunziata. However, it will feel like a next level of "purity" for those coming from patchouli perfumes like Borneo 1834, Psychedelique, Patchouli Noir, or Patchouli Antique. If you like your Coromandels, Patchouli Imperials, Tempos, and other polite/safe patchoulis, you can safely skip this one.
IG:@memory.of.scents
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