Eau de Patou Jean Patou 1976

Eau de Patou opens with an amazing slightly herbal citrus consisting mainly of orange, but also Sicilian lemon, lime and grapefruit. The effervescent fresh citrus remains into the early heart notes, but in a much more subdued smooth state, giving way to an orange blossom and jasmine-like ylang-ylang floral tandem. In the dry-down, the orange blossom begins to fade just a hair, now blending near-perfectly with strong amber and oakmoss from the base. Projection is above average and longevity is exceptional.

Eau de Patou has got to have some of the best opening accords of any scent I have smelled. The light herbal citrus is absolutely to die for. Adding to the open, while orange blossom is not a note I tend to enjoy as a rule, it is used so beautifully here by the master himself, Jean Kerleo, that even the most ardent detractor of the note has to enjoy it and I certainly did. If I have any gripe with the scent, it is the amber and oakmoss in the base are just a bit on the strong side, slightly overpowering the orange blossom a bit during the dry-down. I really am just reaching for minor gripes in an outstanding overall composition though; and as an aside, gender watching observers should absolutely ignore the "feminine" label on Eau de Patou, as it is perfectly unisex and will smell incredible on anyone. Certainly Eau de Patou deserves mention in any conversation of the best citrus floral scents of all-time, earning a very strong 4 to 4.5 stars out of 5. I strongly recommend citrus floral and oakmoss lovers pick this one up while you still can.

This is a lovely one. It is quite beautiful too! This is not a typical citrus fragrance either. It is a combination between citrus, amber, civet and oakmoss, and it's very unusual and very nice. I get the civet and amber straight away together with the citrus (orange mainly) and oakmoss. It's gorgeous! It's sweet and balanced and the civet and sweet amber reminds me of honey! There is also a lot of neroli, honeysuckle and ylang-ylang. It doesn't smell "modern" at all but it has so much character! I like it very much. What a shame this version is no longer being made! Sometimes I think that some of the best versions of fragrances belong to the past, and this is an example of one of them. R.I.P. Eau de Patou...

My further exploration of vintage Patou has led me to this little gem. My bottle is the one pictured above manufactured by Jean Patou Inc. After the epic 1000, in 1976 this is a warm weather treasure that is a calling card for the forthcoming Patou Pour Homme. By the standards of the time, this is very unisex and a close cousin to Eau Sauvage.

With neroli being my favorite note,this presents it effortlessly. Nice citrus notes and oakmoss creates a masterpiece. Its perfect for the beach or sailing. The civet is perfectly harmonized, giving it a clean fresh allure.

I wonder why Patou was never popular in the USA? Regardless, this is my newest love. Indeed If you can find an original bottle, grab it up and enjoy it. This is pure French luxury!

I just could not resist the eye-catching futuristic, brutalist monolith of a bottle. Come on now...it's inconic for sure. I expected it to be a decent "eau" with nothing to write home about, but I was surprised, stunned even...

Then again, this is Jean Patou we are discussing, how could it not be outstanding really? It opens magnificently with your classic bracing citrus, but the sensuous sunshine sings immediately through the florals that really radiate on my skin. I then detect one of the more convincing honeysuckle notes that I've encountered in a fragrance: somehow both voluptuous and airy, honeyed and mouthwatering.

It is the low-key civet in the dry down that really cinches Eau de Patou. This is the hallmark, what makes it oh so Patou, because its dosed in just such a manner where it exalts, of all things, a citrus floral. Therein lies the beauty, an "eau chypre", mossy, musky, with a dusting of animal magic.

And that damn bottle...I want to inhabit it.

In the ranks of Patou fragrances, whose demise is an infinitely great loss, Eau de Patou particularly stands out. At first glance, it seems like an inconsequential summer scent, but upon closer inspection, it belongs to the best lemon fragrances ever available on the market.

The top note shifts between citrus and orange tones, juicy, strong, and yet soft. A fresh, initially bright scent that captivates with its cheerfulness and openness. From the very beginning, it becomes clear that the fragrance can also be worn by men, appealing not only to lovers of feminine scents, not only to women.

In the heart note, the picture changes: the fragrance becomes softer and more feminine, with the honey-sweet, lovely honeysuckle coming to the fore, naturally also Ylang-Ylang; at the same time, Eau de Patou contains something green, something scratchy. The fragrance pyramid mentions nasturtium (which most people probably know more as an edible flower decoration in summer salads) and pepper, which I cannot consciously perceive here, but which may provide balance to the sweet floral notes.

The base then unfolds more masculine, somewhat more pronounced, likely due to the oakmoss, and of course the animalistic aspect of civet, yet the fragrance never becomes harsh, retaining a sweet amber quality in the base that makes this Eau de Toilette a particularly charming representative in the line of Hesperid fragrances.

The fragrance has held up perfectly over all these years; despite my bottle being purchased more than 10 years ago, no aging process is noticeable, and the scent feels as young and fresh as it once did. Some truly special things are not affected by the passage of time...

Certainly, Eau de Patou is, on one hand, a child of the 70s (the year of release is noted as 1976: many fragrances that combine citrus notes and flowers originate from the 70s), yet on the other hand, the fragrance, which was discontinued many years ago, deserves a reissue, more than many other scents from that time that are still available or have been reformulated and re-released: I predict a renewed success for it.

I rarely lose words about a bottle, but this one is also part of the overall artwork, ‘Eau de Patou,’ and therefore deserves special mention: The conically shaped bottle that tapers upwards, with a cap that ends in a flattened tip, the concentrically arranged grooves when viewed from above, and the clear color scheme (yellow liquid in a light bottle with a blue ribbon) underline the extraordinarily noble character of the fragrance: full of optimism, clear, not overly playful, androgynous, a contemporary work of art that does not deny the taste of the 70s yet remains timeless, timeless like a chair or lamp by Verner Panton or Eero Aarnio from that era. It was the bottle that attracted me years ago without knowledge of the scent character on a bargain table in a perfumery and prompted me to make a purchase. Today, the fragrance is rare, expensive, and highly sought after in relevant online forums. However, prices are still moderate enough to consider an investment, always taking into account the risk that the quality may have already suffered. However, prices may soon reach a similar level as Patou pour homme: currently already 1000.00 euros for a well-preserved bottle.

Eau de Patou differs from all other lemon fragrances I know through a stronger sillage and better longevity: the volatility of the Hesperid notes is tamed by the subtly animalistic base and the floral accents. Another quality of this solitaire.

Unfortunately, all of this could not prevent Eau de Patou from being discontinued:
Bye Bye Blackbird.