Patchouli Patch L'Artisan Parfumeur 2002

I’m wearing my older style bottle of Patchouli Patch and it is gorgeous. Naturally, it is quite patchouli-heavy at the outset, the raw, chewy, earthy natural “dirty” kind. However, under Bertrand Douchaufour’s expert hand, it is smoothed and rounded out with the addition of some particularly complimentary materials; anise, a bit of plum, some vetiver, violet, all on a musky base. There is the lightest, kiss of sweetness, just enough to brighten the composition, with restraint. This is rooty/earthy and beautiful, like a fistful of herbs and soil, but as the other notes wake up and come forward, it becomes smooth and refined, robust, yet polished. This is a really lovely composition of notes that compliment each other and are perfectly weighted under a masterful hand.