If I were a man, I would be a secret agent, a pickpocket, or a poker player. Maybe even a foreign legionnaire, a Wall Street broker, or a lonesome cowboy. Or even a machinist on an oil rig, somewhere out at sea. I would be tinkering with machines in the engine room, with an oil-stained cloth in my back pocket, rugged boots, a bare torso, packed with an awful lot of muscles. And I would most likely smell like Patchouli Bohème.
The opening of Patchouli Bohème is nasty, fierce, and oily. Slimy, pitch-black, dark, wicked, and mean. The scent crawls over my skin, settles into my pores, envelops and glues the fine hairs on my arm, living like a microscopic alien spider on me, clinging tight. What is it that immediately creates this oily, slimy, and pitch-black impression, this amorphous and viscous quality? Geranium leaves and woods? But please, soaked in tar. And with finely chopped screws, motor oil, frog legs, and spit added. I can only explain this explosively dark, oily top note by saying that the geranium leaves and woods, subtly smoky and sweetly accentuated, create a slightly camphoraceous scent impression in my nose that feels viscous, metallic, and very dark. I suspect that individual notes are already peeking through here, which will become more prominent later in the fragrance's development: the smoky, bitter tobacco and the sweetness of the resinous tolu balsam or tonka bean. The top note of Patchouli Bohème is absolutely fascinating in any case, and it immediately sparks the imagination: The guy on the oil rig, Brad Pitt in his first Levi's ad, the auto mechanic who absolutely should not talk but keep tinkering… This rather long-lasting top note is definitely sexed-up, as is the whole fragrance.
It also quickly becomes clear that the scent is a real statement. Patchouli Bohème is a clear word and a strong statement. This is not something you smell and wear every day. So who is this Laurent Mazzone, who creates such unusual and dark fragrances and collaborates with perfumer greats like Mona di Orio, Richard Ibanez, Jerome Epinette, or Olivia Giacobetti? Not much is known about him, except that he once worked in fashion and initially made scented candles before turning to perfume, although he has always been fascinated by scents. His website presents itself in a dark, gloomy black and red but also flash-animated and somewhat sparklingly playful manner, and the black bottles of his perfume line feature a simple, rather understated design. There isn't much more to learn about him, except perhaps that his fragrances are meant to represent a similar statement outwardly as fashion and accessories. A fragrance accessory to emphasize the extraordinary, the individual, the dark side of every personality.
Balsamic, slowly pulling and resinous, with a slight metallic twist, a smoky component, and a leathery, earthy warmth, Patchouli Bohème develops further. This unusual mélange has a civet-like quality, depending on whether the warm, leathery-earthy depth or the resinous-smoky sweetness is in the foreground, sometimes reminding one of Jicky, sometimes of Shalimar, and yes, also of Ciste 18 from Le Labo. After all the nasal fluttering and eyelash batting of the rather testosterone-heavy top note, Patchouli Bohème also clearly becomes unisex here. It gets sweeter, even more resinous, warmer, earthier. And it becomes bohemian, elegant. The guy from the oil rig suddenly wears a stylish suit, albeit still with a three-day beard, and at his side is a mysterious, dark-haired woman. Together, they are both unusual, and each draws attention. An exciting fragrance for an unusual night, the special moment, intimacy, and extroversion at the same time.
Patchouli Bohème is relatively unusual for a designated patchouli scent, as the patchouli for me is not immediately recognizable as the main player for quite a long stretch of the fragrance. Surprising for a perfume that even references its main component in its name, which then only represents a well-integrated secondary aspect in the actual scent impression. And even in the further development, while the patchouli is clearly recognizable, it is so closely intertwined with the resin, the slightly vanillic sweetness of the tonka bean, and the warmth of leather that Patchouli Bohème is anything but another patchouli bomb. Patchouli Bohème is rather a very well-lasting, clearly present unisex fragrance that, despite the somewhat challenging top note, follows a very harmonious scent progression and develops a sensual depth that is not often found. A great perfume, not necessarily for every day, but for special, somewhat extraordinary days and nights.
So I don’t have to be a man to tinker with machines in the engine room of an oil rig. With Patchouli Bohème, I can do that as a woman, even in an evening gown…
Top Notes 
Egyptian geranium leaf
Precious woods
Heart Notes 
Indonesian patchouli
Leather
Virginia tobacco
Base Notes 
Tolu balm
Musk
Tonka bean
Finerthings8
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