I never thought that tonight could ever be this close to me...

Parfums de Nicolai Patchouli Homme


When I was sixteen years old, there was a guy I knew who wore scent. Just one. I don’t mean “scented body wash” or “smelled like shampoo,” I mean he wore a fragrance, the same one every day. Specifically it was Joop! Pour Homme, and though we never dated, I still think of him as one of the most attractive young men I ever knew in my youth. (You know who you are, Chip. ) There was something about his smell that just made you want to go back for more. I think that's when I was first persuaded that smelling good could create attraction where there was none....or at least, strengthen otherwise weak attraction with perfume.

Ever since, I’ve been on the lookout for scents for men I’d have loved just as much if sixteen year old me had an excuse to hug on cute boys until I found one who smelled nice, and then keep snuggling him. Upon finding said scents, I try to convince David to wear them, and failing that, I spray them on my pillows and dream of sweet smelling snuggles. In my quest to find such scents, I tried Patchouli Homme.

According to Luckyscent,

With Patchouli Homme, the perfumer wanted to compose a woody oriental for men, but she ended up selling it to women too (which is why it will soon be renamed Patchouli Intense). And why not? This distinctly un-hippie patchouli straddles both sides of the olfactory gender spectrum, with Patricia de Nicolaï signature candied orange opening, sprinkled with cinnamon, sweetening the wedding of a deep, dark, earthy patch and its natural partner, rose. A passing quote of the fougère family – lavender and geranium – lightens the heart of this heady blend before it subsides into an incense-laden, almost tarry leather drydown that plays up the smokier facets of vanilla. A sophisticated patchouli for dandies (both male and female) who aren’t afraid of snagging a sleeve on a rose bush when they go out in the garden to pick their boutonnière.

The notes for Patchouli Homme are listed as “lavender, Turkish rose, geranium Bourbon, frankincense, sandalwood, bay oil, cinnamon, leather, amber, vanilla.”

Hello, holiday Patchouli. A sweet patchouli, with little green up front, it’s mostly cinnamon, bay oil, amber, and vanilla at the beginning with greenery in the background, like a winter holiday candle. After twenty minutes or so, the sugar and spice burns off and the patchouli comes through much stronger. As the patchouli steps forward, the scent gets bigger. At the two hour mark, it’s mostly patchouli and very little sweetness. Patchouli Homme has moderate sillage, so if you sprayed Patchouli Homme on for three to four sprays, it would probably last you most the day. I can’t say for certain since my sample is a 1ml wand sample, but since I test most of my scents this way, I’d say I’ve got a pretty good approximation of what it would be like sprayed.

On the whole, a nice scent. It’s sweet, still, but that’s not the overriding aspect of the scent; instead, it’s a nicely balanced concoction that works well for men or women, though I see this as being more of a masculine than feminine scent, despite the sweetness up front. I really hope that men will keep it on long enough to get past the sweet part, because it’s so lovely, and I can easily imagine stepping in to hug someone and then lingering, face pressed to the crook of the neck, to get closer to such a lovely scent and the lovely person who’d wear it.

You can purchase Patchouli Homme in 30ml for $55 or 100ml -- a lifetime's worth, I'd wager -- for $130 from Luckyscent. Samples are available from Luckyscent or The Perfumed Court.

But if I had your faith,
then I could make it safe and clean.
If only I was sure
that my head on the door was a dream.
- "Close to Me," The Cure

Want more? Try reviews from: Fragrantica * The Scented Salamander