Inoubliable Elixir Patchouli – rich and resinous and unforgettable

 Photo: perfumeniche

On a picturesque summer day in the south of France, I popped into the Réminiscence store in Juan-les-Pins to check out a silver ring displayed in the window when I saw a bottle of Inoubliable Elixir Patchouli. It’s a bottle that’s hard to miss: a large, curved, rectangular gold bottle with cut-out stars and lettering. Intrigued, I sprayed it on my wrist – WOW! This was patchouli with a capital ‘P’. Inoubliable Elixir Patchouli in English is Unforgettable Elixir Patchouli; whoever named this fragrance, and I’m pretty sure it was someone from Réminiscence, got that right.

Réminiscence is the French jewelry, clothes and perfume house founded in 1970 by husband-and-wife Zoé Coste and Nino Amaddeo. Their stores had a real hippie vibe, which today translates into a tamer, boho-chic look and feel. The brand's original three fragrances, Musc, Amber, and Patchouli, were well received and highly sought after by visitors to Juan-les-Pins, but it was Patchouli that gained cult status and became their best seller and their signature scent. Then in 2007, they launched Inoubliable Elixir Patchouli, a more intense, deeper, richer version of the original.

Inoubliable Elixir Patchouli grabs your attention with an opening of patchouli that’s boozy, sweet, and potent. It’s a real show-stopper. As it blooms, the patchouli’s camphourous and mentholated nuances make an appearance. Soon, other aspects of patchouli - the woody, earthy, and green facets - emerge. Balsamy cedarwood and creamy sandalwood bolster patchouli’s woodiness. Vetiver is earthy, smoky and green and enhances these aspects of the patchouli while adding a leathery undertone. As the scent unfolds, it gets dank and smells like wet cedar before a deep, dark note of bitter chocolate comes to the surface. At the base, labdanum brings a musky, ambery sweetness to the blend that’s supported by vanilla and Tonka bean. At the base, sticky, deep, dark Tolu balsam adds its rich balsamic scent of vanilla and cinnamon that gives Inoubliable Elixir Patchouli a spicy nuance. Hell's bells, this stuff is amazing! It’s everything I want a patchouli fragrance to be.

The drydown is rich, resinous, exotic, luxurious and unique and, yes, unforgettable.

Check out Inoubliable Elixir Patchouli in our Shop.