Ingredient Guide
Basic Information
Everyone describes patchouli as woody, but there is more to it than that: it has a musty smell like a basement or cellar.
Carlos Benaïm
Native to the Philippines, patchouli is a plant in the mint family. Its name derives from the Tamil paccai, meaning “green,” and ilai, meaning “leaf.” In Japanese, it is also called pachuri rather than pachori.
According to Givaudan’s cultivation account, the first harvest takes place about seven months after planting. The oil is obtained from its leaves, but fresh leaves have very little scent; the aromatic compounds develop during drying after harvest. Patchouli leaves harvested between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. are dried for about a week, by which point they weigh one fifth of their original weight. Essential oil is then extracted at a yield of 2%, so 250 kg of fresh patchouli leaves are needed to produce 1 kg of essential oil.
Patchouli extraction initially falls into two methods: the traditional method using 200 L drums (10–15% of annual production) and a modern method that works on the same principle but at a larger scale (80% of annual production). Both yield essential oil at approximately 2%.
The resulting oil is aged in stainless steel for several months (nowadays around ten days) to remove unpleasant odors reminiscent of ammonia. During this stage, the steel reacts with the patchouli essential oil and produces iron ions, which are therefore removed after aging.
Once these stages are complete, fractional distillation is carried out to obtain a more usable patchouli scent. This produces several different patchouli scent fractions, such as the head, heart, and tail. The resulting scents are clean, slightly smoky and earthy, with an apple-like fruitiness.
Some companies working with the finest fragrance materials, such as Rémy, also use the advanced technique of molecular distillation to obtain scents that perfumers find particularly valuable. These include minty, woody, leathery, and chocolate-like notes, and the material is called Patchouli MD, using the initials of molecular distillation.
The Scent of Patchouli
Patchouli is generally also described as smelling of damp earth, decaying wood, moss, and sumi ink. In tiny amounts, it appears in fragrances such as eaux de cologne; in larger amounts, its affinity with oakmoss creates a chypre character; and when overdosed, it becomes woody. It has depth and a pleasant warmth and is used in at least one third of women’s perfumes. The finest-quality patchouli is said to have a faint note of bitter chocolate.
Indonesia supplies 80% of the patchouli on the global market, and Indonesian patchouli is also said to be the finest.
What patchouli brings to a creation is an earthy vitality, a force of nature.
Mathilde Laurent
What Does It Smell Like in Perfume?
Patchouli materials used in perfume include natural essential oil, fractions of that oil, and biotechnology-derived materials such as CLEARWOOD®. The natural oil has a rich, lasting scent reminiscent of dry wood, earth, camphor, moss, and leather, adding depth and shading to the base. Fractionated materials refine selected portions of the essential oil to give a cleaner outline. CLEARWOOD® also has a soft, clean patchouli character and complements the natural oil from heart to base. Even within the patchouli family, the expression of earthiness and transparency can vary greatly.
Choosing a fragrance with patchouli
Patchouli can put earthy woods in the foreground or give a sweet fragrance depth. The categories below illustrate these different uses.
- Earth and wood: Woods, resins and spices suit a preference for patchouli’s darker, drier character.
- Sweetness too: In gourmands with praline, vanilla or fruit, sweetness contrasts with patchouli’s depth.
- Shaded flowers: In chypres with rose or white flowers, earthy woods lend calm to the floral brightness.
Representative Perfumes
The classification below is based mainly on Patchouli (Nez Editions, 2020), with additions in some cases. I recommend this book if you would like to explore the subject in more detail.
I hope this helps you discover which type of patchouli scent you enjoy.
The Origins
Chypre (Coty, 1917)
Patchouli (Reminiscence, 1970)
Green Chypre
Vol de Nuit (Guerlain, 1933), Miss Dior (Dior, 1947), Cabochard (Grès, 1959)
Leather Chypre
Aramis (Aramis, 1966)
Leather Patchouli
Gentleman Original (Givenchy, 1975), Patchouli Absolu (Tom Ford, 2014)
Aromatic Patchouli
Polo (Ralph Lauren, 1978), Héritage (Guerlain, 1992), Patchouli Intense (Nicolaï, 2013)
Floral Chypre
Aromatics Elixir (Clinique, 1971), Eau du Soir (Sisley, 1990)
Floral Spicy Chypre
Noir Patchouli (Histoires de Parfums, 2005), Portrait of a Lady (Frédéric Malle, 2010)
Floral Musk Chypre
For Her (Narciso Rodriguez, 2003), Idylle (Guerlain, 2009), La Panthère (Cartier, 2014)
Fruity Chypre
Mitsouko (Guerlain, 1919), Coco Mademoiselle (Chanel, 2001), Miss Dior Chérie (Dior, 2005), Euphoria (Calvin Klein, 2005), Sì (Armani, 2013), Mon Paris (Yves Saint Laurent, 2016)
Gourmand Patchouli
Angel (Mugler, 1992), Flowerbomb (Viktor & Rolf, 2005), La Petite Robe Noire (Guerlain, 2012), La Vie Est Belle (Lancôme, 2012)
Among these, Angel Eau de Parfum layers ethyl maltol’s praline and caramel sweetness with patchouli and vanilla. It is a gourmand in which earthy, woody patchouli supports the confectionery sweetness.
Oriental Spicy Patchouli
Patchouli Patch (L’Artisan Parfumeur, 2002), Patchouli Impérial (Dior, 2011), Tempo (Diptyque, 2018)
Patchouli Impérial combines citrus and patchouli with amber, coriander, frankincense and guaiac wood. Unlike Angel’s confectionery sweetness, it centers on woody patchouli with spice and smoke.
Oriental Balsamic Patchouli
Prada Amber (Prada, 2004), Bornéo 1834 (Serge Lutens, 2005), Coromandel (Chanel, 2007), L’Heure Défendue (Cartier, 2011), Monsieur (Frédéric Malle, 2016)
Find your next fragrance
In Fragrance Finder, choose “Favorite fragrances & notes” on the home screen, then look for notes you enjoy under “Favorite notes”. Select from the available suggestions and press “Next”.
