— fragrance —

Perfume Pharmer & The Patch Test Bunnies Summer of Love + A Draw

August 4, 2011

Perfume Pharmer & The Patch Test Bunnies

This summer I proudly participated as a Patch Test Bunny in the Perfume Pharmer & The Patch Test Bunnies Summer of Love project organized by the awesome Monica Miller. Fragrance writers and celebs were given 14 unlabeled patchouli heavy (25% minimum in the blend), natural fragrances made by artisanal perfumers. We were asked to pick our top 3 from the 14 (which was very difficult). As a writer, I didn’t know who the perfumer was or any of the notes other than patchouli. The perfumers did not know which number was associated with their creation. It was an awesome experience.

In case you missed it, here are my top 3 favorites. These really “spoke” to me and I love them so.

EauMG and the Summer of Patchouli
This is what a Patch Test Dummy looks like. Each symbol has a patchouli fragrance. Frink looks on at his crazy mama.

Now we know who which number belonged to which perfumer. We also know their names, the notes, and the inspirations. Here’s a look at the perfumes and a glimpse at my perfume notes from back in the day when I was a wild Patch Test Bunny:

#1 – Idiéne by Alfredo Dupetit/BioScent – An organic perfume with notes of bitter almond, sherry, Bulgarian rose, patchouli from Singapore, Madgascar vanilla, tonka bean, and cannabis concrete. Retails for 79€ for 1.7 oz. and is available at BioScent.

  • “Fruity, camphoric opening, becomes a hazy floral, powdery “fougére” grassiness, patchouli appears late – not too dirty, more “aromatic woods” in floral smoke. Would make an excellent masculine” *Update – Not a fougére by definition but it has that feel.

#2 – River Walk by Liz Zorn – Notes listed include bergamot, lavender, star anise, patchouli, hay, cedar, cocoa, tonka bean, woods, vanilla, and ambergris + many more. I don’t think this one is for sale (yet?) but you can check Liz Zorn’s website.

  • “Sweeter patchouli, coffee, dark chocolate-patchouli with a powdery vetiver base, what do I get ylang-ylang? Something floral, honeyed and powdery. – Actually really good vampy stuff.”

#3 – Go Ask Alice by Shelly Waddington/En Voyage Perfumes – I couldn’t find any information of this perfume on the En Voyage website.

  • “Figgy coconut incense, very interesting. On 2nd try, get something almost nail polish remover-ish. Could this be an ester? Like a fruity patch.”

#4 – Haight and Ashbury by Jane Cate/A Wing and A Prayer– Notes listed include rosewood, beeswax absolute, clary sage, jasmine, rose, rose maroc absolute, patchouli, labdanum, sandalwood, and ambergris. The 1 oz. spray retails for $60 and is available at their etsy shop. 

  • “Picking up something spicy like cinnamon chiclets then some patch, something old-fashioned amber about this, pretty, get a very proper rose – The “lady” of the group. Like a “reformed” hippie.” *Update – Have no clue where the spiciness was coming from.

#5 – Bohemian Spice by Tanja Bochnig/April Aromatics – This product will be available on the April Aromatics’ site soon. The site is getting a revamp and so far it looks beautiful.

  • “Chewy, delicious opening then a subtle white floral/neroli appearance becomes gourmand, sweet with vanilla – Hmmm…reminds me very much of DSH Perfumes Lautrec – This is my favorite, something I’d wear over and over again. Genius.” *Update – Not a DSH, still amazing and I hope I get to try more of Tanja’s blends in the future. She’s talented.

#6 – Happiness by Ambrosia Jones/Perfume by Nature – Notes listed include Tahtian lime, Sicilian lemon, East Indian sandalwood, and patchouli. A 15 ml spray retails for $32 at Perfume by Nature. 

  • “Strong lemon balm, verges on Pledge if it didn’t have the lime, gets a little fig-bark and warm woods. – Feels like little sunrays touching my skin.”

#7 – Rose Bohème by Charna Ethier/Providence Perfumes – Notes listed include aged patchouli, fir, red tea, oud, saffron, Turkish rose, white rose essence, and artisan rose petal infusion. A 1 oz. EDP spray retails for $115 and is available at Providence Perfumes. 

  •  “Barnyard daisies, poo fades and I’m left with pickled hay and feet. Damn you, oud! With time, I get a sexy Arabic blend of saffron, rose, and patchouli. The oud in this hates me.” *Update – I need to try this again, maybe a better masculine. But, seriously. The oud hates me.

#8 – Patchouli Paisley by Lyn Ayre/Coeur d’Esprit – Notes listed include jasmine, neroli, orange blossom, patchouli, and earthy notes. A 60 ml atomizer retails for about $110 and is available at Scent of Nature.

  • “A doughy patchouli with white flowers.”

#10 Têtu by JoAnne Bassett – French for “stubborn” (no wonder I like it). Notes listed include vintage jasmine, centifolia rose, amber, smoky notes, citrus, vanilla, and cocoa. The 1 oz. EDP retails for $125 and is available at JoAnne’s etsy shop.

  • Mesquite leather that reminds me of cowboy boots and leather jackets, dab of citrus, some medicinal oud/something camphoric, dries down to this amazing smooth patchouli and resinous amber (so far a favorite), so smooth like sip’n brown liquor. Badass.” *Update – Still LOVE this one. LOVE IT!

#11 – Bodhi Sativa by DSH Perfumes – Notes listed include bergamot, cassis bud, galbanum, botanical cannabis accord, centifolia rose absolute, champaca, Australian sandalwood, benzoin, buddhawood, East Indian patchouli, frankincense, Texas cedarwood, tolu balsam, and vanilla absolute. A 10 ml eau de cologne retails for $33 at DSH Perfumes.

  •  “Amber citrus, soft and warm, grows to something incense-like, smoky and woody. It’s good but reminds me of something that I already own.” *Update – It’s a DSH, so yeah, that’s why it was familiar.

#12 – Queen of Punk by Amanda Feeley/Esscentual Alchemy – Notes listed include civet, tobacco, patchouli, amber, cognac, rose, coffee, linden blossom, bitter orange, black pepper, and mimosa. A 10 ml bottle retails for $75 and is available at their Art Fire store. 

  •  “Whiskey, then some sour citrus, smells like a whiskey sour -Drinking shots on the border, very Clint Eastwood, then gets a little “peachy” then patchy, could this be Esscentual Alchemy?” *Update – Haha, it was. And that “peachy” was mimosa 🙂

#13 – Wild Child by Kedra Hart/Opus Oils – Notes listed include dark patchouli, saffron, honey, milk, black currant, tuberose, peach, sandalwood, and vanilla. A 1 oz. EDP spray retails for $75 at Opus Oils. 

  •  “Fuzzy summer peaches, warm cedar/woods, soft, it’s like a tropical patchouli, is that even a genre? Milky white tropical florals with a coconut-patchouli. Keeps growing on me. Reminds me of a 70’s babe, tan and no fear of the sun. Tropichouli, you’re a great new genre.”

#14 – Royal Water by Rodney Hughes/Therapeutate Parfums – Notes listed include English lavender, citrus, coriander, patchouli, and jasmine. An .85 oz bottle retails for $220 at Therapeutate Parfums. 

    • “Cool as creme de menthe, very cool and refreshing like mint and lavender,  then becomes almost courmain-ish with warmth, almost coconut, but more seaside- Really, really good but where’s the patch?” *Update – The only reason I didn’t pick this for my top 3 was because I wasn’t getting enough patchouli from it.

Carly Simon

Many of the perfumers are selling their perfumes from this project. I hope to do more in depth reviews of these scents in the future. With 14 perfumes in front of me, I felt like I didn’t get to spend as much time with them as they deserved. And usually, the ones that I don’t like at first are always my favorite in the end!

Perfume Pharmer is selling kits of these in case you want to be a Patch Test Bunny too. It was fun and I can’t wait to participate next summer.

!!!FRAGRANCE FREEBIE !!! -Drawing is closed. Winner is Kami!

The talented JoAnne Bassett has given me a 5ml in a pretty silver atomizer of one of my favorites, Tetu, a must have for any carefree badass that isn’t scared of leather! And I’m giving it away to a lucky reader of EauMG!

Please comment below about which of the “mystery” perfumes in this project that you find the most intriguing. You’ll get 1 entry for a comment and 2 entries for a comment and following EauMG on Facebook (let me know in the comment).

Sorry-but this draw is only open to those in the U.S. This draw ends on Thursday, 8/11/2011 at 8 PM PST. *Drawing is closed* One lucky winner will be chosen via www.random.org. I am not responsible for any lost or damaged goods in the mail.

*All of the samples and the 5 ml giveaway were provided by the perfumers. Carly Simon pic from Conde Nast.

37 thoughts on “Perfume Pharmer & The Patch Test Bunnies Summer of Love + A Draw”

  1. Please don’t enter me in the draw, I just wanted to stop by, and tell you how much I enjoyed the project, and your reviews!

    As a young girl I was forced to sit through endless hours, or at least it seemed to me, of Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Westerns, so I am so tickled at the reference! :mrgreen:

    1. OMG! I love spaghetti westerns, you have no idea. I was forced to watch them all too. Isn’t it funny that I guessed you?

  3. I saw your Tweet about this and had to stop by. I’ve been following this Patchouli-fest with great interest as patchouli is a favorite note of mine. I haven’t had the pleasure of wearing any of Joanne Bassett’s fragrances yet and this would sure be a fine place to start! Your description of Tetu appealed to me so much. Thanks for the opportunity to smell something new!

    1. Patchouli is my all-time favorite note so I was so happy to participate in this thoughtful perfume project. There are so many gems out of these 14.

      You’re entered!

  4. I thought it was an interesting project and I read many reviews on participating blogs but I’m scared of these perfumes: I’m not sure if I can take patchouli in that concentration. But if I happen to win I’ll let you know 🙂

    By description, Wild Child sounded very appealing to me.

    1. Haha! Patch is a love it or leave it note.

      I actually think you’d really like Wild Child. It’s so sheer and pretty. I can’t believe it has that much patchouli in it! One would never know.

  5. Gosh, I didn’t even know you had a FB page! Well, now I’m following it. I’m very slow to realize these sorts of things. Sorry, V =(

    Please enter me, thank you! The other I’d like to try…well it’s a toss-up between Riverwalk and Wild Child. I can’t decide between vampy or tropichouli. BTW, tropichouli is the best word ever.

    xoxo, Bunny

    1. No worries! I rarely know that people have a FB page until I enter a giveaway!

      Actually Riverwalk and Wild Child layer nicely with each other. One can be a vampy tropichouli goddess 🙂

  6. I have ordered a full set of “Summer of Love” fragrances and am eagerly anticipating summer here to try them and revisit all the reviews, poems etc. by you Patch Test Bunnies.
    ~♥~

  7. Hi, yeah, for tetu, #10 you HAVE to like dark- not a safe side perfume although great if you do want to go super noir. 13 would be better for fun and lightness. hey Undina- a lot of people have been converted by some of these perfumes…patch haters! Victoria- LOVE the Carly pic you found- she really is the perfect patch hippie girl! Rodney’s #14 Royal Water is DEFINITELY in my personal top 3 and you can buy 5 ml for $36 from his shop Therapeutate and/or from me in the silver spray- 5ml for $36. It is freaking awesome!

    1. Hey Monica, thanks for all of the info. I didn’t know you were selling Royal Water 5 ml. That was one that was “throwing me off”. It kept inching its way into the top 3.

      I totally got a “Carly” vibe while testing these. I imagine myself in a wide brim hate and high waisted bell bottoms a la Carly.

      Thanks again!

  8. I’d love to try them all! Especially Kedra Hart’s scent because of the saffron and dark patch. mmmmm!

    1. You’re entered!

      Wild Child is amazing and was in my top 3! It’s so interesting and delicious 😉

  9. Hello, don’t enter me in the contest. I just stopped by to say I love the article and your review of my Haight & Ashbury Perfume.
    The spice that you detect is cassia EO.
    She is a lady alraight! Thanks again, Jane Cate

  10. I have been following this project on several blogs. I too am a little afraid of too much patchouli, but sometimes I like being scared. Please enter me in the draw…if I win I will let you know. I would like to try the Wild Child and I love the pic of Carley Simon, one of my all-time favorite singers…I so used to be a 70’s babe with a great tan but am paying for it now with a spot of skin cancer so I cannot bake in the sun on the beach anymore. So sad…a covered up beach baby.

    1. Patch is a love it or leave it note. I expected for all 14 to be very much alike, but they weren’t. There truly is something for everyone, even those that are spooked by patchouli.

      Carly Simon is such an icon for me! Why? Because she’s mostly what I’m not, long-legged and tan….talented 🙂 I was raised in the time of “no sun”, my teenage years spent covered in chalky SPF 30. I know that is bad to lay out covered in tanning oil, but for once I wish I knew what it was like to enjoy the sun in ignorant bliss.

  11. Thank you for your review and draw of my Tetu eau de parfum..she is a bad ass… 😆

    I love it that you love her..she is one of a kind.

    Your post was a great review of all of the patch’s.

    1. I think my Easy Rider write-up was the most accurate of Tetu. It’s all of that in a bottle: motorcycles, leather boots, campfires, and hunks wearing patchouli oil 🙂 It’s a free spirit!

  13. Don’t enter me as I was a Patch Test Bunny too! Love your overview of these, you really nailed the essence of each one!

  14. Just stopping by to thank you and for being patient…we are working like little elves over here…to get the new product, “Bohemian Spice” ready….to be launched early Sept. You will get a sample kit of all the other scents as well…promised…

    Liebe Gruesse aus Berlin 🙂

    Tanja

  15. I like the sound of Royal Water and Tetu the most, actually. I have just come back from the vacation in the Bay Area, and, among other places, I visited Haight & Ashbury in San Fran, where the original Summer of Love started. This brings back memories of the trip and I love that Jane Cate went back to the roots with her fragrance’s name!

    Oh, I think I’m already following/liking you on Facebook as well.

    1. Thank you, you are entered!

      Hope you had fun on your trip. Who doesn’t love San Fran in the summer? 🙂

  16. Mmm just reading this I can smell all the loving patch! I’m pretty sure it’s my “comfort” scent… I’d love to be entered in the drawing, btw. Royal Water sounds life changing to me, but jasmine hates me… Happiness and Bohemian Spice sound wonderful too.

    1. Patch-heads unite!

      Bohemian Spice is so “yummy”. Royal Water is really good. And Happiness is well, happy.

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