Best Patchouli 24 by Le Labo Alternatives & Similar Perfumes

Inspired by the majestic Helix Nebula, known as the “Eye of God,” this extrait captures the mystical balance between infinity and the now. Radiant spice notes open the experience, followed by a complex heart of smoky buddhawood, charred birch tar, earthy moss and leathery oud. The chorus of woods is unexpectedly tenderised with cotton candy and vanilla. A metallic coolness adds an almost otherworldly aura to the composition. A fragrance for those who seek to be present in the deepest aspects of their lives.

Perfumer: Luca Maffei

It's a perfume built around natural oud and it meticulously highlights most nuances oud might posess: dry driftwood, then a mushroomy damp stump aroma, smoky charred logs and suddenly soft honeyed amber and green leaves.

Oud accords are often made safer and sweeter in a lot of perfumes. However, natural oud oil would only be distilled from a certain type of tree developing a fungal infection and responding to it in its own chemical way. Hence real oud oil smells both like old damp wood and at the same time like some clean smelling medicinal substance and lots of aromatic shades in between.

Oud Imperial explores this dichotomy of earthy vs. sunny, ancient vs. fresh, decay vs. renewal and so on.

Also available as an extrait. The EdP option smells drier and more like a damp autumn forest (and has a peculiar mushroom effect). The extrait of Oud Imperial is more ambery (softer) and the smokiness of natural oud is much more pronounced.

Perris are rebalancing each composition for the extrait version. They shift the focus from the top notes to the base raising the amounts of base ingredients to achieve a richer, more opulent and luxurious effect. Pure indulgence in the theme.

The concept of the smell is walking among giant sequoias, so tall the sunlight never reaches the ground, breathing crisp air of a coniferous forest. Expect a seriously dark woody character, more on the drier resinous side of the woody spectrum.

The perfume has a smoky nuance but neither in the creamy way of Le Labo's Santal 37 nor in the outrageous gunpowder way of Beaufort's Tonnere. Woody Mood's smokiness is a gentle facette combined from smoky nuances of frankincense, sequoia and black tea.

A rich, smoky blend of honey, tar, vanilla and incense.

The perfumer leaves the perfume plot sketchy - to be completed by your imagination. Are you in your autumn apiary watching honey trickle into jars, smoke lingering in the air from bonfires of fallen leaves? Are you on the well-tarred deck of a merchant ship carrying huge barrels of honey? This beautiful, smoky fragrance will definitely take you somewhere.

Starring

(these fragrant materials reanacted the Honey and Tar story):

castoreum tinctura
benzoin absolute
birch tar essential oil
Himalayan cedarwood essential oil
sweet myrrh essential oil
vetiver essential oil
guayak wood
agarwood essential oil
Atlas cedarwood  essential oil
jasmin sambac absolute
hops CO2
lavender absolute
patchouli essential oil
cardamom absolute
tonka bean absolute
vanilla CO2 extract
orris root CO2 extract
Vanuatu sandalwood essential oil
Royal Hawaiian  sandalwood essential oil

Important notice:

Anna Zworykina’s blends are olfactive smellscapes (but neither aromatherapy, nor ‘spray-and-go’ perfumes). Her blends are sensory experiences, closer to works of art created in the scented plane (rather than, say, visual or audio).

Certain essential oils and absolutes that are used in her 100% natural perfumes may potentially cause allergies in some people. Please spray Anna Zworykina’s blends on fabric (on sleeves, scarves, etc.). This said, Anna Zworykina has acquired a huge fan base over many years and people interacted with her blends for quite a while now. We are not aware of any reports of any skin reactions so far.

However, Anna advises that those who are prone to allergic reactions, pregnant and nursing women, as well as people with chronic illnesses to be extra careful. Before trying natural blends, study the list of ingredients and consult with a doctor if you are not sure or a had a history of allergies. If you do decide to put these blends on your skin (unable to resist the temptation) always test the blend on the inside part of your elbow first and wait.

Do not spray these blends liberally as a cloud in the way you would spray a conventional perfume. Anna’s smellscapes need to be… carefully applied and experienced. Be mindful that some oils can also make your skin hyper-sensitive to UV.

From LO’s Parfum Intense collection, this is an amber with the darkness turned up to 11. There’s no white space here, just expensive raw materials piled high. Its vibrant opening with fruity notes is enriched by the bitterness of coffee, deepening into a powerful chorus of rose, iris, jasmine and lily of the valley. And this valley is a deep one, a soft black expanse of leather, nagarmotha and patchouli, cushioned by a dirtier-than-usual amber.

A snapshot of a sensual night for two on a veranda overlooking a tangled garden. Cognac is shared, its boozy intimations amping the intoxicating amber scent lifting off warm skin. Earthy patchouli adds grit to the grace.

PERFUMER
HONORINE BLANC

Grande Ile blends the bounty of Madagascar — vanilla, pink pepper berries and black pepper — into a sensual and comforting spicy amber. This award-winning scent blends a warm ambery accord with clove, caramel nuances and a rich woody bouquet. Contrasting notes of dry cedar, creamy vanilla, and resinous touches create depth and intrigue. Grande Ile’s enveloping trail unfolds gently on the skin, revealing evolving facets throughout the day. Depending on who you ask, this intriguing beauty moirés between Oriental lilies, a vanilla sauna, and a smoky souk.

A pile-up of contrasts: cinnamon along with tropical florals frangipani and ylang ylang, against the earthy bitterness of artichoke and leather. This almost-gingerbread, almost-cement perfume confuses the senses with its animal/vegetable/mineral mystery.

Purple line

Perfumer: Serge De Oliveira

An extravagant fruity perfume in which warm boozy spices (cinnamon and cloves) incite carefree fruit into jammy debauchery in some dense sweet patchouli setting. Check out the crazy banana explosion in the opening.

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The Sniff on Mint's Meek Passion:

"[it] is a scent for those who like their fragrances on the darker, more impolite and dirtier end of the spectrum. It evokes booze and sweat and smoke on the skin in its wear. The way the fragrance begins though is cheerful and totally unexpected making for an interesting juxtaposition."

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Nosy Be... sounds like a motto for an inquisitive perfume lover. It is, however, the name of a tiny island north of Madagascar. It's an island specializing in the production of patchouli, ylang-ylang and other magical fragrance materials for the perfume industry.

Patchouli Nosy Be is a tribute to the tropical humid shade loving plant that when distilled lends an ambery, dark, leathery and almost chocolate aroma - patchouli.

Naturally, it's the precious patchouli from Nosy Be in the perfume in the company of dense vanilla, dusty schinus molle and dry sandalwood.