Patchouli Noir by Il Profumo

Last week, I sprayed some Emilio Pucci Vivara on the back of my hand so that I could test it out before I recommended it to a friend who was looking for something green and fresh, but Vivara was so sharp and insistent that I quickly washed my hands and then scrambled about for a potent fragrance I could use to cover any remnants of the damage. I grabbed Le Labo's Patchouli 24 and sprayed it on.

What resulted was a sweet and smoky patchouli with a spiky tang at the heart of it, since the Vivara hadn't fully washed off before I applied the Patchouli 24. For hours afterward, I kept bringing my hand to my face so that I could smell the accidental hybrid blooming on my skin -- it was strange and unexpectedly intriguing, like stumbling upon a fresh-baked gingerbread house deep in a fern filled forest, smoke wafting from its cookie crust chimney.

Welcome to Patchouli Noir by Il Profumo.

Patchouli Noir is a sweet and sour mix that's unlike most other patchouli fragrances I've yet encountered. Where most patchouli perfumes include a veritable litany of other ingredients that cause it to zig into a rich, honied and ambery resin, Patchouli Noir stays true to its nature and zags into dry, flinty and minty layers that melt into a dusty-cocoa and vanilla-sugar head trip.

Serge Lutens Borneo 1834 plays this game, as well, but with seventy-six trombones in its big parade -- yes, Borneo 1834 is gorgeous, but so is the sun until you get too close to it. If you're looking for a cooler, more introspective approach to straight-up patchouli, Patchouli Noir will fit the bill nicely.