by Mark
Peanut Butter and Jelly. Peaches and Cream. Scotch and Soda. Some combinations achieve iconic status. Patchouli and Cocoa may not be there yet, but this accord is strangely compelling, if unexpected.
The name refers to the year in which patchouli was introduced to the West, packed as moth repellent in shipments of silk cloth. Some have speculated that this association with silk led to the desirability of patchouli as a luxury perfume ingredient.
More recently, many people have come to associate patchouli - negatively - with the sickly-sweet oil worn by hippies in the 60s and 70s, often in conjunction with the odors of marijuana and unwashed bodies. Actual patchouli can have a range of characteristics, generally more camphorous, leafy, dry and medicinal than this stereotype.
In a parallel vein, chocolate is often assumed to occur in its sweetened form and as a gourmand accord when used in fragrance. However, anyone who has ever tasted unsweetened chocolate knows that it can be dry and bitter indeed.
A characteristic of Borneo 1834 is that neither the patchouli nor the cacao are particularly sweet. The blending is such that, like Winnie the Pooh and his floating jar of honey, sometimes one is on top, sometimes the other. The two chief accords blend into each other around a previously unsuspected common axis.
On first application, camphor is the first thing one notices, with the cacao making its presence known as the first shock wave of camphor rolls back. As the edge of the camphor slowly wears off, the slightly bitter leafiness of the patchouli takes its place. One might notice a spatial trick; from a slight distance, the cacao is more noticeable, but if you sniff closer to the skin, the patchouli dominates.
I don't find a lot of development in this fragrance. In the drydown, labdanum does add some sweetness, but it is more of the ambery oriental variety than the gourmand.
Kudos to Lutens and Sheldrake for pulling this off; it took imagination and skill, and they aced it.
Originally part of the Paris-only line, Borneo 1834 is expected to make an appearance in the export line in Fall of 2008.
The name refers to the year in which patchouli was introduced to the West, packed as moth repellent in shipments of silk cloth. Some have speculated that this association with silk led to the desirability of patchouli as a luxury perfume ingredient.
More recently, many people have come to associate patchouli - negatively - with the sickly-sweet oil worn by hippies in the 60s and 70s, often in conjunction with the odors of marijuana and unwashed bodies. Actual patchouli can have a range of characteristics, generally more camphorous, leafy, dry and medicinal than this stereotype.
In a parallel vein, chocolate is often assumed to occur in its sweetened form and as a gourmand accord when used in fragrance. However, anyone who has ever tasted unsweetened chocolate knows that it can be dry and bitter indeed.
A characteristic of Borneo 1834 is that neither the patchouli nor the cacao are particularly sweet. The blending is such that, like Winnie the Pooh and his floating jar of honey, sometimes one is on top, sometimes the other. The two chief accords blend into each other around a previously unsuspected common axis.
On first application, camphor is the first thing one notices, with the cacao making its presence known as the first shock wave of camphor rolls back. As the edge of the camphor slowly wears off, the slightly bitter leafiness of the patchouli takes its place. One might notice a spatial trick; from a slight distance, the cacao is more noticeable, but if you sniff closer to the skin, the patchouli dominates.
I don't find a lot of development in this fragrance. In the drydown, labdanum does add some sweetness, but it is more of the ambery oriental variety than the gourmand.
Kudos to Lutens and Sheldrake for pulling this off; it took imagination and skill, and they aced it.
Originally part of the Paris-only line, Borneo 1834 is expected to make an appearance in the export line in Fall of 2008.
Perfumer: Christopher Sheldrake
Year: 2005
Notes: Patchouli, Camphor, Cardamom, Cistus, Galbanum, Cacao.
0 comments:
Post a Comment