Derived from a plant that's part of the mint family, patchouli is an ingredient that's familiar to fragrance fans.
Despite its botanical sibling, it doesn't smell anything like toothpaste. Prized for its earthy, woody, slightly sweet and musky scent, it was fallen upon in the Summer of Love by marijuana smokers for its ability to mask weed's scent, and ditto alcohol. You could call it the bad boy of the fragrance world.
Luxury brands have tamed this wild horse of an ingredient, with everyone from Jo Malone MBE, Gucci and Byredo to Etro and Dior giving patchouli a starring role in their EDPs.
The woody and earthiness of it lends itself well to unisex fragrances, and like all scents, will smell slightly different on each wearer depending on their personal chemical cocktail. What’s more, patchouli is said to activate a part of the brain to ignite self-confidence.
A patchouli-themed fragrance is perfect for gifting anyone who likes grounding scents and can be fine-tuned with the right accords.
If you're on the hunt for a patchouli fragrance, we've rounded up the best in our edit below. We have chosen from big names to small boutique brands and across price brackets to ensure there's something for every nose and every pocket.
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Dior Patchouli Élixir Précieux
Made with pure ingredients, Dior presents not a perfume, but a fragrance oil for those who wish to sink into the intense scent of patchouli. Dot it on your pulse points or wear it as a base under a lighter fragrance to increase its vibrancy and depth.
Buy now £375.00, Dior
Tom Ford White Patchouli
Seduction on the cards? Reach for Tom Ford's White Patchouli which pairs the plant's woody notes with delicate white flowers, evoking an exotic air of mystery. It's a memorable fragrance, making its mark all day without feeling overpowering. Gift it if you can bear to part with it.
Buy now £150.00, The Fragrance Shop
Jo Loves Cobalt Patchouli & Cedar A Fragrance
Available in 50ml and 100ml, Jo Loves pairs the patchouli with notes of cedarwood to bring out its woody characteristics. For balance, you can also detect vetiver, geranium and grapefruit influences, resulting in a bracing, refreshing spritz that smells scrubbed clean. Think of a forest walk that ends at the ocean.
Buy now £82.00, Space UK
KAYALI Vanilla Royale Sugared Patchouli 64 Eau de Parfum Intense 50ml
The Middle East has a storied beauty history of scent layering, something that Huda Beauty has brought to modern wearers through this Intense concoction.
It's designed to be worn under KAYALI's Vanilla 28 EDP, giving it a headier hit of both vanilla and patchouli, though you could try it under any similar vanilla-based scent. Described as 'wearable euphoria', it's a combination that can be worn and loved by all genders.
Buy now £79.00, Cult Beauty
PHLUR Father Figure
PHLUR is the viral TikTok fragrance label that you need on your radar. The individual fragrances are unlike anything on the market and the same runs true for FATHER FIGURE. It’s not just the name that sets it apart from the crowd, it’s also the vivid green aroma (and bottle to match).
It opens with notes of fig and cassis before enveloping into deeper sandalwood, orris root and Madagascar vanilla concoction. Closing it out is musk and patchouli to create a sensual base that is still miraculously light.
Buy now £99.00, Selfridges
YSL Black Opium Eau de Toilette 50ml
Blending the freshness of citrus with the comforting base of white musk, YSL’s Black Opium is a great addition to any fragrance mantle. The enduring aroma is the most popular in the Opium line that was begun in 1977 by Yves Saint Laurent. Zoe Kravitz fronts the campaign for the seductive scent that includes notes of black coffee and vanilla. This is just one of the juxtaposing combinations. There are also white flowers and orange blossoms and the aforementioned white musk and patchouli that demonstrate its alluring mix of light and dark.
Buy now £67.00, John Lewis
Mugler Angel
It is no surprise that Mugler’s Angel scent has remained as popular today as it was in 1992 when it launched. The aroma is truly distinctive and unique with endless repurchase appeal – to the delight of its legion of fans.
For some, it’s irresistible and an immediate signature, while others turn away from the strong scent. It’s certainly heady, which makes it ideal for the winter season and it creates a scent trail that lasts and lasts. The award-winning aroma opens with bright notes of peony and mandarin before drying down with gourmand praline and woody patchouli.
Buy now £110.50, lookfantastic
Hermès Barénia
The first chypre perfume in the Hermès fragrance line-up is known as Barénia and it encapsulates the sophisticated elegance that is synonymous with the leather goods label. The seductive scent is classic in its notes; butterfly lily is combined with the delicate miracle berry, and given depth with oakwood and intense patchouli for a captivating woody olfactory experience.
The curved flacon was designed to resemble the Collier de chien bracelet with its medor studs, which are set on the bottle and made from precious metals, encapsulating one of the heritage pieces from the fashion house.
Buy now £80.00, The Fragrance Shop
Maison Margiela REPLICA From the Garden Eau de Toilette
Reconnect with nature through the olfactory journey of Maison Margiela’s From the Garden. The lively notes capture the complexities of a sprouting outdoor oasis with fresh green mandarin to capture a sun-soaked afternoon picking ripe fruit, to the woody elements of patchouli and geranium to mimic that of the earth. It’s an uplifting, vibrant olfactory experience.
Buy now £120.00, Cult Beauty
Gucci Flora Gorgeous Gardenia Eau de Parfum for her
If the beautiful flower-adorned bottle wasn’t a giveaway, as soon as you catch a whiff of this scent, you’ll be transported to blossoming meadows with an aroma that’s reminiscent of gardenias. It’s a light floral fragrance that has a top note of pear blossom, a heart of white gardenia and jasmine and a base of brown sugar and patchouli that sets the scent of the elongated trail.
Buy now £135.00, Gucci
Gucci Guilty Black Pour Homme
For a captivating fragrance that leaves a lasting impression, Gucci’s Guilty Black Pour Homme is ready and waiting to be spritzed. The Fougère fragrance reveals lavender on first whiff but as it evolves, touches of orange blossom appear before leaving a trail of deeper woody patchouli in its wake.
Buy now £44.97, The Perfume Shop
D.S. & Durga Deep Dark Vanilla
D.S. & Durga is a fragrance house like no other with the founders’ unique, self-taught approach to fragrance formulation so you can be sure that its vanilla aroma doesn’t follow suit either. The versatile aroma calls on real vanilla to provide its gourmand, almost edible scent composition.
Not only is it genderless but its notes of cabreuva, orchid and pink pepper combined with vines, green vanilla leaves and cypress root can be layered up for day or night alike. The base of hay, dark patchouli and vanilla absolute eschews the sweet stereotype of vanilla with a smoky twist that is green when it dries down.
Buy now £155.00, Space NK
Jo Malone London Amber & Patchouli cologne 100ml
A collaboration between perfume heavyweight, Jo Malone, and Savile Row tailor, Huntsman, this aroma will deliver gentlemanly charm to rival that of Colin Firth in Kingsman - a film based on the iconic tailor.
Spicy, warm and woody, you can expect notes of coriander seeds, smoky guaiacwood and amber, perfect for a summer soirée.
Buy now £150.00, Jo Malone
Lancôme La Vie Est Belle
This is a fragrance that has stood the test of time for many years and has endless re-buy potential. It is so fresh, feminine and instantly recognisable.
The aroma is derived from a bouquet of florals that includes orange blossom, jasmine and iris. To add an element of fruitiness, there’s blackcurrant and pear, and it’s rounded off with patchouli, vanilla and praline that provide a sensual edge and allow you to wear from day to after dark.
Lancôme’s La Vie Est Belle is refillable with the 100ml recharge costing £84.
Buy now £67.00, The Perfume Shop
Armani Si Eau de Parfum
This addictive aroma from Armani sits in the chypre scent family. It has a top of blackcurrant liqueur, a heart of rose de mai absolute and freesia and a base of patchouli and oakmoss. The heady aroma is one that stops passersby in their tracks to ask you what you’re wearing. It was formulated back in 2013 but remains as popular today as ever.
Buy now £75.45, lookfantastic
Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Eau de Parfum
Flowerbomb is one of the bestselling scents on the market and plays a fine but winning balance of floral with deeper woody overtones that would suit all fragrance preferences.
This also means it’s versatile so you can spritz it in the morning and layer it up come evening for a deeper, sensual touch. The top note is of tea, bergamot and freesia, while the heart is sambac jasmine, cattleya orchid and centifolia rose. It is finished with an amber and patchouli base.
A stand-out on your dressing table, the fragrance is housed in a pink, grenade-style bottle.
Buy now £80.00, Boots
Dries Van Noten Mystic Moss Eau de Toilette
Mystic Moss is the latest fragrance from luxury fashion house Dries Van Noten. It joins the line-up that includes Orange Smoke and Sur Ma Peau as a suitably summery scent that follows suit in the brand’s mission to create 'impossible combinations’.
With this in mind, you can be sure that this is no ordinary warmer weather concoction - quite the opposite. It is driven by patchouli that has been treated to a salty twist that results in an earthy development of the zesty green mandarin opening. It’s unisex and composed of 91 per cent natural ingredients.
Buy now £190.00, Selfridges
Armani Acqua Di Gio Eau de Toilette
The Armani Acqua Di Gio Eau de Toilette takes your olfactory on a journey. It’s classified as an aromatic, aquatic fragrance and is masculine in its makeup. While the opener is one of citrus with green tangerine, lime and bergamot, it’s the spice elements that take over with nutmeg and coriander. The fragrance is anchored with the warming notes of amber, patchouli and cedar.
While it was released back in 1996, the brand has not shied away from innovation by transforming the classic eau de parfum into a refillable format and through its selection of sustainably sourced ingredients.
Buy now £55.20, lookfantastic
Maison Francis Kurkdjian Aqua Media Cologne Forte
Maison Francis Kurkdjian, the brand behind the iconic Baccarat Rouge 540, has taken a very different approach with the Aqua collection. These summery scents are light and bright and there’s a new addition taking the fourth spot alongside Aqua Vitae, Aqua Celestia, and Aqua Universalis.
Aqua Media is a mood-boosting scent that is vibrant and fresh and, much like the others, has bergamot from Italy (it’s a consistent note that runs through the Aqua range). This is set alongside crystalline hedione that provides the airy feel with sweet fennel, aniseed and citrus. It’s green most of all with fresh wild herbs, a base of woody musks, patchouli and green moss.
Buy now £115.00, John Lewis
Yves Saint Laurent Y Intense
The signature Yves Saint Laurent Y fragrance has been given a deeper counterpart to create an even more heady concotion that is fresh, sophisticated but enduring. The long-lasting aroma pairs unexpected elements together; French lavender, patchouli and blue juniper berries to create a spicy, seductive combination that will keep them guessing.
Buy now £85.00, The Perfume Shop
