Mon Patchouly

'Mon Patchouly' from Ramon Monegal’s Classics Collection could possibly be his flagship scent of the entire range. It’s his fighting entry to rival the heavyweight opponents in the patchouli powerhouse category. It projects like a charm and has the longevity and quality that we all dream of.

Monegal created this after being “inspired by the raw smell of patchouli leaves that I discovered with hippies in the sixties on the island of Ibiza.” For him, it defined an attitude of provocation and freedom. He explains “Mon Patchouly has become sophisticated, enriched with poetic sunsets on the sea watched from the Café del Mar; it is addictive and captivating for its power to convince and seduce everyone around.” Described as a “Cunning seduction, impulse of freedom”, ‘Mon Patchouly’ is the jewel in Ramon Monegal’s crown.

I initially wasn’t sure why 'patchouli' was spelt 'patchouly', especially since I knew the Spanish spelling to be 'pachuli', so I enquired and received this official answer; “Mr. Monegal was taught that way when he was being trained in Geneva” since the fragrance formulae in the reference books was always written with a Y. It was also explained that Mr. Monegal was working with Myrurgia (the leading company in Spanish perfumery market and the first company to introduce fashion branding into the world of perfumes) and the 200kg drums of raw material they bought as ingredient it was written "Patchouly". So now we know Y.

So what does it smell like? The combined notes make this fragrance predominantly aromatic. It opens with a freshly crushed, herbaceous patchouli leaf, which is made more vibrant from the yuzu and bergamot citruses whilst the mate brings bitter tea note. The dry down reveals a powdery, herbal, moss and it’s here where it most resembles Tom Ford’s ‘Patchouli Absolu’. ‘Mon Patchouly’ is the cleanest and lightest rendition of patchouli due to the huge amount of uplifting oakmoss. It leans a little masculine due to the classic men’s mossy-green-chypre style but with amazing longevity (over 9 hours on me). I would have liked even more from the patchouli, so I wouldn’t describe this as patchouli dominant. So in summation; ‘Mon Patchouly’ is a fresh spicy, aromatic, mossy chypre with a green herbal patchouli.

TOP - Bergamot, Yuzu, Marine note, Green note

HEART - Jasmine, Patchouli, Mate

BASE - Oakmoss, Vanilla, Tonka, Musk