Yesterday on PST I noted that Katie Puckrik made a few special guest appearances at ScentBar with her special brand of charm and fragrance savvy. One of the scents she steered me towards is the new Atelier Cologne Mistral Patchouli.
She couldn’t have steered me in a more right direction.
I almost want to accuse this of being false advertising since patchouli is right there in the title. But then so is mistral. A mistral is a cold wind that affects the south of France, primarily in the winter and spring. The grapefruit and black pepper combo is the mistral. It’s bright and cold and so delicious I might have to try it with a real grapefruit.
Maybe not.
Then the geranium comes out to play. I actually love the smell of geraniums and have been mourning that I can’t get one of my favorites (Miller Harris Geranium Bourbon) without serious hoop-jumping. So having this is a nice surprise. The patchouli comes in at the very end and is extremely soft and restrained. For something that’s sold as a cologne it actually has pretty good lasting power.
I would imagine that even up to a couple of months ago I’d be wearing the heck out of it. But it’s winter in Los Angeles, and we’re having a week of lows in the 30’s. I’ll keep it in mind for warmer weather, but but I’m going to reach for some of the heavier hitter in this cold..
Notes from LuckyScent: Grapefruit, Black Pepper, Star Anise, Iris, Incense, Geranium, Fraction of Patchouli from Indonesia, Benzoin, Vetiver
Mistral Patchouli is $75 for 30ML or $185 for the whopping 200ML bottle, at Neiman Marcus, Barney’s, Aedes and LuckyScent. My sample came from ScentBar
Image: Wikipedia Commons
I am a patchouli lover, but more of the dirty hippie patchouli that most people seem to hate! I LOVE geranium, though, so I am excited to try this even if there is only a hint of patchouli!
Mistral Patchouli is one of the better colognes and this is reflected by the price. But it really does have a fantastic contrasting smell. From the fading star anise top note to the long lasting patchouli base note.
This is my least favorite LA time of year. If it’s not chilly, then it’s pouring and PCH is dropping rocks all over the place. Ah..you know I’m a liar. I love LA always!
I haven’t tried any of the newer Ateliers and I can’t remember if my NM still carries them. But this really does sound like it might be a lovely spring fling – I’ll check it out next time I’m there!
xoxoxA – and stay warm!
Hi, Tom! Wow — lows in the 30s — that’s pretty chilly for you guys! Glad you liked this scent; I’ve been hearing some good buzz about it. Alas, my NM no longer carries the line in-house, so will have to go elsewhere to try it, though. Thanks!