#jovoy

Jovoy Pavillon Rouge

Nose: Marie Schnirer

notes: whiskey, rum, spices, sesame; tobacco, leather, coffee, tea; ebony, vanilla, benzoin

Pavillon Rouge is exactly what it says on the tin: boozy, sweetened tobacco. It’s rich, it’s bold, it’s masculine-of-center. There’s a slight, unexpectedly savory smoked-peat note that I enjoy.

One of those “den fragrances” — it’s Dad’s Wood-Paneled Study, with leather overstuffed armchairs and an ottoman, and an antique globe, and his cigar box and his liquor cabinet.

Yes, for sure, this is sweet. 

If you are unaccustomed to these potent vanillas à la Tihota, Fire At Will will almost certainly overwhelm you. You won’t be able to detect anything but the ambery, sugary vanilla, landing like a blow on the temple. 

That said, this somehow is not quite a gourmand; there is something else here, something floral, with a faint green edge that lends Fire At Will a slightly wrathful quality--a grimace rather than a smile. This greenish note is having a sword fight with the carmelizing vanilla and keeps it from going full bakery. The slight flavor of disappointment conveyed by that little green edge: mimosa, maybe—or a tiny trace of the vetiver that is supposed to be providing a bit of spine in the base? Neither nose nor nous can tell. What the vetiver does do is add a little sparkle, a little carbonation; it sours and darkens the burnt caramel, pushing it away from pastry kitchens and towards grass fires—a very slight hint of acridity, black smoke smudged on the horizon. 

The longer I wear this, the more confused I am by the general reception to this fragrance. I don’t get the same vibe at all from this that many reviewers do; no cupcakes. There is plenty of amber, and a detectable brown sugar note, for sure. The musk that warms Tihota is also present here, but the mimosa makes it less friendly, and the vetiver (this is why I like this one; can you tell?) collects the boozy facets of the vanilla and de-saturates them, sharpens them: Dorothy Parker lofting awful observations as the evening turns, increasingly unkind remarks spiraling up and out of the gin-and-tonic so that you find yourself obliged to lay your hand on her arm and gently suggest it’s time to pack it in. 

I've been trying to decide what to discuss with my first real post that isn't just an old perfume add. I decided on possibly my favorite perfume note, and one that gets a lot of hate for all the wrong reasons: patchouli.

I absolutely love patchouli. Both as a raw material and as an ingredient in perfume. I think my love for it started, though I didn't know it at the time, when I got a bottle of Gucci Envy for Men. It's been years since I last had a bottle of it, but I still remember how warm, sweet, and somewhat earthy it was. I was obsessed with it, and when it was discontinued I was devastated. There were others that came along that came very close, but didn't quite hit the same chords with me.

Now, a lot of people swear they hate patchouli, but don't even realize it is the main note in many of their favorite fragrances. Most people hate it because they associate it with hippies, in particular ones who substitute bathing with covering themselves in scented oils, patchouli being a particularly popular one. These people don't actually hate patchouli itself, but rather the smell of the people often wearing it. This was actually where I was before I began to learn about perfume notes and discovered what that ingredient was that made so many of my favorite fragrances so great. When I realized this I was blown away. "Gucci Envy and Burberry Brit smell nothing like dirty hippies," I thought.

Fast forward about 10 years and I'm practically tripping over myself to get perfumes heavy in patchouli. It's one of my favorites, and probably one of the most misunderstood notes in perfumery.

Jovoy Psychedelique

nose: Jacques Flori

notes: citrus; patchouli, amber, labdanum, geranium, rose; vanilla, musk

Psychedelique is rich, ambered, chocolatey villain patchouli.

After a sweet opening, within a few minutes the herbal, camphoraceous, dark-green character of the patchouli comes out. I love this stage; it’s dense and truly plant-like.

  È una giornata soleggiata ma fredda; cammino a passo spedito per raggiungere il luogo della presentazione, mentre nella mente ripasso le domande. Ho scelto di fare l’intervista in francese, ma non lo parlo da tanto e sono un po’ arrugginito. Sono tra i primi ad arrivare e sarò io a inaugurare la lunga serie di interviste che attendono il mio ospite. La location è un piccolo ma caratteristico…