Bohemian Patchouli by EVAN HEALY and DRAW ~ lead up to… Summer of Patchouli LOVE, Perfume Pharmer and the Patch Test Bunnies

“Anouk likes the white ones, though I like prefer the dark, made with the finest seventy-percent couverture…Bitter smooth on the tongue with the taste of the secret tropics…”

“The air is hot with the scent of chocolate…a throaty richness like the perfumed beans from the coffee stall on the market, a redolence of amaretto and tiramisu, a smoky, burned flavor that enters my mouth somehow and makes it water…”

Chocolat – Joanne Harris

Maybe it’s the bohemian (or hippie) in me, but for years I have collected patchouli essential oil. If on my travels I happened upon particularly expressive patchouli, I would purchase liters of it, squirreling it away in my patchouli ‘wine’ cellar. Some people collect wine, not me, I collect patchouli.

My introduction to patchouli started in high school…

I had the very good fortune, or maybe the very good karma, to attend Laguna Beach High School during the late 1960’s. In those days Laguna was a surfing Mecca (still is); a bohemian art colony with stunning white sand beaches, cool blue oceans, deep green canyons and evenings scented with damp, fragrant eucalyptus.

During those nascent years I spent afternoons with friends at Mystic Arts Bookstore, a center of hippie art culture: books, Buddhas, waterfalls, psychedelic tie-dyed t-shirts, incense, chanting…and Timothy Leary.

That year, 1969, when he wasn’t running for governor, Timothy Leary could be found most afternoons at Mystic Arts and like a beaming, beneficent Buddha he would hold court.

I have no memory of him actually ever saying anything, yet somehow he was always the instigator of action. We would gather and a short time later, a slithering plume of fragrant white smoke from a bubbling hookah pipe encircled us as if we were the days catch in a spider’s web.

But if blue water, deep canyons and smoky, mystical bookstores were the backdrop, it was patchouli that supplied the heavenly exotic scent that would fill the crevices of our days like the thick mortar of an ancient temple – a scent memory of prayers, chants and adolescent friendships that has remained with me for years. It was only later that I discovered that what I had been sniffing wasn’t the ‘real deal’ at all but a rather toxic brew of synthetic molecules; never the less the die had been cast…

Patchouli. People either love it or hate it, there is no in between or ambiguity and it will come as no surprise to the people who know me (or that might get trapped in a small conference room with me) that I love it. Like a drug addict, I am known to mainline dribbles of the deep chocolaty oil up and down my arms.

My favorite patchouli is the pure essential oil; it is an aged, understated, hypnotic Indonesian.

Steam distilled patchouli comes from the cured and fermented leaf and exhibits notes of sweet earthiness with deep chocolaty, amber-like undertones. 
I describe it as chocolaty because of its utter richness and aromatic complexity – great patchouli contains full, rich heart notes and exhibits an evolution on the skin that keeps you sniffing your wrist for hours.

I keep my stash in a dark and cool, brick-walled cellar.  I have to blow cobwebs and wipe dust from the dark amber bottles as I draw each one out to sample. 

The longer patchouli ages the better it gets, like fine wine the aroma softens and matures, getting fuller, rounder, richer and more mellow.

After years of sniffing and sampling, wearing and blending different oils from around the globe, I have cultivated a finely tuned nose (le nez), and having honed these skills am now able to detect the subtle nuances inherent in an exceptionally good patchouli’s top, middle and base notes.

There’s a wide variety of patchouli essential oil available on the market. Some are golden, leafy-green and sheer while others have sharp edges, with overwhelming minty, almost boozy notes. An essential oil’s geographical location, weather conditions, distillation method and technique all come into play when an essential oil is produced and truly some are better than others.

Patchouli is absolutely lovely on its own or blends beautifully with other essential oils such as vetiver, sandalwood, oakmoss, labdanum, neroli, bergamot, clove or myrrh. I also love it with henna leaf, cacao absolute, rose, clary sage and/or jasmine.

Patchouli is soothing and relaxing to the central nervous system and an over-active mind. It is earthy, calming, grounding and is also reputed to be an aphrodisiac.  In which case, try it with jasmine, ylang ylang and maybe a droplet of cinnamon and/or clove.

My current favorite is to layer it with attars such as Saffron, Mukhallat, Rose or Mitti (a labor-intensive hydrodistillation of baked earth from the Ganges and sandalwood oil).  I may add a swash of Haitian Vetiver, which adds depth and mystery… After all, who wants to smell exactly like someone else?

Diluted in coconut or jojoba oil and applied to the skin, patchouli has a remarkable wrinkle-smoothing action on chronically stressed skin, its aroma releasing the grip of jaw-clenching tension often held in the face. The fragrance of patchouli soothes the nerves, calms the mind and quiets the heart….

Evan Healy – April 4, 2011

DRAW for commentors…. PLEASE SIGN UP for Perfume Pharmer’s FEED to be eligable for DRAWS. If you have difficulty email skyebird@capecod.net.

EVAN HEALY is kindly Gifting a little bottle of a PRIVATE BLEND (not for sale!) she made herself… delicious and rare…YES it includes patchouli! DRAW ends 14th April 2011

ART in order of appearance numbers 3,4,5 ~ BY BOB BRANAMAN

http://www.coolchaser.com/graphics/184255

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.