RAMON MONEGAL Mon Patchouly, photo by RAMON MONEGAL
RAMON MONEGAL Mon Patchouly was “inspired by the raw smell of patchouli leaves that I discovered with hippies in the sixties on the island of Ibiza,” according to perfumer Ramon Monegal via the brand website.
via Unsplash
There are some immediate olfactive associations that come to mind when the words “patchouli” and “hippies” are used together in a sentence—but Mon Patchouly has nothing whatsoever to do with a “head shop” patchouli oil blend. In my experience of perfumery, patchouli is frequently paired with notes like chocolate, vanilla, or coffee, sometimes cognac or tobacco, making a patchouli-dominant fragrance feel cozy and gourmand. Otherwise, patchouli is often used to add an earthiness and/or muskiness to fragrances. RAMON MONEGAL Mon Patchouly is NOT a gourmand or earthy fragrance—it is more of a time capsule for a bygone era of dramatic cultural change.
Volkswagen, photo by Simisi1 via Pixaby
RAMON MONEGAL Mon Patchouly bursts open on skin as a crisp and bracing woodsy-citrus. Its opening is reminiscent of a time when it was a standard practice for men to get a straight-razor shave from the local barber, and for many women to have a hairdresser wash and style gravity-defying bouffant hairdos once or twice a week. By the end of the 1960s, these grooming practices had started to fall out of favor. Children born in a post-WWII “baby boom” were coming of age across the world, and the “hippies” of this generation began to embrace a different beauty aesthetic that included natural hair texture, longer facial and body hair, and more casual clothing.
Ibiza Rooftops, photo by KaatjeB via Pixaby
A renowned gathering spots for many young hippies of the 1960s was Ibiza, one of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean off the eastern coast of Spain with a warm, sunny, and dry climate. Ibiza’s history dates back to the Phoenicians and its present includes a rapidly developing luxury market. In the late 1950s, the town of Ibiza had just opened to international tourism. It became known as a place of creativity where “everything” was allowed, a rustic paradise that attracted young intellectuals and artists who played music together, sunbathed nude, and sold their handmade crafts on the roadsides and in street markets. RAMON MONEGAL Mon Patchouly takes on the leafy quality of a manicured landscape with neatly trimmed hedges, soft skies, and moss-covered statuary. There is a feel of water nearby; it could be a fountain or it could be a balmy breeze from the nearby sea. As the fragrance becomes a little damp and musky, it takes on an herbaceous quality that pulls the fragrance out of a bygone era and into the present.
Ibiza, photo by mcool via Pixaby
Ibiza remains a popular tourist destination for its nightlife, parties, and music festivals. Clubbers wake at noon, napping in the early evening then dancing through the night into the “disco sunrise” of the next morning. But over the last decade, Ibiza’s government has been trying to encourage a quieter scene. During the tourist season the island population triples, straining island resources such as potable water. The lines between residential areas have blurred into tourist zones, which the government is addressing through limits on new construction, tourism taxes, and increased police presence. This forms an unexpected parallel to the non-linear RAMON MONEGAL Mon Patchouly fragrance, which, after a barbershop opening and herbaceous, leafy bloom, settles into a calm, long-wearing, patchouli-moss chypre. It’s genteel without feeling outdated; reserved and reflective—like a walk through the stony streets of an idyllic town, with views of a harbor in the Mediterranean Sea visible at the next bend in the road.
Notes: Indonesian patchouli, Yugoslavian oak moss absolute, Somalian frankincense, geranium bourbon, Egyptian jasmine absolute, and amber.
Disclosure: A bottle of Mon Patchouly was provided for this review by the US distributor Europerfumes. My opinions are my own.
Dalya Azaria, Contributor
RAMON MONEGAL Mon Patchouly was released in 2009, when the inaugural line was launched (our 2012 reviews here) The perfumer is Ramon Monegal.
RAMON MONEGAL Mon Patchouly, photo by The Perfumed Dahlia
Thanks to the generosity of the team at RAMON MONEGAL, there is a 100 ml bottle of Mon Patchouly for one registered reader from the USA, Canada, UK, or EU only. To be eligible for the draw, please leave a comment about what aspect of Dalya’s review inspired your interest in this fragrance and let us know where you live. Do you have a favorite RAMON MONEGAL perfume? Draw closes 1/29/21
Available at fine stockists worldwide and online at Ramonmonegal.com
Follow us on Instagram @cafleurebon @theperfumeddahlia @ramonmonegal @official_Europerfumes
We announce the winners only on our site and on our Facebook page, so like ÇaFleureBon and use our blog feed… or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume