Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Patchouli 1969 Eau de Parfum has a bouquet of earthy, damp patchouli with aromatic, spiced, green cardamom and citrus that just… dissipated in the first hour and left almost no trace behind. I re-tested and came up empty again after an hour.

I decided to still share my experience because it’s true to how it played out on my skin, but I note that it seems quite unusual against others who have tried it and also my own experience with the Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier brand, where I have tried a few scents and did not have issues with longevity (Ambre Precieux is one of my personal favorites, too).

Patchouli 1969 Notes

It is described as having a “hippie chic spirit” but with “newness of ideas, colours, and exuberance.” These are the notes:

• top notes: cardamom, patchouli, petit grain bigarade
• heart notes: patchouli, jasmine, rose, elemi
• base notes: sandalwood, muscs, vanilla

What does Patchouli 1969 Smell Like?

It opened with camphorous patchouli, and then aromatic, lightly spiced, green, and crisp with cardamom with and underpinnings of bitter citrus. The patchouli was earthy, damp, and spiced with the cardamom and petit grain accentuating its place outdoors, in the garden, and made it feel like freshly-tilled soil just before dawn as morning dew sat upon lush leaves.

As it sat on my skin for a half hour, the patchouli was slightly softer, spiced and woody with less of a damp aspect. It still seemed slightly citrusy (almost lemon-like to my nose) and green around the edges, and it had a touch of muskiness. On my skin, it became a veil of scent after only an hour, which made it difficult to ascertain the remainder of its development. I tried applying more and re-testing and had no additional successful. At most, I detected a vague sense of florals with earthy patchouli and lingering cardamom.

I recommend checking out Kafkaesque’s review of the same scent, who had a much better and thorough experience of this scent (and was originally the reason I was excited to try it myself!). I have tried a few scents fromt his house previously and haven’t had longevity issues with it (Ambre Precieux, Ambre Mythique, Santal Noble).

Longevity

It lasted for a half hour until it was a skin-scent and after an hour, it was difficult to detect on my skin. This had unusually short longevity on me, and I had my husband check to see what he could smell on my arm, too, and he was puzzled as he didn’t detect anything himself.

Personal Notes

These are more subjective feelings based on what I like (or don’t like) in a perfume as well as considering the fragrance against other perfumes I own and love.

Since it did not wear right on my skin, it was obviously not a scent that worked out for me at all!

Testing Methodology

For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area . I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise.

I purchased my sample in January 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime , so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Availability

Cacao2 is available for $120/100ml. If possible, I highly recommend trying a fragrance before purchasing a full bottle because fragrance can wear differently just because of skin chemistry. Skin chemistry can effect not just the longevity of a fragrance but also what notes are prominent or hidden.

Patchouli 1969 Samples

We recommend the following retailers for purchasing decanted samples (typically 0.7ml to 2ml in size). This is a fuller list, so individual availability may depend on inventory.

• Jovoy Paris
• LuckyScent
• Scent Split
• Twisted Lily

Where to Buy

• LuckyScent
• Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Patchouli 1969 Perfume Review

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Patchouli 1969 Perfume Review

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Ambre Mythique Eau de Parfum starts with a burst of citrus, quickly followed by a darker, toffee-like syrup with salty, musky leather that became more aromatic with lavender and greenery that grew woody, spiced, and eventually, sweeter and creamier. The notes are:

• top notes: bergamot, geranium, coriander, incense
• heart notes: myrrh, lavender, labdanum cistus
• base notes: patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla, tonka bean

It opened with subtly sweet, orange and fresh peels with smoky incense that shifted into a darker, toffee-like syrup that seemed a touch burnt (but in that god, caramelized kind of way). The toffee simmered as it was joined by a salty, leathery aspect that seemed somewhat musky. There was a zest or two of lemon that whispered in the background.

Ambre Mythique took an aromatic turn after fifteen minutes with the addition of lavender and nondescript greenery that fused to salted, syrupy toffee and leather blend, and it seemed to pull back from the prior muskiness. Creamy sandalwood, slightly cocoa-like patchouli, and lavender swirled together without any green quality about hour into development. It grew woodier, more spiced, and less aromatic without sweetening.

Four hours into the journey, it turned richer, more balsamic, and warmer with lightly spiced, creamy woods, warm resins, and rich vanilla. The drydown was soft amber with warm vanilla.

Application

For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area on my left arm. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as this is also my swatching arm (aka, incredibly parched at any given moment) as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise. 

Longevity

It lasted for eight hours until it was a skin-scent and about 12 hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were moderate with the sillage dropping more noticeably within two hours.

Personal Thoughts

I prefer Ambre Precieux over Ambre Mythique;, which is darker and richer as far as ambers go, but I am guessing the addition of lavender just didn’t pull me in here.

Available Sizes

• 120ml for $215
• 0.7ml sample for $5

Where to Buy

• LuckyScent

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Ambre Mythique Perfume Review

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Ambre Mythique Perfume Review

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Ambre Dore starts off quite spicy and resinous with pungent, animalic oud and a salty undertone. While the oud was short-lived, it was a dirty, dark, and earthy oud that may feel “too much” for those who aren’t full-on oud fans. The middle was marked by smoke and leather, and then after that, it was primarily a range of amber, which seemed on the powdery, musky side to me. The notes in the fragrance are:

• top notes: styrax, geranium, sage
• heart notes: amber, oud, coriander, saffron
• base notes: sandalwood, vetiver, myrrh

It opened with a dry, resinous spice–dark, chewy, balsamic–that lasted a minute before it grew earthy, salty, and animalic. That initial burst of spice and resinous sweetness disappeared, totally overrun by dark, dank oud reminiscent of hay, leather, and mucking out horse stalls and the sweat that drips down one’s brow from putting in the work.

Rich, spiced amber teased along the edges, trying to merge and soften the oud, and the two danced with each other; it didn’t feel like a fight where they clashed but rather they were trying to compromise and come together as a unit. For those that started mentally backing away from this fragrance because of the pungent oud, the amber envelopes the oud in a close hug within 10 minutes. The oud then added a layer of earthy, almost medicinal, backing to the amber.

Given 15 minutes to develop on my skin, Ambre Dore was darker; smoky leather, touch of coriander, and the beginnings of spiced resins emerged. It became a part-musky, part-powdery amber with leathery undertones by the end of the first hour of wear. The leather felt cooler, drier, and smokier for the next hour before fading into a drydown of slightly musky amber, subtle sweetness, and faint woods. As the drydown went on, the amber became less musky and a touch sweeter.

Application

For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area on my left arm. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as this is also my swatching arm (aka, incredibly parched at any given moment) as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise. 

Longevity

It lasted for eight hours until it was a skin-scent and about 12 hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were moderate with the sillage dropping faster than the projection after three hours of wear.

Personal Thoughts

I’ve found that I like a clearer amber rather than one that is powdery and/or musky; not that I’m adverse, merely that it’s not my preference. The punchy oud was a surprise in this one, too, and totally caught me off-guard–at first I was totally thinking, “Wow, this isn’t an amber fragrance at all!” but alas, the amber did win out without having to work too hard.

Available Sizes

• 120ml for €165

Where to Buy

• Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Ambre Dore Perfume Review

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Ambre Dore Perfume Review

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Ambre Precieux Eau de Parfum is a warm, ambery fragrance that was heady and rich toned down subtly by balsam. It has a more aromatic, lightly creamy lavender opening with the faint play of spices, like cumin and nutmeg, but the amber shows up early on in the journey and gets deeper, more resinous, and richer until the drydown where it softens and sweetens with vanilla. The brand described the note structure as:

• top notes: myrtle, lavender
• heart notes: coumarin, vanilla, nutmeg, labdanum cistus
• base notes: Peru balsam, Tolu balsam, ambergris

It opened with a cloud of smooth, creamy lavender, not quite sweetened, but it was nowhere near as herbaceous as pure lavender. The creamier lavender slowly sweetened with vanilla, grew heavier and headier as the labdanum came forward, and then after about 15 minutes of wear, a blend of earthy, nuttier spice came through (cumin and nutmeg, cumin being more discernible for my nose). As the spices trickled through, the vanilla played a subtler role, so it is was just barely sweet.

The progression from opening to dry down was subtle, so much so that it wasn’t as easy to determine where one stage ended and the next began. The lavender receded as the spices warmed up with lightly smoky, spicy amber teased at the edges.

The longer I wore Ambre Precieux, the stronger the amber became; within two hours, the scent became a rich, golden amber with a hint of smoky, spiciness and rounded out with balsams. It stayed in this vein for the next few hours–sometimes it leaned more resinous, sometimes woodier–before eventually drying down to a smoky, amber-vanilla concoction that was sweet, spicy, and a touch powdery.

For testing, I bought a travel-sized spray, and I used three sprays for each wear test, which were applied to the underside and topside of my wrist area on my left arm. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as this is also my swatching arm (aka, incredibly parched at any given moment) as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise.  It was long-lasting (over 10 hours and still detectable as a skin-scent) with moderate sillage for the first two to three hours and moderate projection.

Subjectively, I was very happy I bought a larger size of this over a decanted sample vial. I only did so because it was on sale through the brand’s website, and I loved that there was a travel-sized option available. I love the smell of lavender, both more vanilla-lavender as well as very herbaceous, almost medicinal, lavender. I felt like this was an excellent execution of a fragrance where amber was the star with other notes really working to accentuate and play up amber’s best qualities. I bought mine directly from the brand, and it did take a couple of weeks to arrive, which was longer than typical in my experience for an international shipment; I also purchased two other travel-sized sprays, which made the international shipping cost worth it.

Available Sizes

• 120ml for $195
• 30ml for €54.17

Where to Buy

• LuckyScent, Maitre Parfumer et Gantier

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Ambre Precieux Perfume Review

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Ambre Precieux Perfume Review