Jovoy Psychedelique Perfume Review
Jovoy Paris Psychedelique Eau de Parfum was patchouli-driven fragrance where its dark, earthy, and a little camphorous. It smelled like damp soil, just ready for planting bare root roses at the end of winter. Sometimes it gave dusty, dark chocolate with a little mint, but it was earthy before everything else. The rose and geranium lifted the patchouli before amber, vanilla, and musk came through. The drydown was ambered patchouli, but this is a scent for those who like the darker side of patchouli.
- top notes: citrus fruits
- heart notes: patchouli, amber, geranium, rose, cistus
- base notes: vanilla, musk
It opened with the briefest suggestion of citrus before the dark, earthy patchouli took the stage all damp soil freshly tilled before turning to dusty, dark chocolate with a subtle mint at the end of an inhale. A whisper of rose lifted the dark chocolate up, minimized the dustiness and allowed the patchouli to regain some of its loamy characteristic. It reminded me of being in the garden, cutting back roses in the cool December air.
Spiced amber teased through the patchouli after 45 minutes of wear, only a faint whisper initially before strengthening to at least being consistently discernible by the second hour of wear. The earthy, soil-like characteristics of the patchouli were slowly eroded as the resinous amber and sweet vanilla came together and the fragrance moved towards its drydown.
Application
For testing, I used 1/3 of a 1ml 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.Â
Longevity
It lasted for six hours until it was a skin-scent and about 10 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 within the two hours of wear.
Personal Thoughts
It’s been an interesting journey exploring patchouli as a note in perfumery, and I love what it can bring to a perfume’s structure, though it can be too earthy for me when its the star. That being said, something like this would be excellent for layering with other fragrances to add a darker element to them.
Available Sizes
- 100ml for $180
- 0.7ml sample for $4
Hmm…while I LOVE the smell of freshly tilled topsoil and chocolate, I’m not as sure that this is how I would want to go around smelling like. Another sample is in order, I think!
I have mixed feelings about this one and I think this would probably shine best when layered with another perfume – perhaps a sweeter one.
I’m with you, I adore patchouli and what it can bring to a perfume. Unfortunately, when it’s the main star my skin amps it like crazy and keeps it cold and flat. Luckily I have a partner who enjoys it also and wears it so, sooo much better than me. So this might be something I’d pick up to try, but mostly because I think it would work on someone else.
This is a good one for a very patchouli-heavy experience, at least, and not the most expensive on the market, lol!
It is wild how different something can come off of just due to skin chemistry.