Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Liquid Glass: Patou Pour Homme

If there is any perfume in which the smell perfectly matches with the bottle it comes in, oddly enough I would have to say it is Patou Pour Homme. You are probably wondering what I could possibly mean since it is such a simple bottle? In this case I am not talking about the graphics, colour or shape of the bottle... but in fact what it is made of. Many people who review Patou PH will talk about the perfectly balanced blending, the noble woods, the sensual burning spices, but while I agree that all these facets of the fragrance are notable indeed, I don't think any of them are what make it the truly special perfume that it is. For me, the "je ne sais quoi" in PPH comes from the accord that is the combination of a very lean jasmine and a touch of a semi sweet and most transparent orris note; I can describe it only as liquid glass. If one takes a look at the spray bottle of PPH it is similar in shape to the top of the older (1924 in the chart below) chanel #5 bottles, and a type of bevelled glass from the front view, like an art-deco mirror.

Yes the accord is subtle and easy to miss at first, but the design of the bottle speaks volumes about its' importance behind the scenes of the more obvious olfactory design elements. The sparkle of this special accord is present in PH from the very first spray until quite deep into the drydown; it is very sharp and its transparancy is complimented by the choice of herbal notes used as well. I believe this accord is also important as a modifier to the resinous basenotes, making them exceptionally liquid and sharpening their resolution like the highest quality ground glass Nikon lense. The liquid glass accord acts almost like the HDTV for this perfume ;)


If anyone has got Patou Pour Homme I invite you to test it again and see if you think I have been accurate, I'd love to know your opinions - please write anytime :)

5 comments:

SIMONE SHITRIT said...

About bottles... I read an article that now the industry is developing green friendly glass vials and perfume bottles...isn't it cool? :-)

Parfum said...

yes I hope that its not to the detriment of the quality of the juice however! like Coca Cola (and the entire industry) did with those horrible PET plastic bottles. Perhaps this new eco glass will dissolve into the perfume, who knows - Do you still have the link to the article you read ?

M said...

Great write-up on Patou PH here -- much appreciated, as is your blog in general. Very nice.

Parfum said...

Hi Michael, thanks for the message, Patou is one of my favourite fragrances of all time.

sodium silicate said...

of course its one of my favorite fragrance