Patchouli crude EO
Origin: All origins

• Details and product description

  Introduction:

  The patchouli - Pogostemon cablin - is a perennial plant which generally reaches 60 cm broad and 70 to 100 cm high. This plant species likes heat and humidity and is very susceptible to dry periods. It grows preferably in shady areas. Its stems have a square cross-section and bear large purple leaves and small purple buds. Patchouli is cultivated for its essence, located in glands under the leaves.

  History:

  Patchouli is a tropical plant that has been known in India and the Far East from time immemorial. The word patchouli comes from pacciali in the Tamil language of Southern India, which means “green leaves.” The plant was introduced to Europe through the French overseas empire installed on the Coromandel Coast. It arrived in Europe in the middle of the 19th century and was introduced into England in the form of a liquid perfume in 1844. But the woody scent was made fashionable by the wool shawls imported from northern India that were impregnated with patchouli to protect them from insects. This fragrance was quickly adopted and became the distinctive sign of cashmere shawls (shawls from Kashmir). European shawl manufacturers had their shawls perfumed with patchouli so they could pass as shawls from Kashmir. In India, the perfume is considered an insecticide and packets of leaves are put in closets and with wool clothing. Later, in the 1970’s, patchouli became the iconic scent of the hippie movement. Returning from Katmandu, hippies burned patchouli incense or used low quality patchouli essence as a perfume. Even though during these years, patchouli was associated with rebellion and liberty, its reputation was considerably degraded. Its fragrance became synonymous with decadence and vulgarity.   Since one misfortune brings on another, during the 1980’s after experiencing a good comeback for the fragrance in the repertoire of oriental perfumery, El Niño devastated Southeast Asia and there was no more patchouli for ten years. But the species is persistent. It grew back on the sides of Indonesian volcanoes, Nepal went out of fashion and the young came less. They forgot about their suffocating oils in the Indian stalls in passage Brady in Paris and were won over by Guerlain’s Habit Rouge.  Thirty-five years after the Peace and Love movement, twenty years after one of the largest climatic devastations of the twentieth century, patchouli has become one of the dominate raw materials of perfumery: it is found in the Gucci Eau de parfum, Bornéo 1834, Serge Lutens, Prada Eau de parfum, as well as in Cerruti 1881, Le Baiser du dragon, Cartier etc. If there were not many perfumers to jump on the Indian train and dare to bet on straight patchouli, many did use it in camouflage. Today, everything has changed. Take Thierry Mugler, a willingly excessive creator, who was first to put it back in the spotlight in 1992 with 30% pure essence in Angel. After a decade of scents almost holographic with transparency, consumers wanted texture and honesty.   Patchouli never interested the ancient world, but was used in Asia as a repellent against moths.

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