Thanks to a friend at POL, I finally have a bit of Borneo to sample.
I’ve been waiting a long time to catch a whiff of this one. Frankly, I wasn’t really eager because of how it has sometimes been presented: camphor and patchouli. Two highly possible negatives.
Camphor wouldn’t interest me, but patchouli is a favorite, provided it is the right presentation of it. Patchouli has many different manifestations, some of which are just too dark and bitter or 70’s for me to wear. But the patchouli in Borneo is my favorite kind — it’s heady on the sweetness, similar to that found in Prada By Prada For Women.
.
Wow! My sample is not a spray, but this is a love from the first blast. Loads of sweet patchouli…even when daubed on. There’s something sensual about applying a fragrance in drops, made doubly so, when the fragrance is sensual to begin with.
It reminds me a bit of Yves Rocher’s Cocoon, which is a much less expensive version. But whereas Borneo is deliciously smooth and holds close to my skin, Cocoon is brass and wild and stronger through all the layers of notes, including the chocolate. Another way I’d describe it would be that Cocoon feels a bit artificial, whereas Borneo has no feeling of artifice in it. For me, I find Borneo far more wearable — darn! (I expected it.)
Well, never say I don’t have expensive tastes. I generally like the best.
I decided today, after smelling Borneo from the sample yesterday, that I would try Borneo on one arm and Andy Tauer’s L’air du désert marocain on the other. They have notes reminiscent of each other, while being different.
And because I liked it from simply smelling it, I wasn’t afraid to really give it a real try the first time I wore it. I was pretty sure it was not going to be a scrubber on me.
Both of them are sweet and hot and dry. Borneo settles quickly into more sweetness and a uniform nature. DM settles into sweet and dry and sensual, while still holding distinct notes that blend but are not lost in each other. Of the two, I can smell DM more strongly, but not so strong I would tire of it over the day. I think I’d have to reapply Borneo to keep pace. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Well, I will have to drag out my Prada again to compare that also a bit later in the day. If you are lucky enough to find a sample or a decant, definitely try Borneo, if you like sweet patchouli.
Borneo 1834, part of the non-export collection, is available only in Les Salons du Palais Royal in Paris, where it retails for 100 Euros for 75ml.
Karin
The notes of Borneo include Indonesian patchouli, white flowers, cardamom, camphor, cistus, galbanum, cannabis resin, cocoa accord.
Originally posted 2007-03-02 12:49:45.
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Sometimes only patchouli will do, but not the strong, sour kind of headshop patchouli left over from the 60’s. I’m talkin’ about sweet patchouli.
I’ve already been sidetracked a couple of times today trying to write up my impressions, so this might be the short version just to get it on the table, and then I may expand it.
For the past two days I’ve been trying out Serge Lutens Borneo 1834 on one arm and Prada on the other. The ‘1834′ of the name supposedly refers to the year when patchouli leaves were first wrapped to ward off moths in bales of silk shipped to Europe.
At any rate, I think I smell quite good!
Borneo 1834 has notes of “floralsâ€, galbanum, Indonesian patchouli, cacao, camphor, cardamom, cistus, and labdanum.
Prada: Italian Bergamot Oil, Orange Oil, Bitter Orange Oil, Mandarin Flower, Mimosa India, Rose Absolute ABS, Schinus Molle ABS LMR, Peru Balsam, Patchouli Oil LMR, Raspberry Flower, Labdanum Resinoide LMR, Tonka Bean , Musk, Sandalwood Oil. Amber fragrance with 4 dimensions.
A while back I tried Borneo on one arm and Yves Rocher’s Cocoon on the other. I have to be careful with Cocoon as it is so strong on me. Or, perhaps it is that I want to change during the day, and it is still very present. I get tired of its strength. YR’s Cocoon has more chocolate and even a vanilla presence, whereas Borneo is much stronger with patchouli. Of course Borneo is a lot more money! Of the two, Cocoon is stronger on me and more one-dimensional. Borneo (which I am not spraying, as I only have a sample) is quite gentle. Of the two, I liked Borneo better. I would wear Cocoon if I diluted it with unscented lotion, for example. Borneo I would wear just by itself.
Cocoon notes: vanilla, chocolate, sandalwood, and patchouli. Spicy, woody, oriental notes.
The first year Prada came out, I wore it a lot. It had everything going for it. It was strong, but not too strong. It went through various stages, and it was just different. Then I stopped wearing it, as I explored other fragrances and families of fragrance.
As I wore Borneo, it reminded me of Prada. That’s why I decided to test them out against each other. If I were to say, Borneo transports me to another time and place, and it isn’t the 60s. Prada is a modern rendition, and I stay in this time and place.
At various times today, I asked several people which of my two fragrances they liked the best. They all picked Prada. By comparison, one said Borneo smelled sour. I don’t think they would have thought that, if I had been wearing only Borneo. Surprisingly, Prada did not smell heavy to me today, perhaps since I’ve been away from it so long, and also because I did not spray it, since I wasn’t spraying Borneo.
To me, they are both sweet. And I liked them both. I want to buy Borneo. Unfortunately for us Americans, it is in Serge Lutens non-export line, so available only in Les Salons du Palais Royal in Paris, where it retails for 100 Euros for 75ml. They will not ship it to the US, but they will ship it to other places in Europe, where if you have a friend, they will ship it to you. I was fortunate that a perfume friend sent me part of her sample, thinking she didn’t like it. But when she divided it up to send, she realized she liked it more than she thought so she began to wear it again.
Have I said I want to go back to Paris?
Do you wear any of these? Which is your favorite? Do you wear them all, just depending on the day or your mood or the weather?
You know, when you want patchouli, then only patchouli will do. And it is nice that it is not going back to the 60s, but forward to the 2010’s.
Karin
I wrote about Borneo and Cocoon earlier, if you go here.
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