Kozha means “skin” in Turkish, so if you’re thinking that Patchouli Kozha mixes sensual, skin-like notes with the earthiness of patchouli, then you’d be right. But Patchouli Kozha is so much more than that. In fact, before we get down to the loam, we must first pass through a meadow, the scent opening unexpectedly on a naturalistic accord of grass and flowers, wet and torn after a violent storm. The opening crackles with ozone and electricity, hyacinth striding to the fore, a green, almost bitter artemisia at its side.
Soon after, one becomes aware of a potent, sensuous ylang ylang snaking its way out of the grass, ripe with banana flesh and leathery indole. But the humid, near tropical smell of the ylang is held in check by the bright, peppery patchouli, and together these notes create a light, raw leather redolent with mint leaf and anise. The patchouli-ylang pairing is not particularly earthy or sweet, but cool and herbaceous - effortlessly sexy in a natural, tousled-hair kind of way. In the base, a sweeter tone creeps in, honey and resin thickening the patchouli, and giving it a warm, rounded feel. Towards the far drydown, a nubbin of frankincense weaves in and out of the honeyed patchouli and florals, drying everything out in a silvery haze of smoke and ether.
