This stunning peony-patchouli vies for the same complexity of character—the seduction lasts long before the first notes of mandarin and rhubarb, developing into a heady olfactive brew underlined by blond woods and liquid musks.

Both the Myth and Raven note descriptions said that I’m supposed to smell patchouli, and while I got a bit of patchouli in Myth in the base as promised, it is the belle of the ball in Raven. It starts off sweet and creamy, with a sharpness like a tart apple, and then a sort of dogwood kind of woody. All of which play their part in the dry down as well in various strengths.

Then the patchouli has pulled its boots on and really gets everything going.

Patchouli reminds me of coffee, and that’s what I get out of this one. Like drinking a creamy latte with chocolate notes until someone shoves a bouquet of peonies straight into your mouth and asks you if your meal’s going well with a genuine smile. It’s a strong one, and I’m trying to stave off a headache from one spray on my wrists as I write this, my constitution wobbly as it is. The sillage has to be two to three feet, at least during this first hour.

This specific patchouli effect reminds me of Cafe Tuberosa, which makes me think Atelier and Ellis might be sourcing from similar chemists, though the note in Raven is lighter, less rich, and more polite somehow.

I rather like it. It’s romantic, makes me hungry, and I wish I was exposing it to the February air sooner than I am because like Cafe Tuberosa, that’s where I think it would shine.