RL Pure Turquoise

Notes: cassis, indigo violet petals, lily of the valley, cactus flower, night-blooming cereus, orange flower absolute, Bulgarian rose absolute, desert lily, patchouli, silver birchwood, amber, vanilla bourbon, rum

When Pure Turquoise came out in 2005, I instantly hated it.  It smelled pretty much solely of patchouli to my nose, and in my pre-Perfumista days, I detested patch.  Now that I consider myself in that elite category of fragrance hounds, I've grown to appreciate the note.  I still can't appreciate the smell of head-shop-strength patch, but a little bit, if well-blended, can really elevate a fragrance into something special.

One of my co-workers wears Pure Turquoise once in a while, and every time she wears it, I stop and ask her what it is (or so she says).  It's fantastic on her, but she's got the kind of wondrous chemistry that makes even Usher's She smell gorgeous.  But every time I smell it on her, I wonder why I think I hate it so much. 

I scored a half bottle of Pure Turquoise the other day in a large mystery box of scents from Fishbone, in Nancy's "everything must go" clearing out of inventory.  I tried it on.  Ignore that long list of notes - what I get is a bit of citrus in the beginning and lots of light soapy patch with perhaps the vaguest floral notions.  And that's it.  So it still smells pretty much solely of patchouli to my nose, but somehow now I can deal with it.

I kinda wish there was noticeable vanilla in it, but part of me likes that the scent isn't especially sweet.  The jury is still out.  I'm not sure I like Pure Turquoise quite yet, but I no longer hate it.  And I will probably even wear it on those days when my usual sweet fragrances are a bit much, like on hot summer days.