Patchouli, the Scent of the ‘60s

Let’s all us oldsters bring back the scent of love and peace

Image created by the author using Gemini

I recently went on a quest for Patchouli oil. Patchouli, that scintillating, sensual, sensational scent I remember from the ‘60s.

I found a “unique, long-lasting” version of Patchouli oil on Amazon for $22 that was insipid and lasted long enough to put on a coat and walk out the door. I then tried eBay, a “rare aged” version for $19 that proved to smell like the sugar I burned to carbon for a science project in fifth grade. After unique, long-lasting, rare, and aged, I went to Etsy and perused sweet, dark, orange, hippie, rose, and berry versions for $7 to $20 to … wow! … $498.99.

My version of Patchouli was not going to cost $498.99 and was going to be Patchouli just like it used to be when we all wore it under our bellbottoms and fringed shirts, sang optimistically about love and peace, danced to scratchy renditions of “Walking on Sunshine” on record players, and put chrysanthemums in the barrels of M1 Carbines pointed at us while we marched to end the war in Vietnam.

Yes, Patchouli, just like it used to be.

But they just don’t make Patchouli the way they used to.

Hey, I think this is the first time I’ve ever used that old cliché: “They just don’t make it like…