To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
setsss – :
Excess is PATCHOULI. All of the other notes are there: the amber, the blood orange, the oak. They are all supporting players though. If you do not like patchouli, you probably won’t like this one. I must say though, this patchouli is not the usual new age head shop variety. I think Excess is smooth and refined. It smells much more expensive than it actually is. On me, it lasts a long time.
I was surprised to see this compared to John Varvatos Artisan Black above, which I also have. Artisan Black is much more citrus-y, polished and less interesting than Excess.
After Arsenic, Excess is my favorite Tokyomilk Dark. I think it is unusual, earthy, and mysterious. The more I smell it, the more I like it. Let’s hope they don’t discontinue this one. Good stuff.
Dark_Eldar95 – :
I find this fragrance really confusing.
There is the distinctive citrus blast upon first spray, which dissipates in seconds. What is left is something that smells like Mitchums deoderant (clean, soapy, a little lavender-y.) Most people have rated patchouli as the predominant note, which I smell nothing of. I wonder if I got an old bottle (I got it from the Tokyo Milk website as Sephora was out.)
I’m pretty disappointed in this. I was expecting something more exotic and earthy but ended up with something incredibly fresh and clean smelling.
I’d also like to say I had to spray 5 times to get any power from the fragrance. It’s very light, like a drugstore body mist than a $42 perfume. I know on average Tokyo Milk tends to be a little light (which can be nice,) but this is press-your-nose-to-your-wrist-to-smell-it light.
InDusT1k – :
Hmmm very intriguing scent,., I will be back to update as my nose is still half dead from a bad cold I’ve had the past week. My husband tells me this is “very strong” yet I have to hold my nose to my arm to smell anything. The strongest notes for me are woods. It’s like oak barrel meets ceder chest. Can’t say I get much blood orange at all which is a tad disappointing as I adore it. Well, giving my arm another whiff I think I catch a subtle hint. This is definitly an excellent amber patchouli though and as those are two of my favorite notes I can’t say I’m not pleased as punch with this one. I gave to agree with the beautiful review by nofixedstars, this is a very earthy, witchy concoction.
Orienreks – :
This scent is my favorite out of the whole Tokyo milk dark series. It’s a beautiful interesting sexy scent. Totally different than anything I’ve ever smelled. This is a scent that works perfectly for both men and women. I absolutely love it.
Notes on the bottle
– amber resin
– oak bark
– blood orange
– patchouli
All notes can be detected and blend very well. What an amazing intriguing scent. A new favorite of mine.
vmycyk – :
This goes a little past unisex and all the way into masculine. It’s an oddly pleasant mix of wood shavings and patch. I like it in short blasts, but I wouldn’t want to smell it for a long time because it’s very linear and fatiguing.
Lovely bottle and interesting enough that I’d try a few more from the Dark line.
oleg_67_ – :
*Negative Review*
Smells like a dirtier and weaker version of Vivienne Westwood’s Let It Rock. Patchouli, amber and orange citrus are exactly what’s in Let It Rock and I love it. In theory I’m supposed to love Excess too. But I don’t.
I seem to get the worst of Tokyo Milk’s perfumes. None of their scents work for me even though their concept and design are so charming.
With Excess, I smell like a hippie van and Nyquil. In nicer terms, patchy-herbal and medicinal. I don’t like it.
There is a unique smooth creaminess to it that pulls it all together.
It’s lasting time is about 4~5 hours BUT the sillage is dig-my-nose-into-skin weak. If you’re having this problem too, I recommend Let It Rock.
mavrin28 – :
Alright – so this very well could be the best out there, all things considered. I know I know – such a bold thing to say… but let me elaborate. How many high end houses out there try to pull of the “contrast fragrance” – the avant garde “paradoxical” fragrance? Lots!! Well, to a certain extent, that’s what this is. Patch, blood orange, a hint of sweetness… to me, its the perfect concoction. It’s deep, dark and as close to dirty as you can get without being dirty. It’s mysterious. Its infruiging. The feel of this reminds me of so many of the tom ford private blends. The dark and light contrasting notes followed by a patchouli base. I can say with near certainty that if we slapped a gold square on this bottle that said “tom ford”, folks would be clammering to find a bottle! But, it’s not. For me, the only negative is the performance – which I would consider to be well below average for an edp – maybe 2 hours on my skin.
But – it’s not about performance for me. It’s about the damn smell. And this smells just the way I want it to.
I’m a big fan.
Grainyalalo – :
Man, here is another TokyoMilk fragrance I want to like and wear, but cannot because it doesn’t work on my skin. The blood orange, or its intermingling with the oak, does something weird to the composition. Conceptually this has some of my favorite notes: Patchouli, amber, woods, citrus. But in practicality, it’s a surprising miss. This brand is so inconsistent I highly suggest getting samples and doing a test run before committing to full-size bottles.
PUMAAAAXE – :
originale giustapposizione di patchouli, ambra e arancia rossa, che si traduce in un effetto confortevole ma non dolce. strano a dirsi, ma si tratta di un profumo fresco, banchè adatto all’inverno. essendo una estimatrice di ambra e patchouli, posso dire in buona approssimazione che si tratta di un accordo molto inusuale, gotico ma non esageratamente dark, sinistro ma non lugubre. bellissimo!
aih182speagoessenda – :
Excess is one of my favorite scents. It is also one of the first TokyoMilk scents I bought. It is not quite like any other scent I know of although reviewers have said it reminds them of certain others.
First of all there is nothing floral or sweet about this. If you like gourmand vanilla based scents this is definitely not one. The opening is very much blood orange but in a brisk bergamot kind of way. That fades quickly and then it begins a rather brief dry down to a scent that is actually metallic. With oak, amber, and patchouli as the remaining scents you would expect a heavy earthiness but Excess is surprisingly clean. The qualities that keep coming to my mind are salt and metal. The patchouli here is very clean and bright, not dirty. The oak is subtle but probably contributes to the purity of the scent. The amber I am used to is quite sweet but here it just balances the patchouli and oak and keeps everything just this side of strident.
For a scent with this much patchouli it has surprisingly little sillage. It subsides to a skin scent quickly. The longevity is also surprisingly short. It hangs around as a ghost for some time but if you want to smell it without sticking your nose into the area it was sprayed, you will need to reapply every 3-4 hours.
Why do I love this perfume? Well, I’m a patchouli fan but I don’t like the skank aspect of cheaper patchouli blends. This one is earthy but clean. It is also an unusual scent. I’ve never smelled anything like this on anyone. (Note to self: Ask a few friends to try it on to see what it does on them) When I have it on, I just keep sniffing myself. That’s usually a good sign. It also pleases my inner Goth by smelling artistic and unusual. It is not a traditionally feminine fragrance but I think it suits me very well. I could imagine both men and women of a certain alternative nature wearing this quite well.
barcelona797 – :
I loved the bottle and was interested in the notes listed, but I can’t wear this. It’s nice, strong, and earthy, but earthy means I can’t do it. It just ends up giving me something reminiscent of body odor. If you like patchouli, though, you can’t go wrong with this. It’s quite a heavy, masculine scent. I find nothing feminine about it. I gave my sample to my husband who has yet to wear it, but I think I might like it on him. Overall, my review is neutral. I like it, but I cannot wear it. It truly is an EXCESS of patchouli.
Elmo – :
Definitely worth a try for patchouli lovers. I get a strong, clear, straightforward patchouli note and not a whole lot more, but this is my first test run (dabbed not sprayed). I must say, I see no relationship to Kate Walsh’s Boyfriend, which does not have patchouli in it. Please test this before assuming it is a good replacement for Boyfriend, maybe you will love it for it’s own qualities.
Hausiawigue – :
A blind buy, based on notes. More and more, I’m loving amber scents, and even on the bottle of Excess, the notes are listed – amber resin, oak bark, blood orange, patchouli – so I thought that might be in order of dominance. I would have really loved an amber with woody orange.
Well, nope.
For me, it opens with a shot of tart orange, then quickly turns to a bright but earthy patchouli with enough of a hint of amber to smooth the edges. After 4-6 hours, the patchouli does get a bit earthier/skankier.
nofixedstars actually describes it quite poetically below.
I don’t wear patchouli scents often, but now I have another in my arsenal, with others being A*Men Pure Energy (patchouli/mint) and to a degree Baldessarini (patchouli/amber).
Excess is a nice fragrance, but Tokyo Milk’s Tainted Love is nicer – a good ambery sandalwood.
melkey545 – :
This has a lot of the same elements and reminds me of Bvlgari Black but a few people have said this smells like Boyfriend by kate Walsh and I 100% disagree. I am very confused by that. I have this, boyfriend(which is my favorite scent) and Bvlgari Black in my collection and Excess is more of a dupe of the latter.
Padonak_ – :
Amber & Blood Orange…
A really intriguing fragrance from the house of Tokyo Milk Parfumarie. This is my first time trying a fragrance from their line and I like it very much. This one has a great composition to it and the combination is an unusual one. I like the way the scent develops with a great balance between sweet and sour, with just the right amount of each.
One to be worn all day round, and probably all year round. It’s a nice, unusual fragrance and I now want to try more from this house. Really good!
blackguyone – :
Finally a decent dupe of Kate Walsh Boyfriend!!! Not exact, maybe sharper? Such a lovely warm scent for cool weather. The initial blast is (I guess) is where you smell the blood orange, but it quickly dries down to a soft, resinous, amber-patchouli base. I don’t get a powdery or sweet vibe to it, just a nice, warm, wool-scarf wrapping up my entire life sort of feeling on a crisp autumn day.
Longevity seems okay along with sillage.
pavka024 – :
I love this fragrance. It’s earthy without being overwhelming. The patchouli note not overpowering, but noticable. The orange mingles with what seems like light ginger. The amber gives it just enough sweetness without being cloying. It has a bit of a fresh quality…which makes it stand out from so many other earthy scents. Just an absolutely lovely, unique fragrance.
JennaUshkowitz – :
I don’t really get the blood-orange and Oak so much as I get dried fruits and Rum. Oud, patchouli, and Amber dominate a well rounded perfume that gets MUCH better over time on my skin. When I first put it on I am not impressed with it, but within 45 minutes or so, I am intoxicated and can’t stop smelling my wrist.
VERY similar to “straight to Heaven” by Kilian for me, especially the way the Oud and dry fruit is handled.
No one else gets boozy-rum from this one?
Anyway, I think this perfume is fantastic value. I tried many others in the Tokyo Milk collection and none of them came close to this one for my tastes.
OraraLamtaf – :
This is a very unique perfume, unlike anything I’ve ever come across. I imagine the rich young boho of some yuppy couple. They smell earthy yet classy; attending an Ivy-League school in New England; playing Lacrosse and wearing a hemp anklet.
rus258 – :
On a tester strip, I LOVED this fragrance—as other reviewers have noted, it was a sophisticated, well-blended patchouli that smelled somehow both fresh and exotic, rather than the head-shop-reminiscent cloud of funk that patchouli tends to become.
On me, however, that gorgeous bite of patchouli faded very quickly, and what remained was . . . oud. Almost overwhelming, and indistinguishable from the Notes de Lanvin Rose & Oud I scored at a Marshall’s sale table. (Lovely perfume, but one I only feel like wearing on rare occassions.)
Deroxznuma – :
Earthy; patchouli,amber and not too thick on the wood, is intoxicating in a good way, I think the name really describes it, I find it to be affordable but does not smell cheap to me, longevity and sillage are moderate but do not mind spraying a second time, available in spray bottle or purse size roller ball.
delireum – :
I’m not usually a fan of patchouli, but blended properly, it’s wonderful and this is done properly. A dry, woody amber scent with just enough orange to keep it from being harsh, but it never gets sweet, which is something of a miracle on my skin, which amps sweet notes. The patchouli stays as a woody note without entering into the dreaded Hippy Oil note, blending with the amber beautifully. If anyone has ever loved the beautiful but obscure Novaya Zarya Barber of Siberia #2, they will recognize this dry, smooth scent and love it too. Definitely unisex.
valentenkon – :
Wandering around a perfume shop that was not Sephora on a cold winter night, I decided to check out the Tokyo Milk line. I was intrigued by the bottle designs and decided to give the entire display a sniff. Not surprisingly, I gravitated towards Excess — I do love a good orange-musk-amber-patchouli combination. Although these scents don’t all have the same notes, they give off the same vibe. Tokyo Milk Excess is definitely in that category. Warm, earthy, sensual. Just the way I like it.
Alex_Bell – :
Tokyomilk “Excess”…a scent for a hedgewitch. Crushed dry leaves, turned earth, patchouli incense; someone’s been digging up mandrake roots in the dusk. There’s a hint of amber—perhaps she scents her hair with it—and a passing tang of blood orange, left on her fingers from the fruit shared with her lover in the forest. A touch of cedar wood, maybe from a carved talisman she wears, or the box that will hold the mandrake. Transient sweetness, a hint of spice, the hard bones and soft soil of the land that sustains us and will receive us at our nightfall.
Beautiful and even seductive in its own twilight, gothic, witchy, quietly magical way…
Mr_Saint – :
I smell oak most, with blood oramge second strongest then patchouli and amber. The result is a slightly masculine perfume but it works for both genders.
xqavvihozhw – :
I thought I would recap my previous review by saying I may have prematurely criticised this scent…..perhaps wrong time of the month, wrong season, wrong mood…..
I finally decided to buy it today after researching the entire ‘dark’ line on this site & many testings of this range.
And I must really like it because I bought it!!! & I have changed my mind & I do love it (for now). It is a chilly Spring day in Aussie Land down under & for some reason it just suits my olfactory senses in this particular season.
It is EXTREMEMLY long wearing & wafts of its spicy smoky sweetness continue to resonate long into the evening. Probably best suited to Autumn/Winter as when I previously reviewed this it was high Summer & just became too cloying by mid-afternoon.
This does give me a ‘Comme des Garcons’ vibe with that familiar smokey incense accord. It is a unique & very subjective perfume.
It has definitely confirmed for me that fragrance is not a ‘one size fits all’ experience & scents that we may have loved or hated or were indifferent to at one time, may prove to provide an exact opposing experience & makes one doubt their tastes & preferences.
5manuu – :
I got this as a sample with my purchase of Stella at Sephora. When I chose this as the 3rd sample, the SA looked at me in a despising way, suggesting that I might get something more expensive, but I obviously thought I knew better. 🙂
Now, I am quite new to perfumes, and just discovered my love for patchouli, so when I first tried this on paper, I was mesmerized. It smelled spicy, mysterious and beautiful. That’s why I got a sample of it. However, it’s nothing special on my skin. I am really OK with linear fragrances, WYSIWG as far as I’m concerned, but this really is so not exciting. A bit of sweet blood-orange, and then heaps and heaps of patchouli, smelling a bit like my Dad’s Old Spice Fresh Water, to be honest. I can imagine it with a black, smart outfit, but that’s it. Also, it turns into sour cat pee on me, after a 6-8 hours, but that might be a result of overapplying.
kalinovskiiai – :
I really wanted to engulf & exude the scents from this dark line of Tokyo Milk.
I have a lot of their original scents & they are all so unique & ‘punchy’ in their own realm, I was hoping for some interesting olfactory experiences once again.
The themes, the graphics, the notes & the packaging are all everything i ‘GET’ with these fragrances.
But…….after consistently going back many times to test this range, spraying at least 2 at each testing time, I went about the rest of my day with the growing disappointment, (that does sometimes occur with fragrance enthusiasts with excitable expectations) …that no no no I dislike unfortunately.
On my skin, this particular one EXCESS , as well as Bullet Proof, just end up smelling like a sickly sweet burnt & smokey mess. I actually felt nauseous ….& I HATE it when a perfume causes that unpleasant sensation in me. Such a pity. They start out exciting & dreamy & then…..a shame.
bIPYc – :
I wear this warm, dry fragrance at home to please myself because it is not what people expect a woman to smell like. The last time I wore Excess in public someone mistook it for my husband’s Burberry London, his signature fragrance (and also my favorite). Excess is well blended and balanced, but the amber and oak come out the most on my skin. In the drydown something interesting remains: the dry mineral quality of earth that I smell in the back of the throat, like when I’m potting plants. To me this is the best part. It lingers on my skin till the next day, and for weeks on a scarf and I just love it.
an22447 – :
Patchouli, patchouli, patchouli! Lovely fragrance, sensual, a little woody, a hint of sweetness. You cannot go wrong with Tokyo Milk Dark, seriously, this entire line is to die for.
VIRUS6006 – :
I just received a bottle of this as a gift! Thx sweetie!
This fragrance leans more to the masculine side to my nose… The opening smells a bit dirty to me, it reminds me something herbal/medicinal, but it must be the patchouli and the oak bark giving me this sensation. It smells earthy and inky even…
Then when it dries down and the patchouli settles, it starts to develop a clean masculine scent on me, like a clean patchouli mixed with the blood orange. A hint of sweetness is added by the amber resin making it slightly balmy even…
This is one of those scents that I’m not sure of if I really like it… it is intriguing enough to make me sniff it again and again just trying to make up my mind whether I like it or not…
Elenka1982 – :
Excess was the fragrance I was looking forward to the most in this line. I do enjoy it when I wear it, however it is a strong like versus the love that I expected it would be. On my skin the blood orange opening is awesome tangy slightly yet a little sweet. I wish it lasted longer then a minute or two. For the most part this fragrance is pretty linear on my skin. An earthy patchouli with out being too dirty, though it is not quite fresh or clean compared to others that I have smelled. The amber seems to be missing in action of my skin though, which kind of makes me sad. Hopefully if I keep wearing it might pop and surprise me one day! Otherwise this is mostly a dry woods and patchouli combination on my skin. Leaning a tiny bit more to the masculine side, which I don’t mind. Excess is a great fragrance when I’m in the mood for patchouli and nothing complicated mixed with it. I think this is an awesome offering for it price range, have yet to smell anything that is similar to it.
Oh and I have no issue with lasting power with it last all day, not too much sillage but it is present. If it had too much sillage I would find it difficult to wear….
P.S.
I love the bottle so much!!! XD
babunu – :
Patchouli and candied orange peels, with hints of woodiness, and sweet resin (benzoin?). Unfortunately, it doesn’t last at all on my skin; I end up with nothing but light patchouli. But on clothing it stays decently, and the tart sweetness stands out. After the initial blast, it is very polite for a patchouli, low sillage and the citrus sweetness keeps the patchouli from being too dirty; a fresh, sweet, moist earth.
medvedulka – :
This is my favorite so far of the TM line. Dragon hit it on the head, and i cant get enough of this scent! Just wish lasting power was longer.
Update: I also bought the Shea Butter hand crème of this and its wonderful layered.
sexykiska – :
Gorgeous – definitely unisex – unique fragrance. I wish it lasted longer but for the price I can tolerate having to respray. The scent…….very earthy. Ever open up a bag of potting soil that’s been sitting out in the sun? Add the smallest hint of sweetness to that and you’ve pretty much got this fragrance. I said unique, right? Surprisingly, I like the smell of slightly sweetened dirt a lot! I’ve never smelled anything else quite like this. A very strong like that might be love if projection and longevity were better.
andreirav – :
Love it – I am a fool for any patchouli amber mix and this is just delish. this could essentially become my everyday fall/winter scent.
I love the bottles and packaging (the hand cream is awesome, I use it to layer)and I am eager to try the entire line of the Dark series. So far it suits me.
Ochividets – :
Totally unimpressed. Patchouli, Orange, Oak, Amber…whats not to like? In theory. These are some of my favorite scents! Unfortunately….this one smells like cheap mens deoderant. I returned it.
ддедегор – :
Excess is a woody, amber/patchouli that smells gritty/pretty, like sweet sawdust. It is slightly raspy and, while resinous-sweet, feels luxuriously dry. It has the tendency toward flatness that I’ve noticed in others from this line (Arsenic, Crushed) but if you look close, it has a narrow range of depth and dimension, like the finest sandpaper. This is amber that doesn’t rise up and surround you. It is calm yet compelling up close and has restrained sillage. Hardly excessive, rather lovely.
jaks12 – :
It looks like I’m in the minority here, but this was a bit of a disappointment for me. Although I like the scent somewhat, Excess is nowhere close to one of the more unique patchouli fragrances I have experienced.
Perhaps the biggest problem is the fact that it sinks into my skin extremely fast, leaving only a tiny wisp of fragrance behind. Within the first 5 minutes after I apply this, I have to put my nose right on my skin to smell anything.
What I do pick up is a very light blood orange scent, on a background of pale woods. I can smell the patchouli in the initial spray, but after that it’s gone. Ten minutes in, this fragrance has completely disappeared from my skin.
petrucha-85 – :
Very stong when first sprayed. I love the boldness posh scent.
RusKnyaz – :
I love earthy scents. This is the one out of the dark collection that I was most looking forward to trying, and it does not disappoint. Amber & patchouli & wood..sounds simple and done a million times before right?..but this particular mix from tokyo milk smells amazing to me. nice quality amber, the patchouli is not dirty, and the wood is not thick. It’s just smooth as can be, and smells very nice. I dont get the blood orange in this, but I’m not missing it either. Not much more to say, except that it lasts awhile. I’m very impressed with this line so far…all except tainted love (which should be re-named “failure”), but I digress…
smit4 – :
EXCESS may be my favorite creation from the Tokyo Milk Dark collection, though it’s becoming more and more difficult to say! In this case, a big blast of labdanum amber mixes with patchouli, a touch of wood, and an even lighter touch of blood orange to produce a super-smooth and sensual cold-weather-only perfume. There are zillions of amber perfumes and quite a few patchouli amber perfumes on the market, so the competition is stiff in this realm, particularly among niche houses.
With so many high-quality amber choices out there, it’s a real mark of distinction to be something that I actually premeditatively look for occasions to wear, and EXCESS has swiftly become the first amber I reach for, despite being the last to join my collection. This one is definitely less spicy than some, but somehow I am drawn to its viscous golden gleam. EXCESS is also not sweet, which to me is a plus and would make this a sure hit among some gents as well.
Is my current infatuation with EXCESS only a momentary crush? Will this perfume be forgotten and lost in the back of my armoire in the not-too-distant future? I think not. This feels like the real thing: a top-notch amber-patchouli perfume!
zebra – :
I love this…..I went to an upscale independent cosmetics store looking for some Bond No 9 and I left with this affordable gem. IT IS AMAZING….I get compliments whenever I wear it. Earthy, but very fresh. Not overpowering at all…..WELL WORTH THE LESS THAN $40 it costs!!!