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Cadet-Yarik – :
I picked up the fragrance at a Celtic festival, and have loved it from first sniff. Very green, fresh fragrance, but to me it’s not in a soapy way. It is strong, so a warning to not over spray.
One of my favorite memories was when my then 9 year old daughter and I were on a father-daughter trip and went on a hayride. I was wearing Patrick and she loved it so much, she kept pulling my wrist to her nose to smell the fragrance. She did it no less than 10 times. Great memory and Great fragrance.
Evge№iy – :
The fougere genre in mens’ fragrances represents those that try to replicate the fresh green aromas of fern leaves in a damp forest. The original fougere fragrance – Houbigant’s Fougere Royale – purportedly smelled like this. Unfortunately the modern re-issue of the fragrance by Houbigant isn’t really much like that at all, and is more oriental in nature. However two traditional English fragrances exist today that try to recreate the spirit of the original green fougere – Penhaligon’s English Fern, and Geo F. Trumper’s Wild Fern. The issue with them however is that they lack in the performance department. With that said, Patrick by Fragrances of Ireland is an authentic green fougere fragrance with a noticeable fern note, and is produced with high-quality materials (undisturbed by IFRA limitations) in Ireland itself – in fact I had to order this directly from Ireland. As for the scent, it really smells like what I envision an Irish countryside to smell like. It is lush, rainy, fresh, melancholic yet bright, and incredibly GREEN. It is like smelling the grass and greenery while it’s raining. There is also a mild similarity also to Irish Spring soap, but this is made of higher quality ingredients than for example Sung Homme (which is literally an Irish Spring soap fragrance). For the notes, I get green notes, fern, oakmoss, and vetiver. I also get a hint of spearmint in the opening that reminds me of Acqua di Parma’s Colonia Club. It is entirely green, and somewhat linear. Projection is good, while longevity is also good, lasting the duration of a workday. Overall, this is a great traditional fougere fragrance.
4.5/5
staszombi – :
One of the best men’s scents out there. Originally, I bought this for myself because I love and wear many men’s fragrances, especially fougeres. However, I ended up giving my bottle to my husband, not because I did not like it but because it seemed to suit him more. He prefers fresh masculines such as Guerlain Vetiver, Paco Rabanne, Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche and Y, Green Irish Tweed, Dior Homme, and just about anything Acqua di Parma.
Patrick opens with a fresh green vetiver, a little like Guerlain Vetiver but grassier. It mellows into a smooth, clean green freshness. The oakmoss keeps this on the serious side of masculine – manly and earthy. Lasts all day but does not over-project (medium sillage).
Honestly, it’s not expensive but it smells much better than many pricier men’s fragrances. It does not smell like cologne – Patrick smells like the outdoors, like a hayfield near a quarry, if you can imagine that.
Highly, HUGELY recommended.
puballo – :
I got Patrick for the LA Spring weather after reading a number of reviews on Fragrantica and Basenotes saying how much they liked it, and I’m glad I did:
I’ve worn Patrick at least 7 times in the past 3 weeks.
It’s definitely got that “clean green” vibe going for it. There are some noticeably darker, earthier, oakmoss notes going on underneath the grassy green ferny notes, however I would call it more of a light green scent than a heavy one.
Which reminds me: Patrick definitely has Oakmoss on its official list of ingredients — so I’m guessing Fragrances of Ireland is a small company and might not be subject to the oakmoss restrictions that have affected the big fragrance corporations. Anyway it definitely has Oakmoss in it.
Btw I find its Soapy notes to be *very* prominent — but I enjoy them.
That might be because I remember the smell of Irish Spring soap from my youth so well: it’s as distinctive as a Crayon. Patrick’s soapy smell is a lot like a better, more natural, less overpowering version of Irish Spring.
So — for me anyway — that note gives Patrick a “fresh out of the shower” soapy smell combined with the nice clean green earthy notes.
I’m not sure it lasts very long on my skin (it’s hard for me to judge that) but it lasts a long time on my clothes, I can say that much for it.
Patrick probably isn’t going to blow anyone away — in fact I was a bit disappointed with it at first because so many people spoke so highly of it and my initial reaction was “well I do like it but I don’t really love it”.
And there are fragrances out there that I do love from the first sniff (such as Vintage by Varvatos, the original Polo, or Terre d’Hermes to name just a few).
But this is a good quality cologne that smells and performs better for me than most others I’ve tried. In fact I like it better than at least 40 of the last 50 things I tried at Sephora. To put it another way, when I decide to buy some expensive fragrances, and sell, swap, or give away the blind-buys that didn’t work out so well…
Patrick won’t be one of them. It’s a keeper for me.
I give it a solid 4/5 — very good and worth owning.
Bonus: the box is really well made and attractive, so Patrick just might make a nice and affordable gift for your favorite Irish person!
I got my bottle for just $40 from Celtic Croft Dot Com llc through Amazon Prime
TOWAK – :
I get a similarity with Paco Rabanne pour homme (vintage) and overall performance outstanding!!!
koki163 – :
Having received a sample of “Patrick” from a fellow BNer, I was taken back by this classic green fougere. Basenotes has opened my eyes to plenty of scents over the years and Patrick has filled yet another void.
From the description and other reviews, I compared this one to Castle Forbes 1445 which is in fact very similar to Patrick. However, Patrick is more wearable, projects better and lasts longer. Sort of strange give its price point, but it goes to show that a good perfume doesn’t have to cost the earth.
The pine and “green” moss notes fit the description perfectly. It’s an ideal scent to wear on wet or murky days which are just all too common in the British Isles.
Here’s to “Patrick” and Ireland!
LeSa777 – :
I’ve been trying to review this for weeks. I’ve been wearing it for months. I have read the other reviews and admittedly I can’t do better, so I’ll simply add my opinion that this borders on magical. A solid price point. Good longevity in that I have a fairly active 12 hour a day job and it will project for up to 6 hours, and still linger on the skin the rest of the night. Sillage is moderate for about 4 hours, a little less for the next couple, and skin scent for me until I shower after my work day. The moderate/moderate votes I’ve found to be accurate. I’d be curious how many sprays others are wearing, but I’ve been doing 3. Two neck sides and one lower neck upper chest. The sprayer would be the only thing I’d upgrade were I to make the product, otherwise I wouldn’t touch a thing. I’d also agree that either an old soul in a young body or older would be the best fit. Also, cool and humid makes the most magic with this scent. It’s still wonderful on really dry and hot days but the transition into that odd magical, indescribable scent seems most prominent with slightly cooler temps (85 Fahrenheit and lower) and a higher humidity (25%+ plus). I live in a very arid summer state and have noticed on the higher temp, lower humidity days this is a thing. Really amazing stuff.
Enclave35 – :
Being mostly Irish I like to wear Patrick of Ireland exclusively on St Patrick’s Day… which is today. It does remind me of Irish Spring soap, but a very classy Irish Spring Soap, and more natural smelling. There is a synthetic vibe at the top, but the dry down is where this juice shines. The green notes stand out the most, as it should given it’s name. My friend from Ireland says it reminds her of the green fields of her Irish town, especially on a damp, dewy, overcast morning on the hills of an Ireland coast… most likely because of the vetiver and hints of what smells very close to oakmoss. Its has above average sillage and the longevity is 4 to 5 hours, which on my skin is not bad. I just re-apply once or twice during the day.
It should be required you wear something green when putting on Patrick, Whether it be a green t-shirt, hoodie, necktie, sports coat, or perhaps best of all… an Irish Paddy Cap. Preferably the patch cap design (or for you non Irish, better known as the flat cap).
I’m a little disappointed in today’s weather being cold and with piles of snow all over Boston from the recent blizzard. Usually the week of St Patrick’s Day offers the first sign of Spring, which makes Patrick even more enjoyable. Nevertheless, all I know is whenever I wear this, me Irish eyes are smiling.
HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY! (Sona lá st Pádraig!)
Richard M. Collins
sipagamer – :
This one is like the time I shot off to the Scottish Highlands for a bit of wild brown trout fishing. As I recall I was running from some sort of long-necked “water beast” that had taken to chasing me off from my favorite fishing hole. It was a moonless pitch black night, I recall crawling across a rocky field of fern and blueberry lush with some sort of woody moss. As the water beast closed in on me I turned and gave the sign of the cross, luckily-enough that worked, the beast pulled back. I shot back home to spend the night in my own bed. The wife commented on my “woody soapy scent”…she told me the next morning that I had been a beast the night before, I growled and pushed her off the bed. This cologne is just like that
idu810Bessinepome – :
Thought I would try this for the craic, was a bit worried that this might have been just a generic fragrance marketed to tourists to the Emerald Isle,, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Patrick is a beautiful, mossy, green scent, it really does conjure up impressions of nature and greenness (perhaps standing over a glen during a rainshower), I wish I had this when I lived away, probably would’ve helped me from feeling as homesick! lol
As someone who grew up in Northern Ireland in a semi-rural area this fragrance just nails it, to say i’m impressed would be an understatement. It is also something of a rarity in this day and age, Oakmoss and fern tend not to be featured as heavily these days as it is here, unapologetically masculine, I really like that.
Two thumbs up! Very well done!
VerTrurbrom – :
Tested over the last few days.
A blind buy of a full bottle that I don’t regret at all.
This is a very green, fresh scent. Predominant notes are green (can’t say I can detect “fern” in particular) and oakmoss. Behind that is an array of other subtle notes that I can’t detect individually, but which make the scent overall more complex, refined and contemporary in comparison to some of the other well-knows green/moss type scents. I get the comparison to Paco Rabane due to the oakmoss, but I’d say the closest thing I’d compare it to in my collection strangely enough is Knowing by Estee Lauder – only more green, and more masculine. The two share notes according to the listings.
I’d say this was a daytime, spring/summer scent in general. Longevity and sillage moderate at best, but no worse than many others around. Spraying on clothes seems to prolong the scent quite significantly. It’s a really nice green/mossy scent.
October 2016
shurik1 – :
This is not what i expected…as others have stated it is more of a soapy fresh, almost barbershop clean green scent. I expected a scent for Ireland to be more of an earthy wet green or a seashore aqua green, this is neither. I layered it over a little Encre Noire and got the Earthy Green i hoped for! The combination is great.
SamSem – :
This fragrance opens clean, green and fresh with a lemon zest. It reminds me of a lot of different scents having a hint of each. It has the green feel of Paco Rabanne Pour Homme, the slight soapiness of Irish Spring Soap, a dash of citrus from Original Vetiver and the lemon zest of Original Lacoste scent.
It does evoke the green countryside in the Spring after a light shower. As time goes by a earthy Patchouli can be smelled mixed in with the green freshness. This is followed by a lot of woods making the scent smell earthy and woody. The feeling at this stage moves from the green pastures to the green earthy woodland.
To sum up a very clean and fresh green and earthy woody scent that is a bargain. It is a very good quality fragrance that is one of the most affordable you can buy.
GOR100 – :
A Client hired me and my wife to go with them to the Emerald Isles 3 Years ago and in a small shop in Adare Ireland just south of Shannon I picked this up. When I was staying at Adare Manor I was amazed how everything had a mossy green bouquet every where I went. The Fall weather was light rain, foggy, misty and always a breeze. A real magical place you really get the true meaning of the color green. Anyway once I got home and started to use this fragrance it always brought back memories of what this place smelled like! I truly think that this small fragrance company from across the pond really hit it on the mark! I can’t see how anyone would not like this Cologne… I found it to be my favorite clean out of the shower scent! I really love it! It does have a light Irish Spring undertone with fresh salty wet grass feel. The dry down is still green with a hints of pete moss and just a little spice. A very versatile fragrance. I wore it year round. I am on my third bottle. I can’t say enough about this product! If you want to know what IRELAND smells like this is it! 10/10
FoulseMoulP – :
Smelled this in a little shop in Northern Ireland the other day – it’s a very nice fougere and a surprisingly low price of around £22 for such a nice and good quality smell/bottle/packaging!
mikc333 – :
Ordered Two extra bottles to be stored away for future use, just in case it should be reformulated or production stopped. Yes I love it that much!! A Man’s Scent pure and simple. Not much left to say that the Pro’s Grottola, Krmarich and Ericrico have not already said, they nailed it perfectly.
One of my favorite Alpha Scents. A must buy!
Can be found on Amazon for around $25 to $30
zzzzz – :
One very nice fragrance, it is similar to a vintage Paco Rabanne which i still own. A little like Great Jones from Bond # 9 but a greener scent to me. Not quite as strong a fragrance right out of the bottle but is still an aromatic fragrance. Patrick is an outstanding alternative at a bargain price. highly recommended.
kishmatkov – :
After wanting this fragrance for so long, I finally got the chance to try and purchase it at an Irish shop today in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Indeed, Patrick is worth the hype.
This is a classic, old-fashioned fougère, so much so that it almost transcends “aromatic fougère” and just goes for straight, full-on fougère. Ferns, unlike a lot of other vascular plants of their type, don’t really have a smell, so “fougère” as a fragrance genre has always been more of an abstract idea, like a chypres or orientals. Even still, the basic fougère idea is always defined as such: lavender, oakmoss, and coumarin (hay).
So, I would say that what puts Patrick on the line between full-blooded and aromatic fougères is the extensive use of coumarin and musk in this fragrance; the coumarin and musk combine to create a rich, brown, caramelized odor that envelops the fragrance with a slight sweetness. Despite the ingredients on the box not listing oakmoss, I definitely smell moss in there, and it doesn’t hold back, either. The oakmoss here is like a wet forest, or perhaps like Irish peat moss. Finally, the other distinctive note at play is pine – there’s a big pine/green note throughout the fragrance that gives it freshness and pep. And, fortunately, the pine never smells “Christmas tree”-like; it’s executed with a subtle presence, as all conifers in perfumery should be.
Finally… comparisons. Patrick is sort of in a league of its own, but that doesn’t mean nothing else smells like it. It’s generic, but in the sense that it defines a genre – it IS a fougère, much like Wild Fern by Trumper or English Fern by Penhaligon’s. Compared to Paco Rabanne, Patrick is more conserved, fresher, and less dated. Paco Rabanne is VERY in-your-face, with an explosion of pine, tobacco, and honey. The two share similar DNA, but Patrick is more subtle. Worth Pour Homme is slightly similar, yes, that one shows its age as well. It smells musty and has a much more prominent patchouli accord. Couldn’t tell you about Great Jones or Lauder for Men, but I’d say that the closest fragrance to Patrick is probably Sartorial by Penhaligon’s, with that lush coumarin accord.
Regardless, I have one final question: if a small, independent firm could produce (in 1999, mind you) a superb and natural-smelling fougère with noticable oakmoss, lush greenery, excellent projection, great longevity, and overall quality in smell and raw materials, then why, WHY the hell can’t major fragrance companies do the same thing? C’mon, the IFRA can’t be THAT bad…
Patrick is the best fougère I own. Guys, try this stuff – you’ll be glad you did.
dimonvilu – :
I got my bottle of Patrick from a great seller a while back and decided to keep it in cellophane until today (Saint Patrick’s Day)! I am in a cloud of it right now as I write this – it is truly excellent! I am taken back a little – as this is as good as a classic aromatic fougere can be crafted! Love Grottola’s review as he touches on key points about ‘fougeres’. Excellent!
Since everyone wants to compare it to Paco Rabanne Pour Homme, I will say a few words (although I don’t see them too similar). It is a bit drier (but also cleaner and fresher) than the rich & deep classic that is Vintage Paco Rabanne Pour Homme, but I am loving this today – and not because I’m wearin’ my green. Serious juice with class and taste! There is a nice touch of peaty earth, oakmoss & hay in the base (warm coumarin), which I find to be very nice natural accord. It blends well with the patchouli adding nice, classic earthiness that makes this a truly very outstanding fougere.
I am smelling great fresh top notes of the green ghost note of “fern”/damp grass (very nice and natural) that are as green as an irish spring! The middle is smooth and bright, turning slightly to a note of pine/fir blended with light florals and a dash of spices. Nothing is more prevalent than the classic fougere vibe, but the heart is wonderfully-crafted. The very natural earthy accord is fantastic at the base (while also having a touch of fine-milled, artisan soap)…created with that warm, peaty oakmoss, clean & woody vetiver and a touch of green, and slightly herbaceous patchouli. Brilliant!
With Patrick, there is a fantastic, slight soapiness I get here that is like a field of wet fern and bright, green grass after a nice rain somewhere in the Irish countryside. It just breathes on my skin and it is so aromatic on my clothes. A couple of shots to my shirt well over 90 minutes ago and it is very much alive and fresh! It is a nice skin scent, but not huge projection – more moderate for me. Longevity on this is very good.
I just bought a back-up bottle…to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with this juice. Final score, for this classic aromatic fougere lover…9/10!
**Update** – very happy with a nice wearing of this today…the drydown is very nice, indeed. Longevity proved to be very good, even outdoors in cold weather, although it became a quieter, softer scent (which is expected). This will be wonderful in the Spring, Summer, and Fall (truly a year-round scent – as good fougeres are)!
Leave Patrick on its own merit (and not compare it to other classic fougeres) – as an exceptional fragrance and wonderfully natural-smelling bottle of ‘terroir’ from the green Irish countryside. This will definitely be a bottle I reach for when craving a fresh, invigorating and classy Aromatic Fougere. It has great balance, composition, freshness that never feels synthetic. In my humble opinion, it is the best fougere for the price one can buy that is currently in production. Period. Reformulation has really diminished the classics. Cheers.
semen740 – :
Very nice. Irish Spring meets Givenchy Gentleman. The soapy start gives gives way to sweet and classic patchouli. Very interesting, because the Irish spring popped up back up through day.
lenni – :
I came across this fragrance in an Irish shop, and bought it blind for the bottle. Boy, am I glad I did that. It is a classic woodsy fragrance that is greatly underrated.
The top of Patrick is a lemony fern accord that is fresh and invigorating. Natural and fresh, Patrick is not a typical citrus fragrance. However, the top is fairly short lived.
The middle notes of Patrick come quickly and are characterized by pine and oakmoss. Although I’ve never been to Ireland, this is what I would guess it smells like, and even if not, I don’t care, because it is just a great smell. Incredibly natural, the middle smells truly like the outdoors, woodsy notes done very well. It is fresh buy also smokey and potent.
The base of Patrick takes the oakmoss, adds coumarin, and most importantly, musk. On me, the musk really shines in the dry down mixed with the wood notes. It is a soft, clean, musk mixed with smokey oakmoss.
The projection of Patrick is decent, and the longevity is pretty good. Neither one is a category leader, but neither is disappointing as well. This is a great scent from the fall all the way to the spring for me.
Overall a very good fragrance, well worth the good price.
sergey-tkachuk – :
I discovered Patrick at a local Irish festival. I found a big bottle for under $50 USD. Its hard to believe such a fragrance could debut at such a late hour in perfume time-1999. Indeed, Patrick would have been a best seller had it been 1975! It is a big and green as Paco Rabanne PH or Aramis.
It smells as green and fresh as a spring morning in Donegal. It opens with bright bergamot and lemon. Yes, we find exotic patcholi, vetiver, coumarin merging to create the “fern”. Its seems very French. Then the uncanny Irishness evolves. The oakmoss merges with Irish peatmoss. It gets smokey, salty and incredibly rich. Did I mention GREEN? Indeed, the fougere seems to have its true heart in the green Celtic mist and Patrick is one of the best! Ihe base is a whisper of vanilla, leather, amber and cedar.
This is what the crock of gold smells like at the end of the rainbow! Its somewhat of an anomaly in todays “oakmoss free” market. Aquatic-sugar boys would shudder! Brilliant, nonetheless. Patrick is required in all “green mens” wardrobe, the new niche.
Update 11/20/2012 I see the tree is now updated. At no time would I have guessed Patricks floral heart, yet now I know what I am looking for, they are there. I get this distant wild Irish rose that hides amid all of those green notes. I think there is a little lily of the valley here too. All in all a masterpiece has just become better in my eyes.
I have done some research and Patrick has been around since the mid 1980s, which makes sense. I think this version is a relaunch and not a reformulation The bottle is so modern.
nifkat – :
I love angular fougères. I’ve written that so many times on basenotes it feels like a mantra. If anyone is still producing encyclopedias in hard-bound book form (do they still exist?) the entry for fougère should have a scratch-and-sniff of Patrick. Others have described it better than I can, so I’ll just say that it’s remarkably concise yet expressive. It so perfectly captures the soapiness, that defining attribute of the best fougères. It is exuberant yet simple, soapy yet earthy. These dualities make it not just interesting, but conversational.
The coumarin/lavender/musk balance is flawless, but Patrick, for all its simplicity and directness makes me marvel at the slow sleight of hand that takes place. The hay-like, singing fougère moves from barbershop about 2 paces into the realm of the green chypre. Spectacular transition! The coumarin, initially so closely held to the lavender and musk, joins hands with the moss, and turns around to look at you with a laughing smile.
Another spectacular, underestimated fragrance I discovered in the “Unsung Treasures” forum at Basenotes. Sensationally inexpensive, potent, long-lasting and easy to wear as an everyday fragrance.
alex8523 – :
A conceptual (and affordable) niche fragrance from the Emerald Isle. I think Patrick’s main problem is that very few people outside of Ireland understand what it’s doing and where it’s coming from.
Having spent years in Ireland, I’m familiar with its many smells. Driving through northwestern Irish countryside means inhaling an aromatic mixture of wet grass and hay, salty ozonic sea brine, and peat smoke. Peat is a compressed and degraded earth that is burned in fireplaces across Ireland. Donegal has many valleys of peat, with the trenches cut into the earth to reveal an ancient black decay, which is both pungently delightful and unforgettable once it’s been smelled.
These green and earthy elements combine into a very common impression of Irish air, and that is what Patrick captures quite well. Everything is represented, from the freshness of the sea air, to the livestock-trodden greenness, to the sharpness of peat smoke. It’s a very unique experience to smell the real thing and its representation in Patrick. It makes for a very interesting fern, and the citrus that tops the fragrance is a nice touch.
I recommend Patrick to any male over 25 who wants to smell fresh and green and avoid entering bath product territory in the process. This is yards better than this house’s other megahit, Inis. Get it while it’s still affordable and very much a small niche offering.
ssvavto – :
So this is how St Patrick got rid of all the snakes!
Sorry! I won’t tell my mum or husband that I hate this because she bought it for him so he, naturally, has to wear it! Too harsh and detergenty for me – I like my man to smell less clean than this….
corsar211 – :
I LOVE this frag. It has a bright herbal green opening, that quickly gives way to a very round, very full-bodied wood base. There’s nothing but class here. Great stuff.
Sillage is great, and longevity is decent.