Click here to read my review of the new Libre by YSL.
Category Archive: Yves Saint Laurent
There are so many fragrance launches each year it’s difficult to write about them all. Speed Sniffs is a way to bring you to the point reviews fragrances that are quick and easy to digest. After all, sometimes all one needs is a few lines to capture the essence of a scent. Speed Sniffs are perfume reviews without all of the faff and tell you whether the subject is something you want to sniff or not. So hurry up and read, because we don’t have much time…
When I first cast my eyes over ‘Y‘, the brand new fragrance from Yves Saint Laurent, I was super impressed with just how handsome the bottle was. I mean, look at it! That gorgeous shade of sky blue juice and that steely, silver Y that stretches across and around the glass – it’s all aesthetically very pleasing. Even the theme of the scent was appealing – an ode to the white t-shirt for generation y, with a rapper, a sculptor and artificial intelligence researcher fronting the fragrance. Everything is very cool, very current and very casual. It all looks and sounds excellent, but how does it smell?
Y is for YSL – my ode to the iconic brand and the penultimate instalment in my Escentual A-Z of Fragrance. Clicky here to read.
Riding high on the success of Black Opium, their modern interpretation of the iconic Opium, YSL have extended the same treatment to another of their legends – the pastel, yet atomic floral ‘Paris‘. This new flanker is called Mon Paris and to call it a flanker is perhaps misleading. Much like Black Opium this is an entirely new fragrance that takes the spirit of the original and approaches it from a modern point of view. The Paris of 1983 and the Mon Paris 2016 are entirely different animals, with the latter being an on trend fruity floral with sparkling transparency. Click here to check out my full review over at Escentual.
Legendary fashion house Yves Saint Laurent (now known as Saint Laurent Paris) has teamed up with historical Murano glass makers, Verrerie Verini, to create an exclusive edition of their 1983 fragrance, Paris. The perfume remains the same however, the bottle has been crafted into a multifaceted gem with varying hues of red and pink, almost like a sparkling piece of hard candy.
The edition is likely to set you back a fair few pennies (reports are that it is £5,000 – eek), but that doesn’t take away from just how gorgeous it is. Above you can find a video from Vogue Paris which shows the manufacturing process for this limited edition. It’s quite fascinating how these skilled artisans are able to make such beautiful glassware with such precision using traditional methods. Enjoy!
Consider me behind the times, but I’ve very recently fallen head-over-heels in love with Yves Saint Laurent’s Rive Gauche. Yes, I know it was launched way back in 1971, long before I was in short trousers, and yes, I’m well aware that its current formulation is a pale shadow of its former self, but I love it and I make no apologies. To me, Rive Gauche does the whole aldehydic floral thing in a way that is not over the top, nor is it viciously boardroom bitch-esque – its simply high fashion floralcy in a bottle.
Seeing as I’ve got a bit excited over my new found love, and I’ve also been taking an informal look at some of the classics over on Escentual recently (see Opium & Arpège), I took the time to dedicate my column this week to the glory of Rive Gauche. So, if you’re a fan of the scent, or if you just want to hear what all of the fuss is about (I do like a bit of hyperbole, it must be said), then simply click here to take a stroll down Paris’ wonderful left bank.
My last two Escentual posts have been a contrasting look at the old and the new, in the world of perfume. Firstly, I took a look at Calvin Klein’s Reveal a few weeks back. This is the most surprising and unexpected feminine from CK, that channels Thierry Mugler’s wonderful Womanity, of all things. Just when you think there are no surprises left to be had in the perfume industry, one jumps up and taps you on the nose! Click here to read my review.
Now we move on to the ‘old’. Following the disaster that is Black Opium, I wanted to revisit the flanker’s mother fragrance, Opium. Granted, the new formulation of Opium is reportedly a pale shadow of its former self, but the fragrance should still be celebrated for being a trailblazer that created the trend for big and bold oriental-themed fragrances that permeated the ’80s. Check out my thoughts on Opium here.
When picking the four scents for my ‘Movember Masculines’ series at Escentual, I knew that I simply had to include something from Yves Saint Laurent. This house, which is a shadow of its former glory for sure, is responsible for three of the most exceptional masculine fragrances out there – Kouros, M7 and Rive Gauche Pour Homme – and when it came to choosing the most iconic of this impressive bunch, Monsieur Kouros was difficult to ignore.
So this week I’ve taken a look at one of the most distinct, unique and divisive masculine scents one can buy. To add to that, Kouros is also one of the most unashamedly manly, conjuring up images of overly-tanned and smooth-chested lotharios who are as exuberant as they are audacious. Kouros is the king of the ’80s, and whilst he may seem a little bit dated now, he still reigns supreme.
My lovely perfume sisters and brothers – Persolaise, Eyeliner on a Cat, Fragrant Moments and Olfactoria’s Travels – and I, have yet again clubbed together to bring you an olfactory group project. This time we’re focusing on the seven deadly sins and have cooked up our very best selections of the most sinful perfumes.
“A feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of one’s close associates, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.”
The Oxford English Dictionary’s
Definition of ‘Pride’
When given the choice of picking a sin for my article I opted for ‘Pride’. The sin of pride focuses on self-adoration and vanity – taking pleasure and satisfaction from our own achievements, looks and attractive qualities. Pride intrigues me because I think it’s the sin that nearly everybody is guilty of at some time in their lives and it can be a key driver for us to continue to succeed in our professional and personal lives.
The perfumes I have picked for this article all display an element of pride – each in a slight different way. Whether it’s vanity, pride in artistry, the pride that precedes a fall or even a faceless pride, these perfumes are subtly sinful in a subversive and utterly compelling way
The Candy Perfume Boy 