Ysatis Givenchy 1984 Eau de Toilette

Givenchy Ysatis (1984) gives me some new thoughts on scent and memory. It comes from an era when I rarely wore perfume, and didn't pay attention to the state-of-the-art at all.  Still, I remembered it instantly when I found a perfectly preserved vintage specimen recently.

Ysatis is more nuanced than Dior Poison, less car-alarmish than Givenchy Amarige, less cartoonish than Boucheron by Boucheron. There's no doubt it's cut from the same cloth, though. It's a classic 80s signature fragrance.  In the 80s, an era noted for valuing assimilation and aspiration, a signature fragrance wasn't one that made you stand apart, it was one that loudly signaled your inclusion with a group, or affiliation with a type. No one of these fragrances was fatal, but together, they were nightmarish. (note: At this time I lived in New York City, a city of public transportation and confined spaces.) They made me appreciate the ridiculous slogan of the era: Just Say No.

So, memory.  I remember associating this perfume with the go-go sensibility of the 80s. It was a time of gross misproportion, of ill-judged dynamics.  The perfume and fashion of the era might have been set-dressing, but their were indicative, and Ysatis demonstrates the inappropriateness.

Example:  shoulder pads aren't my style, but I can understand their use in suits jackets dresses. In the 80s, shoulder pads were used in short sleeve T-shirts. Imagine a T-shirt so poorly fitted that the bulk of the voluminous fabric hanging about your waist must be tucked into your high waisted jeans. Slapping some packaging material into the shoulders of this T-shirt does nothing to mitigate its inattention to the human form. In fact, it highlights it. The person who wore this T-shirt/jeans combination wore Poison in elevators. Wore Cacharel Lulu to brunch.  Wore clouds of YSL Paris on the RR. Wore Amarige to the gym. You get the picture.

Ysatis shares the era's sin of volume, but it utterly typifies another great miscalculation of the time, which is the overuse of formality.  The market of smart sportswear had yet to be unearthed in the 1980s. The choice was often torn Levi's or a hideous dress, and the hideous dress usually won. A variation of an old bromide was reinvented for the 1980s: If it things worth doing it's worth doing... with ruffles, with chintz, with gris gris, with cheap adornment.  "Jewelry" was stated,"costume" was implied.

Seen from later eras, Ysatis could be considered tasteful version of the big 80s perfumes. But what is the value of a slightly more tasteful monster?  It’s like someone kicking you hard in the balls, but not as hard as he could have. Dominique Ropion is a master of the highly calibrated floral perfume. But for current use, Ysatis lacks the camp of Opium, Poison, Giorgio. They are dated and caricaturish, but they’re fun.  Ysatis, Ropion's tailored monster, is so busy sucking in her cheeks and posing she doesn't crack a smile.  

from scenthurdle.com

To me, Ysatis is elegant, formal and moneyed. Black taffeta gown, Tahitian pearls, Walborg beaded bag. Ysatis is a gorgeous, classic Perfume with a capital P.

Ysatis wears very similar to an oriental on me, just a tad sweet & spicy. The aldehydes & white florals (jasmine & tuberose) are too strong for my taste, giving me a headache. Warm weather is definitely not the time to wear a perfume such as this.

I often see the words 'old lady' associated with Ysatis. I think a better term is 'old-school': Ysatis is a beautiful, old-school perfume, just like how perfumes used to be made.

Turin says this is the first floriental, although it's technically a chypre. Nevertheless, give it a try. Sample first, buy second.

Ysatis is fascinating. Powdery, elegant, beautiful and classical.

I had really expected something extremely outdated, strong and aldehydic, however this is no Chanel No.5, Ysatis is different.

The fragrance opens with soft aldehydic notes, creamy coconut and refreshing citrus, balanced out by subtle spiciness. The scent throughout has a likable powdery-incense quality that is both unique and sensual.

A previous reviewer mentioned the prominent honey note which adds a sense of happiness, which I certainly agree with. The honey, vanilla, coconut and ylang-ylang does create a delicate sweetness, however the galbanum, patchouli, cloves, civet and oakmoss, give Ysatis a damp greeness which can be bitter at times. Animalistic yet refined really sums up this fragrance well.

I don't get much in the way of white florals here, it's more powdery and fresh than anything else to my nose. The lasting power is truly worth the price as its richness lingers on the skin for days. Ysatis is strong and powerful with a lot of character. I recommend.

I'm surprised that jasmine is not in the fragrance card i can smell pervasive amounts of it.
to the skin it brings out a soapish scent with an opening of aldehydes the civet i think makes it heavy and oily
i do notice a bit of coconut which suble but nicely done. the drying down
turns into an warm reisen of galbanum
with dry brazilian rosewood.
the heart is hard to detect but i can smell a bit of an honey note the drydown
is prodominly of sweet amber that is cloyish and strong amount of vanilla
and also a wisp of black liqcorice.

A favorite of mine over the past twenty years, I've gone through too many bottles of this sweet juice to count! It's a shame that it has been reformulated and has lost a measure of lushness and oomph. (Still worth owning, but buy a vintage bottle with a gold cap if you can find one.)

In my opinion, Elizabeth Taylor's White Diamonds was designed to emulate this exquisite fragrance....there are too many similarities for it be a coincidence and it came out 7 years later than Ysatis so it is possible. I can imagine ET falling in love with this somewhat pricey Givenchy scent and creating White Diamonds as a less costly version that could be afforded by the average woman.