Ylang Ylang Nosy Be Perris Monte Carlo 2014 Eau de Parfum

Ylang Ylang Nosy Be (named for the island from which the ylang oil used in the perfume was sourced) is true to the scent of ylang essential oil in that it is pungently fruity-sour, creamy, and coarse-yellow in smell, with the throaty pitch of a millefleurs honey.

Like many of the Perris Monte Carlo scents, including Absolue d’Osmanthe, the floral notes eventually get bedded down in an ‘orangey’ ambery-resinous drydown that gives it the feel of an old-school floriental. I sold my bottle because it didn’t sit right with me to own something that smelled so much like uncut ylang essential oil in the first act only to trail off into a pleasant but pedestrian ambery-balsamic accord in the second. But if it is straight ylang you want, Ylang Ylang Nosy Be gives it to you in spades.

Tried some samples of this house.
Ylang Ylang Nosy Be Eau de Parfum was lovely on the teststrip, but on my skin, I find it too linear and too cheerful in a forced way, doesn't represent me at all.
I think lovers of very exotic, cheerful scents and especially Ylang-lovers will like this very much.
For me it was also a bit headache inducing. Like Tubéreuse Absolue Eau de Parfum that I also tested.
I liked Absolue d'Osmanthe Eau de Parfum , it's softer, dryer, a little sweet in a natural (not syrupy) way and a bit spicy/woody and less offensive (though I do like strong sillage when I love a scent), but not enough to consider buying a bottle.
I may like their white bottles-line better, but those are maybe too light where it concerns the sillage, should test a few maybe.
This scent is very sweet and opulent.

I find this a good house though, quality is really good I think, and there are a lot of more perfumes to test.

Ylang Ylang is the best supporting actress of the perfume world. It is the Stockard Channing to tuberose's Meryl Streep or jasmine's Olivia Newton-John. Unconventionally attractive, complex and provocative, it rarely is given its own spotlight. In Ylang Ylang Nosy Be, named for the Madagascar island from which the particular ylang ylang used derives, even still relies heavily on vanilla and spice to bring out this mercurial flower's best qualities. It opens luxuriously bright and effulgent, yet creamy and intoxicating. The delicious banana custard facet that I find so appealing is in full glory here, contrasting with the neroli-like, bittersweet top qualities. There is also a touch of warm camphor from an accompanying cardamom.

A honey facet grows more prominent further in its development, but this just stops short of feeling gourmand, even with the abundance of vanilla escorting the ylang ylang into the dry down. Other florals and woods shade the experience, especially as it dries down: this is by no means full-on edible. It is heady, but not oppressive. It gives a nod to classics while at the same time forward-looking, which is no small feat. Ylang Ylang Nosy Be isn't simply a character actress, there's far more depth to it than I expected from what I believed to be a flashier, "prestiche" sort of brand. I'd like to give credit to the Ylang Ylang Nez Naturals Notebook for encouraging me to seek out this unsung release.

Honestly as always: I only reached for you today, dear Ylang Ylang Nosy Be, because I liked your Patchouli brother so much. And then I even gifted you right after spraying to my office colleague, who was so taken with you. Please don't take all this personally. You are a wonderful scent, one of the most beautiful with the sometimes headache-inducing flower. It's hard to surprise me more positively.

Unlike your relatives Jasmine & Tuberose, I personally have never had a problem with you. However, I find you particularly appealing here. You are a likable, high-quality all-rounder in the realm of fragrance, ranging from slightly citrusy-exotic to subtly sweet vanilla, surrounding your core of the finest Ylang Ylang with many delicate fragrance notes. The way you bring them together & fix them is amazing. You are the shining fixed star. You can be worn anytime & anywhere, you are the olfactory embodiment of Ying & Yang. You also attract compliments, which ultimately makes you a much bigger competitor to Patchouli with the same surname than ever assumed. Every woman I asked or even just brushed against would buy you on the spot - a crowd-pleaser that one would gladly introduce to mom. Of course pretty & with manners - what more could one want?

Bottle: proud, noble, protected from light.
Sillage: noticeable in the office, never fades
Longevity: 7-8 hours is more than usable.

Conclusion: so simple & so wonderful - one of my signature hidden gems for the modern woman of the world with many facets that cannot be pinned down. From career woman to super mom, from sex goddess to wallflower - YY Nosy Be is everything in one!

... I will remember this for perfumes as well!

Do you know that feeling? You look at the notes of a perfume and are sure that the scent will never fit your taste, that you will most likely find it terrible, and then you randomly test it and wonder how you ever lived without this perfume.

That happened to me during my visit to the Schlossparfümerie in Stuttgart. I knew that Perris Monte Carlo had launched two new fragrances, one with Ylang-Ylang and the other with Patchouli. There wasn't much left for my fragrance heart that I hadn't already encountered, so I half-heartedly had the two scents sprayed on paper strips. Patchouli smelled on me like dark chocolate with old sweat - so I had no interest in leaving that on my skin. The other strip smelled delicious. I always thought of Ylang-Ylang as a heavy, sultry, very sweet flower. Similar to Frangipani. So nothing for me. Therefore, I hadn't seen any reason to test a fragrance with this flower until now. But here on my paper strip, it smelled surprisingly interesting and fresh. So on to the skin it went. My astonishment was great. Exotic, fresh, floral. I was kindly given a sample of "Ylang Ylang Nosy Be," tried it as an all-day scent in the office, and was still thrilled. After testing it a second and third time in the evening, I had my husband give his positive verdict (he found it complex), and then it was clear: This one would quickly find a place in my collection. The impending end of the fragrance sample already awakened feelings of loss in me.

So how does it smell? Hard to describe, as I can't compare Ylang-Ylang to anything.
Ylang-Ylang is delicately floral, but hardly sweet, exotic. Freshness comes from grapefruit, lemon, and cardamom. The cedarwood and vetiver give it a spicy and slightly woody character, rounded off by a rather unsweet vanilla, which I like. My nose is glued to my wrist: "Floral, no fresh, no rather woody, that's not right, vanilla, no that's floral, or is it cardamom?" - I'm going in circles. No matter, it is beautiful!