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Yapana Volnay 2013

Version from 2013

8.0 / 10 131 Ratings

A popular perfume by Volnay for women, released in 2013. The scent is floral-spicy. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Floral

Spicy

Powdery

Resinous

Sweet

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Pink pepper

Italian bergamot

Red grapefruit

Heart Notes

Powder

Elemi resin

Ylang-ylang Clove

Clove

Helional

Rose

Vanilla

Base Notes

Labdanum

Indonesian patchouli

Siam benzoin

Green vanilla Iris

Iris

Rice

Stone

Perfumer

Amélie Bourgeois

Ratings

Scent

8.0131 Ratings

Longevity

7.8102 Ratings

Sillage

6.9106 Ratings

Bottle

7.993 Ratings

Value for money

7.519 Ratings

Submitted by ExUser · last update on 04/22/2025.

Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Les Signes de Grès - État de Grâce

Oriental Extreme

Shalimar Eau de Parfum

Oriental Brûlant

Reviews

8 in-depth fragrance descriptions

06/09/2020

8.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Emorandeira
395 Reviews

Emorandeira

Powdery... But intense

Yapana is a very powdery perfume but at the same time is very intense. For me It is leathery, sweet, flowery and very spicy. I get the rose, the iris and the ylang ylang over a balsámic and leathery ground. Elemi, benzoin and labdanum give ti the fragance some medicinal, sweet and dense feeling while the clove and the pepper gives the spicy character. Some sweetness comes from a very nice vanila mixed with the patchouli, which increases the intensity of yapana, and the powdery notes finishes the perfume. It is a bit like other traditional oriental french perfumes, like shalimar by guerlain, with a very good quality and very good performance. For cold weather and probably better for night time. Nowdays can be perrfectly an unisex perfume.

Scent: 8.5
Longevity: 8
Sillage: 7
Quality/price: 5
Versatility: 6
Originality: 8
Global: 8.5

05/04/2021

9Scent 6Longevity 8Sillage

Pollita
385 Reviews

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Pollita

Top Review 50

The Final Boss Defeated

The brand Volnay was previously unknown to me and provided pleasant surprises. If I categorize the perfumes here in the database correctly, they are all scents that originally come from the twenties and received a re-release in 2013. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Last week, three little treasures from this brand reached me by post, and one of them captivated me immediately: Yapana. Yapana achieves something that many of its colleagues do not. Because Yapana is primarily a powdery scent, and I like it very much. Wait, Polly and powder? Wasn't there some kind of final boss? Oh yes, that still exists, but I quickly forget about it when I catch a whiff of Yapana.

This fragrance starts off rather herbal and a bit harsh. The first scent accords led me to suspect that I might be dealing with a Chypre here. Far from it. The initially green, woody, and spicy notes quickly drift into the floral. An Ylang-Ylang appears, but it never annoys me, as it doesn’t bring even a hint of coconut or other tropical nonsense. And soon my best friends join in. Sweet, fine resins. The fact that it presents itself rather powdery does not bother me at any time. Yapana's powder note is different; it is rice powdery, delicate, and overall pleasing. You can somewhat compare this powderiness to the also highly regarded Kenzo Amour, which I even own, but here it naturally occurs without incense.

In the base, the fragrance becomes very soft and cuddly. I smell a gentle vanilla note, as well as still some rice powder and benzoin. The whole thing creates a mix similar to JHAG's Musc Invisible. In the background, it is still minimally floral but overall just soft, sweet, and close to the skin. Wonderful! If I could get along better with the top note, this could have been a candidate for purchase.

With the listed twin Oriental Extreme by Mugler, which is very iris-heavy and is said to resemble Dior Homme Intense, I don't think it has much in common. If I had to choose an exclusive Mugler as a comparable scent, I would rather go for Over the Musk, but even here, just similar, not a twin. After all, the similarities can only be discerned in the base of the fragrance.

What is very nice about all Volnays is that despite often complex compositions, they have a delicate character. Chypre elements are combined with classic oriental notes (in the European sense) as well as powdery and gourmand aspects, but everything remains consistently rounded and harmonious and doesn’t overwhelm you right away. It seems this brand suits me.

Many thanks to Medusa00 for the testing opportunity.

01/21/2022

8.5Scent 9Longevity 8Sillage

Pluto
353 Reviews

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Pluto

Top Review 40

What did you wear today? I like it..

was the greeting of an elderly lady whom I often visit, armed with reading material and homemade treats. Mrs. W. is in her late 80s, mentally completely fit, but after some more or less unsuccessful spinal surgeries, she relies on a walker and only comes outside with assistance. She is so terribly thin, weighing no more than 40 kilos, and you want to hold her tightly because you fear a gust of wind could sweep her away. When she was still physically fit, she provided us with the best Christmas cookies, and now we are returning the favor a little.

The praised fragrance was Yapana, which a dear perfumer introduced to me along with Cedre. Yapana does not start for me with grapefruit or bergamot; I can only sense citrus, perhaps only because I know the ingredients are there. I am enveloped by a peppery resinous spiciness with powdery vanilla and clove, while rose and ylang-ylang are only faintly perceptible. Labdanum gives a balsamic, slightly resinous honey note that is not sticky but delicate and airy. And indeed, I catch a hint of rice, warm and steaming, underpinned by earthy patchouli. The fragrance has so many ingredients that one might think it would spoil it, but no, Yapana is an aromatic, balsamic scent, already cozy but with an edge. And sometimes when I wear it, a soft leather note resonates in the distance. And what should I say... Again, not my usual type, and yet it stands in my display case and is worn, even gladly.

Longevity and sillage are strong; I can still perceive a spray after 12 hours, and it reveals its magic best in winter. And of course, it is unisex; I know designated men's perfumes that are much sweeter.

I would fill some for Mrs. W., I even gifted her a Lalique once, to which she replied in her brusque manner, what should I do with that, I don't go out anymore. But sometimes she does smell of L'Amour :o)

P.S. The bottle is great, but this pink ribbon does not match the fragrance at all...

06/12/2014

10Scent 10Longevity 5Sillage

ParfumAholic
257 Reviews

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ParfumAholic

Top Review 36

Touché!

Volnay's "Yapana" and I met on February 28, 2014, in Paris and on May 30, 2014, in Ibiza. The locations couldn't be more different, on one hand the glamorous French capital and on the other hand the relaxed Mediterranean island.

During our first encounter in Paris at the incredibly impressive "Jovoy Parfumerie" (as overwhelming as the selection of unusual fragrances there is, I could easily spend an entire day just there), I was already so overwhelmed that I perceived "Yapana" as very pleasant, but nothing more than that. It was only on the way home that the scent from the perfumed spot on my skin occasionally wafted up to my nose, which led it to land on my watchlist.

Later, when I ordered something from ALzD, I included "Yapana" as one of the three free samples.

But for some reason, it then slipped my mind. When I had to think about which fragrances I wanted to test during my vacation, "Yapana" came back to me and thus embarked on the journey to Ibiza.

Ibiza in May has its own charm and allure for me personally. It is not overrun by tourists; the island is just waking up from its winter slumber, the weather is pleasantly warm during the day at around 25 degrees, but the evenings and nights are still quite cool.

And it was exactly this evening chill that led me to take "Yapana" out for dinner on that May 30. I could vaguely remember that it is a rather warm scent that would certainly perform better in a slightly cooler atmosphere.

Immediately after spraying, a very light and green impression is created by the bergamot, underlined by a slightly tingling pepper. However, the pepper does not sting the nose but rather feels invigorating.

The heart notes quickly overshadow the top notes, but I can't really distinguish individual components as everything plays out under a very noble and fine powdery veil. I can detect a bit of rose (not fully bloomed yet), clove (not sharply dominant), something resinous (not scratchy), and vanilla (rather unsweetened and dark), but I can't really define them more closely.

The transition to the base is fluid and almost imperceptible. "Yapana" gains depth and intensity through benzoin and patchouli. Rice and iris contribute their unsweetened powderiness to perfectly balance the fragrance between darkness and light.

"Yapana" is a decidedly present scent, but it doesn't crash into the room loudly. It exudes an absolutely noble scent aura around it and occupies space with restraint.

Perhaps that was the reason why the waitress at the restaurant found her way to our table more often than necessary and came closer than needed while serving? She seemed to have a genuine interest in perfumes, as she unmistakably wore "Vétiver Tonka" by Hermès.

After dinner, we drove to the nearby beach to stretch our legs a bit. I really enjoy the sea and the beach at night. Everything is quiet, you can only hear the sound of the waves. That evening it was relatively windy, so "Yapana" kept wafting up to my nose. It had a calming, warming, and supportive effect on me. I felt very close to myself, unable to be shaken by anything or anyone. At the same time, I felt complete harmony and contentment...within me, with me, my life, and the life-person by my side.

From that moment on, I was sure that "Yapana" (by the way, it is a South American plant with medicinal properties) belongs to me, must belong to me.

09/06/2016

9Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Sweetsmell75
210 Reviews

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Sweetsmell75

Top Review 23

Dark but Heartwarming!

Yapana (2013) by Volnay was a gift from a dear perfumer. Thanks again for that.
I had never heard of this brand, and the fragrance doesn’t seem particularly well-known here. That needs to change quickly... because I was already blown away by this beautiful scent with the first spray.

Whispers of the night... darkness enveloping me, ... the leather of his jacket warms ... his scent mingles with mine. Shooting stars in the night sky ... racing pulse ... burning kisses on soft skin! An embrace as necessary as air to breathe ... heartwarming!
A fireworks display of emotions ;)

About the scent:
Yapana opens with a fresh-spicy bergamot and slightly bitter grapefruit. I perceive rose, powdery and resinous notes combined with a fine clove throughout the fragrance development. The vanilla is subtly detectable and adds a minimal sweetness to the scent progression.
Helional is said to be a fragrance compound that smells like hay and should have an ozonic effect. Hmm... I don’t perceive either hay or anything ozonic. But I experience Yapana at this stage as a deep, resinous-spicy rose scent surrounded by powder.
With benzoin, labdanum, and patchouli, it moves into the base. Resinous-balsamic-spicy, the scent gives me the impression of leather.
The drydown is fascinating and beautiful... dark, yet also warming. There’s always a hint of powder that is likely enhanced by the iris in the base. Nothing here is musty ;)
I can’t directly recognize green vanilla, and golden stone is probably more of a golden sheen ;)
I think I detect a hint of musk in the scent's conclusion, which is not listed in the pyramid.
In any case, Yapana is a fascinating fragrance that comes across as very multifaceted.
The longevity is a good 8 hours... the sillage is moderate.... a mysterious scent aura surrounds me.
For me, it’s a scent for the night and definitely too heavy and dark for summer.
The bottle... hmm... I don’t really like it because it somehow doesn’t match the fragrance with its embellishments.... a dark bottle would have been more fitting.
Conclusion:
Wow... resinous-balsamic-spicy scent... powdery on the skin. Here, leather doesn’t bother me. I’m blown away! Dark but heartwarming!
It’s quite an expensive little treasure... but I recommend giving it a test.
If anyone knows where to order this fragrance, I would be very grateful for the information. I only found it on the brand's website.

More reviews

Statements

32 short views on the fragrance

Emorandeira

6 years ago

8.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

2

Leathery and balsámic flowery oriental perfume, Whit flowers in central position and spices and powdery notes finishing th fragance. Unisex

Yelimon

8 months ago

1

a more masculine Shalimar. it must be the patchouli or some resin.

SchatzSucher

5 years ago

8.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

35

24

A very successful combination of flowers, resins, and spices. Peppery, clove-like, and lightened with powdery notes. Beautiful and anything but ordinary.

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