Jazz 1988 Eau de Toilette

Version from 1988
Jazz (1988) (Eau de Toilette) by Yves Saint Laurent
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8.0 / 10 212 Ratings
A popular perfume by Yves Saint Laurent for men, released in 1988. The scent is spicy-woody. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Spicy
Woody
Fougère
Fresh
Floral

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
AniseedAniseed CardamomCardamom NutmegNutmeg CorianderCoriander LavenderLavender TarragonTarragon BasilBasil BergamotBergamot CinnamonCinnamon
Heart Notes Heart Notes
JasmineJasmine CarnationCarnation GeraniumGeranium IrisIris
Base Notes Base Notes
OakmossOakmoss SandalwoodSandalwood CedarCedar LeatherLeather TobaccoTobacco MuskMusk AmberAmber Tonka beanTonka bean

Perfumer

Ratings
Scent
8.0212 Ratings
Longevity
7.7154 Ratings
Sillage
7.3147 Ratings
Bottle
7.3151 Ratings
Value for money
7.446 Ratings
Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 02/28/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Jazz (2011) by Yves Saint Laurent
Jazz (2011)
Jazz (1988) (Lotion Après-Rasage) by Yves Saint Laurent
Jazz (1988) Lotion Après-Rasage
Jazz Prestige by Yves Saint Laurent
Jazz Prestige
Tsar (1989) (Eau de Toilette) by Van Cleef & Arpels
Tsar (1989) Eau de Toilette
Bentley for Men Azure by Bentley
Bentley for Men Azure
Safari for Men (Eau de Toilette) by Ralph Lauren
Safari for Men Eau de Toilette

Reviews

10 in-depth fragrance descriptions
8
Pricing
8
Bottle
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
10
Scent
manlyscents

96 Reviews
manlyscents
manlyscents
8  
Highly influential masculine scent
Jazz opens with a bright and fresh mix of nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and lavender, then dries down to sandalwood and cedar. Projects well for a couple of hours, and lasts a good 6 hours minimum.

Due to availability in my area I got to nose Ralph Lauren Safari eons before Jazz. When I finally got to smell Jazz I was astounded by the similarities. Eventually I also tried the reformulated Pasha de Cartier EDT and that was even closer to Jazz, albeit weaker. I'm told Salvador by Salvador Dali is also in the same vein. Just goes to show how influential Jazz was in the early 90s.

When Jazz was launched, the designer perfume industry was at crossroads. Unfortunately most designer houses chose the metallic freshie path of Cool Water and Eternity over this style, and the industry never recovered. Just my humble opinion.

Masculinity Level: Di Caprio in Inception.
1 Comment
8
Pricing
8
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
9
Scent
HugoMontez

80 Reviews
HugoMontez
HugoMontez
Helpful Review 4  
Spicy-floral Fougère!
I'm a huge fan of YSL fragrances, until the last Y line. That line is a bit disappointing to me. But fortunately, I have many other YSL fragrances to enjoy, like this gem here.

Jazz appeared in 1988, when Cool Water was launched and the world was preparing for a change. Fresh, clean and aquatic were the themes and things like animalic leathers of chypres were starting to disappear. Jazz shows a different path. Lavender, jasmine, oakmoss and nutmeg. A beautiful Fougère with Spicy-floral nuances.

Super high quality and very masculine in a classic Fougère way, but with a freshness that puts it apart from the other fougère offerings out there. I don't know why YSL decided to discontinued it but probably it didn't well in sales. In 2011 they re-lauched it in a different bottle but the formula changed and it seemed somewhat flat and watered down. I think it's now discontinued again or only available in some places.

Anyway, if you like fougère fragrances but want something slightly different and high quality, try to grab a bottle of this beauty. It's really fascinating how a fougère appears to be familiar but in the same time different and modern. One of my favourite fougères and a classic that would stood the test of time if L'Oréal didn't had decided to reformulate it.

4/5
1 Comment
jtd

484 Reviews
jtd
jtd
Helpful Review 2  
the fougère pre-Cool Water
Jazz is a great illustration of the point that the aromatic fougère of the 70s-80s had reached before Cool Water changed the rules. It has a warm spicy opening (cardamom, cinnamon) that plays against the artemesia that becomes noticeable at the end of the top notes. The artemesia holds strong and seamlessly ushers in the longer-lasting notes that define the heart and base, the coumarin, moss, cedar, tobacco.

Jazz has a major/minor chord interaction that maintains my interest as it unfolds. It’s a bit too blended to be one of the strident fougères like Azzaro pour Homme that preceded it and Troisième Homme that followed it. Still it is an aromatic fougère of the old school and feels warm and enveloping rather than limpid, fresh and sweet/tart like Cool Water.

Where would the aromatic fougère have gone without the ascendance of dyhydromyrcenol? Jazz, while lovely, seems like one of those genealogical lines identified by archeology that became extinct when the faster, more viable predator (Cool Water) was better able to cull its prey, the male herd of the late 80s/early 90s.
0 Comments
10
Pricing
10
Bottle
10
Longevity
10
Scent
Suchel

13 Reviews
Suchel
Suchel
1  
Jazz A real man's perfume an "old school" classic!
My favorite perfume in my collection.
A fresh, woody Aromatic, spicy perfume which reminds me of good times in the very early 90s.
The bottle design on piano keys is spectacular. I own 2 full bottles and the old empty one. Masterpiece, I recommend it for those who are confident, open-minded, enthusiastic and smiling.

Enjoy it.
0 Comments
7
Pricing
8
Bottle
6
Sillage
6
Longevity
6.5
Scent
Liviuss

48 Reviews
Liviuss
Liviuss
1  
nice and easy
Drakkar Noir and Ungaro pour l'Homme I style green fougere, so we're talking Dihydromyrcenol and herbaceous/floral notes. All in all it gives a sensation of shower gel, resulting fresh and invigorating. You can smell the lavender, I can't smell the nutmeg but I can smell the coriander and a light leathery accord. Compared to Drakkar and Ungaro, however, this does not have the sweetish component of the base and therefore remains much drier and "sour", more suitable for summer. In certain nuances it also brings me back to Egoiste Platinum, the genre is big, let's say.
It's a nice perfume, very masculine, it's certainly liked by those around it, it lasts on good skin and has a discreet projection but, if I have to be honest, it didn't make me cry out for a miracle; I'll consider whether to keep the bottles I took.
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Statements

6 short views on the fragrance
Bashke81Bashke81 4 years ago
This one is very pleasant. Barbershop with s modern twist and really strong as well.
8/10
0 Comments
ChicoRoch1ChicoRoch1 2 years ago
9
Bottle
6
Sillage
7
Longevity
7.5
Scent
This fragrance does not last very long and I have a vintage model. Maybe the bottle is too old or something
0 Comments
Nqobie0303Nqobie0303 3 years ago
10
Bottle
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
9
Scent
This has evolved over time to resemble a flawless harmony complemented by lovely rhythms in a magnificent song.
0 Comments
Charilaos77Charilaos77 3 years ago
10
Bottle
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
8
Scent
Elegant fougere. The black and white bottle is maybe the most iconic in my collection.
0 Comments
JGLJGL 3 years ago
10
Bottle
9
Sillage
9
Longevity
9.5
Scent
Saturday night pick in the early 90's. A masterpiece, intense, high-quality long-lasting fragrance. Unfortunately, not anymore.
0 Comments
Jazzy76Jazzy76 7 years ago
7
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
8
Scent
i love jazz and if this scent was a jazz standard it could be surely a swing: bright but with "groove" given by the spicy touch . A classic
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Discussions

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ApiciusApicius 3 years ago
Perfumes & Brands
Jazz by YSL - a flee market find!
Wow, nice find!Is it with the music from the ad from the 80s?

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