Kouros Yves Saint Laurent 1981 Eau de Toilette
2
Just a Shadow of Its Former Self?
After testing "The Men Silver," I was very curious about the original - the vintage classic Kouros. Due to the numerous reviews of Kouros, I feared the worst: wild impressions were described, ranging from shower gel and changing rooms to foot odor and sweat.
And indeed - the very first impression was immediately a distinctly fecal note. At the same time, it smelled fresh and slightly sweet. The opening is clearly different from "Silver" due to the sweetness, but for me, not better. The scent development here is not as pronounced as with the competition; perhaps it is also due to the testing temperature of about 23 degrees that my impression was entirely different.
After the opening, the spicy and floral notes emerged, but then the fragrance became significantly leatherier and more austere with a distinct sweetness in the background. I could no longer detect the intense civet, but something slightly fecal and earthy remained.
The current Kouros feels more like a so-called "mainstream fragrance."
Unfortunately, the dry down was rather flat, and I found the longevity and sillage to be average.
I could imagine that the scent experience with Kouros might vary depending on the temperature; however, it probably suits a hot summer best. I would definitely advise against a blind purchase for testing due to the price.
I must unfortunately conclude that for me, "The Men Silver" is the clearly better Kouros: It had a more pronounced scent development, felt fresher and more floral, the slight sweetness was perfectly balanced, the sillage and longevity were enormous, and the dry down was pleasantly "close to the skin."
Addendum - both fragrances are quite different; at their core, there are certain similarities, as already described here. Briefly, the most noticeable differences in a direct comparison. The top notes of Silver and Kouros both smell good but are entirely different: Silver: vetiver, floral, smoky, Kouros: animalic, floral, sweet. Heart notes Silver: spicy, green, later vanillic and smoky, Kouros: sweet, later green + spicy, scent becomes significantly weaker. Base note Silver: close-to-skin amber, earthy, Kouros: sweet, "perfumey" dry down.
And indeed - the very first impression was immediately a distinctly fecal note. At the same time, it smelled fresh and slightly sweet. The opening is clearly different from "Silver" due to the sweetness, but for me, not better. The scent development here is not as pronounced as with the competition; perhaps it is also due to the testing temperature of about 23 degrees that my impression was entirely different.
After the opening, the spicy and floral notes emerged, but then the fragrance became significantly leatherier and more austere with a distinct sweetness in the background. I could no longer detect the intense civet, but something slightly fecal and earthy remained.
The current Kouros feels more like a so-called "mainstream fragrance."
Unfortunately, the dry down was rather flat, and I found the longevity and sillage to be average.
I could imagine that the scent experience with Kouros might vary depending on the temperature; however, it probably suits a hot summer best. I would definitely advise against a blind purchase for testing due to the price.
I must unfortunately conclude that for me, "The Men Silver" is the clearly better Kouros: It had a more pronounced scent development, felt fresher and more floral, the slight sweetness was perfectly balanced, the sillage and longevity were enormous, and the dry down was pleasantly "close to the skin."
Addendum - both fragrances are quite different; at their core, there are certain similarities, as already described here. Briefly, the most noticeable differences in a direct comparison. The top notes of Silver and Kouros both smell good but are entirely different: Silver: vetiver, floral, smoky, Kouros: animalic, floral, sweet. Heart notes Silver: spicy, green, later vanillic and smoky, Kouros: sweet, later green + spicy, scent becomes significantly weaker. Base note Silver: close-to-skin amber, earthy, Kouros: sweet, "perfumey" dry down.
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4 Comments
The "Silver" briefly reminds me of it, but it's really too much and just pure "toilet block."
The umpteenth reformulation of the YSL, partly forced due to banned ingredients, is not what it used to be, that's true.
But it's still unique and clearly superior to the knockoff, in my opinion.
Wishing everyone a free nose! ;-)