Le Vestiaire - Saharienne Yves Saint Laurent 2015

So here we have a safari jacket. When I look at the promotional photo and the contents of the rather straightforward bottle, I really only have one association: BEIGE.

I hate beige. Well, to be honest, I have nothing against the color itself and I'm not haunted by any horrible childhood memories ... being bullied and dipping my head in a school toilet full of beige liquid ... Unfortunately, however, I always see two kinds of people in my mind's eye when I come across this actually quite restrained and elegant color. Both are German and give me a bad feeling. I'm probably afraid of recognizing myself in them at some point.

On the one hand, there are the over-70s who get open wounds from the slightest gust of wind ("IT PULLS!"). It's not nice, of course, but I still can't understand why people of a certain age start wearing all their clothes in plaster colors. At least the latest Hansaplast doesn't stand out. Even so, senior citizens wearing everything from sandals to fishing hats are an aesthetic thorn in my side. Iris Apfel is more my role model in this respect.

On the other hand, I immediately think of the kind of German tourists who wonder why people in Cape Town don't ride lions to work during their South African vacation. Of course, they also wear the beige outdoor functional clothing with Jack Wolfskin shoes in the trendy hipster café in De Waterkant - safari jacket included.

This fragrance has absolutely nothing to do with these two nightmares and that makes me happy. Instead of a beige safari jacket, I smell a white shirt, so white that it almost hurts my eyes. It's being worn by a handsome, cultured man (what was that again about recognizing yourself?) who has probably just come from a safari. Or from work. Or from a shopping trip. But now he is sitting comfortably by the pool of a beautiful wine estate in the Western Cape, freshly washed, scented and with a radiant shirt. They often have accommodation, fine dining and phenomenal views of the green, blue and beige of the breathtaking landscape. And pools. But you don't go in there because sitting nearby and sipping white wine looks much more "sophisticated".

And that's how Le Vestiaire - Saharienne (2015) smells to me! Very white and yet somehow colorful. Very green-citrusy-fresh, even if the initial explosion only lasts a few minutes. The fragrance quickly becomes very close to the skin, as the sun slowly sets by the pool. You don't wear loud, long fragrances at times like this, because you soon retire to dinner with good friends. People get closer, talk in hushed tones. Le Vestiaire - Saharienne (2015) is equally restrained and has a cultivated effect.

Then night falls and it gets cold. Off to bed, lights off, scent off. It was nice, even if it was only a brief pleasure.