Y Yves Saint Laurent 2018 Eau de Parfum
1
A sharper, smokier, longer-lasting take on an old classic
I once lost a big bottle of Hugo Boss that I'd bought at a store on the Champs-Elysees as a teen. It broke my heart back then! When I tried it way later on, the reaction from my SO was "this smells like the 90s." I gave up! Scents had passed me by. Or did they?
After a lot of niche and designer soul-searching, I came back to the first thing I liked at the store where I started this whole fragrance landscape-surveying thing. And of course I came back to it - my first favorite cologne in high school was Hugo, and YSL Y EDP is a modern Hugo with a more experimental bent: amber (operanide, which is decidedly a little sharp), soapy aldehydes, and just a touch of smoky incense are added to the tried-and-tested apple, lavender, geranium, sage, and cedar notes of the 90s classic.
The operanide seems to be the big differentiator here - there's something to this amber synth that accentuates the sharper notes of the geraniums and lavender, and they stick around, kinda circulating for hours and hours with the sweeter amber note. While I absolutely loved my time wearing Amouage Search, and it's wonderful for about two hours, the whole thing kinda disintegrates into an amber note that isn't unlike this one, but lacks that set of bitters as the citrus dissipates. Maybe that's the juniper talking in Y EDP. The drydown is the standout feature. Guess what shows up later on? Incense! My favorite note! By hour 2, there’s a bit of smoke in there.
I also have Y Le Parfum, and I got it by mistake, but it's pretty good too. Here's what I've seen for differences: Y EDP makes its presence known far more than my experience with Y Le Parfum, so be careful that you're not overspraying it. Aldehydes are less in the EDP - there's less soap, which you may or may not like. I like letting the florals do the talking, so I prefer the EDP there. Also, if you're going to try this in a store, try it on skin and let it dry. The drydown, where those sharper floral notes hit the sweet amber just right, is where Y EDP shines. Y Le Parfum, in contrast, basically starts and ends in the same place.
Anyway, at a time where I thought I just would never have a signature scent and might just circulate decants forever, I went back to the store, checked on Y EDP after this wild odyssey, and found exactly the thing that I'd wanted from the beginning. Got the bottle. Maybe it's not the most unique pick, and maybe it's bound to be associated with a particular time or decade like Hugo was, but hey - it's my thing, and if you count Hugo, I guess it has been for three decades!
After a lot of niche and designer soul-searching, I came back to the first thing I liked at the store where I started this whole fragrance landscape-surveying thing. And of course I came back to it - my first favorite cologne in high school was Hugo, and YSL Y EDP is a modern Hugo with a more experimental bent: amber (operanide, which is decidedly a little sharp), soapy aldehydes, and just a touch of smoky incense are added to the tried-and-tested apple, lavender, geranium, sage, and cedar notes of the 90s classic.
The operanide seems to be the big differentiator here - there's something to this amber synth that accentuates the sharper notes of the geraniums and lavender, and they stick around, kinda circulating for hours and hours with the sweeter amber note. While I absolutely loved my time wearing Amouage Search, and it's wonderful for about two hours, the whole thing kinda disintegrates into an amber note that isn't unlike this one, but lacks that set of bitters as the citrus dissipates. Maybe that's the juniper talking in Y EDP. The drydown is the standout feature. Guess what shows up later on? Incense! My favorite note! By hour 2, there’s a bit of smoke in there.
I also have Y Le Parfum, and I got it by mistake, but it's pretty good too. Here's what I've seen for differences: Y EDP makes its presence known far more than my experience with Y Le Parfum, so be careful that you're not overspraying it. Aldehydes are less in the EDP - there's less soap, which you may or may not like. I like letting the florals do the talking, so I prefer the EDP there. Also, if you're going to try this in a store, try it on skin and let it dry. The drydown, where those sharper floral notes hit the sweet amber just right, is where Y EDP shines. Y Le Parfum, in contrast, basically starts and ends in the same place.
Anyway, at a time where I thought I just would never have a signature scent and might just circulate decants forever, I went back to the store, checked on Y EDP after this wild odyssey, and found exactly the thing that I'd wanted from the beginning. Got the bottle. Maybe it's not the most unique pick, and maybe it's bound to be associated with a particular time or decade like Hugo was, but hey - it's my thing, and if you count Hugo, I guess it has been for three decades!
Systemshaak
