Piles of Damp Sisal Rugs and Straw Baskets in the Tropics
I am glad that Yves Saint Laurent YVRESSE was renamed from CHAMPAGNE--not because I agree with fastidious French law regarding the use of that quasi-sacred name, but because many people will not know that "ivresse" means "drunkenness", as opposed to "piles of damp sisal rugs" or "straw basket factory in the tropics," which would be far more apt names for the lengthy middle phase of this distinctive chypre perfume--were Demeter only able to isolate and capture those scents in a bottle!
YVRESSE, in fact, helped me to refine my concept of chypre, which I now believe to contain essentially within it a big, big and abiding sillage that follows me about constantly reminding me that I am in the midst of a cloud of chypre dust! On the oakmoss to vetiver continuum, YVRESSE lies much closer to the vetiver end.
I love the damp sisal/straw smell of the middle phase of this fragrance, which has excellent staying power in the edt. I am not as thrilled by the somewhat fruity opening--but it disappears as quickly as a champagne bubble, and it's certainly not painful to endure. The middle sisal/straw phase gives way eventually to a slightly sweet but beautiful drydown that remains chypre but is less damp and a bit more spicy.
I highly recommend YVRESSE to chypre lovers who crave that fascinatingly paradoxical fog that hangs heavy while somehow elevating the wearer at the same time. This is a perfume with a serious chypre sillage.
