Yvresse

Champagne

Yves Saint Laurent 1993 Parfum

My mother still has some of this perfume extract in exquisite flatten down bottle. She used to wear this one on special winter nights many years ago, when my nose was starting to notice there were immense unknown territories of excitement out there for me to explore them.

This was quite unusual when it was launched so I find myself intrigued by it. I still find it playful, joyful, rampant, boon and sweet. One of the few 90's fruity classic scents I admire.

The fizzy, cider-like peach bursts forth with a vivid sparkle. This freshness sets it apart from today's fruity perfumes, evoking an overwhelming sense of elegance.

The gentle fragrance of apricot and rose spreads, evoking the impression of champagne bubbles dancing in the glass. The use of anise is particularly impressive. The unique, floating sensation of anise gives the sweetness of the peach a fizzy, vibrant feel, creating an exquisite sillage (fragrance trail).

The chypre notes hidden in the base tighten the overall fragrance, creating a sense of elegance that is not simply bright but also firmly embodies the fashionable elegance of Saint Laurent's time. It beautifully recreates the joyous scene of champagne popping before your eyes. If there is an opportunity to reissue this fragrance, it is a timeless fragrance that you should definitely experience.

I can now remember why "Yvresse" felt so foreign to me, even though I owned both the perfume and the Eau de Toilette back then.
There was that legal dispute over the name, which Yves Saint Laurent promptly lost. The name "Champagne" is protected and could therefore no longer be used for the fragrances.

As a champagne lover and after not-so-great experiences with YSL fragrances, I was intrigued by the bottle. It was designed to resemble a cork wrapped in gold foil.
A truly special "eyecatcher"!

Despite the name, nothing sparkled or whispered; no, something warm, heavy, and spicy presented itself.
For the scent was a completely new experience: so many spices, some of which were ordinary kitchen spices, had never before been combined in a fragrance. Someone had clearly raided Grandmère's kitchen.
Together with mostly Central European fruits and flowers, it managed to create a truly opulent, almost oriental fragrance composition. Foreign and yet somehow familiar!
It was fruity-floral despite everything, until after a while the somewhat more exotic base note made its presence known.
I particularly remember Styrax; that was a completely new experience for me: the scent became "black and warm." And thus incredibly exciting!

After "Opium," which almost every woman wore at its peak, "Champagne," as I still call it, was an unusually rich, exotic fragrance.
Not golden and warm, like, for example, the artworks of Jean Patou from that time; no, this was a provocation of a very special kind.
Not for women who want to go through life inconspicuously or for gentle, soft beings.
This fragrance creation from YSL was exotic: very feminine, sophisticated, and incredibly sexy!
One could definitely get a little tipsy from it!

I almost fear that the time for such fragrances has somewhat passed. When was the last time there was a woman to whom the term "vamp" would have applied?
Perhaps this very special fragrance was discontinued for that reason?
Surely not just because the name had to be changed, thus missing that "certain something."

However, I recently realized, while wandering down the "street of scent memories," that these bottles must have been in the large beautiful tin box that somehow disappeared from my closet. That is annoying; there were other treasures in there too.

In any case, I now notice while writing that I loved this "noble water" very much. Even though I had long forgotten it.
But did I really forget it?

Again the usual: in my younger years, I owned the EDT, later I managed to get the Extrait. My first EDT has since dried up, but I was able to buy two intact small sprayers. As you can see in my pictures, they all (except for a Splash Mini) still bear the original name "Champagne".

With the EDT, I clearly perceive the yellow stone fruits (peach, apricot, and nectarine), which remind me more of fruit liqueur than champagne, as this perfume has too much sweetness for that. The Extrait is very similar in itself, but in my impression, it's a tad more robust than the EDT. Nevertheless, both versions have something sparkling (perhaps due to the lychee or even the mint), although this note comes through a bit stronger in the Extrait (which could also be due to the possibly differing ages of the vintages). But peach punch does indeed contain sparkling wine, so the (original) name "Champagne" is quite fitting.
However, "Champagne/Yvresse" cannot be compared to the fruit punch-like perfumes from the Escada summer limited editions, which (since 2001) are significantly sweeter and sometimes come across as a bit synthetic (and I say this even though I still like them and buy the new limited edition every year).

In my younger years, I wasn't an enthusiastic fan of Carnival (as we call it in Bavaria), but now and then I did go to a costume ball. Since my mother's death in 2013, that is forever over - I will never dance again; the dark half of my life has begun. But for such occasions, I always found "Champagne" quite fitting back then. A sparkling-fruity-floral, moderately sweet scent against the winter blues. And for the evening, the Extrait version - as so often - is a little more elegant and refined.

Somehow, I’m on a little vintage retro trip, and I don’t know what made me buy this drop. Well, it was probably the bottle that invited me to write about it.

The old classic bottle with a stopper that tends to fall off is a real eye-catcher and elegant... Vintage style.
In the first few seconds, I’m rather surprised as it’s not as alcohol-heavy as I thought... that’s probably due to the mint... the caraway is quite noticeable and makes it heavy and spicy from the start.

It develops a bit more fleetingly and almost smells like tea, lingering well on the skin. Now I’ve let some time pass and I still perceive it well in the base as a good companion for the night. It becomes sweeter and more flavorful. I don’t really smell the coconut. Amber, benzoin, and cedar are noticeable to me and I don’t find them disturbing.

Not a scent as expected. Champagne is well captured, but I find carbonated tea more fitting.
But how does that sound?
Carbonic Acid Tea??? No way... Champagne!!!

Dance, men, the princess is in the mood!!