I mentioned this in my Y Le Parfum (2025) review, but we really have to step back, look at the pricing of these designer, department-store fragrances, and hold brands like YSL accountable for this slop. Myslf L'Absolu costs over TWO HUNDRED dollars for a 100ml bottle at retail. Let's see what costs the same or less than this AT RETAIL:
Let's stop pretending there is some big cost gap between designers that smell like a scratch-and-sniff on a magazine page and high-quality, well-executed niche fragrances. Or hell, high-quality, well-executed designer fragrances. Sauvage Elixir and Guilty Elixir de Parfum pour Homme run rings around this poor excuse for a perfume.
I first sniffed this on a tester strip, thought, "eh, more of the same" and gave it a 4 rating for being marginally pleasant, but completely unoriginal. I recently was sent a sample from an ad on social media. I've been dreading putting it on. For good reason. Putting it on skin I realized it isn't pleasant. At all.
The sweetness is overwhelming and annoying. One statement mentioned methyl anthranilate; while not familiar with the scent of that particular aromachem, I'm going to agree that this smells mostly like a really really synthetic grape scent, combined with an "orange blossom" that smells like you described the scent of orange blossom to an alien who has never seen a flower before, and they had to construct the accord. It stings the nostrils, in a really bad way. I keep wiping my nose like Slavoj Žižek.
An absolute scrubber. But this is worlds apart from other fragrances that I think are scrubbers that are trying to be unique, or interesting. If a new Gualtieri or ELDO is a scrubber I'd still give it a 3 or a 4. The uniqueness, the desire, the attempt at artistry is there. There is nothing redeeming about Myslf L'absolu. It tries to be an unoriginal, safe, mass-appealing fragrance and can't even do that.
Edit: Drydown is not too bad, reminiscent of "Myslf | Yves Saint Laurent". Raising my rating slightly
