Salonese

Just a quick note, it is not my intention to write a biblical text here or take you on an olfactory journey through the gardens of Babylon or, in this case, Oman. I will try to describe my impressions of Jubilation XXV Man, which should serve as a guide for those who are not familiar with the fragrance and are considering getting a sample.

The packaging and the bottle are as one would expect from Amouage; I have nothing to complain about, so we won't waste any more words on that.

About the fragrance itself:

Upon spraying, a slightly smoky, oud-like note greets you, but by no means negatively connoted (for me, it’s not like a cow barn or anything). When smelled closer to the skin, I can already perceive the incense, but again, not with a church-like "incense bomb" touch, rather a simple, honest accompaniment to the oud and whatever else is smoking (I think some woods).

After a while, and on the way towards the dry down, I think dark berries join in (a look at the fragrance pyramid says blackberries, but I couldn't say for sure), but in a very gentle, accompanying form, which softens the fragrance a bit. (Definitely not comparable to the more potent brother, Jubilation 40, where the dark berries hit you like a punch in the face upon spraying, I find.)

From here on, the perceptible boundaries between the ingredients begin to blur for me; honey certainly plays a central role here. The fragrance becomes increasingly warmer and softer, and the incense also transforms, possibly influenced by one of the base notes. However, many different notes work together here, forming a very rounded and pleasant composition.

Overall, I feel we move a bit away from the classic oriental to a softer, warmer, and possibly slightly fruity scent. I find this a very interesting and beautiful transformation. The composition itself is rounded and harmonious, which is probably why the fragrance is still so popular after so many years.

I tend to have drier skin, which is why fragrances unfortunately don’t last forever on me, and this one is no exception. Close to the skin, the fragrance is certainly perceivable for about 8 hours, but I estimate a noticeable and PLEASANT sillage is present in the first 2-3 hours. I am more of a "less is more" person when it comes to good fragrances, so I never use more than 2 or a maximum of 3 sprays. Just as an assessment regarding sillage and longevity for me. With a different skin type and half a liter of perfume, you could certainly build it up more if you really need to.
But the fragrance itself is a wonderful interplay of the contained accords, which justifies the price for me.

I hope my ramblings here help some of you as a guide.

P.S.: Please don’t make the mistake of thinking: "Nice fragrance, but it doesn’t last long enough for me, I’ll just buy the big brother with 40% fragrance oil content." That is a completely different fragrance.

The 40 Knots, I had heard about it for a long time, but somehow it never really interested me. A quick glance earlier at the nonexistent fragrance pyramid and the discovery of honey put me off a bit.
And yes, I probably feel like the only person who is not a huge fan of Naxos, for the aforementioned reason.

And even here, years later, I finally ordered a sample, a small seed of curiosity arose again after I was (once again) looking for a new fragrance for this summer. Said and done, sample ordered and fished out of the mailbox.
I have this habit, don’t ask me why, of testing new fragrances first on a test strip and then on my skin. I find the difference in how our skin projects fragrances fascinating, but that’s a different story.
I was just reading a book by Robert Müller Grünow (also about fragrances, highly recommended) and due to massive laziness, I simply sprayed the bookmark. And my arm. As “feared,” right away a proper, sweet wave of honey accompanied by a slightly salty breeze, somehow like a sunscreen honey, hard to put into words…. But as expected, it was initially too sweet for me, mentally I had already put a checkmark next to the fragrance and thought to myself, “Goodbye, off to the corner of the shelf.”

After a few days, when I finally got back to reading and opened my book, a very gentle, pleasantly woody? but also somehow summery soft scent wafted into my nose. I didn’t even realize at first that the source was my bookmark. A completely different fragrance DNA, it felt like.
So I took the fragrance out of the shelf again and sprayed it on with a bit less prejudice.

The sweetness of the honey at the beginning gradually recedes in the course of the fragrance and makes way for soft woods, accompanied by a slightly synthetic (but well-synthetic) aquatic note. A very dynamic fragrance in my eyes, which to be honest I find really cool and is something I often miss in many fragrances.
The more often I wear this fragrance, the more I love it. I find it suitable as my summer fragrance for this year and also for autumn or spring.
Sometimes it’s worth not being as biased as I am and giving fragrances a second chance.
You often get surprised.

I have the (mostly expensive) habit of treating myself to a fragrance for every vacation I fly to, with which I connect a piece of the holiday. A little in the hope of reviving the memory when I smell the fragrance on myself.
In the case of YSL - Y, I found it in a medium-sized, but unfortunately not very well-stocked perfumery in Ibiza. It was (oh wonder in August) * hot, and I actually more or less fled into the store with its air conditioning rather than walking in with a specific purpose. So I thought to myself, "Well, let's see if there's anything here" and strolled through the shelves.
Indeed, the second shelf was stocked with YSL among others, and since my passion for perfume started years ago with L'homme and La nuit de l'homme, there was a bit of nostalgia involved, so I gave the inconspicuous Y a chance.

Fruity. More like a fruit explosion. That's the first thing I noticed after spraying it on. But also somehow a bit fresh in the background. Interesting combination and somehow fitting for my vacation, considering the floral entrance of the store. Speaking of floral: to be honest, I didn't perceive any floral accords, even though I've read that here often. But maybe they just didn't unfold noticeably on my skin. The tonka bean comes through a bit at the end, if you know it's there; the incense, I don't find.

Overall, a very fruity-fresh summer fragrance that is definitely suitable for everyday wear in summer, but unfortunately lasts not long at all on me. With a few sprays, you won't get more than a max. of 2-3 hours, but that varies depending on skin type, of course. However, you can't expect more for the price, in my opinion. Price-wise, it's definitely very suitable for beginners and pleasant in scent and sillage. I think my girlfriend could wear the fragrance too, so for me, it's unisex.
For me, there's a lot of nostalgia (also in the review) involved here, but I think you can never go wrong with YSL when looking for a pleasant fragrance that isn't a performance monster.

I hope this helps some of you out :)

Hello everyone, this is my first review and I'm not really the type to give long speeches or bore you with endless chatter.

Here's the thing: I have been searching for a practical, new fragrance for a long time, one that might accompany me for more than just a season. I have tried a lot and diligently sought out promising samples. I am a big fan of Oud and an even bigger fan when Oud is combined with other accents, allowing the fragrance to develop alongside it, but without being a pure Oud bomb (in my mind, Alexandria Orientale and Gao come to mind). I also tried MFK, and an OFG has made its way into my collection as well. I don't need to talk about the parallels, but the OFG feels too linear to me, too much of an autumn/winter (-evening) scent.

On the other hand, Haltane has a very nice, fresh opening with the prominently noticeable bergamot, enveloped by a slightly oud-like & smoky accompaniment (positively smoky, I should say). Over time, this interestingly fresh composition gives way, and the fragrance becomes more complex and warmer, with the Oud presence also changing for me, as a sweet note alongside the saffron emerges (the look at the fragrance pyramid reveals it's praline, well). In the long run, and that can take a while with this creation, the scent fades away very pleasantly warm.
This makes it suitable for both spring and colder or wetter seasons, as well as for both day and night.

I am not an expert and cannot recognize or distinguish every component, but I hope this helps the average person get a picture and a small impression of the fragrance.