I am a man who gets bored with things very quickly. To spice things up and entertain me, I constantly change and tweak items around myself.
It could be a painting, a plant or even a piece of furniture. This time, it happened to be my perfume. I got bored of my current scent after having been using the same one for nearly three months. As a result, I ended up checking out new fragrances online and ordering the Y Eau de Parfum by Yves Saint Laurent on a whim.
The Frenchman Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Berge, founded their luxury fashion house in 1961. The 60 years old fashion brand offers a variety of items to its customer, including ready-to-wear apparel, jewellery, leather goods, accessories, shoes, fragrances etc.
Headquartered in Paris, France, the house of Yves Saint Laurent is one of the most famous brands across the globe. The Y Eau de Parfum was created by the IFF master perfumer Dominique Ropion in 2018. It comes in three different sizes – 60 ml for $89, 100 ml for $119 and 200ml for $160.
Unboxing
When my parcel came in, I wasted no time paying the delivery man and tearing open the package to reveal the polythene-covered fragrance box. The box is a black and greyish-blue, rectangular cuboid. The front of the box has a black background upon which the brand’s logo is emblazoned in a greyish-blue font. On top of the logo, a silvery-white font reads the name of the perfume “Y.” The bottom of the front side of the box has the brand name written on it along with the words, “Eau de Parfum – Vaporisateur Spray.” The bottom corners had the quantity of the bottle printed on it, which was 3.4 fl. oz. or 100 ml. The back of the box had a list of the ingredients used in making the perfume, along with a barcode and some other things I did not bother reading. There was a UPC on one side of the box, and I did notice a serial number engraved on the bottom of the box.
Tearing off the clear polythene covering the box, I took the perfume bottle out. Just like the box, it was rectangular. The glass bottle was tinted black at the top and was transparent near the bottom. The Eau de Parfum’s name is emblazoned across the front and one side of the bottle in white. The brand name is written on the big ‘Y.’ A sticker at the bottom of the bottle read out the serial number of the perfume. The cap was textured and dark grey. It clicked into place securely, so I did not have to worry about dropping the bottle if I picked it up by the cap. The spray head concealed underneath the cap was silver and cylindrical.
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Notes
Dominique Ropion had used a small bowl of eleven ingredients to invent the formula for this Eau de Parfum. The top notes included bergamot, apple and ginger. Comprising the middle notes were juniper berries, sage and geranium. Amberwood, olibanum, cedar, tonka bean and vetiver wrapped up the base notes of the fragrance.
Upon the first spritz, I instantly fell in love with this sensational fragrance. The bergamot in the top note gave the perfume a refreshing, citrusy scent with slight bitter nuances. The sweetness of the apple balanced out the bitter notes of the bergamot. The ginger added a subtle spiciness to the mixture. When the top notes settled in, the middle notes crept into play. The fresh juniper berries had balsamic and piney notes. And, the sage had a beautiful, sweet aroma with mildly peppery notes.
Meanwhile, the geraniums gave the mixture a floral, rosy note with some soft, green undertones. Finally, the base notes joined the fusion as the middle notes settled into the air. Balsamic amberwood and olibanum fused with soft, woody cedar and smoky vetiver was a delight to my sense of smell. The tonka beans added some sweetness to the fragrance.
I will admit that I ended up spraying a bit too much of the perfume onto myself on the first try and the overpowering formula ended up inducing a headache for me. So, when I sprayed it on the next day, I made sure only to spritz myself with the bare minimum amount.
I went about my day as I usually would. The perfume attracted a lot of attention to me, which was not surprising since it was highly enchanting.
What did surprise me was the numerous different ways in which people described the fragrance. To some, it was “woody” or “warm and spicy”, while to others, it was “fresh and fruity.”
Another thing that managed to shock me was the longevity and the silage of my new fragrance. It lasted on my skin throughout the entire day, even though I only sprayed on a small amount to prevent inducing another headache. Astonishingly, traces of the fragrance were still clinging onto my clothes the next day, and my room still smelt of the fragrance hours after I had used it.
The Y Eau de Parfum is perfect for all seasons and occasions. You could use it daily or keep it aside to be used for significant events. Whether you are going out to run errands or have an important business meeting, this is an easy go-to fragrance for you. You do not have to rethink your choice with this perfume. Y is one of the best blind purchases I have made to date. I would recommend every man to try it out at least once.
Conclusion
Here are my preferred ratings for this tantalising perfume:
Fragrance 9/10
Bottle 8/10
Longevity 9/10
Silage 9/10
Overall 8.75/10
Here is a quick overview of my review of Y Eau de Parfum (2018) by Yves Saint Laurent to cut a long story short:
The Pros are:
- It is from a world-famous brand.
- It has a great fragrance.
- It has incredible longevity.
- It is ideal for everyday use.
- It is suitable for all occasions.
- It has impressive silage.
The Cons are:
- It is available in a glass bottle, so it is not travel-friendly.
- The fragrance can be overpowering if it is sprayed too much, which can induce headaches for some people.
- It can be a little expensive for some people.