Paris (1983)
by Yves Saint Laurent

Simply gorgeous, I've always loved this from the very first moment. Although, in my view, it suits the younger ladies far better and is quite perfect with the "little black dress". For me it's got some quite "tarty" notes in there somewhere so i'd describe it as flirtaceous. I've never known it fail to make a good impression, as it seems to suit most skin with an aura of projection sufficient to ruin any wine tasting but never so overpowering as to make people want to open windows. It’s equally good behind the ears and on the wrists. Sillage is whimsical and enticing. In brief, a “man magnet”. Beware, this fragrance combination might seem absurd, on anyone with a few extra pounds, it simply doesn’t have enough basement wood or patchouli to balance the childishness of the wonderful florals, and the violet floral is so delightfully delicate, rather than blousy or musky, the violettes dance across with all the high notes and not the middle. If you’re 40+ then perhaps you should please pass it on to your daughter or favourite niece, or buy them some for Christmas?

10th December, 2011.

A beautiful rosa canina and powder scent that is a bit vulgar at first, but mellows considerably upon drydown. Very feminine, not overwhelming (if applied with a light hand), clean and uplifting. I own this as EDP & parfum. I prefer the parfum as there is no initial vulgarity to the scent. It's more subtle, too, but lasts longer. The body powder & lotion are also lovely - I do not normally care for perfumed lotions or powders, but these smell true to scent. For me, the ultimate springtime scent.

26th September, 2011.

One of the few perfumes that is 80’s in style, size and exuberance but can still be worn today without irony. It’s a cartoon-like rose with candied violet. A bit shrieky up top, but fortunately by the heartnotes the rose grows citric and astringent, lending a sweet/tart quality to the accord. Paris has a crystalline quality similar to Guerlain’s Nahema, but is far less dense and juicy than Nahema. Paris gains a woody, musky quality in drydown, but remains true to the artifice and exaggeration of its era and is proudly an 80’s Huge Floral.

8th July, 2011. (Last Edited: 29th September, 2011.)

This is one loud rose fragrance that I do enjoy greatly.

As a child I always preferred the scent of the Black Madonna rose to any other rose in my Mother's garden. It had such a rich, distinctive smell that has been so well emulated through Paris.

This fragrance opens with rich, (and in some ways harsh) rose, gernanium, green notes and what seems to be aldehydes. There is a definite soapy/powdery quality throughout the composition which I find rather alluring.

Just looking at the adverts, I can't say that Paris is particularly sexy or seductive. I'd say forget the sexual aspect and focus on the romantic and classic feel of the scent. This is romantic, candle-lit dinners in a restaurant with a view of the Eiffel Tower, not a clothes-tearing, extremely urgent romp, beneath red satin sheets in a sleazy motel.

I also find this scent to be quite fresh, almost something that I could imagine wearing during the heat of Summer, despite the scent being quite strong. For me, Paris sparkles with vitality and commands attention.

The lasting strength is absolutely amazing. Even showering doesn't completely rid oneself of this potent fragrance.

To some this will seem out-dated, far too strong and 'nightmarish', however I do have hope that some will appreciate this fragrance like I have.

26th June, 2011.

This olfactory tribute to the parisian way of life is a classical floral-chypre with a woody powdery dry down. As many others do, at the beginning i don't smell a prominent rose but a starring violet. The last indeed is mainly notable in the first part of development when soars freshly in the wind on the flank of sophisticated iris and delicate jasmine. The rose is a bit old fashion in its link with initial citrus  and is tenacious cause contributes to build the powdery and restrained in sweetness base where the link of rose-musk-sandalwood-iris exudes a sort of talky, "bodily", reduced in mildness final whiff.

11th June, 2011. (Last Edited: 12nd June, 2011.)

it's a good thing that i like ysl's paris, because i was given more than a dozen and a half little bottles of the extrait, most of which continue to reside in my perfume armoire, prim in their little salmony-rose boxes and their fat rhinestone heads.

when testing perfumes i always try to sample the actual perfume, as something in many edps refuses to anchor itself to my skin. so most of what i have is extrait and that might account for the fact that when i read many of the reviews i just shake my head and ask what it is that the reviewer is smelling??? so that, when i read "chemical and strident" or "hot clubber" i really want to know whether it was the extrait that was tested. we all know that there's an ocean between edt and lotion, edp and edt, and a universe between the eaux and the extraits of most serious, well-thought-out perfumes.

paris opens - on me at least - like a large bowl full of violet and rose l'abbaye de flavigny drops which, while sugary, are authoritatively flavoured and have a heart of anise, so - not cloying. it goes from there into the stratosphere with lightly tripping flowers and, like an emphatic underline via a broad nib, just enough of the "animalic" to keep it from floating into the wild blue yonder.

17th May, 2011.