Yvresse / Champagne (1993)
by Yves Saint Laurent

vresse opens bubbly and sparkling yet at the same time also powdery and with an underlying dryness that grabs you by surprise. It has the fuzzy texture of unripe peach skin, crisp and for some reason this misleading sensation of being soft while in fact it is rough and sober. The original name Champagne describes it perfectly as it has all the characteristics of the fancy sparkling wine, including the fruitiness and the elegant white-wine dryness.

And indeed, Yvresse develops like wine, with very subtle changes between the nose and the body being quite subtle. The bubbly, peachy and cool qualities are maintained throughout its life on the skin. And the underlining notes, although a classic chypre accord of oakmoss, vetiver and patchouli are very light and subtle in nature. It is most similar to Chant d’Aromes by Guerlain – a very light, albeit melancholy floral chypre. With its touch of roses and sophisticated soft powder, Yvresse also winks towards another creation by Sophia Grojsman for YSL – Paris. However there is something more original about its overall composition, that makes it different from the other more bold Grojsman perfumes I have experienced – it is just more sheer and lighthearted and romantic without taking itself so seriously.

I have had multiple bottles of Yvresse (née “Champagne”) off and on since the mid-1990’s. It is a fruity-floral fragrance as evidenced from the notes below. Given its marked fruitiness, I had never thought of it before as being a chypre until a fellow perfumista mentioned that, but now that I am looking for chypre notes, I can detect them in the drydown along with a somewhat yeasty fragrance. Mostly though, Yvresse is a sparking perfume that smells mostly like an effervescent concoction of nectarines and litchi to me.

A distinctive thing about Yvresse is that it is always in a good mood. Sometimes that relentless chipper-ness (kind of like having an incessantly optimistic friend around) is annoying but most of the time I find Yvresse to be a complement to my own good mood or it gets me out of an occasional funk. Also, I am not a perfume bottle person but I think Yvresse has one the most stylish bottles around. I find the heft, textures, sassy gold color and even the twisted metal detailing to be chic and charming.

Here are Yvresse’s notes, as gleaned from various perfume websites: Top: Anise, Nectarine, Mint; Middle: Blue Rose, Otto, Litchi; Base: Patchouli, Oakmoss, Vetiver.

I appreciate a good chypre - and we are not seeing many of those kind of fragrances coming out these days. Seems to all be fruity florals, which are nice for daytime wear but I like a good chypre for the evening.

Very sophisticated scent - beautiful development, strong sillage, long lasting. Do not over apply, or it will become head-achy. This is one of my favourites.

I find this Yvresse to be a quenching fruity spritzer garnished with fresh slices of cucumber! It actually has quite a sophisticated character - which is sometimes difficult to pull off with juicy fruits! The first time I tried it, it was just 'meh'. The second time around is when I appreciated it's composition. That's Grojsman again, working her magic!

A light fragrance, and one which truly "sparkles" every bit as much as champagne. Be that as it may, I'll take Paris any day of the week when it comes to YSL's lighter feminine scents, as Champagne (or Yvresse, or whatever you want to call it) has fruity notes I'd far rather see replaced with rosy or other floral notes. (Hence my love of Paris.)

Nectarine, cucumbers, and powder. I love this perfume, but I'd rather not wear it any more. I'll just keep the bottle and maybe sniff it once in a while.