Reviews of Nu Eau de Parfum (2001)
by Yves Saint Laurent

Ethereal, transparent beauty of incense, orchids, pepper, woods and subtle skin musk, a perfect everyday fragrance. It's not too edgy, it doesn't attract attention (except by being exceptionally well done and beautiful) it's not heavy and seductive and it's definitely not a horrid girly pink bubblegum fruity/floral. It's just sheer elegance. It would match a suit with crisp white shirt, jeans and a cashmere sweater or the little black dress equally fine.

sprayed it in a shop as a tester and kept sniffing my wrist all day. Stunned by how sexy and more-ish it was. Boy at the time liked it too. Found it on a sunny holiday duty free and made it a present to myself. It's not 'me' but I love to have it on me. Like a colour that doesn't suit you but that you adore, that's Nu. It's in your face, smoky, peppery, with a romantically floral powerful wear-off/dry down which lasts four hours. Just keep smelling it and thinking ahhhhh whenever I wear it. I suspect if I met the person this suited exactly, I woudn't like them much. Exquisitely packaged in almost my favourite shade of dark blue, it's pushy and overtly sexual. I use it to match my confident side.

OK I have taken the plung and bought this one. I think I'm a man who is assured of his sexuality (heterosexual). This is a complex, rich frag'. I suppose some might draw comparisons to M7 but M7 has that defining wood note which stands out dramatically (to me). I agree with most o the comments above but must state that there is a deep floral drydown which may turn off other male users. Try a good sample first (as always!)

I just love it! It is a great office scent. Definitely not sexy!

The bath products for this scent are marvelous - especially the body cream. YSL is a brand that I trust and buy their new fragrances even without a sample. This is my favorite in the entire line.

stunning cobalt wrapped in silver violet disc,, a perfume of leathery incense, smoky mysterious sophisticated confident. i save it for special occasions. it reminds me of YSL's 'le smoking' fashions, a modern version of the 40s film noir stars who wore mens clothes and hair either falling over the eye or slicked back a la garconne...

My favorite YSL women's scent...probably because it smells quit masculine to my nose. Pepper, orchid and vetiver are the standouts in this scent that is softened by a smokey incense accord. Incredible lasting power and sillage, I think I prefer this to Black Cashmere.

Okay, I'm a guy, but this resembles closely to M7. At first, it is very pronounced with its green-white floral note, but it mellows to a fresh woodsy incense scent that blurs all boundaries of gender. As for the a guy who wears this, as my recommendation to other men who are willing to wear it, spray lightly with this one, actually one spritz is enough, because any more can really make it too feminine. It's an EdP, so you really don't need much.

Nu is rich, mysterious, luxurious, enchanting. It's a woody oriental scent that hides nothing yet gives no secrets away. Nu is a warm, deep scent that is just perfect for winter or fall when the air is crisp and this scent just comes to life. I doubt I would or could wear it in the summer heat however. Now as far as comparing it to other fragrances is concerned, it does remind me of Black Cashmere when I first applied it. I absolutely love Black Cashmere but find it harder to wear than Nu. Some state that Nu smells similar to Dune but I have to disagree with that... Other than the fact that both have a strong scent of sandalwood in them I see no other resemblance, although Dune drives that sandal scent, in my opinion to far, whereas Nu is just perfect! I can also see why some consider it slightly too masculine, but really for me its just lovely. I was a little apprehensive to apply it before going to the office in the morning, and went back and forth on the decision the first time, but once I applied it I knew it was the right decision. I love it and so do a lot of others!

At first spritz, Nu doesn't fool around. It immediately develops into a spicy, woody and smoky fragrance with hints floral notes. Great scent for Autumn/Winter.

NU by YSL is very interesting. It’s an unusual incense dominant fragrance is very well made. It smells very blue, if that makes any sense. I find it a bit easier to wear than say, Black Cashmere. This is an interesting try before you buy fragrance.

I love Yves Saint Laurent almost as dearly as I love one of my all-time creative genuius idols, David Bowie, and in my extremely active imagination this is the fragrance that Yves would have designed for Bowie to wear while posing for the cover of "The Man Who Sold the World" back in the early Seventies. Nu is most certainly androgynous in the best Bowie tradition, and reflects on the concept of exoticism with the same remote, distant stare, coldly erotic and paradoxically spare in its vision of opulence. I only wear the EDP, which consists of bergamot, wild orchid, incense and sandalwood; the EDT is different and combines the bergamot and incense with white orchid and jasmine, leaving the incense out of the picture. I daresay the EDT is a bit easier to pull off but lacks the real essence of Nu's story. There's no denying that the EDP's opening is tough to take and not nice at all; in fact, I think of it as a little cruel. It's like a slam of black rubber. When the fume-iness of that goes away, you are then led into a chill den of incense, dark tapestry, strange spices, mystery flowers. The orchid comes off more like datura might, there and not there, enveloping you and then slipping away when you lean in to smell it. And above you and all around as you wander off is the cold glow of the moon on the desert. As usual with Yves' fragrances - and all of his work, for that matter - Nu is all about ideas, visions, stories. Truly transportive in its powers.

Nu is a mixture between cyphrée and oriental, in the Opium sense: top notes are florals with wood and incense straight away, then the wood becomes acrid and the mid level is what the 'unisex' feel is about: Nu re-reads the mid-Seventies Halston fragrances for men. Then the incense resurfaces and the base is pure Opium sillage with just a hint of darkness. I liked it a lot!

This is a very sensual scent. I like to think of it as the Womens Trussardi Uomo or another male comparison would be Oscar Pour Lui. A very heady floral, woods blend. I almost purchased it on the suggestion it could be used by men, but there is something in here that definately says feminine. Visions of a tall dark haired exotic brunette of Meditteranean origin come to mind as the wearer of this exotic fragrance. CC 3/09/05

I love this scent, but to me it's quite unisex. I've even been told at Bergdorf's in New York, that both the edp and edt Nu, are considered unisex, leaning to men. In any case, I prefer the edp, but the lighter version is lovely, too.

Love it! Very suitable for a man too. Mmmmmm floral insense!

Nu is a surprisingly old-fashioned scent, oozing Forties film noir femme fatale glamour. It's peppery and powdery, purring like a pussycat... Wearing it feels like wearing a silk négligé. Veronica Lake hairdo optional.