Reviews of Yang (1999)
by Jacques Fath

The bottle is amazingly designed – the glossy chrome cover, which swivels away from the main body of the bottle (with the aid of a nifty hinge), is pretty ingenious. Also, the ergonomically contoured shape of the bottle (which often reminds me of a baton) with its dark-grey rubber cover is also very well-conceived. Unfortunately, that’s as good as it gets…

While it’s worth buying for the bottle alone, the juice is absolutely terrible – it’s simply an unnecessarily sweet, synthetic and short-lasting tea scent that irritates more with consecutive wears. Many have praised this one to high heaven (please see the reviews below). Personally, I’m still trying to figure out why this is the case.

This is simply another example of the bottle design being far better than its actual contents.

[Original submission date: 20 May 2008]

was expecting tea but all i get is lotion.its nice though

This smells like a greener, slightly citrusy Declaration. Has an "ugly" feel to it but I think that's the point behind it. Dark woody tea, not a clear brisk tea.

This smells more green and hay-like (coumarinic) to me than any of the pyramid notes would suggest, I suppose the green tea and cardamom-usk combination might fool my nose into imagining that. This is a very fine and subtly constructed scent. I think some people are put off by the impression that this is not very tea-like; this is immaterial to me, not being much of a tea scents fan. Edwards calls this a woody-oriental, but it has something of a fougère feel to my nose. I find it to have a moderate sillage for a while, but not an extraordinary longevity. Still, I would rate it a pleasant and nicely constructed scent. I find it somewhat reminiscent of 1998's Fath pour l'Homme (Olivier Gillotin, who also did Cereus No.7 Dior Higher and Higher Black, and the new Ed Hardy Men). I find that same slightly acerbic hay note in pour l'Homme, too; I do think, however, that I find pour l'Homme slightly preferable to this one.

Ok I came across this scent and looked it up on basenotes, with the reviews how could I say no! I just got it today 1st spray was powerful then it dried into highway rest stop urinal mints and a 300lb ladies crotch! This stuff is so disgusting I washed it off immediately! I had to scrub scrub scrub! Do yourself a favor and pass up this pile. You have been warned

i added this to my drobe as a tea scent, but i didnt get tea at all. hmmm. what it smells like to me at times is lotion at 90 percent. with that said ,it is still a nice scent and for the price, why not.

Upon owning Yang for a few months, I have to say that I just dont smell the tea in it. Now it's very possible that I just need to revisit the smell of a nice cup of green tea, but to me, it's just a very good green/oriental fragrance that literally lasts all day. Dont over-do it with Yang, it's one of those less is best scents that thrives in the colder months.

Pluran's right -- Tea for Two it ain't. Still, you can't beat it for the price, either. I wear Yang about once every two weeks, and its musky tea scent stays with me an incredible length of time. Yang always garners me tons of compliments as well. Oh, and its bottle is remarkably cool, too! FAR more wearable than Green Water, btw. I like GW well enough, true, but good for everyday wear? Not so much.

I find it a really great scent for when I want to fly under the radar and not stand out but still wear something. It is a little bit sweet but as someone who tends to avoid sweet fragrances, I find that its sweetness is more then acceptable. While it will never be a fragrance which inspires great passion from me, I view it as being both extremely pleasing and versatile so it will get used a lot.

The best description I can give is, "Bvlgari Eau de The Vert Concentree Extreme", with emphasis on the EXTREME. This one lasts all day on me and seems pretty linear in the drydown. My skin shreds many frags quickly, but Yang is good for a solid 8 hours. I bought this blind with beauty bucks on Perfume Emporium, so it cost me nothing. This was a great addition to my wardrobe! I've heard it referred to as the, "King of Green". I concur with this! It's fairly heavy with great longevity and high sillage. I think it's classified as green/oriental. Usually one or two spritzes is enough. I wear it as an office/casual scent, but it really deserves better play - a quality sleeper frag.

Tea, green, citrus, and spices. The citrus dominates the opening with the green tea lingering in the background. As the citrus fades, the tea takes prominence, and what a rich tea scent it is! I love it because it’s fresh and savory and it doesn’t turn sweet on me. When Yang gets down to its woody / musk base, it develops even more character: It mellows and darkens a bit to show that it’s really a full-bodied fragrance with depth. Some say it’s similar to Declaration: That’s hard for me to believe because Yang is so much better.

Yang is the first tea-based scent I have really gravitated towards. I find that traditional tea scent approach to be dry and heavy on the smoke notes. Yang however manages to combine a mildly sweet and fruity feel to their tea notes while keeping the smokey nature of the scent to a palatable minimum. Yang is a complex yet very well blended cologne that is dark yet flamboyant, fresh yet deep. Wear it anytime, and anywhere.. and bask in it's uplifting and sensual appeal. Cup of tea anyone?

The shyest girl I know, who hardly utters a word let alone anything that takes guts to say complimented me on this scent. Go Yang! That really felt great. Really good scent for wearing around the house, no matter if surrounded by friends, family, or hot babes. The tea wafts up occasionally through the sweet and spicy undertones.

This is my favorite tea scent. It reminds me of a darker, smokier, and spicier L'eau Bleu. Whenever I go to a Chinese restaurant and order tea, I'm immediately reminded of Yang. It smells like green tea with a little honey and a touch of jam. However, its sweetness is subdued on my skin. I usually spray my shirt to retain its sweet qualities and from preventing it from turning tart and smokey during the drydown. It's a shame that it doesn't go well with my chemistry, but that doesn't stop me from wearing it!

This is very well put together fragrance. Deep, dark ,and mysterious, and declaration copied this, or was declaration first?

I love it!! But it was NOT was I was expecting.
It's quite a bit more oriental than what I was picturing. It's not so much tea as it is a tea SERVICE - with scones, jam, chai spices, cinnamon, clove?, mint, honey, cream, and...a touch of eucalyptus. "Smoky" isn't the right word. It's more spicy. But gourmand spicy, like Hanae Mori, not pungent spicy. It definately has a masculine, cologne quality but it's certainly unique as well! Definately different from Silver Mountain Water. Heavier, but not overwhelming. The spices give it a different edge. It actually reminds me a bit of Dolce & Gabbana Pour Homme, it's dry and sweet at the same time. Conclusion: I like it!

Undoubtedly the best tea scent i've smelled. There's also a smokey sweet character to it, though it's not the tea that's smokey. Very unique and original scent. Top notch everyday scent, highly recommended!

I bought this under similar circumstances as Dave. It was Ruslan's review and 8 or so positive reviews at perfumeemporium that convinced me to buy this blindly and I've no regrets. I think it is the finest and most "masculine" of the green tea scents, a note that is very middle of the road in being clean, fresh and unisex. The addition of spices gives this just the right zing. I get the berries and cardamon accents most, with the tea making its presence known throughout the day's evolution. The best $20 I ever spent in fragrance dollars.

I bought this fragrance on the account of Ruslan's review along with some other comments at pefumeemporium, all I can say is Ruslan's was dead on, when I walk by people, They stop and turn around, I had this one woman followed to smell what I was wearing..Only Miilsime Imperial ever garner such attention

This one is really amazing. It's surely one of the best fragrances not only released in a recent couple of years, but probably in a whole decade. Fans of Declaration Cartier will find many similar notes in Yang, but I like Yang much better. Another fragrance it reminds me of is The Verte (Green Tea) by Roger et Gallet. Yang contains notes of forest berries, green tea, cardamon, cedar, vetiver, sandal and oakmoss. Fresh, lively, vibrant, sunny, feel-so-good scent that girls go nuts for. Two thumbs up.

A very clean fragrance revolving around an omnipresent tea note. I have a few spray vials I use often before work. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it carries me through a long day of toil.