YSL pour Homme (1971)
by Yves Saint Laurent

Nice try, but no cigar. Compared to the classics like Eau Sauvage, YSLPH falls horribly short. The opening is synthetic and plastic with some sweat and heady spices that dries down to a animalic tar base with more synthetic lemon. Get Eau Sauvage or at least Monsieur de Givenchy.

Quite a blast of Lemon Pledge up front on this offering, softened over the first hour by the heavier and more complex notes that follow. The citrus never completely fades, but is usurped by woodier, almost herb-like accords. Odd to me that vetiver is the only basenote listed...I can't stand the Guerlin version of the same name -- smells like burned tires on my skin -- but I like the dry down here a lot. Smoke without the burn. Good longevity. Seems more suited to evening wear, but once in a while I break with that philosophy and spritz it on in the morning.

I am wearing this fragrance on my wrist as I write. I am aware of the exalted status, deservedly so, that this cologne has for many, and I daren't criticize it freely, but I do have one concern. There is a "dirty" note in this juice that is a bit disconcerting to me. It gives the scent an earthiness that is at odds with the other notes in it. It is a sexy note, but coarse or unrefined. I say this with trepidation because otherwise it is a fabulous and unique perfume. I love the lemon and verbena-like aspect I detect. Yves Saint Laurent was a brilliantly iconoclastic, and forward-looking designer, and his first fragrance reflects the verve of his innovative style. I would never give this wonderful tonic less than an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Timeles classic citrus and grass. Starts very sharp but settles to citrus and thyme. I find it last quite a long time on me.

I got a bottle together with Yatagan, to at least have something wearable this summer in case Yatagan scared me (or everybody around me.) A combination of two projects: one the huge male scents of the 70s-80s, the other an exploration of the YSL line (which I, for unknown reasons, never got into up till now.) Might as well start with the first fragrance which is as old as I am and was curious about for certain historical reasons: if I’m not mistaken the first designer as superstar/author fragrance helped by the legendary ad campaign.

As many have noted this has a lovely opening, instant wakefulness at morning. The first time I sprayed it on that citric burst made me very happy with my purchase. But it’s followed by an awkward moment of transition in the heart which might be associated with the “old people smell” (although of course it isn’t really like that), reminds me a bit of the love/hate opening of Azzaro PH (although that’s far richer.) Edgy and the fragrance needs this moment. At first I didn’t like the transition at all but there’s something about it that is quite fascinating, even horny, maybe a better case of the bathroom-that-can’t-be-fully-cleaned than is claimed for Jules, Kouros, etc. and it did grow on me.

After that it moves into a discreet but pleasurable dry down when the salty smell of my skin seems to offset the sourness of the lemon which in YSL PH can be both refreshing and oppressive (I don’t detect any civet here and remain unsure if I should be happy or not about that loss.)

The problem with Pour Homme is that it’s not a very powerful fragrance or perhaps on my skin it seems unbalanced. The opening and heart are explosive while the dry down is too discreet (but perfect for work.) The solution is to reapply after 4-5 hours so the layers gain something approaching modest sillage.

I noticed that it is still very expensive in department stores, which I suspect tells us something about the target group (bit older, successful, into French style). Not without reason, it can’t be considered a totally safe fragrance and a bit of personality is needed to carry off the weird heart. I don’t know if it’s worth that price tag especially when you can buy it online together with another quality bottle and still have some spare change. In the end it’s a fascinating fragrance, interesting for historical reasons and nice to have around as a useful, classy, understated daytime scent (with a twist.)

Another relatively simple and classic aromatic citrus in the tradition of Monsieur de G; basically, lemon and vetiver, with a slight herbal twist. But the difference lies in the fairly strong dose of civet, which I'm surprised no one has commented on -- that salty, dirty note isn't so much the vetiver and herbs, it's our favorite butt-juice note! However, unlike Monsier de G, where it's very well-blended, here it's a bit on the strong side. And when YSL relaxes into its vetiver-heavy drydown, it combines with the civet to give it an old-person-body-odor, musty smell that isn't sexy -- it's just old and musty, similar to the effect created by Mouchoir de Monsieur. I've come to the conclusion that civet needs to be offset by punchy notes with bags of personality -- e.g., Kouros, Ungaro II -- to work. Otherwise, what you're left with is that musty, unappealing, stale smell. Better to go with something like Monsieur de Balmain, which has a richer, more sandlewood-heavy smell and no civet-induced mustiness. Oh, and like all of its cousins, YSL PH's sillage and longevity are poor... that is, unlike you like that musty old-man halo around you.