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Which complete line in my perfume journey - YSL or Guerlain?

post #1 of 15
8/16/08 at 6:39pm
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I'm thinking of getting all offerings (including ladies) from either YSL or Guerlain to educate my nose in my perfume journey.

My first choice would be YSL - I've got Opium PH edt and edp, Rive Gauche edt and intense, and very recently Opium ladies edt. All of which are ones I'd gladly buy again and stock up on. I'm also not aware of "reformulation" linked to any of their offerings. Granted, I've read about the changes made to Kouros, but it's never really been confirmed. I've had M7, tried Kouros and Jazz and said "YES!", and read here about the great Pour Homme.

Then there is the heritage (!) of Guerlain - both Heritage and L'Instant Extreme I love. But many comments have been made about the reformulations... Still, the great history of this house makes me think twice, and the pure mention of Shalimar, Mitsouko and Jicky makes me itch

Which would you suggest (and why!) in terms of quality and consistency? (Or maybe another house I should add to my quest?)
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post #2 of 15
8/16/08 at 8:14pm
I'm more partial to YSL myself, being a big fan of Kouros, Rive Gauche, Jazz, and others. Buying the complete collection is certainly doable for YSL, but I'm not sure I could say the same for Guerlain. Perhaps Mr. Guerlain can provide more guidance, but it seems to my uneducated eye that the Guerlain collection is vast. Or does it just seem that way?
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post #3 of 15
8/16/08 at 8:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snafoo View Post

I'm more partial to YSL myself, being a big fan of Kouros, Rive Gauche, Jazz, and others. Buying the complete collection is certainly doable for YSL, but I'm not sure I could say the same for Guerlain. Perhaps Mr. Guerlain can provide more guidance, but it seems to my uneducated eye that the Guerlain collection is vast. Or does it just seem that way?

I would agree, I'm not a Guerlain expert but the collection is pretty vast, and the Directory confirms this.

YSL - 57 Fragrances
Guerlain - 175 FRAGRANCES HOLY CRAP.

That said Guerlain has also been much more active in ladies' offerings than YSL. But if you really want to build up the entire Guerlain library (which you may be the first person to do so not actually named Guerlain), I would check my pocketbook first.
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post #4 of 15
8/16/08 at 9:06pm
I enjoy what YSL has to offer for men more than Guerlain so far. I love Rive Gauche and M7 far more than any Guerlain, and who knows, maybe you'll even be a Kouros fan.
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post #5 of 15
8/16/08 at 9:17pm
It would be cheaper, and more realistic, to fly to Paris and visit the Guerlain flagship store and spend a few days sampling there, rather than buying all their fragrances.
The YSL line you could practically do at a Duty Free shop.
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post #6 of 15
8/16/08 at 9:36pm
GUERLAIN!!! O.K so I guess I'm partial to tha' house!
Why... They've been around since 1828, 'an have been innovatin' since then. A goodly number of their frags have defined their respective catagories. And reformulated or not...tha' quality is there. Yes, they've got a lot of frags in production, but a perfume journey does not have ta' be taken overnight. And as long as yr. not going vintage, samples & decants can be had pretty reasonably. I suspect that a number of fellow BNer's would be willin' ta' help out on tha' trip, too.
Any-whoo... Good luck, 'an keep us informed!
-Wm.
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post #7 of 15
8/16/08 at 10:44pm
Unlimited budget = Guerlain. Reality budget = YSL
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post #8 of 15
8/16/08 at 10:56pm
It might be reasonable to pick and choose Guerlains, picking the highly regarded or ground breaking ones, instead of YSL.

Tough choice though, either way you get superior scents. If the choice were mine, I would pick and choose the Guerlains until I had my fill. Complete line is too difficult.
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post #9 of 15
8/16/08 at 11:01pm
Guerlain's got the history and the prestige, in spite of LVMH and any reformulations. The EEC regulations are forcing more and more reformulations, especially of older formulas, of course, since those are the ones that used things now considered allergenic, toxic, or endangered.

But never mind all that. Guerlain is a classic house that recapitulates the history of scent from the early nineteenth century until now. How could you not want it?

Beware, however, of cost; can you afford a second mortgage? The whole line? Everything they ever made, even if you can find them all? It'll cost you thousands, maybe even tens of thousands.
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post #10 of 15
8/17/08 at 4:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

Unlimited budget = Guerlain. Reality budget = YSL

Definitely! Some of the Guerlains are > $200, at least in the US (Derby, Sous le Vent, etc.).
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post #11 of 15
8/17/08 at 5:23am
Why don't you compromise and buy a certain percentage of perfumes of each House? Let's say, 60% of all YSLs and 20% of all Guerlains. You don't need to buy everything.

I prefer the Guerlains, although I would like them to develop perfumes without vanilla and tonka beans. They are all a bit sweet.

.
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post #12 of 15
8/17/08 at 5:52am
If you MUST have the ENTIRE collection from any one house of the two you listed, my suggestion would be to go with decants!
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post #13 of 15
8/17/08 at 6:19am
I agree with javagreen, but I would go even further and just suggest you just get samples of an entire line if you want to train your nose. Obtaining bottles of any house's entire male and female line is going to be really expensive and some of them you will never wear. The greatest number of bottles I own from a single house (Lorenzo Villoresi) is nine, and I think that is pretty extreme.
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post #14 of 15
8/17/08 at 6:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jellybean1973 View Post

I'm thinking of getting all offerings (including ladies) from either YSL or Guerlain to educate my nose in my perfume journey.

My first choice would be YSL - I've got Opium PH edt and edp, Rive Gauche edt and intense, and very recently Opium ladies edt. All of which are ones I'd gladly buy again and stock up on. I'm also not aware of "reformulation" linked to any of their offerings. Granted, I've read about the changes made to Kouros, but it's never really been confirmed. I've had M7, tried Kouros and Jazz and said "YES!", and read here about the great Pour Homme.

Then there is the heritage (!) of Guerlain - both Heritage and L'Instant Extreme I love. But many comments have been made about the reformulations... Still, the great history of this house makes me think twice, and the pure mention of Shalimar, Mitsouko and Jicky makes me itch

Which would you suggest (and why!) in terms of quality and consistency? (Or maybe another house I should add to my quest?)

My vote would go to Guerlain, they have more Scents, but the cost becomes an issue. If you are serious about acquiring a complete line of fragrances, get decants or samples to start. Who knows? You might want to incorporate and become a re-seller and go into the business!
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post #15 of 15
8/17/08 at 2:39pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LuciusVorenus View Post

You don't need to buy everything.
.

IM neither a fan of both, tho the only YSL i would get is Kouros.


Back to you pt, sometimes for collections sake, its nice to have a range of diff frags from the same label. I get such impulsions sometimes esp with Bvlgari. Like how some members have over 10 different types of Bonds... (read: jdr4t )
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