Estee Lauder Private Collection: Amber Ylang-Ylang

I just got a sample of YDAN very recently, so I will do a comparison this weekend with AYY. I tried YDAN once before and I thought it was quite nice, so I am not sure AYY will have a fighting chance

I don't have anywhere near as good a nose as Asha, but I tried AYY on Monday and was very impressed. I saw few similarities with YDAN, apart from a sense of smoothness and completeness that I would probably call 'mature' in the sense of 'fully formed and with no rough edges'. However, I do think both perfumes would appeal more to a buyer who was mature as in 'probably over 25 and with self-knowledge'.

What impressed me about the AYY was the creamy spiciness of it. It wasn't the heady tropical floral I half expected, and it didn't have the metallic edge I often associate with ylang ylang. Here it is blended to smoothly drift from top to heart to basenotes with almost no discernable movement. Thinking back to it now, I would be tempted to call it an oriental gourmand, in that there is sweetness and creaminess together just like in a custard (I'm thinking a rich Creme Patissier, not Birds!). The base has a lovely spiciness to it that leavens the scent and also makes it feel luxurious. It lasted beautifully on the skin as well.

It's not over-sweet, I have to point out, and compared to the trend for sugar and more sugar it's positively restrained, but it's nowhere near a chypre. I thought it felt quite simple, but deceptively so - like those beautifully cut jersey dresses that cost a bomb but make you look fantastic in a way that a cheap one just can't. Is it down to ingredients budget? I don't know. I'm very tempted by it and may well succumb to a small bottle. I will definitely be swinging by the EL counter for a spritz whenever I'm in town. I will need a couple more tests to pin own my thoughts before I write a review, but I promise I will, Lushsoup, and you make a good point in nudging us to get our thoughts down promptly.

I suspect it will be a great hit at Xmas, as will EL's Sensuous. I think this is a company that's pitching things perfectly for its markets and putting out good products.

I haven't tried it yet because I can always think of a good reason not to go to the mall (malls make me feel weird and drained of all energy), but after reading Wordbird's assessment I can see I need to make a special run over just to try it. It sounds lovely.

Wordbird, there's nothing at all wrong with that nose of yours.

I really like the sound of this, but haven't spotted this in the UK yet. Have any other Anglo-basenoters?

Having said that, I live in a very small city and the choices here are poor -- have been desperately looking out for No. 5 Eau Premiere now for ages -- but not a drop in sight!

I have a tester bottle of it and have only given it one full wearing, so I'm not ready to give a full review of it yet but...

It's very soft amber (think Blue Amber by Montale or those ambers JC Ellena did for L'Artisan Parfumeur), and the ylang ylang was less creamy than I expected (which is good in my book). Very safe fragrance - not bad, just not very 'wow' in my book. Perhaps my amber threshold is a tad higher due to my fierce love of Ambre Sultan. There is very little spice in AYY, so my nose perhaps was waiting for the spice to kick in...and it never did.

This is no way near as dropdown sexy or stimulating as Youth Dew Amber Nude. But let's face it, YDAN was built around a base of Youth Dew and that stuff's strawng!

Need to wear it more.

I made a special pilgrimage to Harrods to try this, which claimed to be the only UK stockist, a fact apparently borne out by my inquiries at other smart department stores in London the same weekend. I can't really better Wordbird's description - I got strong sandalwood, and strong amber and strong vanilla which persisted into the drydown. I don't recall the ylang ylang as such.

It was nice, though the male friend I met for coffee pronounced it too sweet. But then he is an Angeliques sous la Pluie man himself. I liked it enough to be really curious to try it again, let's say. Much more than Sensuous, which felt a bit "thin, chilly and sweet", whereas this is "majestic, creamy a-bit-sweet with a hint of spice".

Now Youth Dew Amber Nude wasn't my thing at all. It was too close to the original ie far too "prickly spicy".

It's in their UK web shop... (and I'm sitting on my hands because I love the sound of this! No more perfume shopping until after Crimbo... next purchases will be for other people. Gnnn).

Less than an hour after sampling the new Private Collection Amber Ylang Ylang yesterday at Harrods, I was the proud owner of a 30ml EDP. First let me say to you that even if I don't care about such things, I find AYY very unisex. On me it opens on a great tonka bean/ Play-Doh note. I don't smell any Ylang Ylang and IMHO that's for the better. So don't expect an exotic, warm floral here. No, what you will get is a soft version of Ambre Sultan, without the patchouli ( or at least with much less patchouli). Thought it is not really overpowering, be carefull not to over-spray. Because like most orientals, it lasts and lasts. It's one of those fragrances that lingers several days on cashmere/wooly jumpers and scarves.

After Sensuous, Estée Lauder comes yet again with a wearble, "Serge-Lutens-in-spirit" fragrance. It's like Christopher Shaldrake moved to Lauder instead of Chanel...

Only down-side, but it's really nothing really... just some collector's nonsense. I would have wished for a packaging (box) with a different color scheme than Tuberose Gardenia. Brown and gold would have been perfect.

Amber Ylang Ylang will get my vote for best new mainstream female release on the next Basenotes Awards!

I tested Amber Ylang Ylang yesterday. I stopped at Nordstrom with some coupons that are in this month's Allure magazine which entitle you to various samples. One of them was AYY. The Estee Lauder girl had just left and the other girls could not find samples, so I didn't get that. I did spray myself so I could sample it.

The initial scent I caught was not creamy at all, it was flatter and I could detect no flower in it. After a while, it turned to a soft amber. I thought it was all right but thought to myself that I prefer my Le Baiser du Dragon. When I got home, though, my daughter declared that I smelled great. I will have to give this one another try. Will try to go by the Nordstrom counter again to see if I can get a proper sample.

I happily own both AYY and YDAN, which to me have little in common. YDAN is an uber-spicy scent, a heady scarlet brocade wrap placed on top of the classic YD. The day that I went to Bloomies to try AYY, I, like cedriceccentric, bought a bottle within the hour. I couldn't pull my wrist from my nose. It certainly isn't a blast-you-socks-off amber like Ambre Sultan, or a gorgeous, rich amber like Ambre Russe, but this is a serene amber. I experienced the ylang ylang as a sort of comforting creaminess that kept pulling my nose back to my wrist.

OK, just sprayed AYY on one arm and YDAN on the other...

YDAN is all about spices and patchouli. There is amber, but it is more like a carrier or base for the more piercing patch and spice blend. It is very bold, although not as bold as the original YD. I don't think there is a leather note, but the combination of ingredients gives the impression of leather. It is also quite powdery, although the powder is subdued at first.

In comparison, AYY smells like sugared butter. If you have ever made a cake from scratch and had to cream the butter and sugar together, that is the smell from AYY when I first spray it. No spices at the beginning, although when I tested it the other day, it had some mild spices, very much like Sensuous. It definitely is very yummy in the first 30 minutes. Sweet amber vanilla. If it would stay this way, then I would love it...but already that hairspray note I smelled the other day is starting to come out. I'd say AYY has more in common with Sensuous than with YDAN, especially in the drydown--"molten" woods and spice.

Earlier today I tested Balmain Ambre Gris. When I first sprayed it, it had a choking hairspray note. Later in the drydown, this note was still present, and it is the same note I smell in AYY. I am sure it is an artificial sandalwood, and it must be the same aromachemical in both frags. It is possible that I am sensitive to this note, and that others may not smell it as hairspray.

EDIT: The AYY hairspray note is much better behaved tonight. I'll definitely keep trying...

BTW, after wearing them last night...the next morning I could still smell the AYY, but the YDAN was gone. I thought the longevity would be the other way around!