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YSL Appreciation

post #1 of 45
12/18/09 at 8:41am
Thread Starter 
After thinking back on all the fragrances I've owned, I can honestly say that I have always been pleased and grateful for the fine quality and reliable performance of the fragrances that come out of the House of YSL. I can't speak to the newest pair, L'Homme and La Nuit de L'Homme, but as far as some of the older scents go, they're top-notch performers. I'm referring to Jazz, Live Jazz, Jazz Prestige, Kouros, Rive Gauche, Opium, M7, and even Body Kouros. I'm honestly considering selling some of my stuff and only buying YSL fragrances from here on out. I just can't get enough what they do. Anyone else in love with YSL like am?
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post #2 of 45
12/18/09 at 8:53am
My package with M7, M7 Light, and Body Korous just came in. This is a very good package.
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post #3 of 45
12/18/09 at 9:42am
I could be happy owning only YSL frags.
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post #4 of 45
12/18/09 at 9:55am
My favorite house among designers'.
I still think 'avantgarde' or 'my time' when I am wearing Live Jazz, or Rive Gauche Homme. Excellent quality/price relationship.
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post #5 of 45
12/18/09 at 10:10am
I am a YSL fan too and I have almost all their frags that are still in production. My favourites are Kouros, Rive Gauche...ok I guess I love all of them. Sadly, in the recent few months there are signs that YSL may no longer be available here in my country. 6 months ago frags like Jazz, M7 and Rive Gauche were easily available in most department stores. Nowadays even locating a tester for M7 is hard. All I see is L'Homme. I hope this is just temporary. I was lucky to have discovered YSL frags before this started happening.
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post #6 of 45
12/18/09 at 10:13am
i need to see whats so special about Rive Gauche
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post #7 of 45
12/18/09 at 10:36am
I think very highly of the YSL house as well. So far, I only have Rive Gauche...but Body Kouros and M7 are on their way. Very well made fragrances, even the ones that don't really make me want to wear them ( ie Opium, M7 Fresh).

The only fragrance I do not care for from them is Jazz. I still have not tried a few, however. Either way, I find that most labels are very hard pressed to come up with even a couple of fragrances I really like, so YSL to me is a very good label. The quality is there !

I don't really care for the last two releases, L'homme or La Nuit. I hope they change the direction the house is headed for
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post #8 of 45
12/18/09 at 10:41am
So I'm about an hour into the trip that is M7, and this is a seriously fantastic juice! This stuff just rocketed to my top 10 easily. I knew it would be a risky blind buy, but it paid off. Next time I think I'll try layering with the shower gel and deodorant I also got. I'm sure I'll be a M7 silliage monster at that point, but I really don't think I care.
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post #9 of 45
12/18/09 at 10:45am
YSL is my favourite house - classics such as Kouros and Rive Gauche are two of my all time favourites, whilst I've also enjoyed Jazz, Body Kouros, M7 (original formulation) and Pour Homme. Price is always very comptetitive for YSL scents, and, more importantly IMHO, longevity across the range is amongst the best I've encountered.

However, I must confess to disappointment with more recent releases - L'homme, and La Nuit were both disappointing from such an exalted house, with such great earlier releases.
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post #10 of 45
12/18/09 at 11:08am
YSL is the best all around men's fragrance house. They easily have the best, most varied range. That includes niche scents, not just designers. And most of their scents are year around wearable. M7 being the obvious exception.
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post #11 of 45
12/18/09 at 11:17am
YSL's Jazz, pour Homme, Kouros and Rive Gauche are outstanding. IMHO, better scents than those of Chanel and Dior.
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post #12 of 45
12/18/09 at 11:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by timkm1 View Post

After thinking back on all the fragrances I've owned, I can honestly say that I have always been pleased and grateful for the fine quality and reliable performance of the fragrances that come out of the House of YSL. Anyone else in love with YSL like am?

Agreed and yes! I have M7 Fresh and Rive Gauche.. I like both and use them often!


Would like to check out "Jazz"
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post #13 of 45
12/18/09 at 11:25am
Maybe someone could restart this group.
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post #14 of 45
12/18/09 at 11:40am
Whether I just tested or actually owned them, I always appreciated and will always adore: Opium PH, Opium PH, YSL l'Homme, YSL l'Homme Concentree, Rive Gauche PH and many more.
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post #15 of 45
12/18/09 at 12:36pm
My favorite house.

I like and I have owned all of them and I mean all of them including the new releases l'homme (one of the best office fragrance) et al
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post #16 of 45
12/18/09 at 12:36pm
YSL would have to be my favorite "designer" line as well. I haven't tried much of their new stuff since L'Homme, or all of the Opium flankers, but just about everything else is a big home run in my book.
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post #17 of 45
12/18/09 at 2:35pm
Thread Starter 
Honestly, I don't think any other designer house comes close to the variety or quality that YSL offers. I don't think the two recent releases are terrible, but I do think they closely resemble the mediocrity I've come to associate with most other designer houses. I think they're both fragrances that could have been launched by a lesser, but still good, house such as Burberry or Gucci. Maybe they'll blow our minds with the next one....I sure hope so. Until then, I'm going to make an effort to collect as many of their fragrances as possible. The way I see it, I can't go wrong as long as I'm wearing something from YSL. Wish I could say that about other designers....
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post #18 of 45
12/18/09 at 2:51pm
My favorites as well.
Guerlain is a close second, with Vetiver and Habit Rouge. But YSL is edgy and there's something so "un-cookie-cutter" about them...at least until the last two releases, which, sadly, do not stand out from the crowd.

I just picked up some Body Kouros, and it is AWESOME. Love it. I've been wearing M7, and Opium, lately, in the cooler weather....and I go for Jazz, and Live Jazz, when it's warmer. And Pour Homme, when I want that classic dirty citrus vibe.

Eventually I will get Rive Gauche and Kouros too, rest assured!
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post #19 of 45
12/18/09 at 3:38pm
I don't care what anyone says. I love La Nuit De L'Homme.
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post #20 of 45
12/18/09 at 3:46pm
I really love M7 and I recently made a blind buy of Live Jazz that I also enjoy a lot so far. I have tried Rive Gauche a few times and I can't seem to connect with it for some reason. I'm willing to give it a few more chances though before deciding it's not for me.
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post #21 of 45
12/18/09 at 4:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jwpianoboe View Post

I really love M7 and I recently made a blind buy of Live Jazz that I also enjoy a lot so far. I have tried Rive Gauche a few times and I can't seem to connect with it for some reason. I'm willing to give it a few more chances though before deciding it's not for me.

I found RG to be a great scent, but very strong and not entirely suited to me personally. But I would always like have a bottle (can) of it, to wear once in a while.
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post #22 of 45
12/18/09 at 4:23pm
well Tim you can also appreciate the other YSL on the female counter as Opium, Rive Gauche with blue stripes, Yvresse, Nu & Y.
give them a sniff .. they worth it!

& you are right about the new YSL/L'oreal era .. i have no feeling to it
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post #23 of 45
12/18/09 at 6:45pm
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I have to show my appreciation for this wonderful house too! Easily my top 3 designer houses. YSL is one house that covers a lot of ground with quality and variety. I remember Andy Reid started a thread about getting by with just a single house and I think YSL was among those most mentioned...

My favorites include:

M7
Kouros
Live Jazz
Jazz
Body Kouros (I'm a recent convert)

Others that I don't see myself wearing much but appreciate their fine quality:

Rive Gauche PH
Opium (both)
M7 fresh
YSL PH

I am entirely with Surfacing regarding the L'homme and La Nuit. Still, considering the number of hits, the misses are so easy to overlook. Though, like him, I'd be hoping those 2 are not indicative of what the house is headed for.
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post #24 of 45
12/18/09 at 6:54pm
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What happened to the YSL - L'Homme EdP that was supposed to come out? Did anyone try that, or was that an urban legend??
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post #25 of 45
12/18/09 at 7:10pm
Well, like virtually everyone else on basenotes, I agree that YSL's male offerings are among the best in the world and can compete with even very expensive niche houses. Kouros, Rive Gauche, Opium, M7, Body Kouros, I mean seriously, this is a great house. They do seem to have lost their way a bit recently, but the fact that they still have these gems available is notable. Aramis is the only mainstream house that comes anywhere close to YSL.
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post #26 of 45
12/18/09 at 7:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pappy View Post

I don't care what anyone says. I love La Nuit De L'Homme.

I know. Me too. I feel like saying.... Just because their last two scents were only top-selling, wildly popular, compliment-getting, contemporary fragrances that actually show some real difference from all the other designer offerings, doesn't mean we should write off the house. More seriously, I think YSL deserves a couple of moneymakers. If only 1 out of 3 is a classic that's loved on BN but they stay in business, I'll be quite happy.

Yes, KMF - I hope that's not an urban legend. If they did that right, perhaps that's the one to get respect from the perfumistae. But they would have to do it right. Givenchy's Play Intense was a bit linear and flopped at this level. Intense and EDP versions are nice for hardcore fragrance lovers, but they can't be taken for granted to please finicky noses.
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post #27 of 45
12/18/09 at 7:27pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Redneck Perfumisto View Post

I feel like saying.... Just because their last two scents were only top-selling, wildly popular, compliment-getting, contemporary fragrances that actually show some real difference from all the other designer offerings, doesn't mean we should write off the house. More seriously, I think YSL deserves a couple of moneymakers. If only 1 out of 3 is a classic that's loved on BN but they stay in business, I'll be quite happy.

Actually, Red, you are right.

Just goes to show how snobby I can get sometimes.

Thanks for putting things back into perspective, my friend.
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post #28 of 45
12/18/09 at 8:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by matthewfoo View Post

Actually, Red, you are right.

Just goes to show how snobby I can get sometimes.

Thanks for putting things back into perspective, my friend.

Don't worry about it, Matt - your opinion really IS the BN consensus. And to be honest, do those frags really compare with things like Kouros, M7, Rive Gauche PH, and Jazz? The critical consensus is, for the most part, no. In originality, I might say that they could be compared with Jazz in it's own time (a distinctively funky fougère in a time when fougères were hotter, just like L'Homme is a bit funky-sweet in a time when sweet seems (or at least did seem) novel in the current designer mix). But to rip off the famous quote, I knew Kouros, I wore Kouros, and L'Homme is no Kouros.

But one thing I do trust the masses on is spotting things which critics miss. When something is wildly popular, I figure there's often something that was overlooked by the people who normally predict the trends. L'Homme and Nuit have something which I haven't quite figured out, but I would sooner rack it up to my own lack of understanding than to say that the people are out to lunch. I got two female compliments just walking out the store wearing L'Homme. And it sells like hotcakes. That fragrance has something going on.
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post #29 of 45
12/18/09 at 8:33pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Redneck Perfumisto View Post

Don't worry about it, Matt - your opinion really IS the BN consensus. And to be honest, do those frags really compare with things like Kouros, M7, Rive Gauche PH, and Jazz? The critical consensus is, for the most part, no. In originality, I might say that they could be compared with Jazz in it's own time (a distinctively funky fougère in a time when fougères were hotter, just like L'Homme is a bit funky-sweet in a time when sweet seems (or at least did seem) novel in the current designer mix). But to rip off the famous quote, I knew Kouros, I wore Kouros, and L'Homme is no Kouros.

But one thing I do trust the masses on is spotting things which critics miss. When something is wildly popular, I figure there's often something that was overlooked by the people who normally predict the trends. L'Homme and Nuit have something which I haven't quite figured out, but I would sooner rack it up to my own lack of understanding than to say that the people are out to lunch. I got two female compliments just walking out the store wearing L'Homme. And it sells like hotcakes. That fragrance has something going on.

So true. I can see someone in my shoes appreciating the novelty in L'Homme a decade or two on from now, similar to how I appreciate Jazz now, because it is less current/common.

Very well-put, Red! As always.
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post #30 of 45
12/18/09 at 8:40pm
Red,

Just to kind jump in here, with my previous comments, I don't mean to totally bash La Nuit and the previous L'Homme. They are fragrances that are en phase...so the masses set the trend ( but then again so do the companies). But being en phase allows one to wear a fragrance with ease. Most guys aren't so hardcore about fragrances, so wearing something like Opium or M7 may not sit well with them.

I guess I am sort of cranky about those last 2 releases. They lack persistance on the skin. Thats my main beef, moreso with L'homme then with La Nuit. I am just itching for YSL to come out with another fragrance ( this is wishful thinking, as La Nuit is not even 1 years old).
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post #31 of 45
12/18/09 at 9:05pm
I love YSL men's fragrances (except L'Homme and La Nuit L'Homme).
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post #32 of 45
12/18/09 at 9:10pm
I only like M7, but I can appreciate some of the others, such as Jazz Prestige and even Kouros (though I didn't think much of the men's Opium, or of the last 2, as you might guess). It seems like it's such a "hit or miss" thing, even for the "big guns" like Chanel, that I don't really worry about the company name. One thing I tell people about frags is that you never know what company might produce a really good one, and possibly at a "bargain basement" price, especially if you see it at TJ Maxx. LOL.
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post #33 of 45
12/18/09 at 9:47pm
By far my favorite. I can easily say that YSL is the reason i got so into fragrances.
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post #34 of 45
12/18/09 at 11:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by petruccijc View Post

I love YSL men's fragrances (except L'Homme and La Nuit L'Homme).

Was at a YSL booth at Myer this afternoon doing my xmas shopping. Asked if I could have a sample of Rive G'auche or M7... the saleswoman didn't even know what they were! Apparently L'Homme is the "it" fragrance" at the moment as well

Then to top it off she pretty much dismissed me when she decided I wasn't going to be tricked into buying L'Homme.

All it takes is 1 bad SA to turn away customers I guess. Last weekend I ended up buying Thierry Mugler's Alien/Alien Sunessance, gucci by gucci and DKNY be delicious as gifts and I'd put that down to the SA who was friendly knowledgeable and didn't look down on a customer because of their age.

Rive G'auche and M7 I'll find another day I guess
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post #35 of 45
12/18/09 at 11:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Surfacing View Post

I am just itching for YSL to come out with another fragrance ( this is wishful thinking, as La Nuit is not even 1 years old).

Me too. And I hope it's ground-breaking. I remember when I smelled Kouros for the first time - I was just blown away. I know it's not reasonable for us to expect that kind of thing routinely, but it's hard not to wish for it.

We probably don't have too much longer to wait. Any more, if you don't have something in the wings that's starting to get buzz when the last one is starting to cool down, you're just not keeping up. It will be interesting to see what it is. There's probably another flanker or two in the L'Homme line, but IMO it would definitely be better to go with something completely different for the next release. I'm still up in the air about Parisienne. The first time I smelled it, I was pretty thrilled, and was telling my wife that it reallys showed YSL still having the right stuff. And then the last time I smelled it - less impressed. Not sure - I might have been having an off-nose day. I really need to sniff it some more until I get a solid impression.

We'll see!
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post #36 of 45
12/18/09 at 11:52pm
Not only are YSL frags good but their prices are so much cheaper than other designer frags. Plus most YSL frags pack very good sillage and longevity. Now that's real value for money
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post #37 of 45
12/19/09 at 8:04am
Whatever they're doing is great. Their frags are so distinct one from the other; so different from a house like Aramis, for instance, where so many things are variations on the leather chypre. And yet there's some feeling of coherence to the line. It may have as much as anything to do with the excellence of their clean, austere packing and bottle design, and the sense that even when the frags are casual in feel--as Jazz and RGpH are to me--they have a sort of grown-up and gentlemanly near-austerity that is quite stylish. YSL is a line that reminds me that the relationship between fashion and perfume can be a useful one, and that in some ways it's a necessary one. That is, occasion does influence what I wear, both perfume and clothing.
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post #38 of 45
12/19/09 at 10:35am
My 2nd favorite house. So many great offerings. I seem to like everything they do.
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post #39 of 45
12/19/09 at 6:02pm
YSL is great.....have excellent relation quality/price.....the best!
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post #40 of 45
12/19/09 at 6:26pm
I haven't tried many of their scents but I hope to in the near future! I plan on buying a sample of M7 to see what the fuss is all about. Even though it's gonna be discontinued soon.. I hope I don't like it.
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post #41 of 45
12/20/09 at 10:42am
Great Frags, This house is possibly the most underated in the industry
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post #42 of 45
12/21/09 at 8:17am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CanwllCorfe View Post

I haven't tried many of their scents but I hope to in the near future! I plan on buying a sample of M7 to see what the fuss is all about. Even though it's gonna be discontinued soon.. I hope I don't like it.

It is? I guess I am pretty out of touch, or I may have missed some thread or forgot about it's discontinuation. SAD! Any idea of the source you read/heard that from? Thanks in advance man.
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post #43 of 45
12/21/09 at 8:28am
I love and adore YSL also. I currently have Jazz and L'Homme. I need to replenish on Rive Gauche and Live Jazz. These fragrances are so unique, top quality, and reasonably priced. This house is a winner. Jazz is just truly amazing.
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post #44 of 45
12/21/09 at 10:39am
Another YSL fan here!

Currently own:
Jazz
Kouros
Kouros Cologne Sport
YSL por Homme
Rive Gauche pour Homme
M7

Owned & Loved:
Jazz Prestige
Kouros Eau de Sport
YSL pour Homme Concentree

Love does not extend to L'Homme and flankers though
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post #45 of 45
12/21/09 at 11:55am
Oh, YSL, my love.. It's anant-gard perfume house. It's more avant-gard than Commes des Garcons.

I have and love Kouros and Rive Gauche.
Ordered YSL pour homme - personal scent of monsieur Saint Laurent. I have some sentiments about this fragrance..
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