KOUROS arrived! The ultimate review.

[heperd]

Why did YSL water down this great scent? It gets good in the dry down, but it is too weak to project.

Because whichever gigantic conglomerate that owns YSL does not care about you. They care about money. They are going to do everything possible to reduce overhead. Cheaper bottle, cheaper ingredients. They rely on the repeat buyer who doesnt notice the gradual change.

[Bigsly]

Can you post a pic of the bottle and box so we know exactly which one you have?

If this refers to my post, I don't have the original boxes for either. There is a thread with pictures of the old and newer bottles so just use the search feature to find that one.

[FullCollapse]

If this refers to my post, I don't have the original boxes for either. There is a thread with pictures of the old and newer bottles so just use the search feature to find that one.

Oh sorry I meant the OP.

[FullCollapse]

If this refers to my post, I don't have the original boxes for either. There is a thread with pictures of the old and newer bottles so just use the search feature to find that one.

Oh sorry I meant the OP.

[Dernier_Cri]

Did you try smelling it blindfolded?

[cuko]

I had kouros at the top of my "to buy list" and now I'm not so sure with all the reformulations and what not. So your saying the 2YF02-3 is still good? If so I will keep an eye out for it. Are there pics posted anywhere of the box just for a referance to go by?

[Nexus6]

I tried the reformulation on a paper strip and it didn't even last a day on the strip while the vintage would last for weeks.
The reformulation is definitely weaker and not "dirty".
This reformulation might be more appealing to the average costumer who likes his fragrances fresh and clean but I find it a shame that they removed all the interesting parts.
There is no way that a longtime user of Kouros won't notice the difference.
I think it is disrespectful to both Pierre Bourdon and the longtime users to reformulate so drastically.

[Slayerized]

This is the one to get if you want to know what Kouros is all about: ('Eau de toilette' written on the middle of the bottle):


Gorgeous stuff of which less is more (2-3 sprays max indeed for a full day)!

[ericrico]

First off - you need to get one thing clear immediately.

You did not buy a bottle from Yves Saint Laurent. You purchased a bottle of L'Oreal fragrance with the logo from Yves Saint Laurent. The company sold after his passing (the brilliance and integrity of ALL of the fragrances that L'Oreal kept were reformulated!) and his legacy is in bottles up to 2008. After that, you are giving a large cosmetic company money for heavily reformulated bottles. I have not and will not purchase a bottle of any classic Yves Saint Laurent fragrance that was made after 2008 (I actually try to find 2007 and prior to be certain, although reformulations did happen a little later).

The only fragrance I have purchased from the contemporary line is La Nuit de L'Homme...and it is, unto itself, a very good scent with a wonderful feel. Ropion had his hand on this along with Anne Flipo & Pierre Wargnye - all have incredible resumes! This, to me, as it was released in March 2009 - possibly was the last bottle that the house of YSL (and possibly the legendary man himself) had a part in producing.

If you want Kouros - buy the real thing. And, my friend cacio is correct, civet was taken out of fragrance years ago. A very early bottle of Kouros may contain a small amount but civetone is the synthetic ingredient that was mainly used over the years. I have very early Kouros and next to later Vintage Kouros - it is indeed more pronounced as a note. It is as skanky as a three-way 'party' at the Bunny Ranch...!

Stuff that wet dreams are made of!

Cheers,

ericrico

There must have been a new reformulation since the white bottle with metal spray was released.

In the vintage Kouros thread, there is a picture of the pre-reformulation ingredient list and the post reformulation ingredient list.

The vintage Kouros is alcohol, parfum, water, batch 2YFO2-2

The reformulated Kouros is alcohol, parfum, water, batch 2YF02-3

Both of the above have BENZYL BENZONATE as the 5th ingredient.

My box of the newest reformulation is: alcohol, water, parfum, batch 875233-03. BENZYL BENZONATE is the 19th ingredient.

This is different than the reformulation from last year. The bottle is all white with only metal around the tester, which is what the last reformulation was, but it's been reformulated again.

- - - Updated - - -

If you want to hear a conspiracy theory, read on...

Could it be that YSL released the reformulation in the new white bottle with metal spray in a slightly weakened Kouros. A juice that was similar to the old Kouros with the dirty notes but just slightly weaker.

Get everyone to accept the slightly weaker Kouros juice.

Wait a year. Now release a more watered down Kouros in the same bottle. Even more watered down than the reformulation in 2010/2011.

People will be arguing over how weak the juice is. The people who have the first reformulation will say it's a little less civet, but drys down the same as the original, and still has a dirty vibe. People with the second reformulation will be confused why they can't smell any civit.

My reasoning is based on the list of ingredients from the old metal bottle, to the new white bottle, to what I recieved. The ingredients between older Kouros (pre 2010), the first reformulation in the new bottle (2011/2012), and my bottle (2013) is different.

Parfum went from #2 on the ingredient list to #3, and water jumped up to be the second ingredient.

It is a shame Kouros isn't sold in the store because on-line we don't know what we are getting. Even if we know it is the white bottle with metal spray, we don't know if we're getting the 2010/2011/2012 juice or the 2013 juice. The only way to know is to read the ingredients and see if Parfum is second or third in ingredients. No sellers are providing this information.

This would be a sneaky way for YSL to get two reformulations out in a year, to water it down, but confuse people so they second guess their nose and think the newest watered down Kouros is the same as what was released in 2011/2012.

- - - Updated - - -

BINGO!

Thank you, Slayerized for the beautiful portrait of what real Kouros is...sorry, was.

Cheers,

ericrico

This is the one to get if you want to know what Kouros is all about: ('Eau de toilette' written on the middle of the bottle):


Gorgeous stuff of which less is more (2-3 sprays max indeed for a full day)!

[OctaVariuM]

Galanga, a sweet, spicy-smelling root. Delicious sliced in thai coconut soup as a flavoring. It's the stuff that looks kind of like pink ginger.



O'Driu Secraction. Which is an herbal rose-vanilla thing, nothing like Kouros.



Also nothing like Kouros.

When exactly did I say they were like Kouros? All I was thinking was that they are pretty daring scents, and he seems to be looking for something strange. Why would I point him in the direction of stuff like something he already has and is underwhelmed with? That just seems like an assumption.