Yves Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent
214 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Juniper berry and bergamot collide with an aggressive, almost rubbing-alcohol freshness that's immediately polarising—clean, yes, but aggressive and medicinal. Ginger's spicy prickle arrives within moments, sharpening the citrus into something closer to hair tonic than cologne.
The lavender and sage emerge around the hour mark, transforming the fragrance into something distinctly soapy and grey-toned, with geranium making faint attempts at floral softness that the composition largely ignores. The synthetic character intensifies here, creating an almost plasticky greenness that feels disconnected from nature.
By the fourth hour, Indonesian patchouli and cedarwood provide theoretical warmth that remains largely theoretical—the fragrance becomes increasingly skeletal and austere, fading into an abstract dryness that feels more like absence than conclusion.
Y Yves Saint Laurent Intense arrives as a fragrance caught between restraint and release—a composition that whispers rather aggressively. Dominique Ropion has crafted something architecturally clean: juniper berry and bergamot establish a bracing, almost medicinal opening that feels more laboratory than orchard, whilst ginger introduces a peppery bite that prevents the citrus from settling into comfort. This is where the fragrance's synthetic character (88% accord) becomes deliberate rather than accidental—there's a polished, almost plastic sheen to the top notes that suggests intentionality.
The lavender and sage heart compounds the problem. Rather than softening the opening's edges, Proven Al Lavender leans into a soapy, herbaceous austerity, reinforced by sage's greyish undertones. Geranium attempts mediation but arrives too late; the heart remains predominantly cool and architectural. The patchouli base—Indonesian, presumably earthy—struggles to inject warmth into what feels like an increasingly detached composition. Cedarwood and vetiver round out the base with dryness rather than sensuality, creating a sillage and longevity situation that explains those troubling performance scores.
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3.6/5 (462)