Reviews of M7 by Yves Saint Laurent
My how times have changed. In 2002 M7 blew people away… and not in a good way either. It was considered a complete disaster for YSL. Tom Ford was ahead of his time, as Western noses were not ready for agarwood yet - little alone oud - M7’s primary accord, and they said so at the fragrance counters. Nobody bought it, and YSL discontinued it only a few years later. Fast forward to today, to today’s oud-rage, to today’s noses much more versed and accustomed to Arabian and Asian ouds of the properly stinky variety, and take of whiff of M7 and wonder what all the fuss was about.
There is an oily, bitter, and herbal green opening from bergamot and rosemary that fade within seconds, ushering in the agarwood accord that lacks any of the fecal or animalic smells of real-deal oud. There is nothing dirty, sweaty, funky, scatological, rotted, or otherwise here. However, there is plenty of the oily, bitter, slightly fruity, and dark woody aromas that we would later become used to with agarwood, the very brief top meant to provide a link to these notes of the accord. Once a little bit of time settles in, as if knowing that people were going to jarred by the agarwood and there was too much risk in subjecting them to it this long (which TF underestimated), some relief in the form of the classic and familiar woody vetiver steers the agarwood away from the waxy-medicinal-dark-woody end of the spectrum, and it will link to the base in the final dry down of a very pleasant musky and woody amber.
M7 presents me with only a slight conundrum. On the one hand, it is a good, gentle, agarwood fragrance by today’s standards, but it isn’t an amazing fragrance as many in the echo chamber would have you believe. M7 has achieved its legendary status because it was a first, not because it is amazing. And with that, it probably hasn’t aged particularly well. Why would you chase after a very expensive and dubious bottle of this on the aftermarket when we are already saturated with agarwoods/ouds that will give you what you're looking for? So, then, comes the question of whether or not a perfume acquires points because it was a “first to do something”, even if that something wasn’t amazing from technical or experiential standpoints, and it hasn’t particularly aged well? I believe that it does. John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, and the Yardbirds, won’t be heard on the radio today, but they were pioneers and we (likely) wouldn’t have Peter Green, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, or Jeff Beck without them. Pioneers should definitely get props even if they don't have much relevance today. M7 belongs in your collection if you are a perfume historian of sorts, and that’s it. Otherwise, give it a smell if it comes across your path so that you can say you have smelled it; if you’re like me and lucky enough to have acquired a bottle way back when, you can sell it to cover a mortgage payment, or rarely wear it as a polite, office friendly agarwood scent; or, finally, chase after it if you have more money than sense or time to go looking for any of the other in-production alternatives. Solid perfume, but more hype than substance.
There is an oily, bitter, and herbal green opening from bergamot and rosemary that fade within seconds, ushering in the agarwood accord that lacks any of the fecal or animalic smells of real-deal oud. There is nothing dirty, sweaty, funky, scatological, rotted, or otherwise here. However, there is plenty of the oily, bitter, slightly fruity, and dark woody aromas that we would later become used to with agarwood, the very brief top meant to provide a link to these notes of the accord. Once a little bit of time settles in, as if knowing that people were going to jarred by the agarwood and there was too much risk in subjecting them to it this long (which TF underestimated), some relief in the form of the classic and familiar woody vetiver steers the agarwood away from the waxy-medicinal-dark-woody end of the spectrum, and it will link to the base in the final dry down of a very pleasant musky and woody amber.
M7 presents me with only a slight conundrum. On the one hand, it is a good, gentle, agarwood fragrance by today’s standards, but it isn’t an amazing fragrance as many in the echo chamber would have you believe. M7 has achieved its legendary status because it was a first, not because it is amazing. And with that, it probably hasn’t aged particularly well. Why would you chase after a very expensive and dubious bottle of this on the aftermarket when we are already saturated with agarwoods/ouds that will give you what you're looking for? So, then, comes the question of whether or not a perfume acquires points because it was a “first to do something”, even if that something wasn’t amazing from technical or experiential standpoints, and it hasn’t particularly aged well? I believe that it does. John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, and the Yardbirds, won’t be heard on the radio today, but they were pioneers and we (likely) wouldn’t have Peter Green, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, or Jeff Beck without them. Pioneers should definitely get props even if they don't have much relevance today. M7 belongs in your collection if you are a perfume historian of sorts, and that’s it. Otherwise, give it a smell if it comes across your path so that you can say you have smelled it; if you’re like me and lucky enough to have acquired a bottle way back when, you can sell it to cover a mortgage payment, or rarely wear it as a polite, office friendly agarwood scent; or, finally, chase after it if you have more money than sense or time to go looking for any of the other in-production alternatives. Solid perfume, but more hype than substance.
I had to select neutral even though I like it in certain moods. One lady said it smelled like the chewing tobacco her grandfather used to use. Not much of a compliment. But when I’m depressed on a cold and rainy day, it feels like something very rich and warm surrounding me.
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Dry woods with a darker background. A lot of people compare to Oud 7 Absolu, but this is much better. Kind of has that Gucci Pour Homme vibe. Not too overbearing and projects very well. If I could find a bottle for a reasonable price, I would pick it up without a doubt. 8/10
An iconic fragrance such as the 2002 M7 deserves to be tried, and I was fortunate to find a bottle of the original juice and gladly added to my collection. Naturally, I have scoured the reviews, all of them, good, bad and neutral, and now would like to add my humble opinion.
The bergamot and mandarin opening is like a rush of fruity goodness. Do I get the cherry cough syrup? No, but I can see how some noses might interpret it as such. I get more of an Italian vermouth vibe, specifically, Carpano Antica. The middle notes of Vetiver and Agarwood begin almost immediately to tame the fruit, but not eliminate it. But it's the Musk and Amber that are the stars. Longevity is at least 12 hours, but if you spray it on your clothes, you can expect a much longer duration. There was some discussion of comparing this to a much more inexpensive Avon product, Premiere Luxe Oud. I have both and last evening I sprayed the back of each hand with each. One spray only. The openings of both definitely share a DNA chain, but it's the dry down that catapults the YSL to stardom. The Avon dries down to a pencil shaving scent, while the YSL keeps that Amber and Musk shining, long into the night. In the morning, I still smelled the YSL, while the Avon was just a memory.
Now, one could argue that the price difference more than makes up for the lack of longevity and eventual dry down smell, however, one could also make an argument that a VW gets you to your destination as well as a Mercedes. Indeed, that's what we're comparing here, a luxury vehicle vs a Yugo.
I am glad I have both, but I am so very pleased to have the original YSL M7 in my collection. It's a masterpiece of perfumery.
Next comparison will be against the M7 Oud Absolu (Black label).
The bergamot and mandarin opening is like a rush of fruity goodness. Do I get the cherry cough syrup? No, but I can see how some noses might interpret it as such. I get more of an Italian vermouth vibe, specifically, Carpano Antica. The middle notes of Vetiver and Agarwood begin almost immediately to tame the fruit, but not eliminate it. But it's the Musk and Amber that are the stars. Longevity is at least 12 hours, but if you spray it on your clothes, you can expect a much longer duration. There was some discussion of comparing this to a much more inexpensive Avon product, Premiere Luxe Oud. I have both and last evening I sprayed the back of each hand with each. One spray only. The openings of both definitely share a DNA chain, but it's the dry down that catapults the YSL to stardom. The Avon dries down to a pencil shaving scent, while the YSL keeps that Amber and Musk shining, long into the night. In the morning, I still smelled the YSL, while the Avon was just a memory.
Now, one could argue that the price difference more than makes up for the lack of longevity and eventual dry down smell, however, one could also make an argument that a VW gets you to your destination as well as a Mercedes. Indeed, that's what we're comparing here, a luxury vehicle vs a Yugo.
I am glad I have both, but I am so very pleased to have the original YSL M7 in my collection. It's a masterpiece of perfumery.
Next comparison will be against the M7 Oud Absolu (Black label).
I'm not sure why M7 a cult-like following. At best and worst, it's "fine," a synthetic, dark green-woody thing that feels a little anonymous in 2020.
Just magnificent! A decadently rich composition with a beautiful note of what I smell as cherry flavored pipe tobacco. I always loved it when someone nearby was smoking cherry tobacco, a lovely smell that I associate with childhood. It angers me no end that someone decided to end both M7 and M7 fresh-- two scents that every frag lover should own or at least try.
Tom Ford made a number of drastic changes during his time at PPR, particularly with his no-nonsense fashions and perfumes that deliberately fell back on traditional genre tropes like the chypre, oriental, or the fougère. These post-modern efforts helped revitalize Gucci from entry-level designer embraced by the poverty line to the brand of choice for it's champions, namely the hip-hop community, becoming something of an urban equivalent to the rock and roll darling Versace had become. By 1999, Tom was also handed the reigns of YSL, much to the chagrin of Yves Saint Laurent himself, who wasn't happy with Ford's post-modernist direction and once remarked "the man does what he can". The first male-marketed effort from YSL under Ford was quite a stunner for this reason, as literally nobody saw it coming. Yves Saint Laurent M7 (2002) was neither the green aromatic revisted like Gucci Envy Pour Homme (1998) nor an aquatic, ozonic, or fresh fougère like much of the competition, but rather a woodsy oriental built around the theme of agarwood. It's hard to fathom just how crazy this was to Western buyers, particularly Americans, who had zero experience with agarwood or oud/aoud/oudh as it's also known. Balenciaga dabbled with it in Balenciaga Pour Homme (1990), but it was just a flirtation nobody noticed buried in other powerhouse notes that constituted the scent's virile base. In M7, the agarwood was obviously a synthetic composite with only a little of the actual ingredient due to expense, but the smell regardless was divisive to the point of controversial (something YSL hadn't been in years), representing a catalyst for one of the first big lock-ups Tom Ford would have with LVMH upper-managment, eventually leading to his departure in 2004 to form his own house. Needless to say oud would in time become an acquired taste in the West (particularly for men), which is why M7 was re-orchestrated and re-launched as M7 Oud Absolu (2011) almost a decade later, but M7 in its original form was an unmitigated financial disaster for YSL, compounded by a scandalous ad campaign to boot (mirroring 1977's Opium). M7 only lasted on the market for a few years before being discontinued and entering the discounter circuit until somebody got a bug up their ass that it should be the next rare, expensive, idolized miracle of under-appreciated perfume art, with prices in the aftermarket skyrocketing accordingly. A lighter, more-conventional M7 Fresh (2004) came out as capitulation after Tom Ford took his toys and left LVMH, but that too is also a venerated vintage-hunter's trophy because it didn't sell well, being discontinued just in time for Yves Saint Laurent L'Homme (2006) to replace it.
The smell of M7 in retrospect isn't bizarre or jarring so many years removed from release as it may have seemed in 2002, and the oud note itself is really just an earlier, milder form of the medicinal "Comet cleanser" oud note Tom Ford likes to use in his own creations, like Oud Wood (2007), which is rather more polarizing in my opinion than this stuff. M7 opens with a typical bergamot rosemary tandem that lasts only a brief few introductory moments before giving into the heart of that medicinal composite oud. The oud note and indeed the whole perfume was a collaboration between Alberto Morillas and Jacques Cavallier, the latter of whom is no stranger to YSL and returned for both the retro-revival Rive Gauche Pour Homme (2003) and the aforementioned apology that is M7 Fresh, while the former is the darling perfumer behind so many beloved mainstream freshies and seems a bad fit as co-composer. It's actually hard to fathom that the modern-minded Morillas was paired with Cavallier intentionally, but perhaps that was the point to their collaboration, to merge contrasting viewpoints. The oud compound used here feels like it might have been taken by Ford as he left PPR, which would explain why it smells so much like the Tom Ford oud accords we see, whilst the M7 Oud Absolu accord is an entirely different animal with different notes. Regardless, those who've smelled any of the Tom Ford Private Blend oud creations already know the heart of M7; it's scratchy "wonder-agar" is flanked by mandarin orange and vetiver, which honestly hides the "Comet" facets that become a deal breaker for me in the TF lines and draws the comparisons to Cherry Coke some reviewers make. The base of M7 is a nice rounded musky amber accord, which Tom Ford likely borrowed in part for Gucci Pour Homme (2003) the following year, here adding in the strange, esoteric note of mandrake root in M7 to make it feel more exotic, as if he was making a magic potion to cure petrification and not a fragrance. Hoodoo or not, I don't know nor can tell what mandrake is supposed to smell like in M7 but its use feels more for show than olfactory effect. M7 isn't a bomb of an oud perfume as you might be led to think by its worshippers, as it has no rose, and lacks any of the "barnyard" skank we've come to expect from the genre now that we have developed noses for the stuff, and M7 has moderate sillage with longevity just above average. The dry down of M7 is woodsy, bittersweet, a touch creamy, and only infers slight hints of that synthetic oud in it's mildly-peppery and rich demeanor, making it a passable example of an oud for the office if it was still available. Now the next part is something a lot of you won't like reading, but there's a caveat so bear with me.
I'm known for approaching the much-worshipped "unicorns" of the vintage perfume community with skepticism, but that's because I try to hew away hype and get to the experience of wearing the scent itself, which often doesn't match its stature. M7 was a shocker in 2002 because it not only was different from anything else in its designer segment, but also a departure/return to form from the safe direction YSL masculines had taken since Jazz (1988), and a completely new concept to the vast majority of male Western perfume buyers, the kind of guys that still confuse "musky" with aromatic, and aromatic with "spicy". We like our white bread and mayonnaise in the US, so anything with real flavor spooks us. Now, with that having been said, pioneers are often misunderstood and often unappreciated in their lifetime, and that is exactly what happened to M7. The cult of believers which formed around the scent likely still hunt the overpriced survivors on eBay, as do anyone else convinced by this vocal minority of M7's greatness, but the truth is time has not been kind to M7, and its plastic oud construction feels like a pale ghost compared to what's available now. M7 smells gimmicky even when stood next to the brash Montale/Mancera ouds out there, and with every Western house pumping out their own oud hot take finding varying degrees of success, M7 comes across as an old state road existing in the shadow of a massive modern freeway. I think M7 could be a pleasant, piquant, and a fair-quality first oud for the timid if it wasn't priced in Creed territory, but since you can get a nearly-identical accord as this with actually more oud bite for one-tenth the cost from Avon Premiere Luxe Oud (2016), the only reason you'd fork out for this now is bragging rights. On the other side of the M7 fence, M7 Oud Absolu tries in vain to come across as a learned and more authentic Western oud, but that story will be left for another review. M7 gets props for helping bring agarwood to the Western perfume market, even if it took a bullet in the process, but I just can't rate it any higher than neutral because its quality is nowhere close to the mythic status it enjoys in the collector's community. Some legends are indeed deserved of their status, and some legends are just the result of people in influential positions passing out rose-tinted glasses for those who'll listen, and that is the case with M7 (thanks YouTube reviewers). If you're a huge fan of this, no disrespect meant, as I do believe M7 is worth a sniff even if just for history's sake as one of the earliest Western oud fragrances, but its place in the collection of any male colognoisseur at this point is purely ornamental, much like other Gucci and YSL things from the Tom Ford era of PPR which have similarly been discontinued and given their own chapels of reverence.
The smell of M7 in retrospect isn't bizarre or jarring so many years removed from release as it may have seemed in 2002, and the oud note itself is really just an earlier, milder form of the medicinal "Comet cleanser" oud note Tom Ford likes to use in his own creations, like Oud Wood (2007), which is rather more polarizing in my opinion than this stuff. M7 opens with a typical bergamot rosemary tandem that lasts only a brief few introductory moments before giving into the heart of that medicinal composite oud. The oud note and indeed the whole perfume was a collaboration between Alberto Morillas and Jacques Cavallier, the latter of whom is no stranger to YSL and returned for both the retro-revival Rive Gauche Pour Homme (2003) and the aforementioned apology that is M7 Fresh, while the former is the darling perfumer behind so many beloved mainstream freshies and seems a bad fit as co-composer. It's actually hard to fathom that the modern-minded Morillas was paired with Cavallier intentionally, but perhaps that was the point to their collaboration, to merge contrasting viewpoints. The oud compound used here feels like it might have been taken by Ford as he left PPR, which would explain why it smells so much like the Tom Ford oud accords we see, whilst the M7 Oud Absolu accord is an entirely different animal with different notes. Regardless, those who've smelled any of the Tom Ford Private Blend oud creations already know the heart of M7; it's scratchy "wonder-agar" is flanked by mandarin orange and vetiver, which honestly hides the "Comet" facets that become a deal breaker for me in the TF lines and draws the comparisons to Cherry Coke some reviewers make. The base of M7 is a nice rounded musky amber accord, which Tom Ford likely borrowed in part for Gucci Pour Homme (2003) the following year, here adding in the strange, esoteric note of mandrake root in M7 to make it feel more exotic, as if he was making a magic potion to cure petrification and not a fragrance. Hoodoo or not, I don't know nor can tell what mandrake is supposed to smell like in M7 but its use feels more for show than olfactory effect. M7 isn't a bomb of an oud perfume as you might be led to think by its worshippers, as it has no rose, and lacks any of the "barnyard" skank we've come to expect from the genre now that we have developed noses for the stuff, and M7 has moderate sillage with longevity just above average. The dry down of M7 is woodsy, bittersweet, a touch creamy, and only infers slight hints of that synthetic oud in it's mildly-peppery and rich demeanor, making it a passable example of an oud for the office if it was still available. Now the next part is something a lot of you won't like reading, but there's a caveat so bear with me.
I'm known for approaching the much-worshipped "unicorns" of the vintage perfume community with skepticism, but that's because I try to hew away hype and get to the experience of wearing the scent itself, which often doesn't match its stature. M7 was a shocker in 2002 because it not only was different from anything else in its designer segment, but also a departure/return to form from the safe direction YSL masculines had taken since Jazz (1988), and a completely new concept to the vast majority of male Western perfume buyers, the kind of guys that still confuse "musky" with aromatic, and aromatic with "spicy". We like our white bread and mayonnaise in the US, so anything with real flavor spooks us. Now, with that having been said, pioneers are often misunderstood and often unappreciated in their lifetime, and that is exactly what happened to M7. The cult of believers which formed around the scent likely still hunt the overpriced survivors on eBay, as do anyone else convinced by this vocal minority of M7's greatness, but the truth is time has not been kind to M7, and its plastic oud construction feels like a pale ghost compared to what's available now. M7 smells gimmicky even when stood next to the brash Montale/Mancera ouds out there, and with every Western house pumping out their own oud hot take finding varying degrees of success, M7 comes across as an old state road existing in the shadow of a massive modern freeway. I think M7 could be a pleasant, piquant, and a fair-quality first oud for the timid if it wasn't priced in Creed territory, but since you can get a nearly-identical accord as this with actually more oud bite for one-tenth the cost from Avon Premiere Luxe Oud (2016), the only reason you'd fork out for this now is bragging rights. On the other side of the M7 fence, M7 Oud Absolu tries in vain to come across as a learned and more authentic Western oud, but that story will be left for another review. M7 gets props for helping bring agarwood to the Western perfume market, even if it took a bullet in the process, but I just can't rate it any higher than neutral because its quality is nowhere close to the mythic status it enjoys in the collector's community. Some legends are indeed deserved of their status, and some legends are just the result of people in influential positions passing out rose-tinted glasses for those who'll listen, and that is the case with M7 (thanks YouTube reviewers). If you're a huge fan of this, no disrespect meant, as I do believe M7 is worth a sniff even if just for history's sake as one of the earliest Western oud fragrances, but its place in the collection of any male colognoisseur at this point is purely ornamental, much like other Gucci and YSL things from the Tom Ford era of PPR which have similarly been discontinued and given their own chapels of reverence.
I know everyone who reviews M7 has to mention the oud, but to me, the rubbery and medicinal oud elements fade within a half an hour, leaving M7 much more of a well-crafted creamy sweet boozy wood perfume than an oud.
The real star seems to be a mix of sandalwood sawdust and an especially nice oak note, with a hint of green (herbs on top, vetiver later), a careful creamy milky vanilla that gives everything a wonderful richness without crossing over into candy, and immortelle that gives a boozy medicinal quality to the top and eventually melts into the vanilla and woods to give a really great impression of maple wood.
Even in the vintage, I'd be shocked if there's any actual oud in here - it's more of a Farenheit-esque simulation, though it's masterfully done.
In all, a wonderful scent.
The real star seems to be a mix of sandalwood sawdust and an especially nice oak note, with a hint of green (herbs on top, vetiver later), a careful creamy milky vanilla that gives everything a wonderful richness without crossing over into candy, and immortelle that gives a boozy medicinal quality to the top and eventually melts into the vanilla and woods to give a really great impression of maple wood.
Even in the vintage, I'd be shocked if there's any actual oud in here - it's more of a Farenheit-esque simulation, though it's masterfully done.
In all, a wonderful scent.
I don't dislike M7; it has a mixture of vanilla and berry-type fruity notes, against a spicy background. It actually reminds me of a spicier, heavier version of Patou's Ma Liberte. However, M7 is one of those fragrances that I am very aware of every time I breathe in, which I really find too much (and I enjoy heavy fragrances). Therefore, I have to give this a neutral: I like the fragrance, but find it too heavy and clinging.
M7 is sweet, sticky, heavy and masculine. Not for summer or casual wear. Very unique, mature and has the cola vibe. Very similar to the newer, Oud Absolu version, so give that a try if original M7 is hard to come by or too expensive.
It's a very interesting experience because you can smell the woods and incense but that's really not what comes to mind when smelling. It is strong and sweet enough to get a compliment but just not in that same vein as those other more popular scents. You'll wear this for yourself, not others.
Excellent performance, projects nicely and lasts all day.
It's a very interesting experience because you can smell the woods and incense but that's really not what comes to mind when smelling. It is strong and sweet enough to get a compliment but just not in that same vein as those other more popular scents. You'll wear this for yourself, not others.
Excellent performance, projects nicely and lasts all day.
Dark, resinous, and powerful, in terms of intensity, YSL M7 lives up to the hype that it's built as a bygone fragrance from the Tom Ford era of YSL. Seemingly a mix of oud, incense, and resin, but nothing too well-defined, lending credence to its superb blending. I do like how it sweetens and the sharpeness gives way to sweetness in the dry down. It's sophisticated, masculine, and strong, while not being overpowering or cloying.
This original is definitely superior to the reformulated version, M7 Oud Absolu, that is part of a line, "La Collection," of a handful of reformulations of vaulted classics, like Jazz.
Certainly for an EDT, it's superlative in terms of power, along the likes of the 1980s powerhouses, or even some of the Mugler A*Men line.
I'm not blown away but I'd still say it leans more toward a "love" than a "like" so I'd be happy to have more than my decant but am also content to test my decant out while I test the market, though the market surely seems high for it.
8 out of 10
This original is definitely superior to the reformulated version, M7 Oud Absolu, that is part of a line, "La Collection," of a handful of reformulations of vaulted classics, like Jazz.
Certainly for an EDT, it's superlative in terms of power, along the likes of the 1980s powerhouses, or even some of the Mugler A*Men line.
I'm not blown away but I'd still say it leans more toward a "love" than a "like" so I'd be happy to have more than my decant but am also content to test my decant out while I test the market, though the market surely seems high for it.
8 out of 10
I won't knock M7 outright. It's a daring, bold scent that is an acquire taste, both for wearer and those who smell it.
M7 grabs you from the very start and demands your (and others) attention with the tangy opening notes coupled with the agarwood. That's where one would determine, IMO, whether or not it's the fragrance for him.
In my case, I found it too strong and unrelenting. Woody oriental scents are a favorite of mine; I like what M7 is trying to achieve, but I think there are other fragrances that do it in tamer, more accessible ways.
Nevertheless...if you're looking for a pungent, powdery fragrance that won't pull any punches, M7 is for you. Quite hard to find nowadays for a decent price, alas.
M7 grabs you from the very start and demands your (and others) attention with the tangy opening notes coupled with the agarwood. That's where one would determine, IMO, whether or not it's the fragrance for him.
In my case, I found it too strong and unrelenting. Woody oriental scents are a favorite of mine; I like what M7 is trying to achieve, but I think there are other fragrances that do it in tamer, more accessible ways.
Nevertheless...if you're looking for a pungent, powdery fragrance that won't pull any punches, M7 is for you. Quite hard to find nowadays for a decent price, alas.
Stardate 20161228:
A nice fragrance. I find no oud in it though.
It is sweety, ambery and has that medicinal vibe.
I would recommend it but for the price. I would get Kalemat instead. Kalemat is an EDP to M7 EDT.
A nice fragrance. I find no oud in it though.
It is sweety, ambery and has that medicinal vibe.
I would recommend it but for the price. I would get Kalemat instead. Kalemat is an EDP to M7 EDT.
a syrupy medicinal powdery ambery oudy fragrance.
vintage version (amber glass on 4 sides): This is a great fragrance from YSL. opens up with a quiet sharp and sweet medicinal smell that is pleasant. as time progresses it gets less medicinal and more powdery and ambery. the fragrance is also quiet sweet. i always cant stop sniffing the atomizer. smells really good. the performance is good. (12 hour longevity). most suitable in cooler weather. highly recommended.
9.1/10
vintage version (amber glass on 4 sides): This is a great fragrance from YSL. opens up with a quiet sharp and sweet medicinal smell that is pleasant. as time progresses it gets less medicinal and more powdery and ambery. the fragrance is also quiet sweet. i always cant stop sniffing the atomizer. smells really good. the performance is good. (12 hour longevity). most suitable in cooler weather. highly recommended.
9.1/10
To those who looked down on M7:
Perhaps your expectations were way too high, you didn't sample it long enough, or the note associations from your experiences colored your opinion.
M7 was a major milestone in perfumery. Alberto and Jacques had experienced Arabian attars blended with oudh and wanted to find a way to introduce this kind of composition to the West. And they did just that.
M7 has an unmistakable oud note, mixed with amber, vetiver, and musk, plus some other notes. It produces a somewhat cherry wood accord. Some equate it to cherry cough syrup, but that's more of a visceral knee-jerk reaction. Intro the drydown the "cherry" subsides a bit.
This is a wonderful fragrance. It was reformulated a few years after its release (the notable visual change was the bottle, where the brown glass what changed to clear and a brown translucent sticker applied to the front side). The start is different, not quite as rich, but into the drydown it is hard to tell the two apart.
Unfortunately, YSL discontinued M7... then once interest rebounded, they released M7 Oud Absolu. That's a nice fragrance in of itself, but for me it's not a replacement for M7. If you enjoy oudh and are curious about M7, get some while you can. Prices just keep going up, making acquisition more painful to the wallet.
Perhaps your expectations were way too high, you didn't sample it long enough, or the note associations from your experiences colored your opinion.
M7 was a major milestone in perfumery. Alberto and Jacques had experienced Arabian attars blended with oudh and wanted to find a way to introduce this kind of composition to the West. And they did just that.
M7 has an unmistakable oud note, mixed with amber, vetiver, and musk, plus some other notes. It produces a somewhat cherry wood accord. Some equate it to cherry cough syrup, but that's more of a visceral knee-jerk reaction. Intro the drydown the "cherry" subsides a bit.
This is a wonderful fragrance. It was reformulated a few years after its release (the notable visual change was the bottle, where the brown glass what changed to clear and a brown translucent sticker applied to the front side). The start is different, not quite as rich, but into the drydown it is hard to tell the two apart.
Unfortunately, YSL discontinued M7... then once interest rebounded, they released M7 Oud Absolu. That's a nice fragrance in of itself, but for me it's not a replacement for M7. If you enjoy oudh and are curious about M7, get some while you can. Prices just keep going up, making acquisition more painful to the wallet.
M7 is famous for its cough syrup opening, which is followed by a cherry pipe tobacco and a strong boozy note. Only then does the agar wood emerge and slowly take the lead and carry to through to the finish. It is also famous for being one of the first breakthrough oud scents and Tom Ford's freshman effort at Yves Saint Laurent. M7 is famous, too–or perhaps infamous–for the highly charged eroticism of its advertising campaign. So what is it like? This is a medicinal, fruity, tobacco-rich, boozy and, finally, woody fragrance that is dense, sensual and reminds me in some ways of Zino. The agar wood underscores the fragrance with a slightly acrid, semi skanky note that adds to the sensuality of this scent. Masculine? Yes, very, but could work on a woman very well–a pipe-smoking woman with a cough, anyway….
M7 came to me three days ago, and I acknowledge that it is a very good-quality and unique fragrance, but it's not the kind of perfume I'd wear on a regular basis.
This juice has got a unisex vibe, which makes it suitable for women, as well; in my case, I find it a little feminine and odd for my taste (to each his own!). It's not the sweetest scent you can find, but it does give off sweetness and noticeability, and it can be a little too heavy if oversprayed. It's often been said that M7 is not for everybody, and I'm not one this fragrance is destined to be used by. Longevity is good (6-8 hours), and sillage is average. The raspberry-incense-oud cocktail can still be detected after 5 hours, and there's an animalic hint to it.
In summary, this eccentric piece of perfumery is quite distinct, bold, special, and difficult to overlook; even so, it's not a scent I'd buy a full bottle of (I like Fahrenheit absolute a lot more...actually, I love it!). Then again, as I once said, I might change my mind over time and grow to like it; some things take time to get used to and to be appreciated.
For fragrance aficionados only!
This juice has got a unisex vibe, which makes it suitable for women, as well; in my case, I find it a little feminine and odd for my taste (to each his own!). It's not the sweetest scent you can find, but it does give off sweetness and noticeability, and it can be a little too heavy if oversprayed. It's often been said that M7 is not for everybody, and I'm not one this fragrance is destined to be used by. Longevity is good (6-8 hours), and sillage is average. The raspberry-incense-oud cocktail can still be detected after 5 hours, and there's an animalic hint to it.
In summary, this eccentric piece of perfumery is quite distinct, bold, special, and difficult to overlook; even so, it's not a scent I'd buy a full bottle of (I like Fahrenheit absolute a lot more...actually, I love it!). Then again, as I once said, I might change my mind over time and grow to like it; some things take time to get used to and to be appreciated.
For fragrance aficionados only!
This review is of the first version which had dark glass on all sides.
M7 by Yves Saint Laurent came out at a time when this house was churning out great fragrances, and this is one of them. It's hard to know to what extent Tom Ford pushed the creation of such daring releases, one can only speculate. The oud boom in western perfumery started perhaps sometime around 2007. M7 is arguably the first western fragrance to use oud, and in 2002, was way ahead of its time. Perfumers Jacques Cavallier and Alberto Morillas together are credited with creating this masterpiece.
M7 is a stunning woody oriental centred around agarwood, with notes of amber and vetiver surrounding it. There is some hint of citrus at the beginning. The fragrance has been said to have a sweet, syrupy, medicinal vibe, which is effectively the oud-amber combination. I am personally grateful that it doesn't have vanilla which often makes such compositions overtly sweet. M7 wears like a dream, projects well and stays on skin a long time. Like many other great fragrances, it has haunting evocative qualities. If I would had to pick only one oriental, this would be it.
I won't take the trouble of finding another vintage bottle once my existing one runs dry. The scent will fade; sentiments will not.
M7 by Yves Saint Laurent came out at a time when this house was churning out great fragrances, and this is one of them. It's hard to know to what extent Tom Ford pushed the creation of such daring releases, one can only speculate. The oud boom in western perfumery started perhaps sometime around 2007. M7 is arguably the first western fragrance to use oud, and in 2002, was way ahead of its time. Perfumers Jacques Cavallier and Alberto Morillas together are credited with creating this masterpiece.
M7 is a stunning woody oriental centred around agarwood, with notes of amber and vetiver surrounding it. There is some hint of citrus at the beginning. The fragrance has been said to have a sweet, syrupy, medicinal vibe, which is effectively the oud-amber combination. I am personally grateful that it doesn't have vanilla which often makes such compositions overtly sweet. M7 wears like a dream, projects well and stays on skin a long time. Like many other great fragrances, it has haunting evocative qualities. If I would had to pick only one oriental, this would be it.
I won't take the trouble of finding another vintage bottle once my existing one runs dry. The scent will fade; sentiments will not.
Stunning intense and unique fragrance. I have also heard it said that the vintage M7 was becoming too expensive for Ysl to keep producing so they reformulated it. Maybe it did contain pure agar wood oil. Does anyone know for sure.
Warm agarwood smell. Quite smooth and well blended. It's a little sweet. I've never liked agarwood much but this fragrance is very enjoyable. The musk and amber make it very comfortable and versatile and probably the most versatile agarwood you could imagine. Nice dry-down that isn't too sweet or too dry.
The Myth, the Legend... M7.
Tom Ford was known for a lot of things... the man who turned around the fortunes of Gucci from almost bankrupt to such a degree that they were able to buy YSL. He always took risks and they paid off, they were always daring and innovative. A master of design.
M7 was (and in some cases still is) a fragrance unlike any other. It was the first time the note of oud was introduced in mainstream perfumery. There was nothing like it at the time of release. Innovative and daring (just like the YSL of the past). This fragrance is strong yet soft, powerful yet quiet. Very masculine but with a hint of femininity. It's also very well made. Beautiful, elegant stuff.
M7 opens up with a slightly herbal and aromatic accord of rosemary with fresh bergamot & mandarin. What starts to come through very soon though... is the oud. Oud, or Agarwood, is the sap from an infected tropical tree. It can smell medicinal, it can smell sweet, animalic, and can often be cloying. Here that isn't the case. In M7 the oud is perfectly balanced with the other notes, the amber and the musk. There is also an earthy vetiver note which stops this from being overtly sweet, and the drydown is a smooth, powdery amber & musk combination. Extremely pleasing and nice.
My bottle is a reformulation from 2009, but not the "re-orchestrated" version released recently by Yves Saint-Laurent called M7 Oud Absolu. I haven't smelled that but I'm told it keeps some of the character of the original.
Personally, I think this is a wonderful gem of a fragrance, but I think that this has since been explored more by the countless oud variations that flooded the market in recent years. I have a hard time recommending this purely as an oud fragrance, and if you want oud, there are better examples out there. But for what it is, it's a masterpiece in my opinion. But for everyone else, feel free to check out the new version or any "stronger" oud blends out there... because I'm keeping this one for sure!
Tom Ford was known for a lot of things... the man who turned around the fortunes of Gucci from almost bankrupt to such a degree that they were able to buy YSL. He always took risks and they paid off, they were always daring and innovative. A master of design.
M7 was (and in some cases still is) a fragrance unlike any other. It was the first time the note of oud was introduced in mainstream perfumery. There was nothing like it at the time of release. Innovative and daring (just like the YSL of the past). This fragrance is strong yet soft, powerful yet quiet. Very masculine but with a hint of femininity. It's also very well made. Beautiful, elegant stuff.
M7 opens up with a slightly herbal and aromatic accord of rosemary with fresh bergamot & mandarin. What starts to come through very soon though... is the oud. Oud, or Agarwood, is the sap from an infected tropical tree. It can smell medicinal, it can smell sweet, animalic, and can often be cloying. Here that isn't the case. In M7 the oud is perfectly balanced with the other notes, the amber and the musk. There is also an earthy vetiver note which stops this from being overtly sweet, and the drydown is a smooth, powdery amber & musk combination. Extremely pleasing and nice.
My bottle is a reformulation from 2009, but not the "re-orchestrated" version released recently by Yves Saint-Laurent called M7 Oud Absolu. I haven't smelled that but I'm told it keeps some of the character of the original.
Personally, I think this is a wonderful gem of a fragrance, but I think that this has since been explored more by the countless oud variations that flooded the market in recent years. I have a hard time recommending this purely as an oud fragrance, and if you want oud, there are better examples out there. But for what it is, it's a masterpiece in my opinion. But for everyone else, feel free to check out the new version or any "stronger" oud blends out there... because I'm keeping this one for sure!
i love love love m7. it has such a strong sexual power to it. congratulations mister ford for making a bold perfume for a house and during and age where clean and safe were the best sellers.
M7 is quite hard for me to review, it has been my "signature" scent around 2003 (actually more than "signature" it was the only bottle I had at that time, and I was not even that passionate about perfumes, I think it was a gift and I used to bath in it if only I knew they would have discontinued it). To smell it again today after years threw me back in time, which kind of makes it difficult to review it "objectively". However I must say that it aged so well, I am ultra happy to have it back in my rotation, actually it is even better than I remembered such a complete, rich, irresistible scent. Thousands of words have been written about M7, mostly about the fact it's the first scent introducing agar wood to Western consumers: if we speak about "oud", today there is surely dozens of scents which have a more bold, powerful and deep oud note. The fact is that M7 does not want to be an "oud something", meaning that it's not about oud being thrown among random notes (to make it sound different from other ouds); M7 it's a perfume, with capital "p", therefore the oud is only a component beautifully and masterfully blended with the rest. Basically the original M7 is a great, irresistible, captivating, mellow and elegant woody-ambery scent with sweet nuances a medicinal-winey and slightly boozy kind of sweet with a genius hint of dry herbs (oregano) following the "lesson" of Ambre Sultan about how delightfully amber & herbs go together, and the dark, woody (and not rubbery) agar wood base. That's it: a dark, yet friendly scent, rich but gentle on skin basically anytime of the year, refined, deep, versatile. It may look simple, but you smell it once, and you will recognize it anywhere in the future. It has appeal, class, it fits like a glove, it has the same polarizing charm of a well-cut suit, which may have nothing flashy or bold, but makes you stand out for sure. Fans of modern ouds may not like this, as there is no "in-your-face" oud notes instead the note it's more delicate and blended with the rest of the components; but oud aside, M7 is a complete masterpiece of strength, elegance, depth, contrasts and modernity. It is a banality, but: "they don't make them like this anymore". Don't feed the sharks (sellers), but grab it if you find it a decent price!
9,5/10
9,5/10
Genre: Woody Oriental
I'm sure I was expecting too much from M7, given all the hoopla. I certainly expected a more forward and aggressive oudh. M7 goes on very dry, with a moderate touch of oudh, but develops a faint sweetness at its heart after the first half hour. It becomes a thick, dark, and woody scent, but the potentially jagged oudh note is cushioned, (even muffled,) by a strong soapy undercurrent. This leaves M7 smelling very tame compared to the Montale oudh fragrances, but certainly broadens its appeal as well.
After a couple of hours' wear the oudh settles deep into the background while spices and vanilla take the helm. The soapy note that was apparent at the onset surfaces again during the woody drydown, which is far more tame than the oudh seasoned opening.
Quality and an eventful development, but it doesn't necessarily excite me all that much.
I'm sure I was expecting too much from M7, given all the hoopla. I certainly expected a more forward and aggressive oudh. M7 goes on very dry, with a moderate touch of oudh, but develops a faint sweetness at its heart after the first half hour. It becomes a thick, dark, and woody scent, but the potentially jagged oudh note is cushioned, (even muffled,) by a strong soapy undercurrent. This leaves M7 smelling very tame compared to the Montale oudh fragrances, but certainly broadens its appeal as well.
After a couple of hours' wear the oudh settles deep into the background while spices and vanilla take the helm. The soapy note that was apparent at the onset surfaces again during the woody drydown, which is far more tame than the oudh seasoned opening.
Quality and an eventful development, but it doesn't necessarily excite me all that much.