Reviews of Y Eau de Parfum by Yves Saint Laurent

The original Y EDT never struck me as particularly interesting, so I skipped this for a long time and hadn’t really revisited the line until now. I’m trying to give it a fair chance, because it would be easy to write this off as just another shower-gel-style blue fragrance. Compared to something like Ralph’s Club Parfum, which sits in a similar style, I find Y Parfum smoother overall. The amberwood doesn’t come across as quite as synthetic, and the whole composition feels more rounded. It’s clean, fresh, and straightforward—that’s really the best way to describe it. There isn’t much complexity to dissect here.

Yes, it’s synthetic, but you could do much worse. Even within the “shower gel” category, this feels relatively balanced and somewhat refined. I wouldn’t mind smelling this on other people, and I think it’s a solid option for beginners. With fragrances like this, I think you have to grade on a curve and judge them against similar releases. I don’t expect this to be an enthusiast favorite, but who am I to judge since this comes from someone who loves the original batches of Versace Eros EDT. I do think enthusiasts can still appreciate how well-balanced it is. Push it just a little further in either direction and it could easily become harsh and unpleasant, but here everything feels dialed in.

I’m testing this side-by-side with Ralph’s Club Parfum, and to my nose, this is clearly better. Ralph’s Club Parfum comes off harsh and reminiscent of fabric softener. Interestingly, both are by the same perfumer, but the balance feels off in Ralph’s Club. I don’t want to give this an enthusiastic thumbs up, but graded on a curve, it does earn a thumbs up. It’s not for me personally, but I can see where it fits. It’s a dumb reach—something you can wear casually or even in more formal settings if you control the number of sprays. The only time I wouldn’t reach for it is in intimate situations, where I’d prefer something warmer and more engaging.

Seasonally, this should work in most conditions. Maybe avoid extreme summer heat, as it could become a bit cloying, but otherwise it’s versatile. I haven’t smelled the clones, but I wouldn’t be surprised if decent ones exist, given how straightforward the profile is.

Despite my best efforts, I just can't bring myself to love this fragrance. The opening is dominated by a loud burst of ginger and apple, which overshadows the sage, geranium, and juniper berries—notes that are nearly imperceptible to my nose. As it settles, I catch only faint traces of vetiver and tonka bean in the base. Overall, the scent remains quite linear, with the ginger and apple lingering throughout its entire wear.

I don’t love it, nor do I hate it—but I find myself unable to enjoy it.

Sorry YSL.

Strangely robotic and post-modern, this wonderfully synthetic fragrance somehow evokes in me the idea of ​​a post-atomic era in an imaginary "sideral" society that arises after a nuclear conflict, characterized by a devastated, inhospitable and radioactive Earth, where the survivors must fight for their survival in a world without rules (sorry for my moonshiny imagination). Y Eau de Parfum by Yves Saint Laurent is a fresh (somewhat minty balsamic) aromatic-fougére "Blue" fragrance for men launched in 2018 and created by the great Dominique Ropion. This fragrance (in a slightly darker bottle) is a new intenser and bolder version of the original Y fragrance (another 1997 Lanvin L'Homme's contemporary successors) launched in 2017 and is a freshly deep aromatic spicy fougére with masculine dry florals and a woody balsamic resinous basic lingering olfactory substance (a sort of aromatic mild tonkinian frankincense waving as the veritable x factor of the olfactory fatigue). The juice itself is freshly virile and seductive, super masculine and modern. It could be definitely ranked as a boldly sensual masculine night-time weapon ideal for events, night clubs or datings (at a reasonable price). Ginger, zesty bergamot, green apple, sage, juniper berries and a synth somewhat balsamic/semi-ozonic lingering insertion provide a general "dynamic" muscular virile aromatic aura enriched by angular leafy florals and musk. On this stage the aroma is intense, somewhat tart and kind of leafy angular since when gradually the edges begin to smooth out, the tonka bean produces a touch of rounder sweetness and this magnificently futuristic balsamic (yet vaguely rubbery and woody) incense begins to spread a soft urban, post-industrial or kind of "sideral" trail. The woody closing notes give a great (slightly powdery) base to the perfume that doesn't make it too sweet ar androgynous. This fragrance could more generally be considered part of a clan of "Urban Blue" fragrances that also includes modern creations like Dior Sauvage Elixir (2021), First Instinct Together Eau de Toilette For Him (2020) or Chanel Bleu EDP (2014), although Y Eau de Parfum has its own distinctive signature: this resinous, rubbery, sweet scent (but balanced by woody, angular, and aromatic drier notes), which gives it a very enigmatic and elusive post-modern/urban specificity. Performances are more than good on my skin.

An interesting combination of fresh and warm notes, with definite aromatics and spices; sage, geranium, juniper, ginger, apple against a base of tonka and woods. It has the usual shower-gel vibe that designer masculines in blue bottles often feel they need to have. Y EdP is an improvement over the original Y EdT, but it still has two shortcomings including one major - it is synthetic to the max. The other issue is that it can be a bit too sweet at times. Furthermore I found the dry-down a bit lacking, as it quietens down considerably after about 3-4 hours. I find it wears better in cooler weather, with good projection and five to six hours of longevity based on a liberal application.

Stylistically and in terms of scent profile I find some crossover here with Boss Bottled and Layton. Y EdP is a good scent for the younger crowd with its youthful appeal, and would make a nice gift to any college goer.


3/5

It's ok, pleasant and nice.

Not much else I can say about this.
Out of the shower kinda smell, or if you cant decide what to wear for the day, this is a good grab for anytime or occasion.


Overall scent 6.5- 10
Performance 5.0- 10
Sillage 5.1- 10

Update 13th June 2024:
It's been a long time since I sprayed Y EDP, but decided on a whim today to spray some on a card. It's been reformulated, but it's much better. It's a lot more buttoned up. The sweetness is toned way down and the apple note is blended in much better. I bought a bottle of the Lataffa Fakhar clone, and I just receive it 2 days after this update. It smells great, just like the reformulated Y EDP. This goes to in the massive pile of mass appealing freshies like Hugo Boss EDT where you can almost pick any one from said pile and be happy. With that said Y EDP is the hot bottle of the past year or so, so it's a little more expensive but still a good choice.

Original review 7th October 2022:
On my skin, this turns sickly sweet with green apple. This definitely leans feminine and cannot be worn by a man.

By the time I got to this one, I'd already had Eros, Sauvage, AdG, etc., so the whole sweet-fresh shower gel thing had been played out for me. I'll put this one right smack dab in the middle - it's not extraordinary, it's not bad. But it's not terribly special for the price they ask. You could certainly do better. You could certainly do worse.

Ah this reminds me of the time I went into the shower slapped on a heavy palm full of my 4 in one shower gel and lathered it up , to bad I don’t like my fragrances being indiscernible from generic shower gel.

Finally, I was able to test this on my skin and compare it to Sauavge EDP. Y EDP gave me a headache. Not because it was cloying or bad but because I couldn’t stop smelling it. I loved it so much that I gave my own self a headache smelling it and continued to smell it anyways until fatigue set in. The opening is important to any fragrance obviously because people testing it at the mall will usually only ever smell the opening before deciding to buy it. The opening was above average. I think I am beginning to understand these blue scents after owning Invictus legend and trying Sauavge. The opening is better than both of those blue scents but the heart notes. Wow. The heart and the way the base cuts through. The sage and juniper berries mingling with the cedar and tonka bean is just so blissful. There’s a salty note that has been boggling my mind and I can’t figure out from where this salty note comes from. Is it the ambroxan? The salty note reminds me of salted caramel. The dry down is the typical YSL cedar which is always nice and smooth but add in the tonka bean and the smell of salted caramel and you have the dry down for Y EDP. It’s fresh and woody yet creamy and delicious at the same time. It goes beyond the “shower gel” smell of Sauvage. It doesn’t have an overly sweet opening like Invictus Legend. To call this a blue scent is an injustice to it. This is unique and fun. It’s also nice that YSL has a fragrance that is strong again. I love L’Homme and LNDL but they were never strong (I’m talking about preformulated too). L’Homme and LNDL are inviting and alluring fragrances that draw people in to your personal space. Y edp is more assertive but never aggressive. When someone smells the sillage as you walk past, they will smell the fresh top notes but once they get close enough, the cedar/Tonka bean and salted caramel notes become apparent. As I said earlier it’s both fresh and delicious. How did Sauavge do in comparison? It barely left my skin enough for me to smell it and I smelled Sauvage first. When I could smell it, I thought to myself, “why not just buy a quality body wash instead of this perfume?”. Sauvage’s impression on me is just that; expensive soap. Which is unfortunate because I wanted to like both.

Nice enough scent. Definitely not smelling like a lot of other recent blue fragrances which is a good thing.

I'm reminded of the discontinued Transat from Yves Rocher, which was done by Kurkdjian. That one sat at a lower price point and was scratchier because of it, Y EDP is not, it's very smooth. Main notes to me: a powdery, somewhat make up like apple accord, lavender/geranium/vetiver combo, a bit of amber extreme, tonka.

So it's an aquatic with a hint of gourmand (tonka) and a really good "Hugo!"-like apple accord with a nice powderiness. Doubted between neutral and positive but it smells too good to get just a neutral.

Nothing much I can add to the other positive reviews. Very crown pleasing, compliment pulling fragrance that is a bit on the sweeter side - but not overly sweet, so you can really use this as an every day fragrance too.

Very versatile, suitable for almost any situation.

Good longevity, ~8 hours, project well for two hours. Only downside is that it is a bit expesive for what it gives.

The scent 8/10
Longevity/projection 8/10
Price/value 6/10

Everyone says that this fragrance is very synthetic. It is, indeed, but it is very well put together, so who cares!

It's not a masterpiece or anything mindblowing like AdP Colonia Intensa or AdG Profumo, but it is very pleasant and that's what matters to me.

I've got to say though, it is very young, I don't see this fragrance as mature and elegant, it's a fresh, sweet and cozy fragrance. I'd say it could be considered unisex, but not to the point that it could be mistaken as a feminine scent.

I do love it and I think the smell is very relaxing, well done YSL

P.s.: Don't make the mistake of buying the EDT version, that one actually sucks

I love this scent. I have around 20+ bottles in my collection and I am relatively new to the fragrance community. It might have to do with my younger nose since I am 23 years-old. But, when I first smelled this at Ulta with my girlfriend, it was the only fragrance I kept on wanting to smell/sniff. Bought a bottle from YSL's offcial site (10% off for signing up + free engraving!)

I work 10-hour shifts at an office setting, and for me, I honestly still smell the scent when I get home. The opening is just so refreshing and deep to me. I also love Eros, guess I'm a sucker for that synthetic Apple scent. Also that ginger is noticeable too and I really feel like it invigorates the opening so well with the bergamont. The dry-down is just really pleasant and easy to like for me. This scent is mass appealing. Projection for me is moderate, which is perfect for me. It's winter at the moment and I find the performance works well even in the moderate cold days here in Washington. Such a versatile scent: wear it casually, for work, professionally, date nights, ect. Still, its probably best for the day/casual/work in my opinion as there are better options for night time/date scents.

Scent: 8.5/10
Longevity: 9/10
Projection: 8/10

Recommend? YES, definitely recommend you give this a try in my humble opinion!

A very clean, safe and extremely versatile scent. I find the initial blast to be quite pleasant, uplifting and strangely addicting (I like what I like). The dry down is what really sets this apart from the EDT as it just really has more heart and soul to it overall, more refined, a bit more mature (not old man mature) and comfortable with what it is and what it there to do compared to it's EDT counterpart.

The longevity has significantly improved over the EDT, and I found out the hard way to be careful not to overspray, 2-3 sprays max will last you the majority of your day. The projection of this was a bit tricky for me, as instead of it being more of a constant and slowly fading scent it would come and go in waves which caught me by surprise the first day of wearing it.

The versatility of this scent cannot be understated, you can wear this during any season for any reason and it never feels out of place.

Smells to me like every other designer right now and not good to boot. Gross synthetic soup

A tad much to my nose, but I thought the EdT was perfect, so...

A more of everything version of the original, so yes, a true eau de parfum.

It's really well executed, strong, spicy, sweet, woody at the end. Very millennial!

Better and more interesting than the EDT. However, this is a very plastic fragrance, very synthetic and there's barely anything natural about it.

Subjectively - I'd pass this.

Objectively - A good mainstream scent that does well exactly what it's supposed to do.

Fruity notes, primarily from the apple and bergamote, are very obvious and strong, however not in a fresh manner but oppulent, thick. I dare say even tad bit dark. They did a good job combining these fruity accord with the woody notes and tonka.

Logical, realistic view: so is this something new? Not at all. There are plenty of smilar stories already told in the 2000.-2010. designer era of fragrance. Even this decade gave similar stories, one obvious being CK Reveal Man.


Albeit there's no ambroxan note here, the signature of it is definitely here. Since Dior pulled this one off in Sauvage , there's barely a notable fragrance without this sublime note that emulates ambroxan even though there's none of it as direct component.

Subjectively: too fruity, too synthetic, too sweet and too plastic

Originality 3/10
Scent 3/10
Longevity 7/10
Projection 7/10
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50%


Objectively: modern, fun, charming, free and what's most important - new.

Originality 5/10
Scent 6/10
Longevity 7/10
Projection 7/10
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62,5%

Conclusion: of course it's not that bad or terrible! It's not a "mistake" or whatever. It's just obvious for what it is and it has a simple purpose. One has to sympathise with this scent at least to a degree. So, neutral rating from me.

(edit: deleted a part of a review written in Croatian that I used to write the review in English)

If you want to know what fume enthusiasts mean by "synthetic", all you have to do is give this stuff a quick sniff. That being said, I go back and forth on the stuff as a whole. The opening is no doubt a synthetic cocktail, but it weirdly works on some level, the use of apple makes it less cloying than it should be. I have to admit, there's something annoyingly pleasant about it. The "clean" synthetic opening gives way to a boring but inoffensive middle warmth, adding to my confusion as to what I really think about it. Its base is even more boring, and tempts me to push it into thumbs-down territory.

There are better options if you're want to go this route, but it's also not the worst thing you could put on.

The ginger and bergamot is dominating the top note phase, quite refreshing but not unpleasant, although the ginger has quite a harsh side at times.

In heart notes I get a more floral direction, carnation and geranium, with a fruity apple note that is not too sweet.

The base is a petrochemical cesspool of vanilla and an agglomeration of nonspecific woods.

I get moderate sillage, good projection and six hours of longevity on my skin.

A spring day scent that is not bad, but generic for quite some part of the development, and overly synthetic, at worst in the base. 2.75/5.

Typical "modernized" synthetic opening: cloyingly synthetic on first application. Trashy and abrasive. Thankfully, the notes underneath don't smell as "young man club scent" as the opening portends. The ginger is sharp and the apple tart: given the nature of this cologne, those two cutting notes work well in conjunction. Bergamott also adds the lime-sharpness. Underneath it all, a woody base that doesn't stand out in any way. In theory, I would think these notes may be too aggressive in conjunction: however, the juniper comes through after an hour or so and gives YSL a softer side, fruity and a bit more mellow.

I don't find anything unique about this: it's hypergeneric. Even a moderate overapplication would probably make me (and possibly other people in the room) sick. It has a strong projection and it lasts a good 6-7 hours on your skin. Very masculine in my opinion: I picture a young man wearing this in an attempt to smell "fresh" (aka like chemicals) and sharp (cheap). If these are your type of colognes, feel free to purchase. For what it is, it's probably a notch above the others.

6/10

Sage and a bit of fruity top, apple notes are extremely juicy. Very clean and aquatic. Much better than the EdT, soft and sharp at the same time and very pleasing scent. Juniper notes give it a small batch gin company vibe here and there.

I absolutely LOVE this scent. It's a clean, masculine masterpiece in scent... the only thing I wish it would give me is more longevity in projection; I get about 2-4 hours max, and then the radius of projection begins to shrink (I still have the longevity in basenotes, it's just the range of projection shrinks down)

It IS my current favorite, despite the aforementioned shortcomings, as the aroma itself is an absolute masterpiece.

I utterly hated Y by Yves Saint Laurent (2017), as it represented everything that was wrong with the state of masculine designer perfumery. Dominique Ropion has seemingly come back to fix what he broke with Y Eau de Parfum (2018), and although I still think the fragrance is a very phoned-in designer juice, I actually like it now. Wowee.. what a difference a few minor tweaks can make. The thing I hated most about Y by Yves Saint Laurent was the scratchy, itchy, powdery semi-marine 90's fougère top emulating Nautica (1992) or Azzaro Chrome (1996), stretched over a laboratory of aromachemicals and the fashionable ambroxan/norlimbanol base. The smell of this combination felt like a perfume composed in a La-Z-Boy recliner at Dominique Ropion's home, as if he was surfing Netflix while scribbling notes on how to make the fastest buck for the house who commissioned him. The end result to me comes across like the embodiment of every adulteration designer perfume has embraced since the beginning of the 1990's; every sin committed, every cheap cop-out, every stylistic boor, every pastiche cliche of consumerist culture and shopping mall blah since the rise of the aquatic and fresh fougère compounded into one Antichrist of a masculine fragrance, signalling Armageddon on the perfume counters of department stores everywhere. Y by Yves Saint Laurent was so trashy and basic that it should have been a guest on Jerry Springer. We're talking not one, but multiple generations of cost-cutting BS crammed into one anathema de toilette for men. Granted, it's perfectly dialed-in for the brainless "my girlfriend likes it" CISHET upper middle-class American code monkey suburbanite you'll likely find these days in California, Washington, Northern Virginia, and New York, since they have to smell respectable while waiting in line for their Tesla Model 3 reservation to be completed, while their vapid significant others take duckface selfies on Instagram and chat about the latest Real Housewives episodes, but I digress. Y Eau de Parfum is the first real competition the Bleu de Chanel dynasty has had since 2010, and this is in light of all the BdC flankers as well, since all the other "me too" compositions from other houses in the wake of the watershed Chanel masculine have been too contrived, boring, or different in tone to be real contenders.

The things that turn around the cultural and olfactory trainwreck that is Y by Yves Saint Laurent and into something palatable are improvements in tone and texture. Most of the note pyramid is otherwise left alone, but the few key things that made the original so irritating are removed, to be replaced by notes which help the rest of the perfume make more sense, or that's how I see it anyway. Y Eau de Parfum doesn't try to be a crappy new-age aquatic-ish candied amber fresh fougère "everyone please like me" all-in-one generational stopgap focus group hot mess like Y by Yves Saint Laurent. Instead, this draws a line in the sand and leans towards nightclub-friendly "fresh oriental" tones, which opens up a whole new can of worms since a lot of people hate clubber scents, but I'd much rather smell Paco Rabanne 1 Million (2008), Versace Eros (2013), or Azzaro Wanted by Night (2018) over the midlife crisis jus that is Y by Yves Saint Laurent. At least with Y Eau de Parfum, Dominique Ropion focuses the camera lens on one specific purpose, trading out the phoney aldehydes in the bergamot ginger top for apple, which makes the scent instantly more comoforable and inviting for nightlife. The middle sees the sage and geranium of the original rounded out by juniper instead of the shrill violet leaf of the original. The overall effect by the midpoint of the wear is a modern sweetness which is still an acquired taste, but one that doesn't require selling your soul like the original release. By the base, the blue-hued sweetness of Y Eau de Parfum pulls away from any comparisons to the heavy-handed Eros or Wanted by Night since it takes a dialed-down play from the Bleu de Chanel (2010) playbook, which is perhaps the only use of "amberwoods" that has ever truly been accepted by hobbyists, made all the more amusing because it is the first significant use of the accord anyway. If Ropion was emulating the work of Jacques Polge, he did a good job, as cedar, cashmeran, ambroxan, and olibdanum mix with more-traditional fougère elements like tonka, vetiver, and a pinch of oakmoss. Y Eau de Parfum still may not redeem itself in the eyes of niche or vintage zealots, but it's the new pillar release that Y by Yves Saint Laurent should have been, and stands strong as a unique entry in a popular style, rather than previous Frankenstein's monster of aromachemicals encompassing three decades of boring to the point of offensiveness. Wear time will vary but this is over the 10 hour mark and is softer in sillage than the original EdT as well.

Like with Sauvage Eau de Parfum (2018), Y Eau de Parfum atones for the sins of its opportunistic EdT predecessor, while retaining a familiar personality for fans who enjoyed it, but refined into something that has more artistic merit and validity in the greater scheme of perfume history. Fans of Creed or Xerjoff will still hate this, and fans of long-dead overpriced vintage Patou or Gucci masculines will still call this a lapdog of Satan in a bottle, but Y Eau de Parfum at least takes the "amberwoods powerhouse" trope of the 2010's in a more aromatic and pleasant direction. I don't mind aromachemicals if they're blended skillfully into a fragrance, but I don't like it when they assault my nose with impunity and come across like somebody is trying to cast the widest net to reel in the largest haul of suckers. I have to work with those people, and they fog up the bathrooms and elevators enough as it is with over-application, so they can at least wear something that feels friendly and interesting to the nose. People who weren't convinced with Y by Yves Saint Laurent but who dig modern designer styles should give this a sniff, but people who have long since unplugged from the designer realms probably won't find enough here to warrant a revisit, so I'm only pitching this to people who actually like where perfume in this segment has headed over the last 15 years. For anyone falling outside of that circle, you'll at least find Y Eau de Parfum more tolerable than it's precursor EdT, but still not your cup of tea. As for me, it might be a long while before it ends up in the collection, and if it does by the time you read my review, consider me bored enough to have pulled the trigger on it, since buying Y Eau de Parfum is like adding sour cream to a standard Taco Bell taco in a late night food run: it is a significant upgrade, but only satisfies in lieu of better options. For me personally, Y Eau de Parfum is like drinking RC Cola when tired of Pepsi or Coke, which is about where it sits on the priority of usage too, and is barely above board enough for a thumbs up. Test before diving in, especially if you're on the fence about amberwoods freshies, but at least go forward knowing that this actually has some considerable chops, unlike the original Y by Yves Saint Laurent, which I still hate. Again, small tweaks to a formula can make all the difference between good and bad in perfumery.

Opens up very similar to EDT but then starts to get more powdery. A few hours in, the EDT starts to become lighter, airier but the EDP stays true with the same scent and projection. The EDT is still sharper from beginning to end while the EDP is softer, more rounded.

Projection is good for 4-5 hours. Lasts on skin for 7-8 hours.