Y
Y by Yves Saint Laurent is a masculine-leaning eau de parfum from 2018 in the designer price tier. It opens with apple, ginger and bergamot, moves into sage, juniper berry and geranium and dries down to amber, tonka bean and cedarwood. Expect around 8 hours of wear, and it projects strongly.
Notes, explained
Opening
- Apple Crunchy and tart or soft and red, depending on the treatment.
- Ginger Warm, zesty and slightly soapy. Bridges citrus and spice.
- Bergamot Sharp citrus with a faint bitter edge. The opening of about half of all men's fragrances.
Heart
- Sage Dry, herbal and slightly bitter. Adds a grown-up, aromatic edge.
- Juniper Berry Gin, basically. Piney, dry and bracing.
- Geranium Rosy and minty at once. Reads masculine more often than not.
Dry-down
- Amber Warm, golden and resinous. Not a real material — a blend that glows.
- Tonka Bean Almond, hay and vanilla in one. Warm and slightly nutty.
- Cedarwood Dry, pencil-shaving woodiness. Clean and structural.
Smells like this
- Yves Saint Laurent Y Le Parfum
- Maison Francis Kurkdjian Amyris Homme
- Axe Africa
- Nautica Nautica Classic
- Ex Nihilo Amber Sky
- Kenneth Cole Black
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