| Product: |
Yves Saint Laurent: Elle, Eau de Parfum |
| Date: |
29/04/08 (174 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Nice composition, fresh and sensual
Disadvantages: Not groundbreaking, pricey
INTRODUCTION
Having never worn an Yves Saint Laurent fragrance myself, as for some reason I've found them too mature for my taste at the time, I was intrigued to find a complimentary sample of their latest fragrance 'Elle' that arrived with the items I bought off Ebay. Yves Saint Laurent or YSL for short were all the rage in the 80s or maybe it's just the era I most remember them for and until today I'm having mental images of neon fuschia batwing jumpers and strong-smelling, decadent fragrances whenever I smell a whiff of one their classics such as Opium or Paris.
THE PACKAGING
The tall, rectangular bright fuschia bottle somehow reminds me of the eighties and disco dance floors, perfectly setting the scene for a fresh, energetic but sweet and girly perfume. The top of the bottle is encased between in a golden metallic plate on two sides and has the entwined YSL logo engraved in it. The bottle looks very well-defined, slightly masculine even though slim-lined and slender. The top is again square shaped and amplifies the elongated effect. The berry shade of the bottle makes this fragrance evocative of fruits, and the golden plates of woods.
THE FRAGRANCE
Top notes: cedrat, peony, lychee
A fruity and slightly spicy ice tea note hits my nose when I apply the fragrance first. It has a slightly breezy, aquatic character or what the air smells like in the springtime. This light and bright cocktail - what I can only identify as red berries infused with the aroma of rose petals - then suddenly wags its tail and there comes a prominent, characteristic odour of pink pepper loud and clear. It was such a surprise that it wouldn't have been exaggeration to call the fragrance 'pepper spray' at this point.
This phase luckily only lasts for about ten minutes when a more subtle note of patchouli appears with a hint of green coupled with the mellow and unmistakeable rosy peony to give the top notes a warm, welcoming but modern oriental feel that many perfumes do nowadays. Two of which immediately sprang to mind when I smelled Elle for the first time: Bright Crystal from Versace and Delicious Night from DKNY.
Middle notes: pink berries, freesia, jasmine
Meanwhile the fruity top notes died down somewhat and about half an hour later a more floral, clean notes appeared. Thease notes were laced with a hint of pepper though to a lot less extent and were mixed with a creaminess that started developing in the background. This creamy backdrop made all the difference and I again admired the complexity of the composition just like at the very beginning.
The sillage was a sheer, bright, floral bouquet generously seasoned with a dollop of over-riped plum and in texture it reminded me of the touch of silky red satin. When I smelled closely, a deep, oriental, ambery aroma hit my nose, that conjured up the smell of burning insense mixed with ginger and green tea, like the accord in Bvlgari Blv, only warmer and more floral.
Base notes: patchouli, vetiver, ambrette
About 4 - 5 hours later, which isn't extremely long for an eau de parfum, Elle gave out a nice, clean, exotic and oriental bouquet as its rosy peony and camphorous cedarwood notes mingle with a somewhat ambery finish. I did feel disappointed though that very soon afterwards the vibrant and rich spices, the powerful oriental notes and exotic florals have dried down into a slightly powdery floral woody accord. This accord did last for about another hour but it was only detectable on the skin. Overall, the dry down seemed weak and didn't last as long as many eau de parfums do.
CONCLUSION
The November 2007 apparition of Elle Eau de Parfum was a carefully planned marketing act to avoid sharing the launch with the many easy to miss and mediocre fragrances that came out earlier that year. Despite its promising beginning, when it impressed me with its complexity and playful sophistication, however, Elle didn't win me over.
I thought that Elle was different than the rest of the perfumes created in a nowadays ever so popular and similar- fruity - woody - oriental - vein, but sadly, this isn't true. Elle is nicely done, yes, but dramatically different and unique, no.
PRICE / WHERE TO BUY
Available at department stores, Boots and fragrance shops
£34 / 30ml Eau de Parfum
£48 / 50ml Eau de Parfum
ADDITIONAL RATING
Originality: 3 / 5
Composition: 4 / 5
Staying power: 3 / 5
Overall value: 4 / 5
Thanks for reading.
İpowered by lillybee also posted on Ciao.
Summary: A fresh oriental composition with the touch of 80s glamour
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