Yves Saint Laurent (YSL for short) has given this community an abundance of amazing fragrances – from La Nuit de l’Homme to the massively copied Tuxedo to the multi-faceted “Y” line, there’s truly something for everybody here. It goes back to what I’ve said over and over on this blog, and that is, fragrance companies should stay true to the original, but make the flankers a bit more detached from the original to make it a good buying decision. I’d like to think YSL does a pretty good job with keeping the separation vast enough to warrant the purchase. So does this remain true for the new Myslf line?
Rewind a year ago, and I blindly bought YSL Myslf EDP from a friend because it didn’t work well enough on his skin but the initial reviews on the fragrance were very high, so I took the shot. I have to say, it’s a good fragrance…but over time it comes off as a bit more youthful than I’d prefer so it left my collection. Younger noses tend to gravitate to things sweeter and that’s what this fragrance is made for.
There are five total notes – Calabrian bergamot and bergamot in the opening, Tunisian orange blossom in the mid and Ambrofix & patchouli in the dry down. If you want more information about the breakdown in the notes, check out my initial review here. There’s MORE notes than are listed above! That Ambrofix has a LOT of different scent profiles.
From what I see above, you wouldn’t THINK that this would be a youthful fragrance, but it does lean more sweet and also really fresh (due to the bergamot in the opening). Not a bad fragrance from YSL, just not my taste. Longevity on the EDP was a good solid 7 hours and the sillage was decent but not beast-mode quality. Overall, a good start to a new line from YSL. Keep in mind, I didn’t give Myslf EDP an overall rating, but did say it’s a good fragrance, and I still stand by that review, just not for me.
After just about one year to the date, YSL launched their newest flanker YSL Myslf Le Parfum…I have some thoughts.
First, let’s have a look at the notes. There’s black pepper in the opening, orange blossom in the mid, then amber, bourbon vanilla, woody notes & patchouli in the dry down. From what you see here, it looks like it should be a really decent smelling fragrance, right? Well, it kinda is.
Initially when I did my side by side testing the Le Parfum was dominated by the EDP in every category. This made it kinda hard to do my testing, but it had to be done. The EDP was bright, fresh and floral while the Le Parfum was just muted and almost gone immediately.
To be fair, I did more additional testing to see if what I thought was true, and tested with JUST the Le Parfum and it was night and day. The Le Parfum is darker and richer versus the bright and sweet EDP. It’s almost towing that line of being a cold weather fragrance, but I think has enough qualities in that orange blossom to stay a bit more on the “anytime” side. In the sun it will really project off your skin but in the cold weather it’s deep enough that you’ll still get some projection, just not as much.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I think YSL did a good job with this new flanker. If I had to rate it, I’d give it a 7/10, mostly because that original DNA is still there from Myslf EDP and it’s still got a bit of that sweetness present, so keep that in mind. Best bet? Buy both the EDP and the new Le Parfum and try them yourself. You will definitely notice the original DNA in both but also notice the vast differences as well. If I were to pick one over the other, the new Le Parfum is definitely less youthful and has more longevity over the EDP. I’m impressed, but now patiently waiting for the elixir (lol).
Hope you all have a great day, and I’ll catch you in the next one! Peace!
