Ysl

I'm not usually drawn to Yves St. Laurent fragrances. I've tried Babydoll and found it pleasant but unremarkable, and that's about it. However, I got a sample of YSL's Elle in my latest Sephora order, so of course I had to try it. Curiously, it's billed as a woodsy sort of fragrance, even though the notes are rather light on woods: Cedrat, Peony, Lychee, Pink Berries, Freesia, Jasmine, Patchouli, Vetiver, Ambrette.
On first sniff just after applying, the cedrat dominates and is quite sharp. This is citrus on steroids. It hangs around for quite a while, but fortunately the fruity floral notes start to balance it out as the scent dries down. I smell something very sweet in here-the lychee, most likely-and the floral notes seem rather generic rather than distinctive. I do enjoy the peony's effect quite a bit. It softens the scent overall, and given the pushy nature of many of these notes, I suspect this fragrance would be intolerable without it. I don't get any patch from this (thankfully) and very little vetiver (sadly). The ambrette is the longest lasting note-its musky sweetness predominates the drydown.
I won't be rushing to Sephora to buy this one, but if you'd like to, it costs $61 for a 1 oz bottle.
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