YSL Pour Homme

I recently acquired this 73ml. bottle of YSL Homme more out of collector-itis than satisfying any curiosity I may have had. As many vintage masculines as I have had or at least sampled, YSL Pour Homme was not among them. I bought it blind and cared not whether I liked it or not.

Well, I cannot claim to love it, but I do like it and have respect for its construction. YSL opens with an old school hello, courtesy of Clary Sage, Geranium and Lavender riding upon a wave of citrus. I've smelled this posse before; simply done just a little differently each time. It's a familiar greeting, but it may just be me growing wearing of certain fragrance redundancies. It does however smell very masculine and the ingredients have gravity.

The florals are buried beneath spices of marjoram and rosemary giving a blurred impression when the heart accord transitions. This is not a negative and the onset of woodiness anchors the scent and shifts away from the initial aggression of the opening. It begins to soften, especially when the lavender evolves into a soapier version than what I smelled in the topnotes.

Cedar in the base guarantees that a certain ruggedness continues through the life of the scent. The vetiver, patchouli and sandal make certain that YSL Pour Homme never veers off the masculine path. Tempering the macho-meter a bit is help from amber and tonka and these, along with the long-winded lavender, really do add just what is needed to smooth out the rough edges inherent in YSL's 1971 creation.

All in all, a winner from Yves Saint Laurent and a welcome addition to my wardrobe. I have to be in the mood for a scent of this ilk, but when I am, I have no problems wearing this. Thumbs up from Aromi.