Yves Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent
282 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Peony and citrus explode together in a bright, almost zesty burst, with lychee adding a translucent sweetness that catches immediately. Those first moments feel fresh and nearly sparkling—there's an aldehydic snap that lifts everything skyward before the fragrance finds its centre.
By the first hour, the red berries emerge with subtle tartness whilst jasmine blooms into something creamy and almost buttery underneath. The peony softens but remains present, creating a genuinely floral heart where fruit and flower dance rather than compete—this is the fragrance's most balanced phase, where all its contradictions feel harmonious.
The base settles into a dry, slightly earthy veil where vetiver and patchouli finally reveal themselves, creating a woody undertone that's more whisper than declaration. What remains is something closer to a skin scent—the florals and berries fade to memory, leaving behind a barely-there woody-floral residue that lingers for hours as a ghost of what came before.
Elle is a fragrance caught between whispered elegance and fruit-forward vivacity—a scent that refuses to sit quietly in any single category. Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud has crafted something genuinely unisex here, built on the tension between peony's powdery softness and lychee's almost candied brightness. The opening assault of citrus fruits and that lychee creates an immediate freshness that feels almost edible, like you've just bitten into something exotic, yet the peony immediately tempers this with a distinctly floral composure.
What makes Elle compelling is how the red berries don't arrive as jammy sweetness but rather as a tart counterpoint to the jasmine's creamy warmth. This is where the fragrance reveals its character: neither particularly gourmand nor austere, it occupies that rare middle ground of a modern floral with genuine bite. The patchouli and vetiver base, whilst present in the accords data, seem almost to whisper rather than shout—they provide earthiness without heaviness, preventing the fruit and florals from cloying.
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3.3/5 (228)