Yves Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent
292 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The violet leaf hits with a peculiar metallic coolness, like snapping fresh stems between your fingers, but within moments it's overwhelmed by a surge of powdery orris and sweet tonka. The initial impression is surprisingly soft given the "intense" moniker—pillowy rather than piercing, with spice notes already warming the edges.
The orris concrete blooms into full cosmetic opulence, thick and lipstick-smooth, whilst the vanilla and tonka create an almost edible sweetness that borders on gourmand territory. Patchouli emerges as a chocolate-dark presence beneath, earthy but tamed, whilst remnants of spice keep the composition from collapsing into pure dessert.
What remains is a skin-close blanket of vanilla-tonka sweetness with whispers of powdery iris still clinging on. The patchouli provides subtle woody-amber warmth, creating a base that's more comforting than challenging, like expensive body products half-absorbed into clean sheets.
La Nuit de L'Homme L'Intense takes the original's cardamom-laced seduction and drowns it in a plush, almost narcotic powder cloud. The violet leaf opening reads less green and more metallic-grey, like crushed stems against cold skin, whilst the orris concrete at its centre creates a lipstick-thick, iris-root density that transforms the entire composition into something far more opaque than its predecessor. This isn't the sheer, spice-forward flaneur of the original; it's a deliberately smothered, dense interpretation that leans heavily on its sweet and powdery bones.
The tonka and vanilla base dominates from nearly the first moment, creating an ambery-sweet foundation that the orris sits upon like velvet on velvet. Patchouli provides earthy grounding, but it's softened and sweetened beyond recognition—more chocolate-adjacent than head-shop. The spice accord, likely carrying over cardamom DNA from the line, weaves through the powder as a warm, slightly numbing presence that prevents the sweetness from becoming cloying, though only just.
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3.4/5 (163)