Yves Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent
90 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Pink pepper and mandarin orange snap into focus with unexpected vigour, delivering a citrus brightness that momentarily masks the florals beneath. The bergamot adds depth rather than freshness, hinting at the creamy intricacy waiting just below the surface. This opening breathes rather than blooms—curious, inviting, slightly peppery on the inside of the wrist.
By the second hour, the floral triumvirate emerges with subdued intensity; lily and neroli settle into yielding, almost fleshy territory, held in place by ylang ylang's creamy warmth. The citrus retreats gracefully, ceding to an olfactory landscape that feels powdery and skin-like. Vanilla absolute begins its work, softening edges without sweetening the composition into dessert. This is the scent's true character—sensual without carnality, floral without floristry.
The vetiver finally articulates itself, introducing a thread of dry earthiness that anchors the remaining floral-musk accord. Vanilla and musk create a second skin that clings to fabric rather than air, suggesting a fragrance that's been worn for hours rather than freshly applied. What lingers is intimate and barely-there, a whisper that demands proximity to experience—understated to the point of invisibility, yet utterly distinctive to anyone who knows what they're smelling.
Capeline is a fragrance that refuses neat categorisation, instead occupying that graceful middle ground between floral and gourmand without genuflecting to either tradition. Juliette Karagueuzoglou has crafted something disarmingly sensual yet restrained—a contradiction that somehow resolves into coherence on the skin.
The composition hinges upon a masterclass in floral restraint. Lily and neroli arrive with the architectural precision of white flowers, but they're immediately softened by ylang ylang's buttery, almost animalic undertones. This heart isn't the sharp, soapy territory of conventional white florals; instead, it settles into something creamy and voluptuous, suggesting skin rather than silk. The bergamot and mandarin in the opening provide enough luminosity to prevent the florals from becoming heavy-handed, whilst the pink pepper adds a whispered heat that feels almost conspiratorial—present enough to register as warmth rather than spice.
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4.2/5 (143)