Yves Saint Laurent is one of the better designer fragrance houses because, for the most part, they understand what people actually want to wear. They make fragrances that are attractive, versatile, modern, and easy to reach for without smelling cheap or poorly put together. YSL is not always the most original house, especially with some of its newer releases, but originality is not the only thing that matters. A fragrance still has to smell good, wear well, and serve a purpose in a collection. YSL usually does that better than a lot of designer houses. The Y line is probably the easiest example. Y Eau de Parfum is not some groundbreaking artistic fragrance, but it is a very effective modern blue scent. It is fresh, sweet, aromatic, youthful, and strong enough to get noticed. It works casually, at work, on a date, or going out at night. It is one of those fragrances that covers a lot of situations without requiring much thought. The different Y flankers also give people options. Some are fresher, some are darker, and some are smoother or more mature. There can be some redundancy within the line, but they are not all exactly the same fragrance in different bottles. Someone who really enjoys the Y DNA can find enough differences to justify owning more than one, although most people probably do not need the entire line. La Nuit de L’Homme is still one of the most important fragrances YSL has made. The cardamom opening is immediately recognizable, and the overall scent is smooth, warm, spicy, and seductive without becoming overly sweet or heavy. It became a standard for date-night fragrances, and a lot of releases that came after it were clearly trying to capture the same feeling. The biggest complaint with La Nuit de L’Homme is performance. It smells great, but depending on the version, it can sit closer to the skin and fade faster than people expect. That does not make it a bad fragrance, but it does make the retail price harder to justify. A fragrance can smell excellent and still deserve criticism if the performance does not match the cost.

Attached, a rundown of all the fragrances I've worn this week, with a little commentary about the notable aspects. New Kids On The Block: Two of the below scents were newcomers to my collection. The first was Geranium Nefertum EDT from Molton Brown, which I picked up from a Car Boot Sale that Sunday morning for £5 (100ml). It's a light, breezy floral scent that's pleasant and unassuming, and I'm happy I picked it up for a steal. The second is Off-White's Solution No 9, which I picked up at a Flannels sale at 70% off (50ml plus 10 samples). I'd not heard of it before I stumbled upon the bottle, and the delicious nutty open hooked me immediately. There's a developing tea note, with rice and sesame adding a great umami and milkiness that's definitely intriguing. One I'll be returning to soon, I'm sure. Best Scent Not Close: I can't stress enough how much I love Khadlaj Island Dreams. It's a fruity bomb from the start, long lasting, well blended, and worth every penny of its sub-£40 price tag. As a clone of LV's Symphony, it performs amazingly. I remember the first time I wore it in public at a small gaming tournament, one of my friends said to the table we were at "someone in this room smells incredible", and while I was sure it was me (remember... GAMING tournament), you can't put your hand up for credit at that point without looking like a gaping anus. 😄 Grower Not A Shower: I had a full day's wear of my ScentAddict 8ml of Prada L'Homme EDT, and I really started to love it. It was great for the office, and also for an evening meetup with friends. What I first perceived as overtly powdery became soapy creamy clean in my mind. There's a reason this scent is near the top of the tree. A full bottle of this will likely appear on my wishlist before long. All this, plus a few First Wears of exciting fragrances too (Lucius, Lafayette Street, Abid Ambre). A fun week! (For giggles, I'll end with a little AI-prompted runthrough of my week's wears, because why tell you how I feel directly when I can get a robot to do it?)