Givenchy Ysatis: fragrance review & history & free perfume giveaway

Ysatis remains among the most memorable perfume launches of my childhood, alongside Cacharel's Loulou, mainly due to the commercial that accompanied it, much like Faure's dreamy Pavane did for the latter. In the Greek version, a marvelously sonorous, rhyming phrase was able to be coined for the launch, a fact that would be difficult to accomplish in any other language:  "Αναζητείς το Υζαντίς" it went (a-na-zee-TEES toh ee-sah-TEES), roughly meaning that the love-struck male that would smell it would be forever seeking the source of the fragrant Ysatis. It does lend one to daydreaming, doesn't it. Especially to an impressionable, already obsessed with perfumes, mind such as mine, back in 1984.
The reality, as is often the case with perfumes, is far more prosaic: Jean Courtiere, president of Parfums Givenchy, came up with the name, while searching ~as is the formal naming process~ for something non copyrighted, non insulting in any known language and mellifluous enough to be catchy. Ysatis it was and it stuck.

The story

I also vividly recall that Ysatis was accompanied by images of carnival, chess board games and Venetian masks, a fact that I mistakenly attributed it to the masterminds at the advertising company borrowing heavily from the Venezia by Laura Biagiotti popularity, at its apex during the early 1990s, but it looks like it was done in reverse. (disregard the art school project ones posing as authentic). Accurately enough, my memory is as it should be: not only is the architectural Art-Deco-meets-skyscraper bottle of Ysatis posing as a chess piece itself, the commercial is set to a scene from the Venetian carnival (to the succeeding scoring of Hendel's Sarabande, immortalized in Kubrick's Barry Lynton, and of Folias d'Espagna by Arcangelo Corelli): the intrigued, love-struck man in question is seeking the glamorous, 1940s vague-coiffed and 1980s made-up woman behind the mask, the truth behind the glamorous facade. It all stood as very impressive and to this day I think they involuntarily captured a huge part of perfume's intellectual appeal; what is it that makes us want to peel the layers off a person like the beige-purple petticoats off an onion?

I'm relaying all these very personal associations to drive to the fact that Parfums Givenchy had a nice, long-standing tradition in my house, as my grandfather was a devotee of Givenchy Gentleman (1974), my mother occasionally dabbed from Givenchy III (1970) and my father had an amorous relationship with Xeryus (1986) many moons ago. So falling for Ysatis wasn't far fetched at all and taking in mind the first perfume I bought with my pocket money was YSL Opium, it seemed like a natural enough progression into the abyss into perfume appreciation. In fact the fragrance was so popular in Greece that a local fashion "chain" is still named after it.

Searching for this perfume these past couple of days I come across Ysatis advertised as "the perfume of power". But this is not what it stood for for me. Perceptions have significantly changed and we're not the creatures we were in the 1980s, when everything seemed possible, even gassing out everyone in the room with one's scent fumes, but Ysatis, poised as it is between three categories (floral, oriental and chypre) in its complex formula, has the tremendous force to evoke a time when one felt untouchable.
It sounds rather perverse and morbid choice for a teen, but I kinda think I was morbid all along. We did listen to lots of Joy Division and Cure and Siouxie & the Banshees and read Poe poems and gothic tales, so I suppose it wasn't just me.

The scent of Ysatis 

The main fragrance story of Givenchy Ysatis is unfolded in pummeling, sultry and creamy smelling essences of orange flower, ylang ylang and tuberose, brightened by the citrusy but sweetish oil of mandarin and chased by animal fragrance notes (smells like heaps of civet to me and there's also castoreum) and some spice in the base (the unusual for a feminine fragrance bay rum as well as clove). It's pretty "whoa, what the hell hit me?" at any rate. Like Gaia, The Non Blonde, says: "Ysatis is not for the meek or those still figuring out their style and taste". Word. If you have liked and worn Organza (also by Givenchy) in the 1990s, or Cacharel Loulou, and Ubar by Amouage, you have high chances of claiming Ysatis with the clinging tenderness usually reserved for Nutella jars.

Ysatis was composed by Dominique Ropion, maker of such ebullient, expansive fragrances as Amarige, Pure Poison, Carnal Flower, Portrait of a Lady, Une Fleur de Cassie, Alien, RL Safari, Flowerbomb or Kenzo Jungle, among many many others.




Ysatis has been reformulated and repackaged, though not ruined in the process; it's till Amazonian and lusciously haute bourgeois. Still if you're searching for the older formula, it comes in the black box vs. the newer purple one. The original bottles even read Ysatis de Givenchy. There is also a flanker, Ysatis Iris, also in a purple box, though that one has a purple hued bottle as well and of course the moniker "Iris" just below the name. Still, keep a sharp eye when shopping, as it's a rather different scent (focusing on violet & iris note sandwiched between the citrusy top and floriental bottom).

I have a generous miniature of vintage Ysatis for a lucky winner. Please state in the comments what was your favorite 1980s scent and what scents you'd like to see featured in the Underrated Perfume Day feature on Perfume Shrine. Draw is open internationally till Sunday midnight and winner will be announced sometime on Monday.

For more entries and fragrance reviews of Underrated Perfumes please click on the link and scroll.

Bond Night at Ormonde Jayne with Gifts & Discounts

For one day, tomorrow Thursday 28th November, Ormonde Jayne offers 20% discount for orders in person at the boutique and by phone at +44 (0)207 499 1100 and +44 (0) 207 730 1381 as well as a complimentary Bathil Oil which retails for 56GBP for the first 15 clients to purchase in store from 6pm.

This offer is eligible for the Royal Arcade boutique on 28 Old Bond Street, London, UK.
The party involving champagne and mince pies starts from 6pm-8pm.
Merry shopping!

L'Artisan Parfumeur Re-Issues a Much Requested Perfume as Limited Edition for Spring 2014

Each year, L’Artisan Parfumeur’s spring limited edition is a much-anticipated event for fragrance aficionados and collectors. For 2014, the iconic Parisian fragrance house re-releases a discontinued fragrance which has been much requested and sought after by its many fans, the almondy Jour de Fête.

This Eau de Toilette was created in 2003 by Olivia Giacobetti, a perfumer long associated with the creativity and originality of L’Artisan Parfumeur. It plays with the symbol of traditional French celebrations: “la dragée” (the sugar- coated almond). Jour de Fête was imagined as a fresh almond surrounded by a layer of icing sugar, and as almond flour with a taste of wheat and honey. Jour de Fête, meaning ‘Happy Day’ or ‘Festival Day,’ is a delicious celebration of this sweet symbol of French celebrations, with its crispy sugary coat melting into a subtle vanilla. Light and airy, the dragée transports us to the wheat fields of the French countryside, reminiscent of the insouciance of childhood. Jour de Fête is a flamboyant yet delicate fragrance, a treat for special days.

The eau de toilette will be retailing for 55 GBP for 100ml, available from March 2014.

info via press release

The winner of the draw...

...for the Jil Sander miniature is Sniffeuse. Congratulations and please e-mail me (with Sander winnner in the title) using Contact with your shipping data, so I can have this out to you soon.

Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic participation and till the next one!

Best Sweet Violets Fragrances (Violet Series)

Candied violet fragrances have a retro ambience about them, same as often happens with violet scents that have a cosmetics and face powder tonality (due to the association with vintage face products that were scented with this chord). The sweet violet note evoking benevolent grannies however has to do with comforting rather than vain cultural associations, thanks to the ubiquitousness of violet candies in previous decades, such as Violettes de Toulouse, Parma Violets and Choward's Violet Mints to sweeten the breath.

via pinterest

Contemporary violets with a sweet, sugared feel often comprise a berry note (raspberry or blackberry), which is due to both a facet of the ionones molecules used to render the violet note itself (purposefully highlighted for this particular genre) and thanks to an additional dosage of berries aromachemicals that boost the syrupy effect, thus recalling Sirop saveur Violette, a popular addition in cocktails and desserts. This technique modernizes them and gives the violets a fruity floral touch that makes them more familiar to the young consumer, such as done recently to varying degrees of success in YSL Parisienne and Guerlain Insolence.

Sweet violet perfumes are especially recommended if, like my friend Gaia The Non Blonde, you have "skin where violets go to die" (i.e. if you have longevity issues with more delicate notes in a fragrance that fall apart when you wear them). These sweeter violets are perfumes which stick for dear life in most cases and provide a discernible violets trail unlike quieter, greener or soft violet fragrances.
Naturally the threshold for sweetness is an individual case; trial and error will guide you through how much you can handle.

This is part of Perfume Shrine's Violet Series perfume articles focusing on violets-laced fragrances in all their nuances, so if you missed previous posts, take a minute to consult Violet, Violet Leaf & Ionones (for an essay on the perfumery materials), Best Soft Powdery Violet Fragrances , Best Woody, Earthy Violet Fragrances and Best Green & Aqueous Violet Leaf Fragrances.

Top Sweet Violet Fragrances include:

Alexander McQueen My Queen (a candied violet with patchouli in purple packaging; how apropos!)
Annick Goutal La Violette (lightly sweet, subtle, soliflore)
Borsari Violetta di Parma (a quiet, lightly sweet Parma violet scent)
Berdoues Violettes de Toulouse (the reference candied violet scent, inspired by violet fragrance candies)
Berdoues Violettes Divine, (a flanker to the Violettes de Toulouse with a darker base)
Christiane Celle Calypso Violette (retro sweet, with a celebrities following including Liz Hurley, if that means anything to you)
Guerlain Insolence (with tangy sweet berries top note; muskier in EDT, denser and sweeter in EDP)
Oscar de la Renta Oscar Violet (limited edition of Oscar with an unusual milk chocolate rendition of violet, odd and nice)
Possets Silver Violets (directly inspired by Choward's violet candies, sugary stuff and not exactly great, included on this list just to gauge how much sugar is possible)
Thierry Mugler Angel La Violette (a violet nuance on top of the regular gourmand oriental of Angel)

I'm also including Lipstick Rose (Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle) in this sweet violets list, although it's predominantly a lipstick-reminiscent fragrance (as implied by the name), because it's a very very calorific, waxy violet with rose, almost to the point of stickiness. Your mileage may vary.
Last but not least, the original version of Caron's Violette Precieuse used to be a succulent candied violet, refined but playful. The fragrance has changed at least twice over the years and the current version is much more of a greener, slightly metallic version with rose.

Related Reading on Perfume Shrine: The Violet Series