Are you a fan of YSL? After Yves Saint Laurent’s departure from the House of Dior, and the consequent inaugural of his own revolutionary fashion house, the brand barely disappoints. With over 200 successful cologne fragrances, it’s really hard to find the best YSL cologne you can choose from.
The Top YSL Cologne Reviews
Best YSL Cologne Overall: Yves Saint Laurent La Collection Jazz
- A floral fragrance for men
- Masculine and energetic
- Heart notes of geranium
Since its creation in 1988 by Jean-Francois Latty, YSL La Collection Jazz is still one of the most unique signature fragrances to date. The cologne symbolizes fun and a free spirit. You get a little bit of every scent, from woody to floral to spicy.
The predecessor of YSL Kouros has top notes that include the fragrances of basil, Artemisia, nutmeg, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, lavender, and bergamot. These give it a green and spicy feel. The middle notes are all about the floral scent with carnation, jasmine, geranium, and iris.
For the base notes, masculinity kicks in with the woody and earthy fragrances of leather, sandalwood, musk, cedar, amber, and tobacco. Jazz has average sillage. Therefore, it does not overpower the people around you.
Our best pick makes an incredible night time fragrance. Consider it when you go for a night out with friends or any evening event. Better yet, you can wear it every day as well. In comparison to Y Live and L’homme, it is the top-dollar option, worth every dime. This cologne is more for classical gentlemen who want to set themselves apart from other men.
What We Like
- Unique fragrance
- Suitable for daily use
- Long-lasting
What We Don’t Like
- Expensive
- Poor, average sillage
Best YSL Cologne For The Money: Yves Saint Laurent Y Live Eau de Toilette Intense Men
- Launched by the design house of Yves Saint Laurent in the year 2019
- This aromatic spicy fragrance has a blend of orange blossom, ginger, bergamot, sage and juniper
- It is recommended for casual use
- It is long lasting fragrance
If you want to smell exquisite and get the best value for your money, this is your best fit. Y Live for Men is a modern YSL scent that has been on shelves since 2019. Yves Saint Laurent designed this cologne to give millennials a fresh scent that significantly boosts their confidence.
This cologne is great for the younger gentlemen because of its economic price tag and fresh synthetic fragrance. It is also a commendable ladies’ magnet judging by user reviews. Besides, the fragrance is an extension of the signature Y line. Anyone familiar with the line might take a while to notice the difference.
The top notes give you the fruity bliss of pear and grapefruit, with bergamot and a tinge of lemon. The heart notes have the fragrances of geranium and orange blossom. To polish it up, the base notes bring the rich scent of cocoa and Tonka bean.
Y Live has great longevity, a few drops can take you a long way. Besides, it has an above-average sillage. Therefore, it is not polarizing. The best time to wear it is during spring and summer. In winter and autumn, the fragrance goes under.
What We Like
- Fresh, sweet scent
- Great for confidence and attracting the opposite sex
- Not polarizing
- Suitable for all stylish men
What We Don’t Like
- Some men might find it less masculine
Best Cheap YSL Cologne: L’homme by Yves Saint Laurent Eau De Toilette Spray for Men
- This scent has notes of citrus peel, bergamot, ginger, white pepper, basil blossoms, violet leaves,...
The brains behind the Yves Saint Laurent L’homme cologne are Anne Flipo, Pierre Wargnye, and Dominique Ropion. This cologne a long-lasting body luxury fragrance with a strong yet delicate scent of fresh wood. While there are more recent extensions of L’homme, this cologne still reigns supreme and is a favorite among many connoisseurs.
The cologne has a citrusy scent at first, which settles with an irresistibly spicy scent. When it dries down on your skin, it releases a green smelling fragrance. The best part is the cologne is not overpowering, you can wear it during the day and way into the night. It is suitable for the temperate months of spring and fall.
The top notes bring the spicy and citrusy scent of lemon, ginger, and bergamot. Then, the middle notes swoop in with fragrances of basil, iris, and white pepper. To sum it up, the base notes include fragrances of sandalwood, Tonka bean, vetiver, and oakmoss.
If you are in your twenties, this is an impeccable fragrance to wear. The scent is not very youthful yet it is not so mature, making it a perfect choice as you go for those first dates.
What We Like
- Long-lasting
- Very affordable
- Suitable for many occasions
- Not too strong
- Commendable opening notes
What We Don’t Like
- Not suitable for summer
- Not much sillage
Best YSL Cologne For Her: Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium
- A floral gourmand fragrance for modern women
- Crisp, green, sweet, savory, warm & tempting
- Heart notes of coffee, jasmine tea & orange blossom
- Perfect for all occasions
When it comes to women, Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium remains one of the best from the brand. The 2014 coffee-dominated scent is a composition of Nathalie Lorson, Marie Salamagne, Olivier Cresp, and Honorine Blanc. It highlights the dark, mysterious side of Yves Saint Laurent that symbolizes intoxication, seduction, and gratification of womanhood.
The top notes include the warm fragrances of pear, orange blossom, and pink pepper. After that comes the middle notes with the rich scents of coffee, jasmine, bitter almond, and licorice. To enhance the combo, the base notes boast of vanilla, patchouli, cedar, and cashmere wood.
As the first few drops touch your skin, they emanate an addictive fragrance of coffee with a degree of vanilla. It maintains the scent all through to dry down. Black opium is a great cologne to wear during winter and fall. While it is not overwhelmingly sweet, it can begin cloying during summer or warm weather.
The Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium for women has outstanding longevity and sillage. In a nutshell, you get a rich fragrance combo with admirable performance. It is a smart gift for her, and a femme fragrance that makes most ladies swirl in coziness and warmth.
What We Like
- Suitable for most classic women
- Long-lasting
- Sweet fragrance
- Quite affordable
- Helps to boost confidence
What We Don’t Like
- Cloying in warm weather
Why Should You Wear a YSL Cologne?
There are a couple of reasons why you should get one of these colognes. Apart from being one of the best brands with high-performance scents:
Sex Appeal
Scent is one of the most powerful factors for women when choosing a partner. Straight from birth, women have a sharper sense of smell. This is why they continuously outdo men in smell tests. On the other hand, men too find women who smell good more attractive.
Some Yves Saint Laurent colognes have combos with either male or female pheromones. An example of such is the Y Live fragrance for men that proves to be a female magnet. So, if you are looking to get into a relationship, get the jump start you need from a YSL scent.
Overall Confidence
You can barely go wrong with confidence. The good news is that factors that determine your confidence level include what you wear and smell. The moment you dress up in a neat cut tuxedo or a trendy pair of jeans, confidence kicks in. A Yves Saint Laurent cologne enhances it and leaves you feeling great.
Get a rich woody scent like Yves Saint Laurent La Collection Jazz to channel the aura of a classy person around you.
Emotional Connections With Others
Do you know that your sense of smell is 150,000 times more sensitive than your vision? While our eyes can detect a maximum of 7 million colors, our nose can smell over 1 trillion variant odors. Better yet, scents are the best memory triggers and there is a scientific explanation for it.
If you close your eyes and remember some memories, you will discover most of them have a certain scent you associate with. Unique scents like L’homme can establish deep emotional connections, making you unforgettable.
Life Cycle of a Yves Saint Laurent Fragrance
As you go through the four colognes on our list, you will notice the continuous description of top notes, middle notes, and base notes. Fragrances’ life cycle comprises these three parts. Here is what they mean:
Top Notes
This is the first fragrance that hits your nose after you spray on a few drops. It’s the softer smell of the cologne that lasts from 15 minutes to 2 hours. Common top notes include citrus, aquatic, lightly floral, and spice.
Middle Notes
You can also call it the heart or medium notes. This is where the main element of the cologne lies. Heart notes develop after the top note clears up. They can last up to 5 hours from the time of application. Typical middle notes include rich floral scents like Jasmine, green scents like grass, and spice scents like cinnamon.
Base Notes
The base note is the foundation of the cologne. It determines how long the scent will last on your skin. Base notes are the last to develop and can last up to 10 hours. Once you apply your fragrance, base notes will be noticeable later in the day. Popular base notes include sandalwood, leather, tobacco, and vanilla.
Do’s and Don’ts of Wearing a Yves Saint Laurent Fragrance
When you apply cologne, it is essential to do it right. This ensures you get its optimum value. Below are some rules you should follow:
- Apply cologne on clean dry skin: The best time is immediately after a shower. Ensure you hold the bottle a maximum of 6 inches away from your skin. Do not apply it on clothes.
- Focus on heat areas: These parts are the neck, chest, shoulder, inner elbow, lower jaw, wrist, and forearm. Start your application with them. However, as you learn the Yves Saint Laurent scent you are using, apply it on 2 to 3 spots only. Do not spray on your crotch area.
- Do not rub it into the skin: While this seems like a way of making it more effective, you only end up making the fragrance weaker. You break the molecular bond hence destroy the note. Spray and let it be.
- In the case of a regular bottle, dab instead of splash: Press a single finger against the opening of the bottle then gently tip it over. Then apply on heat areas.
- Re-spray if need be: If the Yves Saint Laurent fragrance does not last as long as you would like, re-spray on areas like wrists as the day progresses.
- Have a simple start: If you are a novice, consider a single cologne on your chest. As you learn about scents and get more comfortable, proceed to more sprays in different areas.
- Do not spray cologne on your clothes: There are two reasons why we advocate against this. One, doing so limits the fragrance from transitioning through notes. It needs to mix with your body oils to work. Two, your clothes might get stains of the oil in cologne.
- Do not spray and walk: This simply does not work because most of the fragrance drops to the floor before you walk past the mist. You end up wasting it.
- Remember Less is more: An overpowering scent can be annoying and a nuisance to the crowd around. The goal is to have enough for the people close to you to notice instead of without polarizing the whole room. Ultimately, it is more attractive.
- Spray on what you find appealing: The Yves Saint Laurent cologne you wear should be a scent you are comfortable with. You need to go about your day without overwhelmingly noticing the scent. Luckily, you have 216 choices to choose from.
How Can You Tell If Yves Saint Laurent Cologne Is Real?
Here are a few pointers:
- The packaging consists of durable paperboard with unique designs to secure each bottle.
- It comes wrapped in thick cellophane with perfectly folded seams.
- Both the packaging and bottle design should be identical to the ones on the Yves Saint Laurent website.
- Any Yves Saint Laurent cologne should be pale in color since they do not use dyes.
Conclusion
So there you have it, a list of the 4 best Yves Saint Laurent colognes you can try on. Remember the cologne you wear says a lot about you as a person and complements your confidence. Generally, Yves Saint Laurent’s scents are of high quality and worth the price.