Y Yves Saint Laurent for women

WHY isn't this fume listed on the site - only the new male edition? What disrespect to the fab YSL.
I scored a sealed 1960s Parfum and wow - no greens, fruit or aldehyde here, it's pure mossy skank with a whisper of floral (maybe the top notes sank under the civet?) This reminds me of something Germaine Cellier would have produced - just gorgeous

I have a 3.5 ml bottle of the parfum. Not one of the ancient parfum bottles with the glass stops from the 60s, it's one of the more recent parfum bottles with the plastic stop.

An artful showcase of texture distended across time. I think this has unlisted violet, otherwise I'm unsure how it imparts a watery top note. Some trick with the aldehydes? The lactonic peach certainly smooths it out. Refreshingly crisp hyacinth & white flowers at the heart of this otherwise edgeless, dewy, green chypre. The rose is subtle but it does a lot to keep Y smelling clean and smooth late into the drydown. The base has a bit of warmth, but is moreso earthy, muted, powdery.

I'm impressed by the sophistication of this perfume. Imagine how hard it must be for perfumers to get galbanum, hyacinth, and oakmoss to play nicely. Y prevails at every stop along the journey. Undeniably one of the more staid chypres, and nowhere near as popular as Rive Gauche, but it's well made and it smells fantastic. One of those perfectly chiseled pieces that belongs in a museum.

With how immaculate and ladylike it feels, I think it could make for a good bridal scent. Perfect for the warmer months, Margiela take note~ this is the authentic "Springtime in a Park" experience.

Another great classic from YSL. Green floral and earthy.
Unisex. Definitely try if you are into green floral chypres.

Very close to Givenchy III, which I adore - possibly more than No.19 (gasp).
Y seems a touch brighter to my nose than III, and soapier in the drydown: the latter has a robust and intoxicating wood/amber/moss drydown.
Excellent stuff nonetheless - at least in the case of my virtually unused 50ml from 1999 (Sanofi) EDT.

starting off i get a very green floral and something that reads as citrus to my nose, maybe galbanum? i think the strongest floral note starting out is honeysuckle. basically this smells like a grassy, sunny garden full of flowers. after about 30 minutes i get a strong rose note that dominates the perfume. a few minutes later i get more woods and greenery and it's turn more masculine leaning. this one really morphs and changes a lot over time. very fresh and green if you like that sort of thing.

I have for a very longtime wanted to experience the fragrance, Y. I'd like to know if I can still purchase Y at department stores, online fragrance shops, or is it a fragrance you just happen to find at maybe TJMaxx and flea markets. Also the same for Givenchy III. I would love to have the experience of wearing a fragrance yesterday that is an elegant, clean classic.

I have two vintage bottles of this in my collection. No wild bells 'n' whistles here, just a very good green bulb-flower chypre... Refreshing and clean and Spring-like. It's said that this fragrance is a favorite of Julie Andrews. That seems appropriate to me; clean, proper, mature, put-together, impeccable.

YSL Y etd Original/Vintage
(Launched In 1964)

🗣This And Guerlain's Chamade edp, Both Remain My Mother's Two All Time Favourite Chypre Perfumes To This Day!! And They Certainly DON'T Make Perfumes Like This Anymore!! Y Is A Chypre"s Lover's Absolute Fantasty In A Bottle!! That Is Perfectly Suited To Both Sexes!! Clean, Green And Fresh, With Just The Perfect Amount Of Added Powderness, Like A Walk In A Cool Green Shaded Forest, After A Heavy Shower Of Rain, Where All That Green Moss Growing On Tree Stumps Really Comes Alive To Fragrance The Air Surrounding You!! Wearing Y edt, Is Like Wearing A Fresh Stepped Out Of The Shower Feeling All Day Long!! This Perfume Does NOT Resemble Chanel 19 In Any Way!! But Very Similar To: Guerlain's Chamade, Dior's Original Miss Dior, And Givenchy's III. And Is Pure Undiluted Class In A Bottle!!

A classic chypre of this era, a 1964 issue. Y is a clear predecessor to the amazing Diorella which has a very similar structure, the soapiness, the elegance. Y presents with aldehydes on top, oakmoss at the base and galbanum, hyacinth and green notes with hints of fruit in the middle. I prefer balanced sweetness over chypre sourness in general but cannot fault the quality of this classic fragrance and understand its dedicated fans.

I am brand new to this forum, so I'm hoping that I'm following the rules...
Vintage Y 1964 has been my fragrance since the late 70's. It feels as if it were created for me. I have always been able to source it - Fragrance.net was where I last purchased it. In the mid 1990's, while visiting Miami, I was told by a perfumery that Y was being discontinued and I wouldn't be able to find it. So, I purchased 8 bottles of the Eau de Toilette. It lasted for years. Once depleted, I made purchases on Ebay, etc. at a reasonable, competitive price. Wanting to have an extra bottle, I tried Fragrance.net. No luck. As with other hard to find products, some sellers on Ebay are gouging potential customers with their pricing. If anyone knows where I can buy a "new" bottle of Y vintage 1964, please DM me. Thank you!

Vintage bottle 1980s : Coriander bomb ! well, it feels that way . I guess it's the "green". Not sweet or pretty .

I now know what "green" is in a fragrance & this is it. It's very clean and soft, with a hint of powder. While it is lovely, it's not for me. I prefer something sweeter, more sultry, and more vanilla-amber. This would be a nice fragrance for the office or a meeting. It's like wearing a fresh shower.

At first, it's a bit loud but calms down after about half an hour when it gets much softer and more powdery green. It never does lose that fresh shower vibe. It only lasted about 3 hours on me and after the first couple of hours, I could only smell it on my clothes. One would have to be standing very close to me to really notice it after more time than that.

The original Y has the sonority of french horns, the vivacity of a woodland nymph, and more charm in just its few opening seconds that many perfumes can muster in their entire development. It is sunshine, blue skies, budding trees, sparrows singing, green and yellow, shimmering and bright.

All the joys of a mid-century chypre are here, composed like a Burt Bacharach song with Dionne Warwick a plum and Dusty Springfield a peach, gliding over galbanum strings and aldehyde flutes to a bridge of green, bright, punchy florals, bursting into joyful cascades of coloratura.

Luxury soaps and shampoos dreamed of smelling this dreamy, the modern perfumer toils to articulate this and too often falters, a multitude of memories are distilled through its throw, igniting olfactory receptors into a frenzy of longing and tender fondness. And it's a very mossy, shadowy fondness retreating deep into the dark mysterious woods like foxfire.

This review is for the Y for women launched in 1964. I’m wearing a new formulation, and it’s divine. While I’ve worn and loved Chanel 19 for many years, this is not similar to any Chanel fragrance purely based on the oak moss and fruit notes in this fragrance. It opened up with aldehydes and green notes, similar to Ch. 19 cologne and perfume, but steers away from the icy cold grass notes that exists in those fragrances. Rive Gauche doesn’t compare either as it’s a great albeit linear aldehydes perfume. While it’s still icy, Y becomes grounded with the hyacinth, peach and omnipresent oak moss. The hyacinth keeps the notes cool, but not too cold. This is suitable for warmer winter days, spring and summer, but not for the dead of winter. Yves Saint Laurent won my dutiful loyalty with the GOAT, original Opium, years ago, and my recent discovery of Y piques my interest into finding more of his amazing creations. 9/10

This is so confusing that YSL have rebranded this perfume into Y a men's fragrance? Seriously don't understand why brands do this as the perfume on this page looks lovely.

My Oh my - this one... ` Y ` brings back soo many good memories, One of my first girlfriends used to wear this in the 80`s, she always smelled so nice with this. My first real love. Just being near her gave me butterflies in my stomache. Absolutely stunning and lovely - scent.
Patchouli is a key ingredience in this. Whenever I smell Patchouli It reminds me of her.
Don`t know if you can still get this. What a heavenly creation - absolutely made with love.

I just purchased a VINTAGE bottle from a thrift store for $18.99 yesterday! Never smelled this before- complete BLIND BUY . I was in for a NICE SURPRISE! I never review newly produced fragrances -- only VINTAGES that hold the INTEGRITY of the fluid.
That said ; and in goofball terms: (vintage) Y (edt) is Lush, green, pretty , Grand Dame, and flowery. Imagine if a vintage Chanel No. 5 edt had a baby with Johnson's Baby Shampoo . Y has a nice BODY and projection (I'll imagine the new version being flat and hollow as ALL newly remade classics have become). I can still smell this faintly on my wrist the next day -- even after washing. This really melds with your skin beautifully ! A nice thrift store find and please do not be afraid to buy vintages for fear of getting "fakes" or "turned" bottles. The vintage perfumes that "turn" are the "heavy hitters" with a LOT of CIVET ( old Youth Dew smells like a toilet backed up after a prune festival) .

At last I get it. As a lover of vintage chypre and a self confessed Givenchy III devotee I was so excited to try this but when it arrived almost a year ago I felt nothing. I didn't dislike it, I just couldn't smell a thing. I tried it a couple of times that autumn but then gave up on it. Fast forward to today, mid summer heat and I randomly picked it up and wow - now it sings to me. Soft-spoken but eloquently. It seems somehow milder than GIII and it doesn't have that blasting galbanum opening that I love so in GIII but it has a beauty all of its own. I'm glad to have made its acquaintance, finally.

The audacity of YvesSaintLaurent Parfums to rebrand Y into a new, men’s perfume. They could have used another…

However, Y in its ancient formulation is both more beautiful and successfully made than the noble Givenchy III. Not that GIII is of inferior quality but Y uses peach and plum plus styrax to give a sweetish, pinkish quality to an otherwise usually acerbic green chypre of the era. It’s lightweight but tastefully done to which a reviewer somewhere likened to a dragonfly landing on a dew-kissed leaf at dawn.

As for the reformulation, the perfume smells like an EDP. With coriander taking at its fore. But to me, the edges of the new one has not been smoothed out like the previous iteration. Beautiful still but doesn’t give the feel of the brevity of beauty.

Edit: the fruits are accorded well with the aldehydes and florals, the sweet quality comes from these fruits.

Get the older formulation. It’s one of the most underrated and pretty chypres: non-moody.

For people looking for The current version, that's
called Yves Saint Laurent Y and it's a male's EDT

My Love. My Angel. My absolute favorite vintage and quite possibly my favorite fragrance ever. Y is absolutely intoxicating. I cannot stop smelling myself when I wear it, I have never smelled anything like it. It’s special. It is impossible for me to describe what I experience while wearing it. I would not ever want to be without it. Unfortunately, perfume like this is no longer made.

While I disagree with those who compare Y to Givenchy iii I understand the association; however, Y takes me on a journey Givenchy III could not even begin to attempt. In my opinion Y is more Regal, much more impressive and doesn’t try as hard as Givenchy. While there is a light similarity III doesn’t unfold as beautifully as Y.

How can I put this, One wears III but Y, she becomes a part of you

Our journey of discovery through fragrance land, joyously, knows no end.
And although perceptions do often change, and experienced wear reveals additional knowledge, there's something to be said for documenting first encounters, i think. I've a 1991 batch code pristine pure parfum of 'Y'…
(which in this special case is just 'E' and not 'Ee-grec', I'm told.) Several small dabs across my forearms & wrists before intending to turn in.
And as i lay down and allowed the day to dissipate, 'Yves' came out to ingeminate its many layers for the night.

The first 40 minutes of this is quite an experience - in a good way - conjuring an image of a many tiered waterfall in my drowsy mind, prominent in the grounds of a fine house with all its many French doors & windows thrown open to the blossom filled afternoon air and the sounds of that fountain - cascading through notes… and occasional pools of mingling, before cascading again… down & down, swirling around & around… as if every little pool & rivulet were the rooms & corridors of this floral bedecked house itself - in a perfect fusion of structure & landscaping… no separation between environments.
Blending, pronouncing, blending still… rendering, swirling, bubbling, splashing, misting, and drifting languorously... with seemingly so much going on & yet, so well choreographed whilst… still fresh! '
I never imagined just how refreshing a complex "perfumey" parfum could be!

For this is an intimate, convivial soirée in May in our grande maison that begins with an almost champagne like effervescent fizzing in the first minute or three before fruity flowers & stems appear introducing an aperitif of stone fruits liquor at the 8th minute in the foyer.
From there the green drawing room becomes the scene with grasses(??) and the impending approach of white flowers swaying through wide open double doors at the 13 minute mark… becoming quite creamy… but then yellow!… before a buttery orris hors d'oeuvre is served on the terrace … and then ROSE! There! A young rose, 17, with a jasmine garland haloing tawny locks, entertains with jocund talk.
It is about the 22nd minute now, and tuberose is fashionably late to the date but unmistakeable & giddy. (I get the impression his cocktail hour started rather early.) This is when everything gets a bit saucy, tart, and a wee sour(?) even! before the slightest sniff of human flesh is revealed. So by the 33rd minute we've all joined hands headed across the back lawn where woods & mosses & a touch of patchouli border the hedges of this house party grounds. There at the bottom of the garden an oriental brazier sits in a small folly of a pavilion where benzoin, amber, and sandalwood are wafting beneath the cascading waterfall that brings it all full circle… dancing… a circle, 360 degrees, completion… before beginning all over again… except this time i'm not sure which direction we're going at the dance in this heady, languid early summer haze. Must have been the champagne to begin with that did it!

12 hours later, having slept a good night, I find oak moss & vetiver & something other, pleasantly bitter-green, remains. In my life there are those, older than I, who would recall this creation from its first days… and wouldn't have much positive to say about it, I know. But for me, here some 56 years after its release, 'Y' is irresistible on my skin. And a window on a world of elegance & chic long since abandoned. What a wow pure parfum can be!
Monsieur Saint-Laurent, bon merci!
★★★★☆

This is the "Frenchiest" perfume I've ever smelled. Oakmoss, throw into the air by effervescent aldehydes. Supported by stone fruits and powdery florals that create an impression of sunshine (not of sweetness). Dry humor, with a warm laughter. A radiant, light-hearted classic chypre, perfect for summers sipping champagne at your countryside chateau.

At risk of beating a dead horse, I'll echo other reviewers about the VINTAGE. I owned and got rid of the reformulated bottle (green juice, squared bottle, built-in gold sprayer top). The current formulation isn't terrible, but you could tell that the scent has a very aspirational structure, and the quality just isn't there to support it. It's a thin weak shadowy wisp, amping up the hedoine-green notes to compensate for skimping on the jasmine/oakmoss. I picked up a vintage bottle (gold juice, long rectangular bottle) from someone who didn't know its worth on eBay, and couldn't be happier.

This is high class! A true 60's masterpiece. Tart and very unapologetic. French perfumery in perfection. Suits a woman with a strong personality, for whom an easy solution is not enough.

I found a vintage bottle on eBay as I had tried the new version and it didn't smell the same. Lucky me!
This is a really classy perfume. I love it. Great sillage. Really!
It's woody, it's green, it's floral. All those things but mixed into one amazing chypre scent.
The original bottle is a classic design too. Why did they change it?

I feel so extremely fortunate to have tried this exquisite masterpiece and I really wonder how the heck I've never had the change to try it before now.
It leaves you feeling awesomely uplifted, I loved it from the first sniff, an excellent cypre creation.
Green, clean, elegant, classy, soapy with woody and floral notes at the same time. I know there are fruits given in its notes and is classified as a fruity cypre, but to me, it's more of a green chypre or even flowery cypre.
As time goes by, its floral notes become more prominent and a lovely, delicate sweetness emerges although the green character of it is never really lost.
A fragrance that gives me confidence and lifts my spirits, it would be great from morning to night and could be very well be worn in formal situations too.
Great creation, it became very special for me.
For all the floral chypre lovers out there, be sure to try it.

I have an almost full 50 ml vintage bottle of this. This is a true white flower scent, like bianchi fiori by Laura Biagiotti. But somehow where she managed to create the perfection, this 'Y' is lacking so many things. On me its very linear, boring, and does not last more than an hour. Upon spraying it it is very harsh and aggressive, very strongly alcoholic ( maybe because it's old? I don't know ). This is supposed to be an iconic scent, but sadly it's just not on par with its fame:(

Even though it's not the type of fragrance I usually wear, I loved the version of Y that I had during the 1980s. It didn't surprise me when I learned that it came out in 1965; I was on a 1960s kick and it smelled like Mini-skirts, fishnet stockings and go-go boots to me. Now, YSL is selling a new fragrance with the same name - it's completely different. Really masculine. And without the sparkling 1960s quality of the original.

I have worn Y on and off since 1971, when my sister gave me a bottle of the eau de toilette. I was in college then, and on my skin it was a perfect summer evening scent; I received quite a few compliments on it. Today, people don't seem to appreciate beautiful fragrances like this, sadly. I recently obtained a vintage bottle of the eau de parfum (edp) which is apparently rare and hard to find. I know I should love it, but I'm not sure yet! It is like learning you have a cousin you never knew about...I think I will keep it though. The edt really takes me back to some lovely memories. Luckily, I can still wear it because I have a good supply of the vintage edt.

Today my full bottle arrived. I am really excited to try it because I already have the new version and I love it. The first thing I have to say is that it is beautiful. There are lots of wonderful reviews here and I must agree with most of them without repeating the same things. So I will just say what I love about it - it is so green, very clean, classy, woody and flowery at the same time, musky and full of galabanum, which I really love. On the other hand I must say that they did a really great job with a new version which is quite similar.

Ahh--my college years! Living in a big city for the first time---(PGH)---within walking distance of big dept stores for the first time and exploring fragrances by American and foreign designers for the first time. I was into fashion but didn't have much money to spend on clothes--but I could annoy and harass the salesladies in the stores and try on Chanel,YSL, Guerlain, Caron, Worth, and an endless list of scents with special offers and free gifts with purchase and discover fashions in fragrance! I discovered Y about the same time as I picked up bottles of Amazone, Fidji, Aliage, Cristalle,and Calandre. These fresh but dressy, clean but rich, sophisticated but green and floral flights of fantasy were completely magical to me!Scent is so emotional and deeply timed to memories of time and place and people. I still have a tiny bit of my 1970's Y and it still smells like freedom and sophisticated style to me!! You girls who didn't grow up in the 1970's---you missed one helluva party!

I love rive gauche and Chanel no 5 and 19 , so I figured 'y' would
Be right up my alley.
Sadly it's not. While I appreciate this perfume is elegant ,it's just too much oakmoss and civet for my skin.
It may well be my skin chemistry just does not bring the best out in y , but somehow to me this feels incomplete.
Where are the green notes ?
Where is the powdery notes ?
Why is this so dam quiet ?
Sadly I will not be reaching for y much , it's actually quite nice but I want something a bit more dramatic , , no 19 is drama in a bottle , dry , stunning and it grabs your attention , yet is beautiful , rive gauche has a dark rose note that screems for attention , great I love that as again there are notes I have fallen for almost instantly.

Y is just a tad to quiet and peaceful for me nothing shouts out and on my skin
It's a tad boreing. I could say well it's a 1960s perfume , in all its softer femine glory , but it makes no sense when you think Chanel no 5 came many years b4 y did (20s) and that for me is glorious , wonderfully powdery, musky, heaven in a bottle.
Y on other hand is serious , well a bit , there are some pretty flowers and if you like mossy notes they are in this soft ladylike Fragrance.
Just nothing major grabs me , it's nice if u like vintage type scents, but
i only like a few and not this one :(
I'm jealous of all of you that catch the more complex notes , the sweeter notes , the multi layered notes that so far my skin is hiding , sorry everyone , I know you want to hit me lol.

6/10 pretty but not magnificent.
5/10 for strength , lasting power.

These tow comments I really loved from tow Fragranticans reviewing Y, on this page:

“ as if the woman wearing it has a lot of experience and knows everything going on around her..”

the other one:

“ I feel sorry for those who can't appreciate it...life would be less complete without this lovely mossy beauty...”

I couldn’t add anything more..

More green than fruity, I would say, but a classic chypre, smells like quality from start to finish. Green but soft, very well blended, softer than Paloma Picasso, less sharp than Bandit, less leathery than Cabochard. This is nice fragrance for those who find Chanel No 5 too sweet and floral. My review is for the vintage version.

This is what I call a French perfume! Mature and elegant for our nowadays noses, yet Y must have been "tres en vogue" by younger women in the 60's. Vintage Y is unhesitating, a bit tart and intelligent. Wear it whenever you want to make a statement.

If you love Chanel No. 19, you may like this one too. I'm not saying they smell alike, but they are in the same category (in my head at least -19 is called a green floral and this one is called a fruity chypre). This one is a little lighter, brighter, and slightly sweeter, due to the fruits I assume, but don't get me wrong - this is nowhere near the fruity scents of today - It's a classic beauty that can just as easily live in the today as it did in the yesterday. The confident beauty, elegance and complexity reminds me of 19. An elegant, exquisite, timeless beauty. This is such a little known gem - a quiet little gift from the perfume past.

The Way it Used to Be

I've worn this several times and every time I wear it I marvel...these kinds of perfumes are never coming back, and I feel like I am wearing history. I guess you can call this a fruity chypre, but what it really reminds me is of Hermes Caleche, a woody leather chypre.

Anyway, this is what I smell: Soapy aldehydes over a strange note of hyacinth, strong blooming green hyacinth, and peach--but this is a decaying, rotting but still clinging to sweetness fruit notes. And have you ever smelled freshly blooming hyacinth? I think that flower is so compelling only because it blooms so early in the spring. At first it smells good, in passing, but up close, or in a permeating situations, it can smell a little much. I planted 20 bulbs in a small space on my front walk, and if I catch a waft coming from my kitchen window the scent is lovely, but if I cut a bunch to make a bouquet sometimes it's a little too much, their scent can become a bit nauseating. (But I always make little bouquets anyway:)

The aldehyde-green hyacinth-sweet but rotten peach notes are on top, and as it dries there are white flowers, powder, galbanum, iris and leather, and as it dries further the beautiful classic chypre bed of oakmoss, vetiver, sandalwood, and musk emerges. Really what Y primarily smells like is wood, musky powder, soapy aldehydes, moss, and florals, all designed with a hint of green. If you've smelled the soapy woods of Caleche you've also smelled parts of Y.

I guess I feel transported into a portal of perfume history because they simply cannot, and wouldn't make perfumes like this anymore, let alone women's perfumes. Tastes have changed dramatically and materials are gone or otherwise unavailable.

I had this one long ago, found it on sale at a drug store, and at the time I did like it but got too expensive so I was into other perfumes and didn't buy it again. But I see that it contains CIVET. I am definitely staying away from it. I

This is a classic chypre. Formal, dignified, structured and very grand. Everything most modern fragrances are not. And while I can appreciate Y for the masterpiece it is, the scent is just a little too serious for me.

Why Y?

Vintage 1964 Y

Intimidating & regal when you smell it from off the bottle; and in '64, I thought this was a fragrance fit for a Queen.

I'm from the United Kingdom where we do have a queen so I should know. This smells of a beautiful and beyond wealthy woman, I mean goodness, who could wear this and pull it off?

In a 1964 interview, Hollywood actress and Broadway legend Julie Andrews, at the time of the end of the production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, stated in an interview that she wore Y by Yves Saint Laurent. I would never have guessed but I'm certain it smelled so amazing on her. It's a mature and elegant scent.

When you have worn her for about 2 plus hours, it's no longer an imperious fragrance and has softened into it's true nature: a sweet floral chypre. I was reminded of my wedding perfume FRACAS by Bandit; and it was also reminiscent of Miss Balmain.

As a chypre and floral perfume enthusiast, this is a paradise of olfactory pleasure. Heaven forbid the day I lose my sense of smell. I'm in my 70's now but there will never be a day I won't wear perfume nor enjoy it. This is meant to be savored and enjoyed as a real woman's perfume.

The notes are multifaceted with aldehydes of the soapy kind, soft & floral luxury soap, and French perfume staples of galbanum + florals + moss. Yves Saint Laurent the fashion designer genius, who would later on produce such iconic perfumes as Opium & Paris, was a newcomer to fashion & fragrance when he created this fragrance. I would not be surprised if he modeled this scent after his mother's perfume which could have been something like Fracas or ARPEGE.

As the aldehyde soap wears off, a sweet peach and honeysuckle and rose strongly remind you of Arpege. This is sweet as it starts, allowing her feminine side to show. I would never call this a unisex fragrance.

Then she turns into a sweet heady bouquet of hyacinth, gardenia, ylang ylang, and tuberose. The flowers seem to bow to a jasmine that takes over the scent as it begins to settle down.

At best this is an aldehyde white floral with fruited notes but green & mossy with chypre ingredients of galbanum and styrax. I don't get any patchouli but I am getting a little hint of amber. This scent is absolutely gorgeous with a million dollar smell.

This perfume has been reformulated and based on the previous reviewer's commentary, she is equally as impressive. I can't part with my old colognes so I can only speak on behalf of the vintage originals. My reviews as you might have noted, are also my memories, my memories of wearing and experiencing the perfumes and colognes. This one came into my life in 1965. I wore her as a honeymoon fragrance when I was married for the second time. I also wore it often enough that my daughter Karen, my eldest, remembers this as her very first perfume smell.

Y is a classic white floral chypre with a signature French perfume stamp on it. Luxurious & womanly, she will carry you far and above any of today's trashy perfumes. She demands respect and admiration, she is a beauty that has stood the test of time. A bit powerful so don't apply liberally although at my old age I don't give a damn about such things as whose noses I'm offending anymore. Smell me because I won't be around for too long and while I'm here I'm going to smell like flowers.

***Review of a bottle produced in 2006.

My bottle of Y is exactly the same as the above picture shown in Fragrantica, but the juice color is not pale green, mine is yellow.

I think Y is one of those perfumes that may not be interesting to many people at the first sniff. One should give it time to reveal itself and unfold its beauty throughout the time.
I have some classic green-floral perfumes such as Hermes Amazone, Vent vert Balmain, Carven Ma Griffe and Jacomo Silences. I love them all but Y is a bit different. The difference lies in the heavy aldehydic opening and the animalic layer in the mid and last phase that is not common in this category of perfumes and these are what make Y different.

While it is sometimes referred to as a green floral, I perceive it mainly as a green chypre with intense bitter, mossy, earthy and green vibe (due to notes of galbanum,oakmoss, green notes, patchouli and vetiver) especially at the mid-phase and drydown.

It opens with a blast of aldehydes in a very familiar and classic way plus a sweet honey-like and white floral smell. The opening IMO, is hard to pull off sometimes, it is not among charming openings.
After toning down of this aldehydic opening, I can smell multi-layered and complex aspects including a pale complex floral heart (mainly honeysuckle and jasmine) and an animalic layer of civet that is merged in the heavy mossy green drydown. (It is somehow odd that sometimes I smell civet a lot and sometimes I don't get it at all!)

I can imagine a middle-aged serious female school principal or a female bossy manager wearing YSL Y.
It does smell (at least) a bit austere and serious, though a pale kind and gentle face lies behind this rigidity, but it takes some time to feel it.

While I respect and like the construction of Y and enjoy its complexity, there are some drawbacks in my opinion:

+ It is a bit too much mossy and bitter for my taste, there is almost nothing sweet or creamy about it(a bit harsh and lacking round and smooth edges) while you can find soft edges and sensual aspects in Amazone, Silences and Ma Griffe at least in a more obvious manner.

+ Besides, it has a damp or wet aura plus that civet note which I think detract the beauty of green-floral aspect of the whole composition. However, this wet aura sometimes reminds me of a grass field or a forest in a sunny day after the rain in which the scent of wet grass and earth are mixed with a faint sweet scent of wild flowers.

But in general I can tell you YSL Y is an almost old-fashioned but chic and very sophisticated perfume suitable for serious middle-aged women, a safe office scent that even interested men can enjoy it.

However personally I prefer gentler and kinder face of Ma Griffe and also the more luxuriousness and elegance of Jacomo Silences, but I can't deny the unique place of YSL Y among other perfumes of its own category.

I highly recommend you to test a few times before buy. Avoid blind-buying.

By the way, it has moderate longevity with mostly soft to moderate projection at its best.

To me, the classic chypres are a mysterious bunch. Even the boldest and most sensual examples have an aloofness, an almost studied detachment, that I find strangely alluring. Thanks to a generous sample from miss mills, I've been able to try Yves Saint Laurent Y - undoubtedly one of the greats.

Y starts off airy and cool, with an abundance of aldehydes. It has a very verdant feel, thanks to hyacinth and plenty of bitter galbanum, among other green floral notes. There's also a light touch of sweetness - honeysuckle, peach - as well as a dash of white florals. Rounding it out are the darker moss and animalic notes. The overall effect is austere, clean and light, like an exquisite soap.

I feel like I've smelled this before, perhaps on someone close to me as a young child, but I can't quite place it. Still, the sense of nostalgia is strong with this one. It's comforting, but also slightly unnerving.

Projection and longevity aren't great, but that's almost a good thing. Y seems like the kind of indulgent luxury that is best enjoyed on one's own, like a long soak in the tub. I'll definitely be on the look out for a full vintage bottle.

Lighter than Givenchy III, or as humid mossy as Crystalle, this is a lovely "ice princess" dryer Chypere.

The aldehydes are strong with the green notes and hyacinth, but it introduces its beautiful floral heart you don't find in modern perfumes anymore.

Its gorgeous. I bought the vintage edt in its tall, stylish 80s bottle and matching perfume. Its that great. Iconic Chypere. Liked it so much bought the Extrait.

Beautifull classic masterpiece of the 60-ties.

Chic et classique comme un tailleur Yves Saint-Laurent. Il se fait remarquer à chaque fois que je le porte.

There was a bottle of this in my house when I was a kid and I remember thinking it was a guys cologne after trying it on once. I'm really surprised to find out it's for women.

Amazing juice! Sadly, I don't grab my edp vintage very often. Pm me if you need to get your hands on some more before it is impossible to find. We can discuss swap options, (US).

Vintage Y is a masterpiece and was practically serving as the Opium of the 60's (before Opium was released). YSL's Y is like a chemist gone mad. Jean Amic created the scent and it has a strong punch of aldehydes, plums, peaches, gardenia, galbanum and green notes. Minus the fruits, it somewhat resembles the opening to Ivoire de Balmain. This never did turn too fruity for me because the galbanum is really the strongest note at the top. The heart is floral with hyacinth, Bulgarian Rose, tuberose, jasmine and ylang-ylang. These flowers are like showgirls dancing and grabbing your attention. I have never smelled more fragrant flowers in a perfume. The supporting base notes are classic formulaic notes of sandalwood, patchouli, oak mos and civet. It seems to start off rather cold and harsh because of the aldehydes bu then it softens and warms up. This is beautiful and hard to wear. I think it's strictly an evening perfume to wear when you're dressed in glamorous clothes. It was a favorite of Hollywood actresses like Julie Andrews, Julie Christie and Catherine Deneuve. I can see why they can pull this off but today you'd have to be a time traveler to pull it off. Or maybe just really good at wearing floral fragrances that are also very green and woodsy. This is a classic example of a chypre. It's also a 1960's fragrance at a time when flowers and woods were still very popular. It wears like a more fashionable Oh! de London. I love it. Wearing it to London Fashion Week next month.

The vintage parfum version of Y blew me away. It's right up my alley.

Some chypres demand to be worn with leather and Y parfum is one of them - a caramel colored, smartly tailored leather jacket, to be exact. Pair that with long, lacquered nails, gold jewelry and a 1967 Shelby Cobra Roadster and you have the perfect setting for this fragrance, in my opinion. It's a "rich bitch" fragrance, for brisk, charming women OR men! Delightful!

Y parfum is aldehydic and green with oily hyacinth and gorgeous animal musk standing out on my skin. While floral-chypres usually make me envision the outdoors, this one feels so modern and distinctly from its time that I can only imagine people, buildings and cars from the late 60's and 70's when I smell it. I envision brown leather in a "burnt sienna color" with each whiff.

The modern EDT version of Y (pictured above) is gentle and more versatile. It's vibe of notes is similar to the parfum, but the green notes are translating into a soapy, "icy" citrus scent (somehow a bit "dusty" feeling, too) with a clean musk replacing the more deep, animalic and forest-like ingredients of the parfum. The EDT smells light sage green in color.

Both are beautiful, but the parfum version of Y really transported me to another place in time - I love that.

What can I say? I simply cannot believe I've passed this one up all these years! And here I've prided myself on being a collector and a perfume-aholic, etc. I stumbled upon this in an Indie Perfumery in south Florida (a jewel!), and could not believe my nose! OMG! This is so ME, what I've searched high and low for, and spent only dear God knows how much of my hard-earned paychecks for! This begins with a bright green loud shout, then morphs into an absolute glorious, elegrant, timeless, well-blended classic. Fresh, sweet, and energizing--and every changing as the hours (and hours and hours!) pass...sigh.

I still have a bottle of the old, pre-reform YSL Y in edt. I admit, even though I am not young, aldehydes have been the hardest aspect of perfumery for me to deal with. For the most part, I don't like Chanel due to their heavy use of aldehyes. But here and there, I have liked highly aldehydic fragrances, such as Estee Lauder White Linen and Chanel No. 22.

YSL Y was an easy aldehyde for me to love. For some unknown reason the aldehydes don't assault me and I smell a gentle green hyacinth inside Y. I can see the comparison with Guy LaRoche Fidgi. YSL Y is cool but also gentle and I love the greenery and hyacinths. I think this is the perfect spring perfume or for any time of year when you would like the olfactory memory of spring.

Those who call this type of perfume (or anything with strong character for that matter) "old lady" in a derogatory manner need to stop. That's insulting.

bought this (edt) in a blind buy after reading the reviews here. after the initial use it hit me and i remembered (again) why i hate aldehydes. this perfume is ,as much as i concern, nothing but a burst of aldehydes .too sharp and very ,very old fashioned. i love chypres and i usually use perfumes born decades ago (magie noire, paloma picaso, knowing, adieu sagesse, diva, mitsouko...), but this one had really gone too far.

EDIT: my husband thinks the perfume is very sexy and seductive. who am i to argue with such "facts"? :-)

EDIT 2: it has been some days since i reviewed "y". i feel i have done some injustice to this perfume, jumped into conclusions and did not give it a fair chance. it really has a lot of resemblence to mythique, though i think y is a happier scent .more suitable to spring/summer. the only default i can find is that i would have liked it to have more sillage and longevity. because of that next time ,if i repurchase it, it would be only the eau de perfum. hoping it will be stronger.

total hitchcock 'the birds' ice queen supreme or having to spray it on because you reek of old money. i love it. so cold. x

I bought this before the reformulated re-make came out and I am glad I did as the previous version is now gone for good. If you like Chanel No 19, Cristalle, Heure Exquise etc this is in that genre. I am programmed to think of this fragrance as Tippi Hedren opens the first scene of 'The Birds'. At least I can have the perfume even if I can't have the blonde hair, perfect features, tiny waist and Chanel suit.

Except for a few notes, this and the original Miss Dior smell exactly alike. Though Miss Dior is scarce to say the least, Miss Dior Originale is almost a dead ringer. The smell is slightly different. The fruit makes the difference. Both are good chypres. One fruity. one floral. Both winners.

IModern version is similar to Rive Gauche YSL. Light chypre with anhydride at the opening and mossy drydown. Pleasant Nobel EDT, moderate longevity and silage.For Classy ladies, not young girls.

Old vintage pure perfume is totally different, oriental floral, like Boucheron or Hermes 24 type. But they are both marketed under same name.

I was so afraid of using "Y" on a frequent basis, as the end result would be running out. I simply was afraid as I wasn't sure how long I would be able to easily find replacements. The thought of falling short of my passionately loved rose-centric chypre was a thought I couldn't deal with-of not knowing if I could count on continuing being able to again get my hands on it for an affordable cost.

Time has passed, and although I feel just as passionate about "Y", I gave in to my passion and now wear it as often as I reach for it.

Still uncomfortable with running out, I have been keeping my eyes out for a big Eau de Parfum of this really special juice.

Truth be told, it would be more that awful to go out of this world without finishing my current bottle!

I'm not a big fan of chypres but got this in a box of other mini YSLs to mark the 1983 launch of Paris. I too had never heard of it. I tried to sell it on EBay with no luck, even though it's the vintage pure parfum. I got so disgusted I didn't relist it and after my shower out it on. I feel like what Audrey Hepburn would smell like in "Green Mansions", earthy yet ethereal and pretty much what Rasputin said in his review!

Sophisticated and classy, Y (original) is the most beautiful perfume ever made. A masterpiece.

As missmary,I don’t like aldehydes and I don’t understand chypres too, I find this kind of fragrances too much serious, austere and bitter. In fact modern perfumery plays with notes that often are sweet, flowery, gourmand. Chypres seem to live in an old epoch. Obviously my opinions are superficial and ignorant so I try to pay attention to the time when these fragrances where modern and innovative. I tested Y edt (new edition, not vintage one). My mother wore it a lot of years ago when I was very Young (she doesn’t like sweet fragrances). Well Y is so complex, I understand why it’s still in production. It a beautiful green fragrance. I cannot recognize every single note but after the initial aldehydes (they don’t are powerful) the fragrance becomes more and more pleasant and so soft on my skin. Absolutely elegant, chic, self confident. An evergreen gem. I realize that fragrances are wonderful surprises, challenges and travels around the world and periods.

Beautiful, classy, how come I've never heard of this one before?

Sharp aldehydes push out the green chypre opening. Ten minutes later the sharp edges have gone and left the most beautiful sophisticated and classy powder heart.

This is my first testing, and I think Y is going to be a keeper.

When I first wore it in the '70es, Y was the most sophisticated chypre around.
Perhaps it was the most sophisticated perfume around tout court.
It was a green complicated symphony of flowers and woods, with aldehydes directing the movement.
It was a masterpiece, a subdued one, never reaching the status of other perfumed monuments. Underrated it has always been, but enjoying the status of untouchable among those who had tried it.
I have never bought the Eau de Parfum back in those days because the Eau de Toilette had a powerful strength and I never dared something more potent.
Today Y is still much enjoyable, much lighter and less long lasting.
The Eau de Toilette is much much thinner than it used to be, the fragrance is still very good, very classy, very beautiful.
It is still a wonderful green chypre, a genre it seems to have been replaced by syrupy, candy, sweety fruity scents so much in fashion today.
But chypre remains a classy genre, my personal very favourite one declined in all its possible hues and Y is a magnificent representative scent.
Yes, even today, even after being reformulated.

Bought myself my first bottle of "Y" in the current EDT this month. Classic Green/Floral/Chypre. Nose: Jean Amic, 1964.

Y sails in on a cloud of nose-prickling aldehydes; whispers of dry nostalgic peach and gardenia follow. The peach actually takes my nose not into the mod-1960's, but rather into the 1930's, when that winsome note was often used in the head of fine perfumes. The gardenia adds a smooth floral roundness to the head, which is well-supplied with a bitter green galbanum. That Y is a chypre is evident from the first sniff; one never wonders whether it might morph into a fruity, woody, spicy or oriental. The base is a true chypre of the old-school, and surprisingly substantial, chunky for a women's number of Midcentury. If you've ever mixed together the building blocks of a chypre with your own essential oils--- bergamot, tonka, patchouly, oakmoss, civet, vetiver--- you know that the result is surprisingly chunky... thick and dark and earthy; something of that solid nature is kept present in Y, not merely intimated, as it is, say, in CRISTALLE or DIORELLA. Without elements such as cade and Russian birchtar (or isobutyl quinine), I cannot call Y a leather per se; no, it is a true chypre in every way. The heart seems to me strong in bulb-flowers: narcissus, hyacinth, jonquil, iris, tuberose, muguet, with only intimations of other "colored" flowers like rose. With the galbanum head, the flowers always retain an air of sharp, early-spring greenness, even into far drydown. Like many great old fragrances, Y does not have just a single "stamp" or idea that it projects; as others have stated here, it is a free-formed shapeshifter, revealing its components differently depending upon skin tone, warmth and weather; there was a time that this malleable, indefinable character was seen as the mark of a truly fine perfume. Refined, very "French", Y combines an airy, bitter-"haute chic" head with a surprisingly earthy/mossy base. Though I am using the modern EDT, nothing suggests that it has been "dumbed-down", "freshened" or made linear to please modern noses; the moss within is probably tree-moss instead of the IFRA-banned oakmoss, yet it sure smells like oakmoss to me. A subtle civet, here not in a foecal capacity, but rather imparting a wash of some classic ("old lady-ish" ?) indoles, imparting lushness to both floralcy and base. Grand and uber-stylish, Y is not a scent for cheerleaders and sorority sisters; it probably wears best on a woman over 35 who can rock its sophisticated swank. Were it not for its subtly frilly muguet hint, it could be easily worn by men, too. The sillage at first is aldehydic-bright, sharp and profuse, yet it quickly dies down into a rooty greenish-yellow stamp that will last many hours. Its closest perfume neighbor would be, not CRISTALLE, CREPE-DE-CHINE or DIORELLA, but rather 1947's BANDIT in its finer EDP quality; Y looks more to the past than it does to the 1960's future. I may be laughed at by saying that Y's floral heart reminds me of the vernal, green, bulb/rooty blend found in GREY FLANNEL. I picture blonde women wearing Y, somehow--- Grace Kelly or Ingrid Bergman. Y is highly recommended for the person who appreciates fine, classic French perfumery, and with an especial love for green notes.

Elegance in a bottle.

While it started out as bracing/breathtakingly fresh (aldehydes?), it nearly immediately, becomes an almost "ice queen" powerhouse type of chypre (I mean this as a compliment) with a fabulous dose of Oakmoss. However, hours into it, it dried down to a nauseating abundance of powder that choked out every other element.
Sillage is good (horrendously strong once it hits the powder stage) and staying power is 6+ hours. Sadly powder is one of the three elements that is a no go for me in perfume.

At first I thoght this as a crisp, perfect summer scent --- but it's much much more than just that !
It's a little bit like Saint Laurent's Rive Gauche, but Rive Gauche is to me , is an explosion of adelhydes and fairly one-toned, simple fragrance whereas Y is more complicated and elegant.
It is an art in a bottle. That's all I can say.
A must have.

I CAN´T STOP LOVING THIS! Funny that it´s classified as chypre floral, because in my opinion this is very green chypre with some slight sweetness. That´s on my skin. Very sophisticated, vivid, complex and LUX. Feeling womanish, beloved and wise when wearing this. Can You believe that people respect you more when You wear this?! I´m honest saying that yes they do. I have noticed it.
Very good for Autumn and Winter.One of my true gems. And this frag has a Year of Celebration in 2014 - 50 golden years. Absolute classic. Piece of Art.Perfect. A reason to live and keep going.

The "in between" seasons are what Y was made for. It's perfect in the spring as a reminder of freshly turned earth and flower bulbs breaking through to the sun's warmth. In the fall, the autumn leaves rustled underfoot and a chill in the air complement Y's earthy character.

I feel sorry for those who can't appreciate it...life would be less complete without this lovely mossy beauty.

This is a very charming and elegant fragrance. It's full of poise and intrigue. I've been nursing a 60's era bottle of the parfum for some time now. Of the many classic "green" fragrances that I've tried this has one of the lightest and brightest characters. It is also softer than most green scents having no sharp edges.

This fragrance is a precursor of the "green" scents that came to define the 70's. Most of them are a lot stronger and harsher than this lovely "Y".

Recently YSL has launched a version of Y minus the Oakmoss and with other changes. I haven't tried the new fragrance and plan to replace my bottle with another vintage one. There is a lot of vintage Y EDT available on Ebay, but not much of the parfum. I'm going to hold out for the parfum as that is how I've come to love this scent and don't want something that may disappoint.

For any of you who have found other "green" fragrances too harsh & bitter, this may be the one that will steal your heart!

This totally reminds me of Pierre Cardin Pierre 1976; almost the same notes and almost he same looking parfum bottle. I actually have both but of course, Y is a lot more prominent.

I can't believe I am just discovering this now. I have a vintage and a new, they are both good. Y de YSL is unbelievably multilayered, in fact it's so complex that I still feel like I am smelling a different perfume each time I try it. An absolute MUST try for any chypre and aldehyde fan. Very unisex...male fumeheads, you owe it to yourself to try this.

This scent--and I still have a tiny mini of it left--will always scream "1975" to me--the 70's were so very all about herbs and woods and chypre! Clairol herbal essence dressed up to go out on the town! I loved it then and I always will--but it is a lot of nostalgia in a bottle for me!

My fragrance preferences over the decades have been the story of Benjamin Button. In my late teens and throughout my twenties, I was all about strong, powerful almost astringent scents, always 100% 'sugar free'. Among the perfumes I used during those years were Aromatics Elixir, Jacomo Anthracite, Montana, YSL Rive Gauche and of course Y. After I hit 30 I became an oriental floral and vanilla lover, but that's another story:)
Y is a classic example of timeless perfumery. Green, aldehydic,mossy, animalic, a chypre in all its glory. Despite all those 'harsh sounding' accords, Y is smooth. It doesn't feel dated, but I cannot call it modern. It makes me think of an intellectual yet coquettish Parisian lady of the 1970s on a rainy evening, impeccably dressed in Yves Saint Laurent, dining gracefully at Maxim's effortlessly engaging in conversations about politics, art and literature dazzling her male companions with both her looks and personality...
Powerfull and strong, wear to create a nice contradiction with an ultra feminine outfit or to enhance your assertive personality regardless!

Thank you Namida, for the generous decant!

No bite, no sharpness for me here.
Y is all about smooth thick flowers on a bed of slightly damp oakmoss.
Never heavy.
The scent of a spring forest at dusk where fairies live and play.

There are no aldehydes for me here. At least not the aldehydes I smell in N°5. But there is a certain airyness to the perfume. A sense of light shining through the new, green spring foliage. So maybe that's what the aldehydes do, without being to prominent as a scent itself.
The hiacynth is quite prominent on my skin, but never once does it turn plasticky, as this wonderful blue flower often does. The gentle yet heady scent of honeysuckle transports me to my childhood and the honeysuckle in my mother's garden that gave off its scent most strongly at dusk.
There's a slight sweetness from the fruits, ripe and dripping. And then there's the wonderful bitter, foresty oakmoss. It binds the whole thing together without ever being austere or cold. No, in Y the oakmoss is light, airy, happy.
Y is a perfume of pure joy. It represents spring and summer without ever being citrussy or overly green. It's a portrait of spring in pastel shades. Soft and slightly chilly, but never cold and always inviting.

I love this perfume. I love the bite, and then it softens up without becoming sickly.

I can not like this one despite having a tendancy to gravitate toward chypres and my love affair with Yves Saint Laurent frags. I listened to passionata20 and gave it another try (before deciding what to do with my unused bottle). I'm still finding it a bit too synthetic and perhaps green for me. Maybe it's the aldehydes. Anyone having the same reaction?

Back in the eighties when I was a jet engine mechanic and had to hold on to my fiminine side, I always worn Y. My work partners would tease me about wearing perfume to work but secretly, they loved when I was near. My son was only a young boy at the time but he told me that I should wear this frangrance forever.
I loved it but haven't had any in years.

My review is based on the vintage parfum of Y.

Y didn't surprise me, either in a good or bad way, at the very start. Aldehydes, oakmoss, galbanum, golden greenish, freshness of fruits without being sweet, as much as I love these, the opening seems a bit too prim. It does remind me of my ever beloved Rive Gauche, but I much prefer the bubbly fizzy aldehydes in the top of Rive Gauche, which land on my skin like an expanding mushroom cloud. Y is too close to skin, too low pitched. Then came the floral parts, unsweetened white florals and green leaves. It shares similarities with Chanel No.19, only less powdery and cold. This smells to me a dry, warm, self-content chypre floral, well-bred, intellectual, sophisticated. It's very refined, but I was expecting more. I felt a bit letdown by the linearity and even the longevity too. It became quite faint after 2 hours , as a parfum!

How wrong I was.

Just when I began to forget about it, I suddenly caught a whiff of a new scent. It was Y! Still clean, but sweeter with sandalwood and much much deeper with pathouli and resins. It's even become stronger with bigger sillage! I could clearly smell it as I moved around. Gorgeous.

While writing this review, I keep sniffing my wrist and here comes the last drama: the civet! I should've known since my cats sniffed my wrist and licked their lips lol. It's so subtle yet sexy enough to be noticed, adding some edge to the dry down. Now that's what I call a YSL classic. They refuse to fall into any cliche.

It's been over 8 hours now and the tiny drop is still going strong on my skin. I think it's more of a day scent, a luxurious one of course.

Beautiful grassy chypre perfection. Literally a breath of fresh air! I can't really review this any better than JTD did below me, and our feelings about the scent are harmonious. If you've been searching for that perfect spring floral chypre and haven't tried this yet, give it a go. It may be the one!

This perfume I was wearing for years, it's a very light, female, soft and tender perfume. The pitty is that it doesn't stay very long on my skin: after an hour or two, three it is almost gone. I think the vintage will stay longer...

This review is for vintage bath oil. It's ok. I was disappointed because I had read so many good reviews.
It is clean and florally with a sandalwood dry down. I enjoy the dry down but it is light.
This would be good when I don't really want to stand out or around someone with allergies since I don't think anyone else can smell this on me.
This is a very neutral scent for me. It doesn't make me happy nor do I hate it.

I bought this one today after smelling the disastrous reformulation sans oak moss and grabbed this one with not one but two types of oak moss in it! This scent surprised me, I was a little scared that it would be overly sharp as I didn't get on with Ma Griffe though I like most green perfumes. I own and love No 19 and Fidji and feel that this sits between the two. It goes on a little 'angry' as most aldehydes do, then settles into an almost delicious composition moving through dry autumn leaves and green grass to the plum note that I love in Rochas Femme. This is a scent with a long evolution and is clean, sexy and not at all humdrum. I will wear it for work and in the daytime instead of Femme or Opium alongside No 19. A green scent with warmth and sexiness - wonderful and an absolute travesty that it's gone.

It was my blind buy.
I always wanted to smell it, than it becomes my obsession - I wanted to have it, but were never able even to get a sniff of Y simply because I couldn't find it anywhere in my country.
I'm not dissapointed.
It's green, soft, smells elegant, fresh and after an hour becomes little sweet.
Lasting power could be better but still it's not that bad - about 4 hours on my skin.
Could be an unisex.

I was surprised with this one ; regarding the notes it's one of those typical loud old school scents , but not at all !
Maybe it's because it's an EDT that i've tried , but it's very discreet ans not very long lasting .
Despite this it's very green , fresh , a bit sharp and maybe unisex . I really like it .

It seems as if I have found my perfumed Holy Grail:Gosh, what a achingly beautiful scent!!!I From a singular search for a scent my mother wore in the 1960's(one being Nostalgia by Monteil; practically impossible to find at a price I can afford) my journey has led to the discovery and realization that the chypre family of fragrances have become my passionate favorite, ousting the spicy orientals I have favored for years. I have become enamoured with the perfect creation that is Y, balanced, elegant and warm.On my skin the scent is a warm chypre that builds around a tender sweet rose that seems to mix beautifully with my chemistry, creating a earthy, woodsy yet soft and very gentle feminine veil. I would so much like to find Y in a eau de parfum, but I led to believe that it is not being manufactured any more. However, will continue to look. I was also curious if YSL is only selling Y under its spa collection series-and if it is the same fragrance.It would be horrible if they decided to discontinue it now that I have discovered it. They just can't seem to stop tampering with the greats. Y makes me realize that owning a vast array of fragrances that smell amazing is very nice but to focus on those to which I have an emotional connection is priceless.

This will be my next purchase and not a blind one.I fell in love with is at first sniff. Yes, smell of dried fruits and moss are so wonderfully combined. It is so smooth and elegant! I have tested edt and I imagine that edp would be divine. But it's so hard to find that concertration.

Beware to blind-buyers: I think the EDT version is really too weak to bother. The scent on my skin is no stronger than if I had washed with a perfumed soap. Forget discussing the notes- I can barely smell anything 10 minutes after spraying. Some may find that a positive, but for me, there is nowhere near the strength or intensity to get on board with the reviews below. Maybe many of the reviewers had an EDP? So sad for me- I really thought I would love this. :(

My tiny sample from TPC of this classic was supposed to conjure up my mom, as she was in the 60s: a young Foreign Service wife full of energy and excitement who was never going to stop being an American tomboy even as she grew in sophistication. Y was her signature scent, which she only wore when going out. She never wore perfume during the day, just as she never wore those gorgeous silk scarves in her drawer with her anorak. I know I'm no different than lots of daughters who found their mom's transformation into a gorgeous, sweet smelling, woman of mystery from a familiar playground pal nothing short of miraculous. So, why is this sample so disappointing? I can only assume that this sample, which is not labeled vintage, is not the original juice I remember sneakily putting on from my mom's treasured marble capped bottle inside it's white and gold presentation box. It must be the later reformulation. It's lovely, yes, and sweet, yes, and balanced, yes. And sophisticated, even. But familiar? No. It's not the same. One thing that hasn't changed: when I got older and began discovering my own fragrances I knew this one was my mom's and wasn't for me. It still isn't. And I think that's how it should be.

12. april 2012

In my previous comment about "Y" i described it as an unpleasant fragrance. So i have put my bottle up for sale. After that i decided to try it again. I don´t know if it was a reason that it soon be gone from me or just a change of weather, but now i actually quite like it. A lot. It is april outside, the sun is shining but it is still a bit cold, the spring is in the air and "Y" just fits perfectly this time of the year. Now i think i finally understand this fragrance. To me this is a perfect early spring time fragrance. Now it doesn´t turn into an unpleasant powder scent (well, it does actually, but now it is not that obvious) and is very pleasant green fragrance. I think i finally understand that though i don´t like chypres very much, i just haven´t tried them at the right time. I decided they work for me the best during spring time, when it is still a bit cold, and not that warm. (the only exception i guess is "Intrigue" by Carven, which i love to use during hot summer).
Well, i have learned my lesson now, and won´t be judging fragrances i don´t like that soon and give them time and try more. Luckily this fragrance is still available online so i can buy a new bottle and the vintage pure perfume i didn´t buy last time is still available (30ml bottle, yesssss) from my favorite seller, so i am buying this. I call it "destiny". :) Do not make the same mistake as i did the first time and do not overlook this classic. After all, vintage YSL are amazing, as much as i have experienced them.

an april sun is shining, a shy blush
like blossom, quickly bursting,
on the cheeks of some trees

i bought my EDP Y in Spain. In France we do not find any more EDP but EDT !!!!! GRRRR !!!!
It's strange but this fragrance is becoming a very powdery violet scent on my skin after a while.
It's not unpleasant me but it's strange because no one notice this point of view. Am i the only one ??

I agree with Migalex - this is totally sophisticated scent! Vivacious, comforting, stylish. I like it very much.

19. november 2011

What i was expecting based on reviews is a nice chypre fragrance. What i really get from my EDT is a very very sharp burst of oakmoss smell, really bitter and harsh, i was really scared away with the opening. Then i read all the reviews that say i should wait until it fades away. So i have waited. It became indeed more pleasant and at one moment i began to think that it is not that bad actually and i might to like it even. Green notes became more subtile and softer. THEN it quite quickly has changed into very powderly scent which i absolutly dislike. I do not understand how a chypre can turn into something that smells like a box of loose powder??!!! I was really upset and decided not to buy a pure perfume version of this fragrance since it will be a waste of money to me.
This is not a kind of chypre i like, i prefer "Madame Rochas" or "Scherrer 1" or "Magie Noire". "Y" is a perfume of extremes: harsh opening and powderly drydown. Too much for me in one fragrance :(
The lasting power is really great and sillage is also really great! But overall not my type of fragrance at all sadly.
My review is not for the very vintage formula, but the current formulation i guess (i don´t know if pre or post 2000, sorry)

Please do not remove this comment, since others might find it useful. Not every review should be positive, so people like me wanted to make a blind buy might find it very informative. Thanks.

Similar to chanel nº 19 in the first five minutes, but nº 19 diverts after that, while Y keeps the opening notes for much longer. Sillage and longevity are great and the perfume is the embodiement of sophistication. That is it.

Review of current formulation EDT:

Y opens with a sharp blast of aldehydes and indistinct green notes. Within a 20 minutes the harshness of the opening faded to a powdery hyacinth and a note that is somewhat reminiscent of peach skin. After several hours what remains is a vetiver, oakmoss and powdery aldehyde scent. Beautiful.

Sillage: Good, 4-7 feet
Longevity: Excellent, 14 hours on my skin!
Even reformulated, Y is a fantastic, understated and under-rated chypre. Well made if a touch "old-fashioned" feeling, probably from the prominent aldehyde notes. Highly wearable and suitable for many occasions, dressed up or dressed down, and appropriate for all ages.

ACH!!!

I'm so tired of the "grandma" and "old lady" references!!

What if we started referring to all the sweet fruity scents made in the last 10 years as "juvenile", "immature", "pre-pubescent" or maybe just "little girly"?

Scents definately belong to certain time periods, representing the current style and can smell "dated", no doubt about it.

But a good perfume is timeless and "Y" is exactly that...it starts as a slightly heavy oakmoss chypre (just like Cristalle actually) but brightens quickly to an enchanting green floral heart. It literally blooms on your skin, truly breathtaking in it's beauty.

You either like it or you don't, you'll either wear it or you won't.

Fine with me no matter (except don't buy the last bottle on the planet or I'll have to kill you) as I plan to add this one to my permanent/masterpiece collection right away.

And if your grandma smells like this, God Bless her, she has excellent taste!

There is no denying Y is a masterfully constructed chypre. I can't fault it. It wears beautifully.

I have a number of chypres in my collection, and several floral aldehydes. Y is familiar territory to my nose and it sits among the other great retro chypres I have acquired over the years.

Gosh, here comes the inevitable "however", Y is such a good classic chypre that it smells identical to some of the other good chypres I have. My nose lacks the capacity to distinguish any points of difference.

Not to diminish Y's credibility I would like to add I am delighted I finally have it in my collection.

Just bought it.It is very different from most descriptions that were given here.I thought is some sort of fresh but I was soo wrong.It is just soo sweet for me.I could not describe it differently.Just very sweet and it smells like a perfume that somebody's grandma used to wear.

It’s no wonder that people love this scent. It is beautiful from so many angles, and so deftly balanced. And, wonderfully, this balance doesn’t seem the result of consensus. This is not the middle of the road in a bottle. It contains the best of green florals and grassiness, a smart fruit choice, a confident dose of moss and just enough darkness in the basenotes to make it meld with your skin. It is a quality of many chypres to sink into the skin over time. This one becomes a skin scent, but one with sillage, almost instantly.

There is something so poised and charming about Y. It has confidence yet never seems to have to prove itself. There’s just that hint of a knowing smile. God, I wish I were Y. Interestingly, while other green scents suggest flowers, grasses, things you might find out-of-doors, Y is in fact outdoorsy. It has all the city sophistication of similar fragrances (Cristalle, Silences, No. 19) but seems perfectly at home in the woods.

Y was released in 1964, the year I was born and a year I’ve never quite made sense of. I remember what the later 60s were like on the east coast of the US where I lived at the time. Yet photos from 1964 look like the mid-50s to me. Y captures a bit of this for me. A few years earlier and Y might have been Jolie Madame, a few years later, Diorella. Sort of an interesting in-between time.

The best of all Yves Saint Laurent scents and definitely the most under-rated. Also, I believe, now discontinued. More's the pity.

Oh my! I have found my favourite chypre! This baby is better than Emeraude and Bandit and No 19 and O de Lancome. It's like inhaling the fragrance of fresh dewy moss and hyacinths. Usually I HATE aldehyde, but the powder here is as clean and sweet as the first new-mown grass of Spring. Y would be equally at home at a classy picnic or a high level Board meeting. Such a waft of underplayed herbal-talcy freshness with charismatic elegance! Ah! If you are a chypre-dipper, then you must try Y.

Here's another gem I might have overlooked if not for "Perfumes: The Guide": Y is a perfectly smooth, polished chypre. Luca Turin describes it as quintessentially French, as French as Les Parapluies de Cherbourg and Chablis wine, and I agree. Even after all of the reformulations, the oakmoss is quite prominent, along with the aldehydic opening. The fruity (plum?) and floral (hyacinth?) notes stand out, too, though they are more blended. This kind of aldehydic chypre is fast becoming one of my favorite kinds of perfume!

Too lovely to be believed. All the reviews I read made me think this was right up my alley, and it IS.

A classy (I hate that word) subdued beauty. She's an accountant who rides horses in her spare time.

Or she's a woman who runs a daycare out of her home.

Or she's an English professor.

Someone very competent and self-assured but never cocky. Someone accustomed to making her own way in the world and never looking back. Someone who lives very much in the present.

I'm not a fan of oakmoss. Civet? Phew! Aldehydes-- yuck!

Why-oh-why do I love Y so much?

I think it's because it reminds me of September. It is dry, yet green with a touch of yellow, such as the leaves outside. The peach and plum impart a glow reminiscent of the still-warm sun. It is not emotional, nor does it foreshadow the coming winter. The three above ingredients that I so often find offensive seem to combine together in a singular tour de force, supporting, rather than overwhelming, the shimmering yellow-green composition.

If Y were a gem it would be a peridot.

Although never commecially popular, Y has a cult status that cannot be matched. I have the original and the reformulation.

The original is just about the sexiest thing ever produced. It is like Mitsouko on steroids! The oakmoss swirls thoughout the entire composition. The fruit is not fresh-more like fine plum confiture and dried peach. It has a complexity that takes hours to develope. The floral heart is restrained and elegant. It has the fire of a brilliant diamond. The amber color promises many hours of olfactory fliting and delivers.

The reformulation is but a cheap zircon that pales in comparison...Seek out an original to experience a giant 20th century chypre masterwork.

The original is Julie Christie in Dr Zhivago.

This is one badass chypre, I pretty much see it as Miss Dior with balls. From a contemporary point of view, shaped by fragrances that are designed to smell "cute" on paper for the first ten minutes (in accordance with the shopping strategy of an average customer), Y is definitely every marketing department's nightmare. It's not cute, any which way you look at it, and it doesn't bring out all of its big guns until about two hours in. But I personally love to witness every single minute.

The beginning is aldehydic floral, naturally, but you can already detect some of the mossy base and that lovely civet stink (it even bares a certain resemblance to Bandit for me, which is a plus). Civet and oakmoss are also what dominates the next stage on me, together with a creamy rose note. The drydown brings out more of the dry sweetness of fruits, patchouli and resins.

Shame I only know the EdT which doesn't last that long on my skin.

What can I say about Y...after 42 years using it!...is my parfum...I used before and for many years Fidji until I found Y...I follow it around the world...is not easy to find...Is a great! flowers, green and wood all in one... nobody does it better than Y...Love at the first snif..."Too bad it's discontinued, but the new rules would make it impossible to recreate anyway,with all that oakmoss. The fruity opening is a great pleasure, aromatic but not really sweet, just fresh and energizing"...I´m very sorry that I can find nothing similar Buahhhhhhhh There is nothing like Y!!!

I'm not usually a fan of chypres, but I've always quite liked this one. I find it quite refreshing and green. I wouldn't want to wear it all the time, but it's nice for occasional use - although I'm sure it's probably something of an acquired taste. Haven't seen it for a while - has it been discontinued?

This review is based on a sample generously sent to me by a forum member some time ago, so I don’t know the concentration. However, I suspect it is an EdT. At first I smell powdery violets, citrusy aldehydes, and something green and mossy. As Y dries down, it takes on a soft, gentle, understated floral chypre feeling, a bit like an old Patou scent with a pinch of pollen sprinkled over it like fairy dust.

It’s a well-behaved scent, easy to wear, pleasant and classically European in its general outline. It’s the sort of perfume I’d wear to a formal wedding so as to smell good to myself and others but not upstage the bride. It’s one of those abstract scents that’s simply meant to smell like a perfume, not a flower, place, experience, person, or anything else representational. It would make a good wardrobe staple for anyone who wants a conservative, subdued fragrance. The only down side is that the version I have doesn’t last very long, about 3-4 hours tops.

My all-time favorite chypre. Love it more than any other perfumes I've owned. It's a classic, green chypre that never fails to lift my mood. And now that Spring is here, I'll wear it often.

Sherapop! Did you notice the DRIED fruits in there? It is one of the most special features of this perfume and although not mentoined in the notes here, one of my vintage books mentoined this. So you saying 'DRY' is exactly the thing! I love that!! DRIED FRUITS!

This is truely light scent. I thought this would be more "dark" or how to say hmm, hevier. Thinking so because I looked up them ingredients. I bought Y and Knowing at the same time. One is in my left wrist and one is in right. They are like day and night ;)))
Both are huge good. Maby Y is very pleasant at summer time when skin gets warm ;) I need to try it after few month.
Edit; Nah! This is better at winter in crispy cold snowy time.

Compared to YVRESSE, YSL Y seems very dry and austere. I'd call it a dried grass chypre rather than a fruity one. There is certainly a connection between the two compositions, but YVRESSE seems fuller, in addition to being fruitier, while Y seems clean and direct. Actually, I think that the naming of YVRESSE makes a lot of sense, in relation to Y: it contains more detectable, thicker notes, so the name has become thicker (longer) as well. I should say that I never really found YVRESSE very fruity (and it seems to me very un-champagnelike...), until I compared it side by side with Y!

Y reminds me a bit of a couple of the Balmain perfumes, inhabiting with them the same general neighborhood as CORIANDRE. On my skin, Y is less green than brown, and the aldehydes do evoke vague and distant memories of ARPEGE, as another reviewer points out, but ARPEGE develops and undulates, while Y seems more linear and univocal--notwithstanding the lengthy list of notes, which are obviously very finely blended! Y is nowhere near as green and wacky as MA GRIFFE.

Y is a conservative, classic creation, for women who appreciate aldehydic perfumes which are neither sweet nor very floral. I am happy to have been introduced to this perfume by fellow Fragrantican Action. They are both gems!

I received this as a gift about 25 years ago, before I developed my fascination with scents. I enjoyed wearing it, but did not repurchase. I had been thinking about it lately, and decided to try it again. I am very glad I did; it is a lovely green floral chypre, and the dry-down, on my skin, actually had a citrusy undertone which Chanel 19 (which it does remind me of) does not. It is VERY long-lasting; the spritz of 4pm was still gently sniffable the next morning!. The opening is indeed what I think of as very "French"; fizzy, green, floral with a wonderful chypre flavour. A great re-buy after all this time.

This juice seems to be the cure for winter. In the past 4 or 5 hours I've applied a significant amount of my miniature because I can't get enough of the scent. Y opens beautifully with rose and powder and peach. Aldehydes and other florals slowly come in and then the small meteorological miracle occurs. Normally in the cold dry air of winter these floral notes would collapse into either nothingness or a thin sad sweetness. In the case of Y, the resins and oakmoss begin to open with a strong plum note. There's just enough civet to give the perfume structure. You will then have several hours of pleasure from alternating sweet incense and lush florals. This is how I've always imagined the Spice Coast of India to smell.

When I first applied this I immediately thought of Arpege. I think Amic was too smart to try to reproduce it but definitely was paying tribute. I hope the kill rumor is just that since I've come to this so late.

Sillage: cocktails at the Plaza
Durability: very good though the top note is addictive
Price to value ratio: excellent
9/10

How can somebody describe love?
That moment when everything seems to fall into place?
That happened to me when I smelt Y for the first time, love at first snif. I couldn´t have enough of it. I was living in London back then and was visiting a friend. She had a big bottle of Y on a self in the bathroom and naughty me (and bad mannered I know) I sprayed it just to see what it was like, and that was it! After that, what can I say? 20 years together, with ups and downs but always close.

Thank you sooo much, lovely Action for this wonderful perfume gift!!!
Y - it is really a classic and does not smell like a perfume from the sixties.
I would have thought it was from the eighties and I can actually picture Alexis Colby wearing nothing but a fur coat and Y while trying to seduce Blake Carrington.
Y is for a strong woman, an alpha-woman, a self-confident woman, a sophisticated and classy woman.
A smart woman who knows where she is coming from, a smart woman who is a leader.
Y turns out to be smoky (no one mentioned that) AND a bit soapy at the same time on my skin, like clean and dirty but not crack whore dirty, it is more like Alexis Colby dirty!
And yes, I always liked Alexis better than Krystle!
And it is so well blended that I cannot single out any note.
Staying power and projection are really good.
A single drop lasted more than 8 hours and I could smell it on me without having to press my nose onto my wrist, my shoulders or the top I was wearing.
Y is not something I would reach for on a regular basis but it is a special occasion perfume.
I would definitely not wear it in hot weather as it would be too heavy for me but I am looking forward to wear it to the company parties (except from the summer party) and my friend's wedding next month.
I will wear it when it is getting a bit warmer, but still below 20 degrees, and when a good friend of mine and I will spend our time sitting in cafés in Hampstead, just watching the rich (and famous) people while we try to look like rich folks ourselves...

Here is another masterpiece that YSL is giving away alomst for free! I have both the vintage and the new one and both smell FANTASTIC!! I really love YSL making this kind of perfumes attainable for everybody (at least online that is..).

AND not unimportant, according to my vintage perfume books, this perfume is quite unique in the fact that it contains DRIED fruits. That gives the perfume and extra sensual dimension, like Quadrille does too, containing dried fruits.

Y may just be one of YSL's most underappreciated fragrances yet. Being overshadowed by all the glitz and glamour that YSL seems to represent today, this bottle is often lost among the sparkly Parisienne or the candy pink Baby Doll.

This fragrance is a classic, especially in the way that it doesn't have to be loud or ground-breaking to be so loved.

When I first smelt Y the word 'clean' came to mind. I wanted to say soapy and fresh, however Y isn't either of those things. It's clean in a very natural and simplistic sense of the word, like something that becomes you, rather than announcing to the world that it's a perfume.

It isn't heavy and it isn't offensive. Y is classy and sophisticated but also versatile enough to be casual and alluring.

It's green and woodsy with a somewhat powdery quality. It doesn't feel dated and I would not have guessed that this fragrance originated from the 1960's. Although not particularly outstanding, the scent itself is quite addictive. It was something that I had to smell over and over again just to embrace its beauty.

I must add that this fragrance isn't as dry as some chypres, it has a delicate moistness, possibly caused by the rich green notes and the earthy, wet patchouli note. The fragrance also tends to smell a little musty.

The aura of Y is incredible. It conjures up thoughts of cleanliness, fresh bouquets of flowers and soft, burning incense. Perhaps slightly 'churchey' and refined in its manner.

I could talk about this fragrance all day, as there are many levels to be experienced here. Y is one of those fragrances that leave a profoundly good impression despite its subtlety.

A very classy perfume. When ever I wear this perfume, I am always complimented on how lovely I smell. It is the first perfume I have encountered that takes you on a journey with its individual notes. Beautiful honeysuckle, jasmine, soft fruits, rose, greens, the notes are endless. A beautiful perfume that gives you a feeling of sophistication.

I was given a bottle of Y recently from a generous lady I don't even know. First sniff from the bottle and I thought, oh no, I won't be able to wear this. I have a hard time with chypres (I think). But wow! This is beautiful. It is so clean, green, and to me, a much lighter, rounder version of Aromatics Elixir. I never get a headache when I wear Y. It is becoming a comfort scent for me.

I must admit- it's too sophisticated for me to wear. This fragrance is for women who dress flawless every day. And acts nice all the time.

Well having read some of the reviews - it seems you love it or hate it - personally I love it - I am getting very hung up on this site - and on leaving my opinion I love to compare I think I may have to buy from the USA - despite the shipping costs - there's something wrong in the UK - in my Quartier any way - Left Bank of the Mersey River - I need a good place to purchase some class

(Vintage EDP Review)

Finally a chance to test this classic scent!! No need to know hte notes here, as nothing stands out.

This opens sharp to me and develops along the lines of Chamade and Ma Griffe. I do agree that it is a very sophisticated and refined scent.

I know aldehydes were the 'thing' for quite a few decades, but I have a very hard time wearing this ingredient. It turns the fragrance into 'air' on me, and I respond hte same as when I move a pile of papers that have been resting on my desk for a year... a-CHOO!

A nice green chypre, though, and I do recommend the EDP version.

Wow, I finally got some of this and I love it! I was not expecting it to be quite so animalic in the base notes, but that's fine with me as I adore classic Chypres. Lots of nice "dirty" jasmine along with the tuberose and honeysuckle, and REAL oakmoss in the base too, this is a real classic. Too bad it's discontinued, but the new rules would make it impossible to recreate anyway,with all that oakmoss. The fruity opening is a great pleasure, aromatic but not really sweet, just fresh and energizing. A keeper!

Almost masculine to me, I cannot smell any flowers or fruits here; woody, powerful, beautiful opening, I don't like the drydown which is soapy on me. It smells a bit like old ladies, but in a sexy kind of way, as if the woman wearing it has a lot of experience and knows everything going on around her; Bohemian, I would give it a change with the right wardrobe; mysterious, strong, and creative, intellectual to the last drop, just lacks sexiness to me... great for showing who's got the power in a world dominated by men.

Y is a chypre that I am most familiar with, its composition has a classic structure.

Chypres like this almost always have a jarring beginning, usually with a bright, sharp, aldehydic and green opening.

As the topnotes fade, you discover the fruity nuances melding with its floral heart. The fruits used are not the the candied type so typical in modern fragrances of the new century. They are juicy, but not terribly sweet. They meld seamlessly into the slightly powdered floral heart with a pronounced rose complimented by tuberose and hyacinth.

It is rather soft, and it reminds me of Clinique's Aromatics Elixir, but done with more finesse and refinement. Aromatics Elixir is very bold, very redolent of roses and herbs, with a woody-grassy background. Y's base is more sensual, woody tones softened by musky civet and styrax.

For those who want to warm themselves up to a classic chypre should try Y.

I love this. Its not a scent I would wear because you need to be fairly sophisticated to carry it or it wears you. My mother wore it and I can still recall how strong, smooth and distinctive it smelled. Despite an array of ingredients, the scent is fairly solid and very well blended. Classic.

Aldehydes in Y amp up the tasty bitter green sharpness of galbanum and tame the sweet floral trinity of gardenia, tuberose and jasmine. I think of Y as a melancholic chypre and wear it exclusively in spring.

When gardenia, tuberose and jasmine are all together among the chypre ingredients I usually find the overall scent choking, althought I'm a big chypre fan otherwise. I've checked the ingredients of the fruity chypres, the floral chypres and the leather/aldyhylic chypres and those I dislike all contain all 3 (gardenia,tuberose & jasmine) but if it's just one or two of the 3 it's much more appealing to me. But this scent seems to mix the 3 in a way that's truly transformative.

Y is magic. Wear it and you will receive comments, not all of them positive, but wear it anyway - you can't please everyone all the time so you might as well please yourself!

Y, the luxury and the perfection together, a very elegant, timeless and sophisticated fragrance. A harmony between chypre, flowers and green notes. Like a green, fresh wind. A floral bouquet, very intensive. A structure riche, warm and woodly.

I think ,Nuppu, there is part of a truth that it might be my chypre intolerance, and after you pointed it out, I scrolled down through the list of chypres. The part of them I smelled before, are alright, not among the favorites but alright, and how can it be that Coco Mademoiselle is chypre? total surprise and miss dior.. Perhaps the problem can be aldehydes, I don't know, because I find Rive Gauche YSL, Chanel N22,N5 quite similar, but with a less suffocative power, and they all are on the list of Floral Aldehydes, and YSL 'Y' has aldehyde among the ingredients

To Scent lover and PR, the problem might be just chypre genre, I also many times feel chypres suffocating and they make me cough, there's something thick and dizzying. And I do like heavy florals and strong oriental, but most chypres make me ill.

Y is beautiful, green chypre, but again, difficult to wear because of this sensitivines of many chypres.

To PR:

Probably our noses perceives the smells in very different way. In general I like strong, intense, complex scents and anything ligter may seem as light scent to me while for someone else it can be strong. I offered to try Paloma Picasso as I consider it as a strong chypre perfume and I was curious to know your opinion. To me Y is much much much lighter than Paloma Picasso.
Y is very well balanced chypre. A bit of green and citrusy notes and beautifully done wood. I think it is more intense than lets say Madam Rochas by Rochas but weaker than Paloma Picasso.

to Scent lover: No, I haven't tried Paloma Picasso, but it is realy strange you name it as light, perhaps I should try to smell it again..though I am not very willing

To PR:
In opposite I feel it as quite light chypre perfume which is very well balanced too. Have you tried Paloma Picasso? I think thats the strong chypre.

if it is possible to choke on the smell this is the one. Something suffocating and not too pleasant to my nose.. was coughing after smelling this for couple of minutes.'Stink bomb' came to my mind