Ysatis by Givenchy (1984)

 While hipsters in my neighborhood continue to insist on wearing the most hideous of hideous ‘80s fashions (skinny jeans tucked into slouchy boots, weird appliquéd sweaters and ginormous-framed lensless eye glasses), I am having an 80s revival of my own with perfume.

 Ysatis is not only a pleasure to pronounce (look in the mirror, purse your lips and whisper “Eee-saht-ees, by Jee-vahn-shee” just for kicks), it’s a gorgeous and sensual floral. 

The surprise (and indispensable) note is coconut. It acts like a soft-focus camera lens to blur the crisp florals and give them a vaguely nutty, milky, and ever-so-slightly sweet tropical feel that could have veered into gourmand territory but stops short. It's Ysatis's hint of the exotic that makes it interesting.

Although I am not a big fan of prominently floral perfumes, I love when they're are given a twist; in this case, some fat and calories to give it a hint of richness. 

Ysatis's sexy drydown is my favorite part. That's when the notes, all tucked into bed and spooning together, melt on your skin. According to OsMoz this Dominique Ropion-constructed gem took about 18 months to finish because he wanted to balance the floral, woods and spice in the perfume, which is considered the first Oriental chypre. Well-balanced, multifaceted, intriguing and beautiful — who wouldn't want to smell like that?

Top notes: Green note, aldehydes, fruit note, rosewood, coconut

Heart notes: Tuberose, jasmine, narcissus, carnation, rose, ylang-ylang

Base  notes: Patchouli, sandalwood, castoreum, civet, oakmoss, amber, honey, cistus

Until I get a better trained nose or, more likely, my Haarman & Reimer fragrance guide in the mail (update: I got it, and the notes here are from it), the notes I list are partial and possibly off. Everywhere I looked for notes for Ysatis, they were different. One blogger I respect said there's oakmoss in it, which would make it a chypre. Other sources claim there's vanilla, which would suggest it's in the Oriental category. Yet another source didn't mention vanilla or oakmoss at all and threw in castoreum!

To make matters worse, I bet there's an Ysatis reformulation, which means that everything that makes this perfume heady, rich and interesting has been eliminated. Sigh.

How much more confusing can it get to figure out perfume? Imagine a film buff looking for information about "Vertigo" and finding out that it may have starred either Kim Novak or Grace Kelly, taken place either in San Francisco or Paris, and may have been directed by either Alfred Hitchcock or Billy Wilder. (Absurd example, but you get my drift.) I mean — seriously. It's scandalous. 

Here's an article about perfumer Christophe Ludamiel regarding the perfume industry and how he thinks it needs to let go of its "secrecy and mysticism." Ludamiel wants the public to have the opportunity to be educated about fragrance and olfaction in the same way wine lovers are educated about wine. Um, yes please.

Comments

[Monica]

Any chance you can tell how old a bottle of Ysatis is? I recently got a bottle that came in a black box with green, pink, purple jungle print edge.. Can you help me?

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Monica, thanks for stopping by. One rather unscientific way I have of determining whether or not a perfume is vintage is to go to a site like Sears or Amazon which will certainly be selling a newly reformulated perfume, and then go to eBay and type in vintage + whatever the perfume is. I did just that for Ysatis and there is a difference in the boxes. The new one has the jungle print edge, but the vintage one has a jungle print edge and the 4 Givenchy G's logo with that jungle print, too. So I would guess that unless yours has the 4 Gss, it's not vintage. Let me know how it works out!
Reformulated Ysatis : http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_07465949000P?vName=BeautycName=FragrancesName=Women%27s%20Fragrancepsid=FROOGLE01sid=IDx20070921x00003a
Vintage Ysatis: http://cgi.ebay.com/YSATIS-GIVENCHY-Pure-Parfum-Spray-1-3-fl-oz-Vintage-/330387169149?cmd=ViewItempt=fragrancehash=item4cec9c1f7d

[James Scanlan]

Can anyone tell me what harpsichord music was played in the 1984 advert?

[Linda]

I guess the main difference between old and new one is box (old is black and new is purple) and the bottle( the old one is with golden lid reminds of a column). New version smells awful!!! I use it as a air freshener in my bathroom. It smells so cheap and al the luxury of richness has gone!!! Thanks God there are still some old bottles on ebay!
One question: i´ve seen pure perfume on ebay, but so strange that it is packed into black (old) box, but the bottle is like new formula one. Does anyone have expirience how it smwlls like? Like the old version or like the new version???

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Linda,

It's funny. I see the new Ysatis every time I'm at the mall, but I never feel like smelling it. I think it's because I'm sure it wont be nice, and I want to remember what it really smells like. (I can't believe you use the new stuff as air freshener! Ouch.) As for your question about the new looking bottle in the old box. I have no idea — sorry! I hope someone can answer your question...

[linda]

Hi!
can you explain why is the bottle that is on the picture above is like new edition one? i am used to other type of bottle:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Givenchy-Ysatis-3-3oz-Womens-EDT-Spray-/120666649182?pt=fragrance&hash=item1c184af25e#ht_500wt_1156

Maybe you know? This suppose to be an old ad, but why with the new type of bottle?
Thank you in advance.

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Linda,

I wish I could help you, but vintage bottles are not my specialty. I just review the perfumes. I would suggest going on MakeupAlley.com, PerfumeofLife.org, fragrantica.com, or basenotes.com and get on a forum to talk to other perfume-lovers who may be able to answer your question. In my case, I try to make sure I'm buying vintage and then try to rely on my nose — it usually knows. :-) I hope that helps!