Ylang-Ylang Espresso

Love it! All the other reviews on this have covered pretty much my exact experience - it's vintage-ish, it's a bit of a cacophony, it's evocative of a time and place that some of us remember and have a deep nostalgia for. This is definitely not for everyone - people of a certain age may appreciate this more than others. There is uncertainty in here - there's a little bad with the good. It is not pristine, perfect or lovely, but that's where its electricity is. When I wear this, here is where my thoughts take me - it's 1989. I'm 18 and we are driving around collecting friends, getting ready for a night out on the town. Some of us are home from college on Christmas break. The cars are used Celicas, Sciroccos and Chevettes - there is stale smoke, some spilled stuff. It is cold but we don't have coats. Some of us are under-age, some are not. We arrive at friends' houses, and we greet the parents - we are polite and on our best behavior until we get back into our caravan of cars. There are cigarettes, in the homes and in the cars. We have on our Obsession and our Magie Noir. (This fragrance does not smell like those though!) We have our hairspray and our harem pants with black turtlenecks. There is Michelob and Bud Light in bottles. The music is Erasure and R.E.M. and even Escape Club and Tone Loc, and we're piling more people in the cars than there are seat belts for. There's a physical closeness in the cars that electrifies a young person's senses. There's a guy you don't know very well, a friend of a friend or someone's roommate, and he's squeezed in next to you, the side of his body pressed against yours. You can smell his aftershave. Somebody lights a cigarette and opens a window, and the cold air comes in.

My coworkers said it smells like massage oils, but I get a hit of cigarette ash. Smells like a gourmand perfume mixed with stale cigarettes. Or, like the dirty earth mixed with something creamy. I thought this would have had patchouli and some other green florals but I can see I was off. This smells like a raunchy, dirty very adult scent to me. Not what I expected from such a floral pretty looking brand. I feel like this fragrance would be more of a dirty secret for me to revel in. I feel conflicted between wanting to smell adult and take what I want, and wanting to be a good girl! This is a rebellious fragrance for me. It's definitely not innocent. I would like to add that this one generates compliments. The 'cigarette ash' vibe I only get when I smell close to my wrist but others don't smell it. As it dries down I just get a warm, cocoa sort of floral. It's a very good smell. I'm glad I persevered with it. Edit: I don't get the cigarette ash anymore now that I have worn this a few times. What I get is a warm cocoa bitterness, and a natural floral/herby vibe. Can I just say that I have NEVER understood why fellow fragranticans have 'bedtime' fragrances. I have never had the desire to wear a fragrance to sleep as I feel it is something you wear to go out but at night you should be clean. HOWEVER, tonight after showering I had the urge to apply this. I'm not sure what it is but it has a natural, calming sort of aroma to it. I think my friends were right in their likening it to massage oil. It smells like a lovely expensive bath product. I absolutely love it. It's quite modern, errs on the unisex... this is a very good fragrance, and the price is nothing to sniff at either.

The more I wear this, the more I love it. I purchased the sampler and have favored wearing Ylang and Espresso to trying the others. On initial spray, there is a burst of bitterness that reminds me so much of the coffee my grandparents used to roast when I was a kid. It is an uncanny resemblance and I could sit in a cloud of this initial phase all day. The bitter coffee note is also an apt representation of the perfume's name - a true espresso. The bitterness fades rather quickly for me, but the scent turns more "friendly" after the top notes. It becomes more of a creamy floral with a slightly bitter undertone. It seems to continue to mellow throughout the day, until it is predominantly a creamy floral. Just a slight pepperiness remains. However, the "floral" comes off as a generic floral rather than something I could pinpoint as Ylang Ylang proper, so if you are here for the Ylang, you will likely leave disappointed. Unlike others, I have not experienced any sense of tobacco or cigarettes here. I think my nose is reading any bitterness as pure coffee and I'm fine with that. :) Like others have noted, this is unique and exotic smelling combination. I have not tried Cafe Tuberosa, the top voted similar scent to Ylang and Espresso, but am now very anxious to do so. Also, Sephora lists "tiramisu" as a note for Ylang and Espresso, which is a little ridiculous sounding, but it does make sense. This perfume is like eating a coffee-based dessert in a floral garden and that's a magical image for me. Love! And definitely need a big bottle!

This was the scent that made me want to try Floral Street. Beautiful white florals and creamy, rich tiramisu and chocolate in this gorgeous gourmand. It’s sweet, comforting, and downright edible. It’s like drinking coffee with your dessert on a romantic date with your partner. The longevity is pretty good. I recommend layering it with a vanilla lotion to have it stick all night. The projection is moderate. It’s not close to the skin but people won’t smell it across the room. Funnily enough, I got the rose stronger in the dry down than in the top notes. It opened up with the ylang ylang, spice, and jasmine, with the cream coming in a few minutes later. The tiramisu comes front and center about 20 minutes in. After the first few hours, you can smell the florals, the sweets, and the coffee in equal measure. The coffee is never overwhelming. Overall, this is a great scent for coffee lovers, gourmand fans, or anyone looking for a unique floral. Floral Street is great at creating these unusual yet beautiful true floral scents. I’m obsessed!

The masterpiece of the Floral Street lineup! This smells like a delicious melange of coffee and exquisite dark chocolate topped with whipped cream, all blended with a stunning ylang-ylang that slowly unfolds its beauty on my skin. I love how they combined the dark gourmand notes with this airy tropical flower. The opening is bittersweet and I kind of understand why it makes some people think of cigarettes, but I don't mind it as this doesn't have that gross trashy note that you get when you smell a full ashtray. The ashy-smokey note vanishes quickly and then the scent gradually becomes more floral and creamy. It keeps the coffee note but loses any hard edges. Truly like a tiramisu. This has some similarities to Rihanna Rebelle and even more to Atelier Café Tuberosa. It doesn't have the fruity rose note I get from CT though, and the ylang ylang and extra creaminess take the scent to a new level. I had CT on my wishlist and replaced it with Ylang-Ylang Espresso, as this is so much more rounded and all in all better!