Ylang Ylang Nosy Be

One word: MASTERPIECE!! This was the very DEFINITION of "love at first sniff" for me. I actually do not think I've ever been so instantly IN LOVE with a fragrance before!! I could even tell just sniffing it in the sample bottle... the moment I put it on my skin, like I kid you not, I'd ordered it within 10 minutes. My full (first) full bottle just arrived, and I can tell you this will be a staple in my collection for eternity!! As a lover of Ylang Ylang, this fragrance speaks to me! I ordered SO MANY samples of Ylang Ylang forward fragrances.. Nosy Be was the first one I tried, and I was literally so confident in its glory that I ordered my bottle before sampling all the rest. I have since sniffed the rest, and I was not mistaking in my evaluation!! Probably, if not Nosy Be, BoraBora is the next best bet... but that fragrance has a coconut note, and I am someone who generally prefers my tropicals to be evasive of that coconut note (cheapens the fragrance, to me, in my opinion, you do you)! Was extremely disappointed by Ylang in Gold, as an aside. Nosy Be deserves SO MUCH more hype!! After all my sampling, I really feel that Nosy Be is a hidden gem. Not that nobody knows about it, but just saying I think it deserves to be a lot more hyped than some of the Ylang Ylang forward fragrances that get all of the attention!! Ylang Ylang Nosy Be has the most prominant Ylang Ylang to my nose. That said, I don't find it to be too much, I find it to be beautifully balanced and expertly blended. Like I said, it's a masterpiece! I literally cannot stop smelling myself... lt is so difficult for me not to spray it on myself even working from home (and sometimes I do). This fragrance is beautiful, creamy, RICH... so incredibly gorgeously feminine, in a soft but mature way. I love it, I love it, I love it. I would recommend this fragrance to anyone who would listen!!

i have been in the mood to get into more ylang ylang forward perfumes lately, and i blind bought this.i have never smelled a ylang ylang flower in real life, i have only owned an essential oil (which might as well be fake, it smelled very waxy to me) so i dont know much about the scent profile of the flower. Sure online descriptions can help but they never paint the full picture. tuberose barely smells like the descriptions for example. i was extremely surprised when this smelled like a chypre to me? sure theres no oakmoss but it structurally felt like a modern take of a chypre with an aromatic patchouli esque note. the solar yellow floral aspect is there for sure, but i wouldnt call this a soliflore (which isnt the point of the perfume but still). Can anyone with ylang ylang experience tell me if this could be considered a ylang ylang reference perfume? In the first few seconds after spraying, theres something minty going on. but it doesnt take over and doesnt smell like gum or mouthwash. i normally hate mint in perfume but here its a welcome addition, mainly because it disappears really fast! Then theres a beautiful vanillic sillage. not a playful juvenile vanilla bur a dark and smooth vanilla. the sillage is quite powerful in the first hour and then it settles into a safer sillage (still noticeable but not room filling). Theres still a patchouli note but not a dirty one, an effervescent one. maybe its the labdanum (another note i dont have much isolated experience with). The end result is a balsamic sunny heady intoxicating waxy yellow floral with vanilla. The first hour it smells quite masuline to me, after that it turns feminine.. not mature but young feminine. And im not typically into that, but this smells very interesting and i love it. perfect for a hot summer and honestly really need to walk past a man that wears this

Ylang Ylang is the best supporting actress of the perfume world. It is the Stockard Channing to tuberose's Meryl Streep or jasmine's Olivia Newton-John. Unconventionally attractive, complex and provocative, it rarely is given its own spotlight. In Ylang Ylang Nosy Be, named for the Madagascar island from which the particular ylang ylang used derives, even still relies heavily on vanilla and spice to bring out this mercurial flower's best qualities. It opens luxuriously bright and effulgent, yet creamy and intoxicating. The delicious banana custard facet that I find so appealing is in full glory here, contrasting with the neroli-like, bittersweet top qualities. There is also a touch of warm camphor from an accompanying cardamom. A honey facet grows more prominent further in its development, but this just stops short of feeling gourmand, even with the abundance of vanilla escorting the ylang ylang into the dry down. Other florals and woods shade the experience, especially as it dries down: this is by no means full-on edible. It is heady, but not oppressive. It gives a nod to classics while at the same time forward-looking, which is no small feat. Ylang Ylang Nosy Be isn't simply a character actress, there's far more depth to it than I expected from what I believed to be a flashier, "prestiche" sort of brand. I'd like to give credit to the Ylang Ylang Nez Naturals Notebook for encouraging me to seek out this unsung release.

I love Ylang Ylang Nosy Be! I cannot put into words how much I love this glorious, sunny, solar, creamy scent. It is simply divine! It’s the best ylang ylang fragrance in my collection and my most favourite. It’s an extremely intoxicating yellow and white floral with some rose, citruses, spices, woods and vanilla. But it is mainly an ylang ylang scent. And it is so good, so creamy, so tropical and luxurious smelling. It’s complex, rich, decadent, and powerful, leaving a big trail behind me. Sunshine in a bottle! A must have for anybody who loves this exotic flower! Performance is great, around 7 hours of wear with a strong sillage for the first two hours. For the quality and the exquisite packaging, I don’t think is badly priced at all! It’s not a cheap fragrance but it’s well blended and the performance is great! I need to try more of Perris Monte Carlo, seems like an underrated brand with high quality, natural ingredients! Edit August 2024: I finally got a bottle of Ylang in Gold by Micallef, which is another beautiful, vanillic, ylang ylang scent. Highly rated because of the concentration of ylang ylang. I still consider Ylang Ylang Nose By the best representation of this exotic flower. Don’t think there’s anything better than this if you love this flower!

Overall, I really enjoy this fragrance, but the opening isn’t my favorite. It’s a bright floral citrus with noticeable citrus and cardamom that gives it a sharpness that comes across a little too harsh to my nose. Thankfully, this phase doesn’t last long. As it starts to settle, the fragrance transforms into a beautiful, almost vintage-feeling floral heart. The jasmine, orange blossom, and rose add a soft powdery elegance, but the ylang-ylang is the real star of the show. It stays front and center from the opening all the way through the dry down. Where this fragrance really wins me over is the dry down. The vanilla smooths everything out, creating this warm, beachy ylang-ylang vanilla that feels rich and effortless. I swear I can smell benzoin, even though it’s not listed, because it has that creamy, resinous warmth that I absolutely love. I don’t love the immediate opening, but I love the journey this fragrance takes. It transforms beautifully from a bright, slightly sharp floral into a warm, creamy tropical vanilla that feels elegant rather than sunscreeny. It’s one of those fragrances that keeps getting better the longer you wear it, and that’s exactly why I can see a full bottle in my future.