Tuxedo Extrait de Parfum

Beautiful fuller version of tuxedo but arguably lost the ethereal feeling that made it such a hit. Terribly overpriced ~$700. I mean the arrogance of brands to put out a 50ml “extrait” at such a price. Let’s be honest how is this not asking to get duped. These are prices approaching the Desert Gems by FM which were bringing unheard of amounts of oud or rose and top perfumers working for a year or more on a project. This in the end is just an amped up version of Tuxedo in a smaller bottle. More psychological factors at play selling this than the actual fragrance. My vote is for the scent my review is because of the price.

A stronger Tuxedo, who asked for this?! Me.....I asked for this..and I need it.

Tuxedo 66 Extrait de Parfum Or: How to Charge Extrait Prices for Someone Else’s Homework I have Guerlain L’Homme Idéal Parfum sitting next to this on a blotter as I write. That fact alone should tell you everything. Tuxedo 66 arrives dressed in the full Le Vestiaire des Parfums ritual: couture mythology, heritage codes, immaculate staging. Yves Saint Laurent’s 1966 tuxedo for women. Gender transgression. Structure meeting sensuality. Beautiful story. Then you spray it, and the lobby gives way to the same Marriott mattress. They are not literal note for note twins, but they land in the same polished, warm, dark, sweet spiced leather amber territory, and at this price that overlap is commercially fatal. What you get is a polished, warm, dark, sweet spiced leather amber that Guerlain already built more convincingly, more honestly, and at a third of the price. The oakwood macerated patchouli, which should have been the argument for existence, functions more as plausible deniability than actual identity. The violet leaf is a fig leaf for originality. The opening spices are brief and bright before the whole thing collapses into an agreeable, characterless luxury blur. It is not incompetent. It is smooth, wearable, and it will get compliments. But at this price point, competence is an insult. An extrait should deepen an idea. This one just amplifies the resemblance to something better. Luca Turin once called the original Tuxedo “utterly dull and unremarkable generic guy thing sold for real money.” The extrait has made him prophetic. Buy Guerlain L’Homme Idéal Parfum. Buy two bottles if you want. What you will not be buying is a lesser version of it dressed in couture language and sold at a theology of price that the juice inside has done nothing to earn. Tuxedo 66 Extrait is not a bad fragrance. It is something worse: a redundant one.

I really wanted to love this so I could (try to) justify the obviously ludicrous price tag (what are they thinking...) Just sampled it here in YSL boutique in Singapore, and wore a few generous spritz’s inside in aircon, outside in the heat & humidity, and driving in aircon - for a few hours. Verdict. No freaking way. Does this remind me of OG Tuxedo? Not really, to be honest - and I’ve worn 100+ ml of OG Tuxedo (although admittedly grew tired of it some time ago). So what does this new one smell like (to me...)? In the opening, think Roja Enigma but spicier and nowhere near as smooth - and think Amouage Boundless but without the pop and zing from the ginger. That kind of spicy vanilla/sweetness with some booziness. Not bad at all. After about 30 minutes though, you’re left with an aroma-chemical mess akin to many other new fragrances in this genre. They say “woody”, but yeah - it’s a chemical soup of nondescript woodsy nothingness. It is, in my opinion, a much worse fragrance than OG Tuxedo, which stays interesting and does not dry down to pure iso e super ish woody compounds. Very disappointing.

To compare Tuxedo with Guerlain, that means you don't know a lot about perfumery. First of all, a distinct and present note in Tuxedo is the violet leaf, a note that you don't find in Guerlain. Second, to talk about high prices at YSL when we know what prices Guerlain charges for its limited editions, extracts and superior lines means again that you are not correct. I don't see anything out of the ordinary about a high price from a house like YSL when nowadays all kinds of dubious houses with exorbitant prices appear. If it is a high price, it may be, but compared to what? With Guerlain by no means, although they are two historical and special perfume houses. I would put them on the same level. Tuxedo is already a classic and will remain a classic. It will stand the test of time