Velours Vanille - Bois Ambres

A very, very smooth operator: velvet indeed. Truly unisex, calming, centring, luxey scent of comfort and opulence. No startling acridity or shoutiness in the spice department; no reeking animalia in the musks. Just such a gentle elegant warmth and sweetness of manner (without any excessive sugar or honey) that I can imagining it ushering you to a safe place, taking your coat and putting you at your ease with its impeccable manners. Soothing and sensual and deeply reassuring. A warm and friendly whisper in your ear, not an extravagant entertainment or any kind of shock to the system. Deeply satisfying and not experimental in the least. Yet somehow it's still not boring - the tonka and vanilla are far too delicious and grown-up for that, though not gourmand or food-y at all - and it's not anonymous either: there's a slightly wacky, tasty surprise tang of playdoh/plasticine (from the orris maybe?), and an initial peppering of red pepper, which do make this one stand out from the rest. Beautifully soft powderiness too. But it will absolutely not scare or upset you (at least not until you look at the price tag). They named it right: absolutely nothing whatsoever abrasive about any dimension of this scent. It's like a full body rub down with the softest velvet imaginable - the only friction is entirely pleasurable. Therefore it's not the most distinctive or individual, and not quite lighting up all my ecstasy-meters, but I can still recognise just how crushingly classy and superbly solid its construction is. (Like a street pigeon getting run over by a Bentley, I suppose.) Projection and longevity both slightly too modest for my preference, but that's only because I'd like something this well-centred to be a bit more extrovert about itself too. But Velours has the kind of quiet understated confidence that doesn't need to shout, or even speak too loudly, to let you know what a class act it is. Lovely lovely stuff.

I’ve had my fair share of internal struggles with this one...to summarize, I’ve never been a huge pusher of Dior Homme - or any of the 500 variants. I do think DH is unique for what it is - for all intents and purposes, it should not resonate with the male population of fragrance enthusiasts, but for whatever reason, it does. Why am I talking about Dior Homme in a review for ysl velours? Oh. That’s simple. It smells like Dior Homme. Here’s where the internal struggle comes in - I love velours, but have never felt strongly towards DH (or again, any of the variants). Luckily, I’ve got my silver stem dh next to me (anyone wanna swap?) - yep, smells the same... so what gives? While they are strongly similar, I feel that Dior has more of a powdery feel, while the ysl promotes more of a natural Orris (also causing struggles: I hate orris). Where Dior goes powder/waxy, ysl seems to give off a creamy vibe. Yeah, I’m really splitting hairs, but that’s as much difference as I can honestly identify. So - since the smell is so similar, I’ll fast forward to the feeling. This is really the only strongly differentiating factor I can identify. Ysl is calming. Dior does not do this for me. Anyway, if you think Dior Homme is a masterpiece, well, meet its twin brother. Full disclosure - I received this bottle in a swap. Had I paid the $200+ for this, id likely be writing a hateful review about how I think it’s bullshit that companies can market different fragrances that smell the same... anyway, I enjoy it - and although the smell itself is strikingly similar to Dior Homme, I find this to be more appealing to me.

This is a fabulous fragrance, and they finally started selling it in those thin glass tubes. Actually I'm not sure YSL is selling them; maybe these are their samples they give out to people who convince the salespeople they're actually good for a $250 bottle and will be racing back next week to buy one. But whatever, Velours is around on eBay for $9.99, my kind of price. To my nose anyway, Velours is one of the few fragrances around that might actually be worth the money for a full bottle. It's rich and full and different from almost anything else. Several people have suggested it reminds them of L'Insomnuit, but I have that and Velours has none of the sharp balsamic qualities. I don't smell anything smokey here either. But I think the terms balsamic and smokey are overused in the last couple of years anyway. I haven't tried either Dior Homme or any of the Le Labo scents, so I don't know about how they compare. I'm not a huge fan of jasmine, but although it's listed Velours isn't about that. It's all pepper and amberwood and vanilla. But absolutely not an 80's vanilla. It's lush without being gaudy. (It's not Obsession.) And I think the black tea is more of a heart note; I can smell it longer than a couple of hours, or think I can anyway. It lasts 7 hours or so on my skin with just a couple of dabs; longer when I sprayed it at the Neiman Marcus counter.

@adamthompson06 @ghent32 Velours is pretty awesome along with Tuxedo (my favorite) and others like Caftan, Caban, Trench, etc. Impressive line overall for SURE. I'm a fanatic for Dior Homme Parfum, and I mean no offense, but I think Velours is a pretty different animal honestly. I'm going to compare them again because it's very interesting that both of you feel it has a similarity to DHP. As far as Dr. Pepper type of smells...I guess I really need to compare Velours vs DHP vs Enigma (gourmet cola vibe). Maybe Velours will amaze in a new way this time! Update 7/18/18: I did my test with those three, and you know what I can smell what you guys mean about the similarity with DHP, but perhaps it's actually closer to DHI. The powdery vanilla/orris/woods/amber combo has that Dior resemblance! I think what makes DHP different in a notable way is the leather and the "oud" (darker woody note than Velours, doubtful it's actual agarwood). I was actually so impressed by Velours...I don't even know which is my favorite from this YSL collection anymore...God have mercy on my wallet!!!

7/5/23: ok i've been wearing this a lot. what u need to know: it's a cold leather in the opening but a warm powdery ambery iris scent in the dry down. the longevity and projection are insane, it's the third most complimented fragrance i've tried. it's powderier than i initially thought. i would also say that this is more along the same lines as atelier materi iris ebene vs. dior homme variants. what really made me love this, is that there's something in this perfume that smells exactly like the barbie makeup kits i used to get when i was a child, there were these shimmery pink and purple cream eyeshadows, this hs that scent DNA and it's extremely lovely. also, for some reason i feel like my confidence is lifted when i wear this? 3/9/23: the opening smells animalic like a cold plasticy leather scent mixed with some fluid resins. the drydown is a touch warmer with slightly powdery orris. i gotta report back on this, interesting!

This fragrance was too good for this world, and we did not deserve it. That's why it has been discontinued. And to add insult to injury, YSL felt the need to make another, completely different fragrance (nice, but not spectacular) with the same name, as if to mock us. Yes, oh yes, helium balloons, complete with subtle rubber are definitely there. Sharp black tea in the opening, a magnificent bitter orris and cold, distant, non-edible vanilla. To me this smell is out of this world, heavenly, indescribable. I have not fallen this hard for a perfume since Iris Pallida. A precious partial was immediately found and acquired. If you want a sample of this, fragranceline still sells decants for a reasonable price.

Omg!! @Ninja Kitty!!!!! Thank you so much for that bottle of Velours!!! I finally got it after searching for Velours (for a couple of years) so thank you a million times 🖤🖤🖤 This is YSL at its BEST. Velvety and suave, Velours is a perfectly textured scent with powdery, peppery and vanillic and amber-y notes that make me roll my eyes to the back of my head when I smell my wrist...This is a very unisex fragrance that (in my personal opinion) is best worn in cold weather like Fall and Winter or early Spring and cooler evenings. It smells very sophisticated and classy like a wealthy person who’s on the quiet side. Not shy but not obnoxious either... Love this so very much and I will treasure it for ever🖤🖤🖤

Comparison -Black tie is simpler with the same doughy/rubbery Orris and vanillic touches. I do get the doughy vanilla/Orris in the air when I wear Velours but closer to the skin, I get a spicy wood and black tea. The olibanum in the opening of velours is quite strong- piney and slightly funky. Really sexy and so happy I invested in a bottle. I Sampled Muse and it’s close to velours but not quite- with ink replacing the pepper, tea and olibanum opening with note quite as rubbery/doughy.

starts off abit powdery, sweet in air first notes: typical warm woody spicy frag, very comforting frag, starts very earthy, it has a bit of murkiness and powderiness. dry down: powdery is a lot more strong here, basically powdery amber now with some murkiness and some toned-down earthiness. man, I was expecting more in dry down, I wished it was loud, ill give it an 8.5/10 overall it still has a very comforting smell. it was close to being a good one for me.

Not sure about anyone else, but this one has a Dior Homme Parfum type of vibe. Leathery, Smoky, Powdery and vanilla. This scent is tremendous. I've already bought my full bottle from Neimans, but I'm decanting some of it to recoup the cost - sheesh...this is no joke at $250. A bit overpriced, but at least it's a 4.2oz bottle and the performance is stellar. This is absolute niche quality. Scent = 9/10 Longevity = 9/10 Projection - 9/10

Beautifull craftmanship by Carlos Benaim. I first think of leather/suede, when the powdery iris starts to show. The drydown is wonderfull magic, it keeps on changing. The smokyness is ever so soft and alluring. The perfumes i think of next to this one are Guerlain Cuir Beluga, and Eau De Cashmere I certainly would prefer this over them both. I love this piece of modern work of art.

I'm so glad I have a bottle of this heavenly juice. Why did they take this away from us? I can understand discontinuing Mag Gold, but Velours?! It's like when you were a kid and would get punished. The combination of orris, tea, and incense will always have my heart. I think YSL used a rough blueprint of Velours for Muse, but its totally not the same.

Velours is a somewhat nice fragrance! I already have 24 rue de l'universite which is amazing and Vinyle that I absolutely love as well. This one is such a good sophisticated fragrance. It is rich, powdery with the iris, not sweet sweet despite vanilla in its composition. . It is a nice perfume! Not my favourite in this range.

Oh wow I'm very impressed with this one; the best of Collection de Nuit! Intense and buttery orris making this even more leathery (suede) than its Cuir sibling, then turns into a powdery woody-amber. It's sensual, classy, slightly feminine, yet strong. *Not a typical tonka bean fragrance at all

Spiritueuse Double Vanille and Dior Homme Parfum mixed with Dr. Pepper, simply amazing! I own this and Tuxedo from the YSL Privee line and they are both winners! Vanilla, iris powder, leather and sweetish tonka, 12+ hours longevity and projection. Bought this from Neiman, money well spent.

Velours is a very pleasing vanilla fragrance. Long lasting on clothes and skin. I find it quite similar to Magnificent gold in many way. If I have to chose between Magnificent gold, Vynile and Velours I would definetely go for the vinyle one. Nice fragrance and that is it.

This feels like old money elegance in a bottle. I am not fond of powdery perfumes, but I loved this as an exception. I bought a bottle ( magically found) as soon as I understood that it will be/is discontinued (currently can not be found neither online nor in stores).

I got this fragrance for a steal of 125 bucks, and I could not be more ecstatic. This fragrance is an Iris masterclass! Buttery Smooth Orris, Ambers, Woods, and of course that Super Smooth and Sensual Vanilla! Iris almost done Perfect 😉 9.5/10

I am almost out. I have like 5 mls left. I probably shouldn't have used it in the middle of July. YSL, I hope you choke on the fumes of next Black Opium flanker. :( Cause NOTHING COMPARES.... NOTHING COMPARES...

a beautiful suede and vanillic incense like scent. Works well with skin to become delicious. Very long lasting as well