SJ Road Test: Yves Saint Laurent "Elle" Fragrance

Easily the best part of running a fashion and beauty blog is having the chance to try all of the hottest new products before they catch on with the masses. For the past week I've been road testing the brand new fragrance Elle by Yves Saint Laurent and I'm totally smitten.

When it comes to fragrance, I'm a hard sell. I hate overbearing florals and detest musk. Yep, that pretty much rules out most of the generic fragrances you find on department store shelves these days. But, I was promised something a little different with Elle, so I offered to give it a try.

My first impression of Elle had nothing to do with the scent at all. It was the packaging that stood out when I first unwrapped my new beauty toy. Standing the parfum spray, body wash, and lotion side-by-side I immediately noticed that the sleek bottles resembled fuchsia skyscrapers decked out in gold detailing. Skyscrapers, pink, and gold... three of my favorite things. The experiment was off to a promising start.

YSL "Elle" Parfum Spray
$78.00 - $109.00
Available at: yslbeautyus.com

Next, the scent. I am not exaggerating in the least when I say that Elle is a nearly ideal scent in my book. A good base of Lychee, which is both one of my favorite scents and my favorite martini flavor, is complemented by hints of Peony and Pink Berries and finished off by warm Amber, Vetiver, and Patchouli. Not a strong floral or icky musk in sight. The scent vibes powerful-working-girl-meets-undercover-sex-kitten. This attorney-turned-fashion-writer likes that just fine.

Over the course of the last week I tried all three Elle-scented products-- parfum spray, body wash, and lotion-- in various combinations. Body wash and lotion one day; lotion and parfume the next. And so on, all week long. The lotion/parfum combo was my favorite. It created a long-lasting scent that was noticeable, but not overpowering. I'll be honest, the body wash was not my cup of tea. Of course, the scent was wonderful, but I missed the super lather-y goodness of my Dove body wash. The lotion was light in texture, but surprisingly moisturizing, and left a nice wash of scent on my skin.

With the holidays right around the corner, I recommend Yves Saint Laurent's Elle fragrance for the women on your list who aren't afraid of a strong, statement scent. It's perfect for those days when you need to rock the boardroom and then hit the cocktail lounge in style after work.

Click on the photo at top right to link directly to where you can purchase Yves Saint Laurent Elle parfum spray, or click on the Elle ad featuring model Coco Rocha at the top left of this post to link to all of the Elle-scented products available. Enjoy this post? Subscribe to Stiletto Jungle and get free updates by e-mail or RSS. Take Stiletto Jungle with you wherever you surf with the Stiletto Jungle Connect Toolbar featuring Google search.

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