Ylang Ylang Nosy Be
Eau de Parfum, Perris Monte Carlo (2014)

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.

Ylang Ylang Nosy Be (named for the island from which the ylang oil used in the perfume was sourced) is true to the scent of ylang essential oil in that it is pungently fruity-sour, creamy, and coarse-yellow in smell, with the throaty pitch of a millefleurs honey.

Like many of the Perris Monte Carlo scents, including Absolue d’Osmanthe, the floral notes eventually get bedded down in an ‘orangey’ ambery-resinous drydown that gives it the feel of an old-school floriental. I sold my bottle because it didn’t sit right with me to own something that smelled so much like uncut ylang essential oil in the first act only to trail off into a pleasant but pedestrian ambery-balsamic accord in the second. But if it is straight ylang you want, Ylang Ylang Nosy Be gives it to you in spades.

Imagine an exotic brunette lady in pearly white satin dress.a spicy tropical gourmand is how i would describe this. the ylang ylang-wood combo gives it a vintage feeling with a barely noticeable vanilla on my skin.with the right chemistry and style Ylang Ylang Nosy can make you the unforgettable encounter.

On one side you have the pretty cream florals such as ylang ylang,orange blossom and the other side herbal food notes including fennel.vanilla and cardamom and labdanum.there is depth due to the spice of the flowers.it smells of times past and i believe it takes a trained nose to appreciate it.nice staying power and sillage.

This is delightful! Something different. From the start I get a creamy ylang ylang, with vanilla, cardamom, labdanum, and jasmine. The vanilla isn't over-powering. (yeah!) Later I get a nice, orange blossom note mingling with the others. Full bottle worthy.

A ‘boudoir of calm' perfume, evocative of a space lit by candlelight and draped in amber-gold velvet, a call to the unburdening of the mind, rest that re-energizes and, ultimately, sensuality. This is a perfume infused with a soft warmth which captures the spirit of floral nectar – sweet for sure but also round and light and lively.
Showcasing a deep ylang ylang note from oil sourced from the Madagascan island of Nosy Be which apparently has supplied it to the world market for a century now, this is a perfume of unaffected complexity. The ylang is rich, yellow-gold and oh-so-caressing, but there's a backdrop of other notes that provide the kind of contrast that allows it to truly sparkle. First up are some lively citruses (lemon, grapefruit; the latter more in evidence) immediately tempered and warmed by cardamom – they prevent things from getting too honeyed while not distracting from the mood of alert relaxation, like after an expert massage, how one lies on the couch loose-limbed but senses fully awake and body a-tingle. Now hints of a garden jasmine and loukom-like rose begin to reveal themselves, and a vanilla that admittedly is more like vanilla sugar, more alto than bass, but somehow apt in this mix.
The perfume has a burnished quality – the ylang has none of the banana tendency that is sometimes evident, the jasmine isn't in the least indolic – the whole thing twinkles and invites.
It has the restraint and confidence of a classic.