Yatagan (for men)

Robert White

Many of the things I like are like licorice: dark, twisted, and not very popular, but irresistable to those who have a taste for them. (However, I do not like licorice) Yatagan is like that. I love it. Finally (even though it's been around 30-plus years), an addition to the small list of male fragrances that don't smell like every other male fragrance. I've never smelled anything like it. The overall smell is spicy/woody, with a touch of bitter citrus, right from the top, but under the smell of the Silk Route, there is a filthy, nasty(in a good way), unwashed body smell that only a Frenchman (or a deranged American Europhile like yours truly) could love. In fact, it's what one of my week - old Ramones t-shirts would have smelled like, pulled from the bottom of the dirty clothes pile, left there for a long time to marinate and ripen after a sweaty, paranoid, twenty-four hour cocaine binge in 1986. If that hasn't revolted you, read on. The funkiness dies down after a few minutes(come to think of it, fresh marjoram, sage, and oregano have some of these sweaty overtones...ever notice that an old dirty (man's) shirt can smell a lot like a pizza? Great, now I don't think I can eat a pizza for a month. Sorry.) The drydown is a strong peppery, cedary exotic wood, with just a trace of animal skunkiness to make it interesting. (Hey, there's another herb that smells like a disgusting animal secretion...) I find this fascinating...it was created in 1976, and I truly hope that they don't discontinue it...This is clearly a love-it-or-hate-it experience, and it's everything (I think) that Etat Libre d'Orange aspires to. I hope that they can live up to it. I'm wearing this to Single's Night. If a woman can't like this on me, she probably couldn't handle my personality, anyway.

rasato

Yatagan is a very arid and brawny fragrance. It is a parched landscape, virile and anti-floral. The binary opposite of sweet. Silage is noticeable, but not tremendous. Use with caution at the office. It shares similarities in the top notes with Quorum Silver, although it is not as fresh and certainly not citrusy as QS. Best when mixed in with a little sweat, but only if you've showered in the past 6 hours!

guest_kiko

Well,
I've just search for something taht could remind my #nose" of Marc'O Polo nr 1 fragrance, and in fact it's a kind of it, but necessarilly not so much patchouly in it.
It's for sure one of the most known fragrances of my whole life!!!
Thanks God for that.

shamus1

Yatagan is definitely in a class of its own. It is extremely spicy and "dirty" smelling, without the slightest bit of sweetness. It smells like pine needles and spice mixed with leather and patchouli, all mixed in a bucket of sweat and urine. Sounds nasty, but in fact is one of the most crude yet elegant fragrances i've ever encountered. For those of you trying to imagine what this smells like, try this: take Creed's Bois du Portugal, remove all traces of sweetness, then add a large dose of civet and sage to transform it from being dandified to flat out irreverent and raunchy. It smells like an animal in heat, but has some sophistication because it's very multi-faceted and complex. Although definitely a virile scent, Yatagan would smell awesome on a woman. Most reviewers talk about Yatagan being "loud" and overbearing, but I actually find it to be rather subdued and discreet after a while; after the first half-hour, Yatagan blends nicely into my skin and mellows out into a warm, herbal scent, with just a hint of spiciness. The sweaty, animalic bottom note (I think it's civet), however, is always present, which gives Yatagan its filthy edge. Although it's not a fragrance for everyone, Yatagan is an absolute classic, bucking every perfume fad that has and will come along the pike. Every perfume fan must smell Yatagan once before they die. It is one of the greatest masculine fragrances ever, and is one I'd bring with me to the proverbial desert island.

CaraMia

I love this one and I love it on me. Yes, I am sure it can be masculine and fearless, but it is great for women too.
A very counterintuitive choice for a pink sweater set and pearls? I'm not sure I'd use "oxymoron" here, but iconoclastic.

The artemisia and lavender are omnipresent throughout the scent and the lightly leather, vetiver, and very mossy drydown make it a treasure. A wild treasure, a spiky forest green treasure. An herbalist's chypre.

missk

I finally received this in the mail this morning. I must admit that I was preparing myself for something that I might dislike, but I highly doubted that seeming that I enjoy most male fragrances.

Yatagan is indeed a very distinctive and unique scent, and I'm happy to say, one that I absolutely love. I considered wearing this myself, but I decided that it was risky because this fragrance is so very masculine.

Spicy, woodsy and mesmerizing. Even just sniffing from the bottle makes me sigh. I'm really surprised that some men refuse to wear this. In my opinion it would make a man so much more appealing through it's darkness and sensuality.

It actually reminds me of the Australian bush because it has a note that smells rather similiar to Eucalyptus oil. It also brings with it sentimental value through the distinctive pine needle scent. As a child there was a giant pine tree that grew in the corner of my yard, and many a time I would play under that tree and collect the pine cones like they were little treasures and hide them in my room. Yatagan brought this memory back to me today and I'm truly grateful for it.

This fragrance is indeed very strong. One spray and the room is shrouded in a cloud of this deep, mysterious and exotic aroma. I cannot wait to try this on my man. I do believe I will be paying him a visit very soon.

OdeKlotyo

I am the lucky owner of a big bottle of Caron's famed and infamous Yatagan since yesterday. Now I think, for those looking for the quintessential macho fragrance, this is the real deal.
It is arresting and intoxicating, and extreme in a good sense. I'm not an alcoholic, but Yatagan's camphorous herbal notes, dominated by wormwood, make it so deliciously boozy, it's irresistible - quite simply, it smells like vermouth rosso. The rich, resinous chypre base is evident throughout, full of tarry, woody and ambery nuances.
I agree that it is acquired taste, so try before buy is imperative in this case. But if you are attracted to bittersweet like me, I have no doubt you will get hooked on Yatagan.
It's very rich and long-lasting, and different from almost everything else out there, although it has a well recognizable chypre character.
If you are a man who's bold and fearless, or want to boost your confidence, or just want to indulge in its booziness, go for it! If you don't like it right away, you'll grow to love it, trust me on this.

Kultakutri

I got a sample today and I absolutely adore it. A rich warm bitter scent of a herbal liquor, the one with pine needles and gentian root.

It reminds me of my parents' house: there are still remnants of my former herb garden and the smell is totally me on a hot summer day picking something to dry up or soak in brandy. Only the soil there wouldn't let gentians survive. Or maybe it is my association with hiking in the mountains above the tree line, with the scent of various resins lingering in the air, and actually finding the gentians that grow on the meadows?
I don't know whether gentian is even used as a component in perfumery but this one just screams it to me.

Juliette has a gun

Indeed, this is daring!! You have to be daring to wear this. Vile and weird! Turkish sables?? No other male perfume can be compared to this aroma, nothing. You either love it - or hate it.

It is a work of art, a genuine masterpiece, it is polarizing indeed. I personally find it abominable on myself, but could tolerate it on others.

desmondorama

This is a very special fragrance for me - classic because it's been around since 1978 and sexy/intimate, because it's so masculine and warm.

This also happens to be a very dirty fragrance, so watch out where you wear it!

afraafra

Similar to Gucci pour homme specially the 2007 edition, not to everyone's liking.

Aiona

Wow! I'm surprised to see flowers (??) listed in the notes. I don't smell them. I definitely smell rosemary, and since the notes list "artemisia," I'm guessing that's really what I'm smelling. Pungent hardy perennial that "repels fleas and moths" is right! It's made "for men," but yes, a woman can wear it. I did. But, would she want to? It makes for a great olfactory oxymoron, so if you're rebellious, I'd say yes!