Private Collection Amber Ylang Ylang Estée Lauder for women

I find it hard to believe that this perfume was once part of Aerin Lauder's "Private Collection", unless in her private moments she dresses as a tramp in a tight leather dress then stands in a sweaty New York subway after pouring a can of stale ginger beer all over herself.

This is rich and warm - pure creamy ylang ylang and powdery amber with a slight vanilla sweetness as it wears. The sillage is lovely, fanning out in soft waves, very cosy and comforting, yet still quite elegant. The kind of perfume that is worn by the woman but doesn't wear her. Unfortunately when sprayed directly on my skin a slight play dough scent appears, but spraying this on clothes is my remedy as it hangs around for days and gently scents my skin as well. It's extremely enjoyable, it's just a shame it costs so much.

I get, why it so much loved: It is a warm, ambery vanilla with some ylang ylang. I unfortunately get an artificial smelling doll-head note. That strange smell that dolls of that squashy plastic (used to?) smell of.

I wouldn't buy, as you may have guessed, but I also find it overpriced - plastic note yes or no. It also doesn't smell as expensive as it really is.

There are much cheaper options out there for warm ambery vanilla.

Absolutely lovely sweet and warm... Cozy like a soft sweater. But it reminded me instantly of Jessica Simpsons Fancy!! A smoothly blended one, higher quality and without a 'alcoholic opening', but still.. If you're searching for a smell-a-like, try Fancy!

what a beautiful elegant scent, warm, soft, cozy and welcoming...

so natural sweet in a good vay vanilla ylang-ylang warm amber beautiful!!

Sometimes I am amazed I can find Private Collection Amber Ylang Ylang in a department store, this scent smells so natural and of quality ingredients. The nature of it is rather therapeautic with the comforting notes of ylang ylang and amber working harmoniously together. The vanilla adds a nice creamy quality and every once in while there is a wafting of cinnamon and incense. I would also like to add that I love that patchouli is nowhere in this fragrance.

This stuff is the bombdiggity! Rich, warm, earthy, mildly sweet and interesting. Sensuous AND elegant. With good sillage that lasts through most of the day. Very similar to Dior Addict. I've got one on each wrist right now, I prefer the EL. And it doesn't irritate my skin, like Addict does.
I see a full bottle of this one in my future. Gotta save my pennies, though, cuz this beauty ain't cheap.

Edit: Now that I've worn this one many times, I don't think it's like Addict at all, except that they're both rich and gorgeous orientals. Addict has a much more aggressive combination of flowers and spice in it, much more peppery.

I like amber in perfumes, its a very comforting sweet that i get from this perfume and combined with ylang ylang and vanilla it is the perfect perfume for me. When the perfume opens i mostly detect the ylang ylang wich is beautiful and then after an hour it settles with vanilla and amber. I really enjoy wearing this.

I too agree that obviously amber seems to some people stinky. To me it does. I didn't like this perfume at all.

Thanks to this one I realized the amber is the ingredient I hate in so many perfumes.At least at such quantity(J.P.Gaultier Classique for example).In many others there is amber, but till you cant notice it,is ok.

Really nice, super warm and comforting, but I have to admit that all I smell is Play-Do. That's fine because I love the smell of Play-Do! That same note can be found in Dior's Hypnotic Poison. I am not going to purchase this perfume because I already have Hypnotic Poison. But maybe if I get sick of HP one day, I will consider this one.

Simple, rich, elegant. A little black dress of EDP. It opens with ylang ylang and sandalwood with amber behind and vanilla. The scent doesn't really change beyond the sillage expanding but it's so buttery and wonderful that you wouldn't want to lose the top notes. This is a particularly enjoyable amber scent and worth seeking out. I haven't smelled the perfume yet but the EDP is so opulent that I'm afraid I might drown in the perfume.

(Someone commented that this changes color over time even when stored away from light. Mine has also turned from a light straw to a color that would be raisin or cinnamon in a fashion magazine. I like the color and think it contributes to the scent, which hasn't changed; I've also confirmed that it doesn't stain or show up on your skin.)

Sillage: 3-4 ft, conversational
Durability: 5-6 hours in cool weather
Fabulosity: Irish butter on a real French baguette
Price to value ratio: reasonable
8/10

Hmm, this is definitely a woody non-foody vanilla on me, without a trace of either the amber or the ylang-ylang. In fact, I only say "woody" because it has a bit more depth and bitterness than the classic vanilla scents usually do (like Casmir) - but a very good vanilla extract will have these properties too, and there's no wood there (I think). I love good vanilla in my cakes, so I use only a top-notch vanilla extract when baking, and it smells A LOT like this.

A very simple, warm, sweet, and cozy scent - a great one for winter - but misleadingly named and categorized.

estti lauder used very problematic color ingrediants , this is the third one that change is color no matter where the bottle kept

this one become colored drak brown after few month , i went to the store and ask to replace it , the tester was totlly in great condition like the the picture here, so the seller decide to open other bottle and discover that the new bottle become ugly brown too ...they refund my money offcrous ,
i had the same experience with "pleasure "that become yellow

I absolutely agree with DaisyQ on this one. I have a habit of falling madly for a fragrance and rushing out to buy it, only to get bored with it after a few wearings and end up selling it on eBay. But this one I really do love more and more, especially in the cold weather. It is my favourite winter comfort fragrance. The amber is never too loud and to me it blends perfectly with the ylang and vanilla. The overall effect is warm, comforting, feminine (to me), elegant, refined - and utterly beautiful. It lasts for hours and hours (I can put it on in the morning and sometimes still smell it the following morning), so you only need a small amount, and the drydown just gets softer and better - the vanilla becomes more prominent and it gets sweeter, but never too sweet. It is like no other perfume I have tried, and I highly recommend it.

WOW! I like this one:))
The first sniff was fantastic ... soft amber and ylang ylang, not Brash, to my nose. But unfortunately, the perfume was developed into something that reminds me of play-douhg, bit salty, in a weird way. After half an hour it grows to a soft vanilla and sandalwood up on my skin and "play dough" smell disappears.
In the end it remains as a vanilla scent on me but not at all sweet one.
staying poower - GOOD!
Yes, um, yes, I like it. Wishlist next!
In Sweden I can get Amber Y.Y 75ml for $150 not to bad... but not cheap.

I also tried the other perfumes in the Private collection (but only on paper) ...did not like them at all.

I have been curious about the Estee Lauder Private Collection for some time now, what with its thinly veiled insinuation that the other members of the EL line-up are somehow destined for hoi polloi. What could "private" really mean when these new fragrances were being sold just as freely at the EL website as all of the others by, I might add, a big-time corporate monster which encompasses several other ostensibly independent lines as well (Clinique, Prescriptives, Origins, Aveda, Darphin, La Mer, etc...).

Having finally gained access to samples of a couple of the EL PC (not-so p.c.) perfumes, I am now happily in a position to say something about the compositions, rather than waxing vainly about globalization.

AMBER YLANG YLANG opens with a veritable bomb of amber, already not the most subtle of notes, and here presented in a concentration sufficient to mask even the usually strong character of ylang ylang. As the amber begins to wear away slightly (which is strange, since usually amber figures in the basenotes, not the topnotes), the vanilla and sandalwood begin to assert themselves. The lightly sweet, floral-woody drydown of this composition is just beautiful. However, the brash amber opening is a bit much for me.

I would say that the question here is not about sophistication but amber tolerance. Anyone who loves Robert Piguet BAGHARI will welcome the opening of AMBER YLANG YLANG. Others may wish to hold their breath for several minutes.

Does this "private collection creation" live up to the hype? Well, the price is definitely not right. If this perfume is succeeding, it's only because there are enough people with enough money and insufficient olfactory sophistication to know better than that paying triple digits for a bottle guarantees superior perfumosity. I, for one, am unimpressed.

im suprised to see all these critics about this fragrance.iwas in morroco afew years ego and i bumped into a tiny little store in the market place of marrakech that sold spices..and witchcraft also.the oldman who owned it told me about the fine ingredients that could drive aman crazy.and he opened two large jars that contained a white substance like old fasshioned soap.one of them was amber.that time i diodnt know about parfumerie ,so i thought it was another trick that he did just to get afew money.so i kept it in ajar.till nowadays.when i discoverd fragrantica i read about ambergis and the way it is produced, out of whales stomach.the smell of estee lauders ylang ylang amber
is exactly how ambergis smells..onto my skin i dont detect ylang ylang but only ambergis ,and exactly as the bar i have .. i believe this perfume is very beautiful,and brings all these memories..to my mind..

Something clashes here for me- tried the decant twice to be sure. It seems out of balance on my skin like the vanilla is too sweet and the ylang ylang too artificial..just as well given the price!

Finally, I owned a bottle. And, I'm disapppointed.. I expect something smell expensive from this bottle. But, not. Smell like cream soda, but not in a good way. The drydown is worse, very granny smell. No wonder they named it Private Collection, it was Mrs Lauder perfume during her golden ages, maybe. I'm a big fan of vanilla, musk, amber.... but ylang-ylang, i'm not sure i like it.
Well, back to the perfume, the perfume smell like cheap powder plus sweat that stick on your grandma clothes. I had smell this on my grandma sister, but of course she dont this. The smell is actually her sweat mixed with tacl powder she wear. I have to give it up, really not for me. The price do not match the smell. Well, all of private collection do not attract to me. They all smell like grandma smell... hate 'em all...

I thought I would love this one, but I do not. I tried it at the store downtown and it is not me.

This is quite a powdery scent, a soft amber ylang vanilla combo, At first i got a fizziness, almost like creamy soda, then powderiness sets in. I like all these notes, but for some reason i would not buy this, its not bad, it just lacks something special for me, it doesnt stand out, the amber is not very strong in this.

I think i may like it. Well, as see the notes, i love most of them, except ylang-ylang. And i just won this item from an auction in eBay. I waiting for the perfume to arrive and i will leave my comment after i try it. Can't wait anymore.. i really wanna know how it smells like...

This is one of those perfumes in my collection that honestly, I like it more each time I wear it.

It's comforting, elegant and sensual and stays close to the skin. This must not be a typical amber scent, because all the scents I've tried after this with "amber" in the name - I have not liked. But this, this is delicious. No other perfume comes to mind for a reference point, this is unlike any other I've smelled. I did get the playdoh note at first, but that dissipates and the most lovely, creamy scent develops that is neither too sweet, spicy, woody or incensy.

I feel like I own one of the world's most unique and divine scents. Frankly, it's hard to believe that this is not niche.

Very pleasant scent, strong but not overpowering, intense and elegant. The amber comes out softly and stay put. It's a very womanly, seductive yet refined scent. I would buy it for cold weather.

I loved it when I first tried it on in the store. Then tried it a second time and great at first. Really warm and cozy, but the dry down is way to sweet.

This is a pleasant, inoffensive fragrance. Subtle and clean, but not in the fresh way, but in a skin scent/sensuous way. Very sweet woodsy, and the amber is like a soft powder. It actually smells ALOT like Almond Cookie (which does NOT smell like a cookie) by Carol's Daughter imo, except I prefer this one because it's a bit smoother and softer.

I just recieved a sample of thi with a purchase of cosmetics from Estee Lauder. I hadn't even given it a chance when I saw it on the EL website, but boy was I making a mistake! I think I've found my new signature scent. It has such a lovely, sexy, baby powder romantic vibe to it. It smells clean yet sexy at spicy at the same time. I know that a lot of it has to do with your own body chemistry, and I guess this just works for me. I will be buying it, fast! I keep smelling my arm where I sprayed the perfume, and I can't seem to pick up on a particular scent that is very familiar to me. It may take awhile but I'm willing to keep trying. I love it!!!!!!!!!!

Whoa! What a discovery...this perfume is simply beautiful. It is simple because there aren't twenty different notes to discern. It is beautiful because what you smell is sweet, sexy sandalwood and amber mixed with a soft, low key ylang-ylang. The longer it stays on the skin, the more lovely it becomes. Not too sweet or overbearing; I have had problems wearing ylang-ylang in the past but not with this one. It has excellent staying power and I really enjoy it when I wear it. For me, completely full bottle worthy.

I went back yesterday to try it once again and once again I found plenty of vanilla in it and not even a clue of ylang ylang and tiny bit of amber.. Disappointing for me as I really was anxiously waiting for it and hoping to like it.

I was anxious to try it and yesterday I did. Pity but this perfume for me is more about vanilla & Ylang-ylang rather than amber. And I wanted beautiful and warm amber surrounded by ylang-ylang. Anyhow, I will keep testing it. Maybe I didnt get it right from the first time. Maybe I did :-)