Yves Saint Laurent is a French fashion house that has been recognized as one of the top cologne and perfume houses in the world. They have been producing some of the finest designer colognes for over 50 years. Many people refer to the brand simply as YSL.
They are recognized as one of the top fashion designers in the world.
YSL offers hundreds of fragrances with a great selection of colognes for men. We will review some of our favorites.
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Top Picks For YSL Cologne
- Best Overall YSL Cologne: Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit de L’Homme
- Mass Appealing Cologne: YSL Y Eau de Parfum
- YSL Cologne For Dates: Yves Saint Laurent L’Homme
- Strongest YSL Fragrance: Kouros EdT
Best Overall YSL Cologne
1. Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit De L’homme
Best for: All occasions
Concentration: Eau de Toilette
Fragrance Family: Woody Spicy
What we like: Versatile and gets compliments
What we don’t: Not strong enough
When people in the fragrance community think of YSL, the first thing that comes to mind is La Nuit De L’Homme. This is the most popular cologne by this house.
This is a flanker from the L’Homme Collection. L’Homme is also included on our list.
It has been reformulated over the years, but it still smells incredible. You may need to spray it a little more than the original.
The main note is cardamom, so this is a woody and spicy fragrance. La Nuit De L’homme is a great fragrance for cooler weather or night time.
This cologne is easy to wear, mass appealing, and most everyone enjoys this scent. If you are new to fragrances, this is a great place to start. It wears close to the skin, and it is inoffensive.
This is an easy blind buy due to over ten years of almost everyone enjoying the smell of this cologne.
YSL La Nuit lasts 6-8 hours. 5 hours is a good average for how long it lasts on your skin
Mass Appealing YSL Cologne
2. Yves Saint Laurent Y Eau de Parfum
Best for: Any occasion
Concentration: Eau de Parfum
Fragrance Family: Aromatic Fougere
What we like: One of the best at getting compliments
What we don’t: Can be too sweet for some guys, especially in high heat
Y Eau de Parfum by YSL is a fragrance to wear when you cannot decide what to spray on. Overall, it is a great scent, most people enjoy it and women like to smell it on guys.
This is mass appealing, and when you cannot decide what to wear, this fragrance will do the job. You know that you will receive a lot of positive attention, and nobody will dislike the scent.
It smells sweet, spicy, and woody with notes of apple, ginger, and cedar.
While Y EdT smells very good, if you are choosing between the two, the Eau de Parfum is better. The Parfum version is strong and has great projection. You can read our review about YSL Y EdP here.
YSL Cologne For Dates
3. Yves Saint Laurent L’Homme
Best for: A date night
Concentration: Eau de Toilette
Fragrance Family: Woody
What we like: Woman love to smell it on men
What we don’t: Not strong enough
The Designer fragrance that started the flanker craze for YSL: L’Homme. There are currently over 20 flankers in this collection.
This smells great, and women love how it smells on a man. It is mass appealing as well. This makes it a great choice to wear on a date.
L’Homme starts with a blast a bergamot which gives it a fresh and clean opening. Ginger and lemon notes compliment the opening notes.
Over time, it develops into a pleasant spicy and woody scent. If you want to smell good, and you don’t want to project in a room, then this is a great choice.
It will draw a lot of compliments, but because it wears close to the skin, people will have to be close to you. Older versions will be stronger and have better projection. Either way, if you wear this, you will get a lot of women remark on how good you smell.
This is a great smelling inoffensive, easy to wear cologne that you can wear in almost any setting. Another blind buy due to the overwhelming amount of positive reviews this fragrance has received. We agree that L’Homme should be in everyone’s collection.
L’Homme is a timeless classic cologne.
| Amazon | See YSL L’Homme |
| FragranceNet | See YSL L’Homme |
Strongest Yves Saint Laurent Cologne
4. Yves Saint Laurent Kouros
Best for: Strong and confident men
Concentration: Eau de Toilette
Fragrance Family: Aromatic Fougere
What we like: Loud powerhouse fragrance
What we don’t: Can be too animalic and musky
Kouros is a cologne that we recommend if you love Fougères. This was launched in the early 80’s, and it has a strong animalic vibe to it.
When you initially spray this on your skin, you will smell strong notes of civet. Because this is a strong fragrance, we recommend only a couple of sprays. Over time the musk notes will fade, then the greens and spices will show up.
If you can imagine a masculine, sexy powerhouse of the 1980’s, then you know what Kouros smells like. You must like musk, civet, and funk to enjoy this one.
The notes of lavender and honey blend perfectly with the civet, and over time, this cologne smells amazing!
Grab a bottle of the beast mode powerhouse cologne. This is a love it or hate it scent. Did I mention that it is manly masculine?
Best Of The Rest
5. Yves Saint Laurent Y Eau de Toilette
Best for: Office or casual settings
Concentration: Eau de Toilette
Fragrance Family: Woody
What we like: You can wear this almost all year long for any occasion
What we don’t: Competes with the Eau de Parfum which is better
YSL Y EdT is fresh and clean smelling. There are several flankers in this collection, and a lot of them lean towards the sweeter side. This is less sweet and is more fresh. For more information, you can read our review of YSL Y EdT here.
It is insanely versatile, and it works great for daytime use. You can wear this to the office or to almost any casual event. It was reformulated in 2022 which is a good thing. It seems to last longer now, and it still smells like the original.
It is not quite as good as the Parfum which is why it was rated a little lower.
6. Yves Saint Laurent Y Live
Best for: Almost any occasion
Concentration: Eau de Toilette
Fragrance Family: Aromatic Spicy
What we like: Versatile and mass appealing
What we don’t: Can be too young smelling for some men
Y Live is a sweeter version of the Y line. The opening notes are pear, grapefruit, and orange blossom. The base is cocao, cedar, and juniper.
Some colognes have that bubble gum sweetness to it, and Y Live is one of those. It is nice and sweet.
After some time, it dries down to a clean shower gel scent.
This blue fragrance is versatile, and you can wear it almost everywhere. Due to the sweetness and bubble gum note, it may be more suited for a younger crowd.
7. Yves Saint Laurent Kouros Body
Best for: Mature and confident men
Concentration: Eau de Toilette
Fragrance Family: Amber Spicy
What we like: Unique scent
What we don’t: Too powdery and cloying for some; eucalyptus can be too camphorous
Kouros is a love hate fragrance, so the good news is that Body smells nothing like the original if you dislike it.
Kouros Body is benzoin heavy, so if you love that note, then you will like this cologne. It has a burnt sugar note along with some cotton candy.
It does contain eucalyptus, so there will be a medicinal quality to it. That note is not dominant, but it does linger in the background.
This smells clean, powdery, and soapy. If you are looking for a unique fragrance, then you should grab a bottle of this.
This is soft, sexy, and powdery sweet, yet it is still very masculine. Appropriate for an older gentleman who is confident in himself.
8. Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit De L’homme Le Parfum
Best for: Begin
Concentration: Parfum
Fragrance Family: Amber Fougere
What we like: Easy going fragrance
What we don’t: The opening can be a bit harsh and overpowering
Another flanker on the L’Homme line. This fragrance is nice and it smells great. It is very similar to a lot of other colognes on the market, so if you like unique frags, then there are others on this list.
This fragrance is missing the cardamom that is present in the original, so this is a little different.
L’Homme Parfum is a great choice for men who do not have a lot of YSL in their collection and want a safe option. You will smell nice with this on, but you will not be the guy with the signature scent.
It opens with bergamot, fruits, pepper and anise. The pepper is a little strong to me, but fades.
Next comes the lavender, labdanum and fruits. It dries down to a sweet, spicy, fruity fragrance. It smells great, is classy, casual, and elegant.
It can be a bit cloying if you overspray, but you have to go heavy to get to that point.
L’Homme Parfum is a great choice for beginners and guys who want to add to their YSL collection. If you like blue colognes like Dylan Blue, etc., then you should also like this.
The projection is not far, so you should be good wearing it in most places as it will likely not offend anyone.
9. Yves Saint Laurent L’homme Cologne Bleue
Best for: Summer Wear
Concentration: Eau de Toilette
Fragrance Family: Aquatic
What we like: Fresh aquatic with some sweetness
What we don’t: Generic smelling
L’Homme Cologne Bleu is another flanker that is an aromatic aquatic fragrance.
It opens up with a minty note along with some ocean notes. The opening notes are really good, and it smells fresh, aquatic, and clean.
It also has the infamous cardamom note along with some black pepper.
The dry down is a woody and generic smelling.
It wears close to the skin, and it is great for an office environment because nobody will be offended by a strong scent.
You will not command a room when wearing this, but that can be a benefit if you want a subtle fragrance that does not project. This will work for intimate settings where you want a cologne that wears close to your skin.
10. Yves Saint Laurent L’homme L’intense
Best for: Winter wear
Concentration: Eau de Parfum
Fragrance Family: Amber Woody
What we like: Unique for the L’Homme collection
What we don’t: Can be too powdery smelling
The key notes for YSL L’Intense are Violet and Iris. Overall, this is a sweet and powdery fragrance with some floral notes.
Other notes are tonka, patchouli, vanilla, and sage. This is a smooth cologne that would work great during cooler months or at night.
This flanker is one that could lean toward unisex to my nose. If you can remove the cardamom from La Nuit De L’homme and replace it with a tonka bean explosion, then that is what this smells like to me.
| FragranceNet Price | See L’Homme L’Intense |
| FragranceX Price | See L’Homme L’Intense |
Yves Saint Laurent Cologne Comparison Table
| Cologne | Occasion | Concentration | Longevity | Projection | Price |
| La Nuit De L’Homme | Any | Eau de Toilette | 3 to 4 hours | low | $$ |
| YSL Y EdP | Any | Eau de Parfum | 8+ hours | strong | $$$ |
| YSL L’Homme | Date Night | Eau de Toilette | 6+ hours | moderate | $$ |
| Kouros | Intimate | Eau de Toilette | 10+ hours | very strong | $$ |
| YSL Y EdT | Casual | Eau de Toilette | 8+ hours | strong | $$ |
| YSL L’Homme Ultime | Casual | Eau de Parfum | 6 hours | low to moderate | $$ |
| YSL Y Live | Casual Daytime | Eau de Toilette | 6 to 8 hours | moderate | $$$ |
| Kouros Body | Intimate | Eau de Toilette | 8 hours | moderate | $$ |
| YSL L’Homme Le Parfum | Any | Parfum | 6 hours | low to moderate | $$ |
| YSL L’Homme Cologne Bleue | Summer | Eau de Toilette | 4 to 6 hours | low | $$ |
| YSL L’Homme L’Intense | Winter | Eau de Parfum | 5 to 6 hours | low to moderate | $$ |
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, YSL is good cologne. This brand offers many great smelling colognes and perfumes. Some of their top and best selling are La Nuit De L’Homme and L’Homme.
If you look at the bottom of the box of YSL cologne, the real one has the UPC numbers right side up. The fake cologne has the UPC bar code upside down. Also, there will be a batch code printed on the bottom of the cologne box. The fake one does not have a batch code printed on the box.
YSL fragrances come in different strengths from EdT to EdP, etc. Each fragrance will have it’s own lasting power. Your skin will also determine how long they will last. Weather and environment can also affect how long YSL will last on your skin.
YSL is a French company, so the correct pronunciation is eve-san-lou-ron.
La Nuit De L’Homme was created by Anne Flipo, Pierre Wargnye and Dominique Ropion. L’Homme was created by Anne Flipo, Pierre Wargnye, Dominique Ropion and Juliette Karagueuzoglou.
