Y Live, the scent of men
From the start, Yves Saint Laurent imposed his style, his ideas. It shocks with the "Collection 40" which sports the retro style of women during the Second World War. It is also shocking with many perfumes, such as “Rive Gauche” or “Opium”. He also shocks when he poses naked for his perfume "Pour Homme", a fragrance that the couturier himself wore with elegance.
Yves Saint Laurent's Pour Homme advertising scandal
Created in 1968, "Pour Homme" was marketed in 1971, at the same time as "Rive Gauche" which encouraged women to free themselves from their shackles. To carry out the advertisement for “Pour Homme”, the young designer did not hesitate to shock or even scandalize the bourgeoisie by posing naked, in front of the lens of Jeanloup Stieff. The slogan was “This is my Eau de Toilette, now it can be yours…”. This unprecedented advertising obviously causes a real scandal. Nevertheless, Yves Saint Laurent reveals himself in a simple, intimate way, exposing not only his body, but also his soul. It is as if the young couturier was explaining "I only have me to offer you". In addition to his personality and his sensitivity, “Pour Homme” depicts the assertive character of the couturier and of all men.
The elegance of Pour Homme's fragrance notes
The perfumer Raymond Chailland was chosen by the YSL house to develop this first fragrance (released the same year as Rive Gauche). “Pour Homme” is defined as a citrus-aromatic fragrance. The rendering is delicate and elegant, like the Parisian couturier. “Pour Homme” begins with an intense freshness, those of citrus notes such as lemon and bergamot associated with aromatic notes of lavender, petitgrain and verbena. The heart of “Pour Homme” evolves towards even stronger aromatically speaking notes, combining thyme, rosemary, clary sage and marjoram. The latter will nevertheless be enhanced with the spicy touch of rose berry. Finally, the base is particularly virile thanks to the presence of vetiver, sandalwood, oak moss and patchouli. As for the bottle, it has been revisited and is now dressed in the typical bottle of the “Classic Perfume Collection” from the YSL house. The bottle has the shape of a clean glass cube. It is also surrounded by a black label, Yves Saint Laurent's favorite color, on which the name of the perfume is displayed. The whole offers an ultra elegant rendering.
“Pour Homme” is Yves Saint Laurent's first fragrance, along with “Rive Gauche” which was released the same year. If the name is not sulphurous (like Opium), “Pour Homme” has nevertheless known scandal because YSL posed naked to present it… Intimate fragrance, “Pour Homme” shakes up all the codes of the male personality.