# Givenchy — Ysatis > Ysatis is a 1984 Givenchy powerhouse and one of the defining feminine fragrances of the 1980s: an opulent chypre-floral (often called a floriental) that piles indolic ylang-ylang, tuberose and orange ## Essence Ysatis is a 1984 Givenchy powerhouse and one of the defining feminine fragrances of the 1980s: an opulent chypre-floral (often called a floriental) that piles indolic ylang-ylang, tuberose and orange blossom over a warm, animalic base of civet, oakmoss, sandalwood, honey and amber. Created by Dominique Ropion as his very first fine fragrance, it's a lush, golden, unapologetically big "wall of flowers" that signaled status and sophistication. Heavily reformulated over the decades, with vintage bottles pri ## Scent Profile Ysatis has critical - 2 coverage (Bois de Jasmin, Now Smell This's network, Turin/Sanche ## Performance Vintage Ysatis is a genuine powerhouse: strong projection, big sillage, and longevity that reviewers describe as lasting "for days" on skin and effectively eternal on clothing - wearers report the scent surviving through cleaning and clinging to fabric long-term. The parfum and vintage EDT especially are "applied with a light hand...or not" propositions; a little goes far, and overapplication was part of the 1980s aesthetic. wearer reports classifies projection and longevity as above average even in current form. The crucial caveat is reformulation (see Versions): current bottles are markedly weaker, softer and shorter-lived than vintage, and many longtime wearers complain people no longer ask what they're wearing and that it "doesn't last." Bois de Jasmin's Patricia and wearer reports "Forty Years" feature both note the modern version retains the character but with reduced sillage and "medium longevity" versus the vintage's pronounced everything. Climate behavior (wearer consensus): it's a cool-weather scent - its richness can become "aggressive" or headache-inducing in heat and humidity, and multiple reviewers say they can only wear it in cold weather or "when it snows." Late spring, autumn and winter are ideal. Best strategy: apply sparingly (especially vintage), favor cooler conditions, and prioriti ## Wearing Context Ysatis is an evening and cool-season fragrance first: fall, winter and late spring, for dressy occasions and nights out. The original marketing slogan was "the great perfume of the night," and Hubert de Givenchy described the Ysatis woman as "a sensual woman with charm, a silhouette dressed in strict black, illuminated by precious jewelry." That's the register - formal, glamorous, grown-up. It excels at special occasions, dinners and any setting where a sophisticated statement is wanted. It falls flat in casual daytime, hot weather, and scent-sensitive environments (offices, public transit) - its heft can overwhelm. Bois de Jasmin and wearers explicitly frame it as too "dressy" or formal for everyday modern life, which is partly why it reads as dated to younger noses. Social-perception skew is significant and double-edged: Ysatis is frequently tagged "old lady," though defenders insist the right word is "old-school" - a beautiful, classically-constructed perfume "just like how perfumes used to be made." It signals maturity, wealth and 1980s glamour; one memorable wearer reports wearer was told she smelled like "Blanche Devereaux from Golden Girls." It's beloved by chypre devotees and vintage hunters, and can read as overpowering or matronly to those raised on modern transparent scents. ## Comparisons & DNA Ysatis sits squarely in the pantheon of 1980s floral/floriental powerhouses. The most-cited comparison is Eli ## Reception Critical and wearers esteem is high, tempered by the reformulation lament. critical voices: Bois de Jasmin's Patricia reviewed it affectionately as a "mossy floral" 80s signature she "wore happily for years"; Perfume Shrine ran it as an "Underrated Perfume Day" feature, dwelling on its civet/castoreum animalism and noting "Ysatis is not for the meek." Among perfumers it carries prestige - Ropion himself said he was "very proud that it was liked by other perfumers." wearer reports vintage-lovers call it "a masterpiece" and "one for the ages." Notably, Tania Sanche ## Versions & Reformulation Reformulation is the defining version story. Ysatis launched in 1984 in EDT, EDP and parfum/extrait, in the iconic Art Deco "skyscraper" bottle with gold cap. Over the following decades - under LVMH ownership and successive IFRA restrictions - the formula was repeatedly reworked, with the real oakmoss and natural civet that gave the base its animalic depth restricted or replaced. The wearer consensus, echoed across wearer reports, wearer reports and wearer reports: vintage (broadly pre-2000s) bottles are richer, deeper and more animalic; modern batches are brighter, lighter, cleaner and weaker. The extrait/parfum has been discontinued, and the line was eventually moved to a plainer modern bottle that fans associate with a further-diminished reformulation; older wearers widely report the current juice no longer performs or smells as it did. Dating guide (collector consensus): vintage bottles read "Ysatis de Givenchy" with a gold cap and black box; later/reformulated versions dropped the "de," used plastic caps, and shifted to generic/purple packaging. There is also a separate flanker, Ysatis Iris (2004, purple box and bottle), which is a distinct violet-iris scent and should not be confused with the original. In concentration terms, the parfum is the richest and most animalic, the EDP fuller, the EDT the brightest/most aldehydic - but within each, vintage outclasses modern. Across the major reference note lists (wearer reports, wearer reports), the composition is consistent; precise IFRA cut-off years for oakmoss/civet are not reliably documented and any specific year should be treated as unconfirmed. ## Acquisition Notes Modern Ysatis is firmly in the affordable designer/discounter tier - current EDT is cheap and easy to find at fragrance discounters and remains in some department stores and Ulta. Vintage, however, commands a premium and is hunted on the secondary market (eBay, vintage specialists like Fragrance Vault), where price scales with condition, concentration and bottle age. Si ## Notable Facts & Lore - The most important fact: Ysatis was Dominique Ropion's first fine fragrance, created as a young perfumer at the fragrance house Roure. - He has stated this directly - per the Fragrance Foundation, "When I created my first fragrance, I was very young. - It was Givenchy Ysatis, and it was a big success. - I was very surprised...I was initially surprised to have been chosen by Givenchy, and then I was very surprised that it was a big success." The Perfume Society quotes his account that an idea he'd been working on at Roure was selected by Givenchy president Jean Courtiere and finali.