# M. Micallef — Ylang in Gold

> Ylang in Gold is a 2012 feminine eau de parfum from the French niche house M. Micallef, part of its Jewel Collection and credited to in-house perfumer Jean-Claude Astier. It is the house's most hyped 

## Essence
Ylang in Gold is a 2012 feminine eau de parfum from the French niche house M. Micallef, part of its Jewel Collection and credited to in-house perfumer Jean-Claude Astier. It is the house's most hyped and loved release: a creamy, sweet tropical floral organized around ylang-ylang, coconut and a custard-like vanilla, presented in a Swarovski-crystal-studded bottle whose liquid is suspended with shimmering particles that leave a faint pearly-gold sheen on the skin. Its reputation rests on two things - the genuinely gorgeous, sun-warmed ylang-vanilla accord, and its persistent comparison to a more refined, modern Casmir by Chopard.
## Scent Profile
The most-cited critic read comes from Elena Vosnaki, whose review frames it as a salicylate-rich tropical floral that "straddles the precarious balance between sweet, powdery-musky and woodsy and ends up smelling golden, generous and gorgeous." Note that the published pyramid is contested and varies by source: some listings show caramel/rose/bergamot up top, while Robert Herrmann and the house's own materials list a herbal triptych of sage, rosemary and artemisia (mugwort) over geranium and tangerine. Crucially, Herrmann reports there is no literal ylang-ylang note - Astier builds the ylang accord from a "clever combination of mint, muguet, and magnolia," with the pleasure being in watching that accord "unravel into its components." Whatever the construction, the wear experience converges: a bright, slightly tart citrus opening; a solar, creamy ylang heart that many read as a "floral banana" or banana-custard facet; and a drydown of milky sandalwood, coconut water and a "lemon-tinged vanilla pudding" - Vosnaki compares the ylang/vanilla-salicylate treatment to the lily facet of Hermes Vanille Galante. Detractors get a different scent entirely: a vocal minority reports it collapsing into suffocating talcum powder ("straight out of my grandma's boudoir") or a generic banana-coconut candy.
## Performance
Performance reports are genuinely contradictory and skin-dependent. Herrmann rated it as having "outstanding longevity and average sillage." Many wearers, however, describe it as soft, airy and close-wearing - "not a beast mode frag, it's soft, with weaker projection" - with one noting "the tiniest amount lasts all day" while another finds longevity merely average and disappointing for the price. The consensus middle ground: a restrained, non-projecting floral that stays fairly close but can persist on skin and clothing for those whose chemistry amplifies ylang. The Edition Speciale/special-edition and the later Nectar concentration are widely reported to perform more strongly than the standard EDP.
## Wearing Context
This is a warm-weather, daytime-leaning scent in most wearers' rotations - repeatedly tied to summer, beach, vacation and "tropical island" imagery - though several insist its creamy, cozy warmth also makes it a comfort scent for cold, rainy or winter days ("a hot buttered rum" for dreary weather). It reads as ultra-feminine, glamorous yet playful, and office-friendly precisely because it is soft. The Scentzilla!/"This Blog Really Stinks" reviewer found it "a bit too soft. Too passive. However, it's definitely office-friendly. It probably works in a lot of situations, actually." It is most at home as a date or special-occasion fragrance and a year-round creamy floral.
## Comparisons & DNA
The dominant and near-unanimous comparison is to Casmir by Chopard (1992, Michel Almairac) - the peach-coconut-vanilla oriental. Many wearers say they are "virtually identical" side by side; the prevailing nuance is that Ylang in Gold is the more refined, elegant, modern and wearable version, while Casmir is thicker, sweeter and distinctly "90s/retro," sometimes headache-inducing. One reviewer goes further, claiming it is essentially Hanae Mori (Pink Butterfly) and recommending that as a cheaper substitute. Now Smell This places it in the same creamy-feminine vein as Cartier Baiser Vole and Annick Goutal Songes (both vanilla-supported florals), though those are lily- and jasmine/tiare-based respectively. Within the niche tropical-ylang category, wearers triangulate it against Chloe Ylang Cananga and Perris Monte Carlo Nosy Be, generally finding Micallef the most gourmand of the set.
## Reception
Sentiment is largely warm but with a real polarization axis. Praise centers on the smooth, classy, "addictive" creamy ylang-vanilla and the sense that the house took the risky coconut-tropical genre and made it refined rather than vulgar - Vosnaki's whole review is an argument that it transcends the cheap-suntan-lotion trap. The two recurring criticisms are (1) the price - many feel it is "disproportionately" expensive for what is, at heart, a pretty-but-simple ylang-vanilla, especially given how close Casmir is for a fraction of the cost; and (2) inconsistent, sometimes weak longevity. A subset simply can't wear it: it turns to talc powder, plasticky candy, or becomes nauseating on their chemistry. Now Smell This's Angela landed the balanced verdict - "pretty and sugary and, well, that's about all... no surprise, no grit" - beautiful but not profound. Blind-buy verdict: sample first, both because of the chemistry-dependent powder/banana risk and because Casmir offers a cheap reality check before committing.
## Versions & Reformulation
There are multiple related versions, which buyers conflate. The original Ylang in Gold (2012) EDP comes in both a plain and a 24K-gold/pearlescent shimmer variety; a later Edition Speciale (2022) exists. Most significantly, Ylang in Gold Nectar (2020), also by Astier, is a more concentrated extrait-style flanker with a fuller fruity-floral top (peach, lychee, exotic fruits, the herbal sage/rosemary/artemisia accord) and an oakmoss-grounded base; wearers describe it as smoother, more sophisticated, more powdery and stronger-performing - "an animalic version" of the original to one nose, "a yellow flower bomb" to another. Note a persistent factual wrinkle: per reviewer Apicius, the "gold" shimmer particles are actually "very finely ground mother of pearl. Not gold," rather than literal gold.
## Acquisition Notes
This is a niche luxury price tier. At launch, per Now Smell This (Angela, Dec 10 2012), "Micallef Ylang in Gold Eau de Parfum comes in a 100 ml gold and Swarovski crystal-bedecked bottle for $245 in a sparkly or non-sparkly liquid." The house currently lists the standard line and the more concentrated Nectar at different price points (the Nectar around 155 versus the classic around 245 per a customer query on the brand site). Real-world discount and decant channels bring it well down - wearers report 100ml-plus-travel sets around 190 SGD and small 8ml decants for a few euros through European subscription/decant services. Decants are readily available through split sites. The shimmer/special-edition bottles command a premium and are the collectible presentation. No significant counterfeit problem is documented, though buyers should be aware the various editions (standard, shimmer, Edition Speciale, Nectar) differ.
## Notable Facts & Lore
- The notes were kept secret until launch as a marketing device.
- The bottle is a signature Martine Micallef design, the gold-fleck juice leaving a pearly sheen on skin - the gimmick that named it.
- Robert Herrmann reported there is no literal ylang-ylang note; the ylang accord is built from mint, muguet and magnolia.
- One reviewer notes the "gold" shimmer particles are actually very finely ground mother of pearl, not gold.
- The fragrance helped cement M. Micallef's pivot toward an upscale, aficionado-facing market, exemplified by its placement at Osswald in New York.