Roses in the courtyard of Riad Kniza, Marrakech, photo, AFAR magazine.

As the nearly ceaseless summer rain cascades in glassy sheets outside my windows, my mind’s eye turns to heat shimmering in the sun, tumbles of bougainvillea falling carelessly over the electricity wires that crisscross the dusty streets, the plaintive call of the muezzin floating across the air as a burning sun sinks below the horizon. I open a bottle, and the smells of parched dirt roads, of spice and roses, wash over the endless damp outside. YSL Exquisite Embroidery from Yves Saint Laurent’s La Vestiare Oriental Collection is the perfume of a Moroccan rose garden on a languid summer day.

Catherine Deneuve in Yves Saint Laurent's famous Iris jacket, embroidery by Lesage

YSL Exquisite Embroidery is part of the house’s Le Vestiare Parfums Oriental Collection, five fragrances inspired by the lavish, Eastern-influenced designs of Yves Saint Laurent. Created by Firmenich perfumer Hamid Merati-Kashani (who developed several fragrances for Parfums Marly), Exquisite Embroidery is a fluffy, spiced rose finely balanced between restraint and opulence. Roses and sweet spice blend with resinous ambergris and touches of oud into an impressionistic bouquet that makes me yearn for tiny glass cups of sage tea served on beaten copper trays.

Yves Saint Laurent ad c. 1980s

A lush, evocative whiff of roses and loukhoum rises off the skin at the moment of application. The flower is cushiony, almost gourmand, with with juicy hints of strawberry and the chewy candy smell of dusted sugar and sweetcorn. As this fuschia confection settles, ginger arrives to gently turn up the heat. The prickly, hot earth smell of the spice rouses that lazy rose accord, giving it a welcome bite. A gentle oud has been quietly seeping into the foreground as the spices meld, and now, in the middle section, it acts as a bitter, almost woody counterpoint to the toothsome notes at the top.

Lesage embroidery for Yves Saint Laurent, 1974

With the arrival of the oud and, a little later, patchouli, YSL Exquisite Embroidery slowly shifts from late afternoon to falling dusk. I get more earthiness and a little less Turkish delight as patchouli brings in its characteristic smells of bitter chocolate, crackled leaves and soil. These drier notes act as a second foil to the sweet flower accord. I can also detect nutmeg – a milky, anisic, nutty tickle in the background.

Yves Saint Laurent in Morocco, photo by Horst P. Horst for Vogue, Aug. 1980

Despite its definite references to Middle Eastern perfumery, YSL Exquisite Embroidery feels intrinsically French. Merati-Kashani opts for a restrained use of oud and spice over the density and sooty opacity of many Middle Eastern rose-oud scents. Here, roses, spices and sweetness weave together with no unfinished edges, offering a quietly opulent rose fragrance that never becomes overpowering in the thick humidity of a mid-Atlantic summer. If you need transporting on a disappointingly autumnal August day, here’s your ticket to Morocco. Notes: Ginger, nutmeg, rose, patchouli, ambergris, oud, musk.

Disclaimer: Le Vestiare samples generously provided by Yves Saint Laurent Beaute at Bergdorf Goodman in New York. My opinions are my own.

–Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor

YSL Exquisite Embroidery courtesy of YSL Beaute

Thanks to the generosity of Yves Saint Laurent Beaute at Bergdorf Goodman, we have a 2 ml manufacturer’s sample of YSL Exquisite Embroidery for one registered reader in the U.S. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what appeals to you about YSL Exquisite Embroidery based on Lauryn’s review, and if you have a favourite YSL perfume. Draw closes 8/8/2018.

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like ÇaFleureBon and use our Blog feed…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

Be sure to read Editor Ermano Picco’s Tribute Yves Saint Laurent’s life and earlier perfumes here