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Yatagan

Pros: manly and distinct
Cons: Kind of aggressive
When you want to smell like you live in the woods and enjoy various manly pursuits in these woods this is the scent for you.
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
4.00 star(s)
Quality
4.00 star(s)
Packaging
3.00 star(s)
Complexity
4.00 star(s)
Staying Power
4.00 star(s)
Quality of Atomizer
4.00 star(s)
Hiya,

A few months ago I was fortunate enough to acquire some vintage Yatagan. I understand it may have been reformulated since then, so I can't say my review would be different using the current version being made. The juice I have dates from the mid 1970s I believe.

This was a fragrance I'd been meaning to sample, so it was a lucky estate sale find. I'd read reviews over at Basenotes in the past and was curious as to how the stuff would hit me. I gotta say, it's a pretty darn interesting fragrance.

I have both the AS and also the EdT, with the AS scent leaving quickly after applied. It's a much milder version of the EdT.....which is intense. Kinda bursts outa the bottle when first sprayed, but eventually calms down.

If you like pine, this stuff could be for you. No, it's not a warm Christmas like sorta scent. More along the lines of the Blenheim dryness kinda pine, but with the pine dial a few numbers higher on that scale. That's what the drydown mostly ends up being after a few hours or so.

When first sprayed, another bunch of notes accompany the already strong pine. It's pretty wild there for a few minutes as things start to settle in. Then a strong celery like note comes through loud and clear. I've heard it may be the wormwood that helps give this scent, but whatever does it makes itself well known for a while. This pine/celery combo will go on for a few hours, with the celery tailing off finally.

First 3-4 wearings of this wasn't enough to really get a handle on this juice. I kinda liked it, but nothing special. I now find myself using this maybe 6-8 times a month because I DO get a kick out of the stuff after all.

This is a very long lasting EdT, more so than many others I've tried. I have a strong feeling the sillage is right up there as well, but can't be sure. All in all, it's a scent to be enjoyed on certain occasions.

Martin
Price
1.00 star(s)
Scent
3.00 star(s)
Quality
4.00 star(s)
Packaging
3.00 star(s)
Complexity
3.00 star(s)
Staying Power
4.00 star(s)
Quality of Atomizer
1.00 star(s)
I've been on a quest to find one perfect cologne for each of the four seasons, and Yatagan, to me, perfectly represents autumn here in New England.

That aside, let me get to the point. This is truly, by every definition, a man's cologne. It's also somewhat retro, mid-70's. But don't think leathery, musky, Burt Reynolds 70's - more like Clint Eastwood, High Plains Drifter, The Man With No Name, you can keep your lilac water 70's. Everything about Yatagan points to the great outdoors, and puts you well beyond your backyard and into a total wilderness.

Everyone's nose is a little different, so to develop expectations based solely on what anyone writes about a cologne is problematic - to do so with Yatagan is an outright mistake. As mine is the only nose I can accurately go by, I'll humbly offer the notes that I detect: top notes are petitgrain, traces of lavender leaf, pine, middle notes are geranium, wormwood, celery seed, rose, base notes are castoreum, patchouli, beeswax, incense.

There are a myriad of other olfactory possibilities within this basic breakdown, and some have added fennel and artimesia to the mix, but without a doubt the two most prominent elements are the pine needles and wormwood. If you're thinking Ralph Lauren's Polo kind of pine, think again; Yatagan puts a torch to its evergreens and watches them burn. The result is a smoky, oily, dirty pine, a burnt beauty that wafts and weaves effectively between the lavender, wormwood, and incense that dominate the notes pyramid. Eventually this segways into a dry middle that truly mystifies me. There's a floral workup in Yatagan that defies anything I've ever smelled before. The dehydrated lavender leaf fades into geranium and rose accords that challenge the nose. I'm tempted to say that the rose does not exist at all, and is only a component of the geranium. After all, the two flowers are easily mistaken for one another. However, there is a distinct moment during the evolution of Yatagan where unmistakable rose pushes past everything else, dances off the skin, and dives back into the drydown's remarkable medley of incense. Sneeze and you'll miss it, but I do smell it there.

The drydown and base of this is gorgeous, albeit challenging. There are aspects of Yatagan that threaten to become "churchy", and I'll admit the scent occasionally conjures images of church pews and hazy alters. Using traditional incense as a component of a fragrance is probably not highly recommendable, but here there's an exception. What prevents Yatagan from slipping into the realm of ceremonial oils is its totally brash insistence on burnt pine. The piney, seedy, waxy elements steer this thing with utter determination, and keep it firmly on its chosen woodsy road. They just never really let up. The fragrance stays congruent to the nose, consistent in its attitude and overall feel, and full-throttle to the very end.

Yatagan is modestly priced and should cost no more than $50 for a 3 oz bottle. Its quality is terrific, there is nothing about it that smells synthetic, aldehyde-driven, or cheap. Its packaging is very stark and simple - maybe a bit too simple, and I believe there's a way to spruce up the box and bottle design a bit without sacrificing integrity. Scent, complexity, and staying power are all one and the same - marvelous. Use this very sparingly - it will stick with you for well over seven hours. The atomizer is fine.

Wearing Yatagan does take confidence, self-assurance, the sort of charisma that relays to people that you know what you're doing. It cuts like cold steel through the endless stacks of boring contemporary aquatics. Wear this, and you're wearing your individuality like a blue-striped seersucker. It's not a rule, but it does bear mentioning that one should heed the time and place for this fragrance - it's not something you want to wear on a hot summer day, and use caution when bringing it to work.

Think cool, crisp, dry, and above all else, think big, and you'll be in perfect synchronicity with this masterpiece of a cologne.
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
5.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Packaging
4.00 star(s)
Complexity
5.00 star(s)
Staying Power
5.00 star(s)
Quality of Atomizer
5.00 star(s)
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