Ysatis by Givenchy: launched in 1984, created by Dominique Ropion with over 100 different perfumery ingredients.
The name, pronounced 'eee-saht-ees', is somewhat of a mystery, some say Ysatis is Aphrodite’s child or a fierce Viking with flowing golden hair leading her tribe into a new world: both exotic and mystical, whatever will help sell the fragrance.
Givenchy's promotional copy claimed that the name "Ysatis" was derived by was the result of a computer amalgamation of eastern and western mythological goddesses Yseult and the ancient Egyptian Isis. Though I believe that Ysatis is presumably a reference to isatis, the plant from which indigo is derived from.
Hubert de Givenchy merely explained that "I was looking for an encounter between seductive charm and perfume."
Hubert de Givenchy invited a few hundred friends and many members of the world's fashion press to introduce the fragrance at Michelin-starred restaurant Chez Laurent in Paris.
The vintage formula is a wonderful 80's powerhouse fragrance with intense sillage and longevity. Ysatis became one of Givenchy's strongest sellers, particularly in the United States. By the mid-1980s, Ysatis accounted for nearly 78 percent of the group's U.S. volume, which pushed Givenchy's total revenue to $83 million at that time. The success also inspired Givenchy to create Xeryus, it's first masculine fragrance to be launched since the 1970s.
So what does it smell like? It is classified as an animalic semi-oriental chypre fragrance for women. An an intriguing blend of exotic florals, warm spices and heady animal notes. "A blend of floral, woody, animal and oriental tones based on mandarin, bergamot, galbanum, ylang ylang and orange blossom with heart tones of jasmine, rose, polianthes and iris and base notes of patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood and oakmoss. The oriental, spicy tones feature clove, vanilla, musk, amber and Bay rum."
Ysatis is presented in a prize winning deep-set vertical faceted bottle was designed by Pierre Dinand has a triangular- top cut like a crystal sculpture. Bottle was designed by Pierre Dinand in 1984. The bottle was manufactured by three different companies over the years: Pochet et du Courval, Saint Gobain Desjonquères and BSN Flaconnage. The plastic components were supplied by both L'eumail and MBF Plastiques.
In 1994, a limited edition set was released, the presentation was known as "L'Enchantement de Bolero"... and was a "couture-inspired" Givenchy hat that opened to reveal Ysatis in a 1.7 oz Eau de Toilette Spray, accompanied by a precious 1/8 oz of Ysatis Parfum. The added bonus was that the presentation doubled as a jewelry box.
Ysatis was available in the following:
Givenchy's promotional copy claimed that the name "Ysatis" was derived by was the result of a computer amalgamation of eastern and western mythological goddesses Yseult and the ancient Egyptian Isis. Though I believe that Ysatis is presumably a reference to isatis, the plant from which indigo is derived from.
Hubert de Givenchy merely explained that "I was looking for an encounter between seductive charm and perfume."
Hubert de Givenchy invited a few hundred friends and many members of the world's fashion press to introduce the fragrance at Michelin-starred restaurant Chez Laurent in Paris.
Fragrance Composition:
The vintage formula is a wonderful 80's powerhouse fragrance with intense sillage and longevity. Ysatis became one of Givenchy's strongest sellers, particularly in the United States. By the mid-1980s, Ysatis accounted for nearly 78 percent of the group's U.S. volume, which pushed Givenchy's total revenue to $83 million at that time. The success also inspired Givenchy to create Xeryus, it's first masculine fragrance to be launched since the 1970s.
So what does it smell like? It is classified as an animalic semi-oriental chypre fragrance for women. An an intriguing blend of exotic florals, warm spices and heady animal notes. "A blend of floral, woody, animal and oriental tones based on mandarin, bergamot, galbanum, ylang ylang and orange blossom with heart tones of jasmine, rose, polianthes and iris and base notes of patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood and oakmoss. The oriental, spicy tones feature clove, vanilla, musk, amber and Bay rum."
- Top notes: East Indian ylang-ylang, bergamot, orange blossom, mandarin orange, galbanum, coconut, rosewood, aldehydes, green notes
- Middle notes: Grasse jasmine, ylang ylang, Egyptian rose, polianthes, Florentine iris, narcissus, carnation, tuberose and narcissus
- Base notes: Bay rum, castoreum, musk, honey, frankincense, ambergris, vanilla, East Indian vetiver, clove, Javanese patchouli, laurel, oakmoss, Mysore sandalwood, cashmeran and civet
Bottles:
Ysatis is presented in a prize winning deep-set vertical faceted bottle was designed by Pierre Dinand has a triangular- top cut like a crystal sculpture. Bottle was designed by Pierre Dinand in 1984. The bottle was manufactured by three different companies over the years: Pochet et du Courval, Saint Gobain Desjonquères and BSN Flaconnage. The plastic components were supplied by both L'eumail and MBF Plastiques.
In 1994, a limited edition set was released, the presentation was known as "L'Enchantement de Bolero"... and was a "couture-inspired" Givenchy hat that opened to reveal Ysatis in a 1.7 oz Eau de Toilette Spray, accompanied by a precious 1/8 oz of Ysatis Parfum. The added bonus was that the presentation doubled as a jewelry box.
Ysatis was available in the following:
- 7ml Parfum Spray Magique (Refillable)
- 7ml Parfum Splash
- 10ml Parfum Spray - Gift Edition
- 15ml Parfum Splash
- 0.25 oz Parfum Spray (Refillable)
- 0.25 oz Parfum Splash
- 0.17 oz Eau de Parfum Splash mini
- 0.14 oz Eau de Toilette Splash mini
- 25ml Eau de Toilette Spray
- 30ml Eau de Toilette Spray
- 50ml Eau de Toilette Spray
- 100ml Eau de Toilette Spray
- 100ml Eau de Toilette Splash
- 200ml Voile de Beaute
- 6.7 oz Beauty Cream
- 6.7 oz Body Veil (Lotion)
- 6.7 oz Beauty Veil (Lotion)
- Perfumed Soap
How to tell vintage from newer?
Older BOXES are black, as you can see on the left in the picture above, also notice the pattern around the border of the box. This box design was used from 1980s-1990s. Also notice the Givenchy logo is just above the name Ysatis on the vintage boxes, while it is towards the bottom of the box on the newer example. On older boxes, the ingredients list is short, after 2004, the ingredient list is much longer. The decorative border around the edges is more artistic on the vintage boxes, starting in 2004, a new box design was introduced, which showed a simpler design as the edging.
Older bottles may often have perfume that has turned dark, this is due to the natural aging process of the ingredients used such as vanilla and jasmine.
Louis Vuitton acquired Parfums Givenchy in 1986 when they bought the champagne and perfume group Veuve Clicquot, who had purchased Parfums Givenchy from Hubert de Givenchy in 1981.
In 2002, parent company Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) started using 4 alphanumeric batch codes for fragrances. The first number is the last number of the date. For the years 2002-2007, the second digit in the code will be the letters A through M. Starting in 2008, the letters N through Z were used. Example, batch code 4F01 would be 2004.
LVMH Fragrance Brands is a house of the Perfumes and Cosmetics division of LVMH Group. It has been created in 2011 and brings together the savoir-faire and the passion of two iconic brands : Parfums Givenchy and Kenzo Parfums. So if your box reads LVMH Fragrance Brands, it will date to 2011 and after.
Older BOXES are black, as you can see on the left in the picture above, also notice the pattern around the border of the box. This box design was used from 1980s-1990s. Also notice the Givenchy logo is just above the name Ysatis on the vintage boxes, while it is towards the bottom of the box on the newer example. On older boxes, the ingredients list is short, after 2004, the ingredient list is much longer. The decorative border around the edges is more artistic on the vintage boxes, starting in 2004, a new box design was introduced, which showed a simpler design as the edging.
Older bottles may often have perfume that has turned dark, this is due to the natural aging process of the ingredients used such as vanilla and jasmine.
Louis Vuitton acquired Parfums Givenchy in 1986 when they bought the champagne and perfume group Veuve Clicquot, who had purchased Parfums Givenchy from Hubert de Givenchy in 1981.
In 2002, parent company Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) started using 4 alphanumeric batch codes for fragrances. The first number is the last number of the date. For the years 2002-2007, the second digit in the code will be the letters A through M. Starting in 2008, the letters N through Z were used. Example, batch code 4F01 would be 2004.
LVMH Fragrance Brands is a house of the Perfumes and Cosmetics division of LVMH Group. It has been created in 2011 and brings together the savoir-faire and the passion of two iconic brands : Parfums Givenchy and Kenzo Parfums. So if your box reads LVMH Fragrance Brands, it will date to 2011 and after.
I'm DEVASTATED. ... it's so typical of business today, company's don't care about service or class just PROFIT PROFIT BY ANY MEANS, they don't do this by improving their performance they just SLASH & BURN - Cut costs by taking out an expensive ingredient or WORSE using a cheaper synthetic version resulting in a MEDIOCRE COOKY CUTTER product that can't be distinguished from the rest. My three favourite & the only perfumes I will wear are "Ysatis" by Givenchy THE 1984 version ONLY, "First" by van Cleef & Arpels & for hot summer days I love Clarins perfume because of its lemony citrus, sandlewoody scent.
ReplyDeleteI am going to buy as many vintage bottles I can get my hands on so I will have enough for the rest of my life. One of my favourite memories of Ysatis is when I went to thailand in 1988. I travelled with a couple of girlfrienda from work, it was the 80's, we all worked in Mergers & Acquisitions for a very exclusive Sydney based merchant bank & we were really cashed up. We had travelled around Thailand & were to spend our last 3 weeks at Club Med. Before dinner we went on a tour of the club ending in cocktails on the beach at Sunset. There I was a pina colada (it was the 80's 😉!!)in hand, spectacular sunset, swirls of pink, purple, white, yellow & orange bougenvilier, frangipani, I was in my prime looking good. It was 30 years ago and it's the smell of Ysatis that snaps that menory to life like it was only yesterday.
SO FAIR GO Moet Hennessy, don't you start rotting while you slither down the slope towards mediocrity. VERY DISAPPOINTED I thought better of you
I have worn this since I was 23 and I am 52. I worked at a stock brokerage firm and used to wear lots of different perfumes. Every time I wore Ysatis, the guys would comment and ask what I was wearing saying I smelled so good. I finally gave up ALL other perfumes until this day. I am extremely sad that such a beautiful smelling fragrance would be discontinued. First, they should not have changed the original fragrance. Marketing is everything. Once people like me find something we love we are super FAITHFUL to it. Unfortunately, buying up all the vintage isn't the answer....it goes bad over time. I wish the company would rethink their decision and maybe sell the perfume in its original form as a special for a year. They may be surprised the demand.
ReplyDeleteGivenchy brand is my favorite brand, basically, Givenchy cologne spray is my most choice perfume. I have read your post carefully and I enjoyed this post.
ReplyDeleteSuch a shame to hear it's been discontinued. What a wonderful fragrance. All of what I have on hand is the original version--which, thankfully, has not gone bad. I imagine the reformulation of Ysatis was about as successful as New Coke--a total dud. Ysatis is simply the best fragrance I've ever worn, and I always received compliments on it. I hope the powers that be have a change of heart and bring back the original Ysatis fragrance.
ReplyDeleteNooooooo 😭😭😭😭 I've been using Ysatis since I was 16 years old. I have never worn another parfume, it's like my signature!
ReplyDeleteI, too, miss the original Ysatis, my all-time favorite perfume, and the only one I consistently got complements on from men. The new formulation is a poor cousin of the original, kind of smells like the original gone bad. I would definitely buy the original again if it was ever resurrected.
ReplyDeleteI have a 50mL splash that came in the first generation box :)
ReplyDeleteI have been using Ysatis since it came out. I love this perfume. But that's the problem, I can't find the perfume only the toilette which is crap. I been trying to find the original Ysatis but then found out that it's discontinued. What a shame. I love this stuff. So, I buy the crap and use 1/8 of the bottle just hoping that the smell will last. ( it don't ) The last bottle I purchased didn't even have the name on it. And it doesn't really smell like Ysatis.
ReplyDeleteBeen desperately trying to find something that compares... a few that have (sort of) are White Diamonds and Elizabeth Taylor's Passion... but nothing ever comes close to Ysatis 😪
ReplyDeleteI am so disappointed! I have worn Ysatis for many years. I can't believe it has been discontinued! Ysatis is the BEST fragrance Givenchy ever made!!!
ReplyDeleteNo wonder I cant find it! I was running low on my bottle. Now it makes me only want to use it for very special ocassions. So VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!! My favorite perfume of all time. Why do they do this????? Grrrrr!!!!
ReplyDeleteFeel the same. Used this since I was 18. Am now 54. It’s my Winter go to perfume. Never used anything else. So disappointed. Saw it was no longer in the airports. Gutted.
ReplyDeleteDitto ! I too have searched everywhere for this perfume. It is my favourite and I have also used it for years. I keep being told it’s been discontinued. Why do they do this urgh!!
ReplyDeleteI was devastated when Givency stopped making Ysatis. I wore it in the 80’s and got sooo many compliments. I’ve never found anything as good. they need to bring the original version back. I LOVED the body silk and perfume. I have bought the newer version and it’s not the same. Very very disappointing and I agree with anonymous who wrote the article on December 3, 2018. BRING IT BACK !!!
ReplyDelete