Our take
What does Yatagan smell like?
Caron launched Yatagan in 1976, naming it after the curved Ottoman sabre. Vincent Marcello composed what the house calls a flowerless oriental chypre. The opening is dry and herbal with petitgrain, lavender and basil. A green and bitter artemisia dominates them all. Even the lavender smells sharp rather than soft. The heart heads into scrubland with pine and fennel. Geranium leaves a dusty edge. The base is where it gets strange. Oakmoss, patchouli and labdanum meet castoreum and styrax, which gives off soft leather and smoked wood. A malty shade sometimes shows up at the very end. The trail stays close to the skin, yet it often lasts over ten hours. Next to Pour un Homme, the house's vanilla lavender, Yatagan feels wild. It is a perfume of rough textures, and the roughness is the appeal. Few modern launches dare to be this bitter.
When to wear it
A cold-weather scent for the office or the evening, on skin that likes dry materials. Two sprays last the whole day.
It belongs to the Chypre, Aromatic family. Yatagan is one of 5 creations by Caron in our encyclopedia.
