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Take a guess…

Posted by Robin on 7 December 2010 30 Comments

The notes outrage some, who liken it to locker-room sweat, urinal cake, semen, cat feces and dead rodents.

— A fragrance description from Something in the Air at the LA Times. The article is about men's fragrance in general; that particular description is about a men's fragrance from a well-known designer brand. Answer below the jump...

Yep, it's our old friend (and I do mean that most sincerely!) Yves Saint Laurent Kouros.

Many thanks to Joe for the link.

Filed Under: perfume in the news
Tagged With: yves saint laurent

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30 Comments

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  1. donanicola says:
    7 December 2010 at 8:22 am

    The urinal cake gave it away to me! And I like Kouros but then I know I’m in good company here. Thanks for the link to a very nice article.

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    • Robin says:
      7 December 2010 at 8:52 am

      I like it too. It can be overdone though….

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  2. ceelouise says:
    7 December 2010 at 8:40 am

    I guessed right! I wasn’t sure of myself, but Kouros was the scent that came to mind. I love Kouros but my husband does not like it.

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    • Robin says:
      7 December 2010 at 8:53 am

      It’s a great scent.

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  3. AnnS says:
    7 December 2010 at 8:46 am

    I suppose I should be thankful I’ve never smelled Korous??! I assumed they were speaking of our old smelly friend Secretions Magnifique.

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    • Robin says:
      7 December 2010 at 8:53 am

      Oh no, you should smell it!

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    • Joe says:
      7 December 2010 at 1:25 pm

      Oh, Ann. Some correction is in your future.

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      • AnnS says:
        7 December 2010 at 2:07 pm

        😉 See, there is always something to smell!

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  4. Bee says:
    7 December 2010 at 9:02 am

    I am not going to say what I think of Kouros, but I find this article so much better researched than that inferior elle stuff we shared a couple of days ago. Is this going to be a permanent LA times feature (other bookmark necessary)?

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    • Robin says:
      7 December 2010 at 9:46 am

      Ditto — and that’s just what Joe said too. Great article, puts Elle to shame.

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    • dee says:
      7 December 2010 at 12:46 pm

      Denise is a genuine perfumista, and this is her third (or is it fourth?) fragrance article for LA Times… bookmark it! 😉

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  5. Daisy says:
    7 December 2010 at 9:35 am

    Hahahaha …yeah, there were a couple contenders… Kouros can be …ah, ‘a bit much’ …..but it’s not quite that bad.

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    • Robin says:
      7 December 2010 at 9:46 am

      I like Kouros, but it takes the right kind of guy to pull it off…

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      • lenika says:
        7 December 2010 at 9:55 am

        I love Korous, even considered to buy it for myself! I wonder if I’m the right kind of guy for it 😉

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        • Robin says:
          7 December 2010 at 10:08 am

          Ha! I amend my statement from guy to person, with apologies.

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          • lenika says:
            7 December 2010 at 4:51 pm

            Robin, you didn’t have to apologize, I just thought it was funny! 🙂

          • Robin says:
            7 December 2010 at 5:27 pm

            I thought it was funny too…I ought to be the last one making gender assumptions with fragrance!

  6. Aparatchick says:
    7 December 2010 at 10:43 am

    Excellent article, much better than the usual fragrance stories we see.

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    • Aparatchick says:
      7 December 2010 at 10:44 am

      Meaning stories in the mainstream press, of course.

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  7. Erin says:
    7 December 2010 at 10:46 am

    I am outraged! Cat feces?!? Like the anonymous Basenoter who likened my beloved Korous to Bigfoot’s genitals, I can only say “in a very good way!” 😉 Like the commenters above, must say that is was a very enjoyable article, covering a ton of great scents (take that, Elle!) And love the Tauer/Auden comparison – Auden is one of my very favorite poets and writers in general, and, of course, I love Andy’s scents and the two mentioned in the article in particular.

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    • AnnS says:
      7 December 2010 at 2:09 pm

      Bigfoot’s genitals?!? That is just too funny!

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  8. Dolly2 says:
    7 December 2010 at 2:07 pm

    Well, having smelt all of the above at various times in my life, I wouldn’t want to come upon a scent and have it remind me of those things-Yuck!
    Except baby sweat; that’s always nice to smell.
    It’s nice to see a lot of men gravitating towards incense/tobacco and leather.
    My husband wore marine scents years ago because in my naivety back then I foolishly thought this is what men were supposed to wear and bless him, he didn’t have the heart to tell me he really didn’t like them to begin with. I didn’t want to tell him I didn’t like marine scents either. Live and learn!

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  9. LaMaroc says:
    7 December 2010 at 2:11 pm

    I never got stranger looks from people at the dept store I worked at than when I said that I liked Kouros. There was this one older guy, a regular, who would come in and give himself liberal spritzes of it from the tester. Probably why most everyone despised it.

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  10. Thalia says:
    7 December 2010 at 2:40 pm

    I adore Kouros, and the first thing I thought when I read that article was “This is such a nice corrective to the twaddle in Elle!”

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  11. prism says:
    7 December 2010 at 3:05 pm

    i’m very loyal to my Kouros Eau d’Ete. similar, yet not too strong to be overwhelming for everyone. i think this helped me like those stronger, more old fashioned fragrances…

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  12. Joe says:
    7 December 2010 at 3:18 pm

    This article was a joy… and someone had alerted me to it via our Google split group.

    I plan to wear Kouros sometime this week — now that the weather is pretty much CHILLY enough for it. I don’t think it plays well over 70 degrees, though I should try it sometime (on a weekend!) in 90+ degree heat, just to be EVIL.

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  13. sweetonpink says:
    7 December 2010 at 4:31 pm

    Love it. Love it.

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  14. mahgwet says:
    7 December 2010 at 4:34 pm

    Gosh. I was *sure* it was going to be Secretions Magnifique. That is the only fragrance I know of that really does inspire anger in those who smell it.

    Kouros, huh? Hmmm. I suppose I should try it. It can’t be worse than Secretions, can it?

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  15. PekeFan says:
    7 December 2010 at 9:54 pm

    Never smelled it. I guess I have something to look forward to…

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  16. artdecades says:
    7 December 2010 at 11:06 pm

    I said this on her LA times blog but I was lucky enough to be at lucky scent at the same time she was. I was making my first big niche purchase and she was there sniffing everything and taking notes. She is truly inspiring for this budding perfumista.

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