The Best Ylang Ylang Scents!

[tamburlaine]

My friend loves ylang-ylang. She's always going on about it. She's obsessed. So like a good enabler, I figure I'll buy her a bottle of BPAL. The thing is that I need something that is consistently ylang-ylang, something that almost everyone who tries it says "OMFG YLANG-YLANG!" because I don't want to give her a gift and then have her not like it because her skin doesn't recognize the note.

 

Doing some research I think I've narrowed my selections down to Lust, Skuld, Le Petite Mort, and Lorelei. Fellow ylang lovers, which one drives you the craziest?

[MilkAndSugar]

I am the opposite of ylang lover, as I can barely stand the scent , but I can wear La Petit Mort without any problems. The ylang ylang in it is very quiet (at least to my nose), just in there to give sweetness to the blend (I think the blend smells like waffles or some other sugary food, not very floral). So if your friend loves ylang, that might be a bit too subtle.

 

Have you considered buying her a bottle of straight up ylang ylang essential oil? It's very affordable compared to most other floral essential oils. And strong! Boy is it strong.

[fiddledragon]

From the reviews, it looks like Panacea: Seduction is very strongly ylang-ylang, but I haven't tried it, and it's more expensive than some others. I'd echo MilkAndSugar's recommendation to just get a bottle of ylang-ylang oil from somewhere reputable, and then give her an imp pack of some ylang-ylang-y BPALs...that way she has her ylang-ylang fix, and can amp up the BPAL blends with extra yummy goodness if the ylang-ylang in them isn't strong enough.

[tereshkova2001]

I'd suggest Suspiro: "A Latin word that means to sigh or draw a deep breath, that also suggests longing, desire, yearning, and a passionate wish. Ylang ylang with white plum, white orchid, jasmine, calla lily and lily of the valley." On me, about all I could smell was the ylang ylang. Of course, my skin burns off top notes like none other, but it's worth a try.

[crescentmoon]

Lust is incredibly ylang-ylang-y on me. I would recommend that one for her to try if she's a ylang ylang lover.

[sarada]

Seduction is, I agree, almost pure ylang ylang to my nose. It's so ylang ylang that I can't take it! I think that a YY fan might enjoy Tisiphone too. I don't like YY a whole lot but I do like Tisiphone.

[olympia301]

I think Follow Me Boy may be a ylang winner, too.

[Concupiscentia]

I have a bottle of Ylang-ylang EO and it smells *very* different for BPAL's YY blends. The one in my bottle smells like a flower covered in warm resin and BPAL's YY smells fairly light and green to me. Is this an aging thing ?

[MilkAndSugar]

I have a bottle of Ylang-ylang EO and it smells *very* different for BPAL's YY blends. The one in my bottle smells like a flower covered in warm resin and BPAL's YY smells fairly light and green to me. Is this an aging thing ?

 

 

Well, that depends. There's a million variables that could be the reason here.

Is it 100% EO (and not a synthetic oil)? Is it a good quality EO? Ylang Ylang is sold in at least three different qualities, not unlike olive oil, in which the quality and scent of the oil depends on which "pressing" it's from. Naturally the first distillation is the best (compare to virgin olive oil vs. pumice).

Has the oil been kept out of light and heat? Is the lid airtight? Is the bottle glass, not plastic? How old is the oil?

 

Essential oils also tend to vary from company to company, and even within the same company depending on which harvest the plant was from (drought and such affect the results. The plant might have more or less essential oils in it than usual), which country was it grown in, the specific genus of the plant (sometimes companies use plants within the same family interchangeably. For example lavandin (lavandula hybrida) as lavender (lavandula angustifolia). They have a similar scent, but definately not identical, and while their medicinal properties are also similar, they're not identical either. Plus it's just cheating. That's why it's always wise to check the label before buying), how the oil was produced, and of course how the company stores and handles their oils.

 

That said, I think that one can't really compare 100% Ylang Ylang EO to BPAL's blends. The BPAL blends have much more than just Ylang in them, sometimes, I'm sure, there's only a drop of Ylang (I'm thinking La Petit Mort here) to give the needed effect. Pardon the Zen, but it's all about balance.

[minilux]

I must be in an extra-silly mood, because reading "ylang-ylang" over and over again in this thread is making me want to giggle. As others have said, Seduction seems to almost pure ylang-ylang, and since it doesn't appeal to me at all, I pretty much steer clear when I see "y-y" as a note.

[em_h]

I get lots of ylang-ylang from Hetairae -- though it's got so many notes, and can be very different from one person to the next. And two of the other dominant notes are patchouli and honey, both of which are greatly disliked by some.

[LUSHarick]

Sed Non Satiara for me is pour YY and honey.

[ajcj213499]

I'd go with Loralei. It's very nice and ylang-ylang, and it's also a simple blend with only a few ingredients, which I think can be nicer for someone who's new to Bpal. Sometimes blends with a whole bunch o' ingredients can just smell "perfumey" to some people I think.

 

 

Good luck!

[tamburlaine]

I have a bottle of Ylang-ylang EO and it smells *very* different for BPAL's YY blends. The one in my bottle smells like a flower covered in warm resin and BPAL's YY smells fairly light and green to me. Is this an aging thing ?

 

When I've smelled YY essential oil it smells kinda... burnt. I dunno. It smells weird. I would buy her the essential oil, but I want something a little more "crafted", you know? Just a good perfume that does right by ylang-ylang. Hahahah.

[wolfie13]

I got a lot of the ylang-ylang in Dragon's Reverie

[lady_pandora]

Lorelei would probably be good--haven't tried the others on your list, but Lorelei is a very fresh and green blend to me, and has lots of ylang ylang in it. I actually thought I hated ylang ylang until I tried Lorelei; I was more familiar with cheap drugstore ylang ylang, which smells awful. Lorelei introduced me to the joys of real, quality YY.

 

She might also like Pannychis, if she can deal with the jasmine.

[smallvoice]

La Petit Mort and Seduction would be my two recommendations. I loved both of them a lot, too.

[nevermore]

I find Eve is very heavy on the Ylang-ylang. It smelled almost pure to me, which is surprising, as my skin amps rose and makes it overpower everything else.

[sofaking6]

I noticed that ylang-ylang really puts me off (sorry, Skuld). It seems like a nice enough scent, so I googled around and I read that women in the early stages of pregnancy uniformly report a strong distaste for the smell. I'm definitely not pregnant, but I'm on The Pill, which I take constantly (no breaks for bleeding), and I know that can actually mimic early pregnancy in some ways.

 

So...anyone else on BC or preggers who can't stand y-y?

[Miss Lynx]

Don't know if this helps any, but I'm definitely not pregnant and never have been, and I still can't stand ylang-ylang.

[SylphideNoir]

I think Ylang-ylang smells repulsive. I don't smell anything remotely floral...just...spit on B.O.

 

I'm not preg nor on the pill.

[beetiger]

I've been on the pill for a decade, except when I was pregnant, and I love ylang-ylang. So go figure.

[abejita]

i was on nuvaring for awhile and noticed no change in how i perceived ylang-ylang.

[birdiefu]

Not preggo or on BCPs, but I'm not a fan of ylang-ylang at any time. Though when I was pregnant, I had an aversion to pretty much *any* smell. It's amazing how your sense of smell becomes so keen at that time.

 

ETA: I don't think the hormones in BCPs are at the same level (or include as many hormones) as actually being pregnant. Early pregnancy is quite a yucky stage and theres no way I would use BCPs if they put me permanently in that state!

Edited September 23, 2006 by birdiefu

[Nia]

Does anyone know of a blend that combines ylang ylang and vanilla? the lab's search function gives gove out anything, but maybe an old LE or something without the notes on the description contains both.