My 15ml of Yohji parfum from 1996 has faded to a powdery trace, the galbanum long gone, so I’ve ordered a sample of Noir Gabardine, a 2011 scent from LM Parfums whose name keeps turning up wherever people mourn Yohji. One Fragrantica commenter wrote that it “smells pretty damn close to YY 1996”. A Parfumo reviewer went further in 2013 and called it “1:1 like Yohji Femme”.

That same reviewer now finds the original “a bit too sweet and too rich”, and the note lists hint at why. Jean Kerleo built Yohji around galbanum and a dark heart of blackberry and raspberry, while Noir Gabardine lists galbanum and mandarin over ginger, rosewood and sandalwood, with no berries anywhere. Licorice could be the bridge, though I’m not convinced. Two Parfumo reviewers smell it in Noir Gabardine, one of them comparing it to rubber tyres, and a Fragrantica reviewer found Yohji “full with star anise, licorice, and warm spices”. Tyres and spiced anise don’t sound like the same accord to me.

One retrospective of the 1996 scent files it under “A Legacy Without Direct Heirs”. My own bottle can’t settle that, since there’s too little left in it to compare, so the test will run against memory. If the blackberry turns up somewhere in the vial, hiding behind the ginger, I’ll be surprised and very pleased.

Sources: