YVES SAINT LAURENT
LIBRE BERRY CRUSH
2025
mandarin
raspberry
coconut
lavender
orange blossom
vanilla
musk
‘A fruitier reinterpretation of the iconic LIBRE, infused with the juiciness of raspberries melting into creamy coconut accord. Good enough to devour. A long-lasting women’s fragrance that transforms tangy raspberry into a bold duet with warm florals. Infused with invigorating French lavender, sensual orange blossom from Morocco and warm vanilla from Madagascar, a reflection of the LIBRE woman’s insatiable hunger for. The jewel-like perfume bottle embraces vibrant berry-red hues inspired by juicy raspberries. Its sleek, tuxedo-inspired silhouette dazzles with scarlet shades, adorned with gold chains, an asymmetrical black cap and the iconic Cassandre logo, representing unapologetic femininity.’ – Nordstrom
Libre has never been my favorite line, but Berry Crush is arguably the worst of the line. This release was received with quite some anticipation upon its announcement, but I fail to see how anyone will find something to excited for here; either you don’t like it or best case scenario, you have smelled it a dozen times before.
This is especially disappointing given the berry theme, which simply isn’t present to my nose. No juicy or recognizable fruits to be found here; definitely no mandarin. Instead, you’re welcomed with the most generic sweet and tart bubblegum vibe that I’ve come across in a while. And only bubblegum; no connection to the actual scent of vanilla for the base either.
If you’ve been following my reviews (in particular for women’s designers), this will sound repetitive, but it smells exactly how you imagine walking into a Sephora isle smells like: A vague cloud with a mix of familiar, overdone DNA. If anything sets Berry Crush apart, it’s the tartness, and that doesn’t make it better.
This is tart and bitter in a way that describing it as a bug spray may be too harsh, but a hair spray may be sugar coating it. What doesn’t help is that I wore it alongside the significantly nicer Armani Power of You, which came out in the same month, with some overlap in accords. The Armani actually smells like fruit and vanilla, whereas Libre Berry Crush has no correlation with the real world and frankly, has no redeeming qualities I can think of. Unfortunately, this is one of the worst wearing fragrances I’ve tested recently.
