Yves Saint Laurent
MUSE – INSPIRING INK

2025

PERFUMER
Marie Salamagne

lavender
clary sage
incense

orris
ambrette absolute
vanilla absolute

ink
amber woods

When I recently tried the YSL Vestiaire collection, Muse, which as the time of writing is the latest addition, was probably also my favorite.

As an iris lover, this one instantly spoke to me, because the iris is most prominent in the opening. This remains true for the first hour or two, where Muse feels kind of retro, dusty, old-school. Iris in a library full of old books. There is also a hint of more buttery orris with a bandaid-esque tinge. For a moment I figured I smelled a suede-ish scent in here (presumably the ink accord), but I have to say that I lost that completely when I looked for it afterwards.

While it stays relatively mature and understated, Muse goes a lot sweeter than I expected. Praline, nutty, woody, but definitely sweet. Not gourmand, but borderline going in that direction, with small nods to the more vanillic Babycat in the late drydown.

I like it overall, a lot, although for my collection, I do prefer the somewhat fresher powdery iris for such a singular opening and/or a different drydown. Thumbs up.