YSAYO (2025) • PUREDISTANCE🔺 • ScentAdvice

After trying hundreds of brands and reviewing over 2100 fragrances, I can confidently state that Puredistance is perhaps the highest quality brand, or at least, the one that has stayed true to themselves most. In rapidly changing times, one brand after another has significantly downgraded in quality, style and authenticity. Sadly, some of the old staples (that Puredistance had shaped itself after) have since been surpassed and are now well in the rearview mirror. Not only has Puredistance so far retained what made it great, Ysayo comes on the heels of my 2 favorite releases: Papilio & Divanche. So how does Ysayo compare?

Well, given that Papilio was my #1 release of 2023 and Divanche could be my favorite release of 2025, Ysayo had an uphill battle and it’s not up for the challenge. Not surprising, given the notes. It’s simply much less to my personal taste. That being said, the quality is here and if anything, it has a more vintage, retro quality to it that is rarely seen anno 2025. However whereas Divanche feels like a traditional feminine marketed, softer easy-going scent, Ysayo offers a wear more rugged and traditionally masculine leaning.

I get a lot of yesteryears ever-so-slightly animalic fougere and amber qualities. The first things that came to mind were castoreum or birch tar and a greener side. This is not an in-your-face green, but a dried, warmed, charred one. After a few minutes I was reminded of hay and a rooty vetiver mostly. Definitely not clean soapy Grey Vetiver, nor dark, but vibrant Encre Noir vetiver, but I picture dried, burnt, semi-fragrant remnants of vetiver.

My sentiments towards Ysayo are similar to those for Les Abstraits Des Cendres. Des Cendres being another Antoine Lie creation, which has an overlap to my nose. Specifically, Ysayo smells like the drydown of Des Cendres. Ysayo is much less punchy and bright in how green it is; Des Cendres has a tree sap, full-green blast that I personally couldn’t get along with and Ysayo essentially starts at the point where I started appreciating Des Cendres. Overall, I much prefer Ysayo.

The florals are different too; less bubblegummy sharp and instead, I had to look for them. I’d need to wear it again, but I feel like there’s a deep, metallic, almost ‘blood’ like piercing floral (like some of the more daring vintage jasmines) to be found here. It doesn’t go fully ambery or sweet (it’s actually devoid any any true vanillic or tonka-like sweetness, which is why it feels like it’s from another era), but there is a warming quality that combats the green and foresty side. It’s reminiscent of some of Roja’s better bases, most notably Diaghilev.

For fans of the brand, it will likely appeal more to wearers of the enigmatic M (which was done by ‘Roja Dove’ and Antoine Lie also did the M V2Q version later). I know the brand described it as completely unlike anything and a blend of Eastern and Western, but to me, Ysayo feels more like a full-circle moment. Knowing that brand-owner Jan Ewoud Vos has expressed wearing Chanel Antaeus and other more retro masculines, I assume this one is geared very much towards his taste. Definitely less to my taste, but that’s bound to happen when offering a variety of scent profiles in lieu of redundancy.