Hey Posse, You all are heading into fall in the northern hemisphere so I’m thinking you need some beautiful shoulder season spritzes. One that I have long forgotten but has resurfaced during the New Idea 2023 thunking adventure is Ylang in Gold. My memory is a little fuzzy but I’m pretty sure it first came in a LuckyScent Sample Pack way back in 2012. I then purchased a 10ml from a woman in the UK (yes, this was before the perfume mail ban). I used about 3ml from it and bought a bottle. So this decant has been sitting, forlorn and unloved since then. So I’m going through it and loving the ride.
Ylang in Gold by M. Micallef 2012
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Citrus fruits, Geranium
Heart: Ylang-ylang, Sandalwood
Base: Vanilla, Coconut
I keep getting all swoony every time I spritz. Ylang in Gold seems to hit EVERY pulse point in my nose and brain. So simple but also so bloody gorgeous.
Sadly the geranium and citrus are so fleeting on me I hardly even notice them. My ride kicks in with ylang, sandalwood and vanilla. It’s glorious. A dream of tropical nights. The coconut is already kinda there but becomes much more pronounced through the heart. I know it’s not mentioned and probably just part of my fantasy but I also get a gardenia vibe and something quite boozy.
After the first hour Ylang in Gold settles into a vanilla rich sandalwood. The ylang is still there but much calmer. It keeps pumping out softly after this for hours and hours till it becomes skin scent that I can just smell next morning.
If you think about perfume gender then this probably skews femme. Longevity is excellent and projection large for the first hour or so.
Well, the good news is that Ylang in Gold is still available. I was worried when I started looking that it may have gone the way of the dodo. Micallef still makes it in 30ml, 100ml and a nectar. It’s also available on some of the discounters.
Ylang in Gold makes Musette feel pretty
Do you remember? Does it sound like you could give it a go?
Portia xx
Omgosh! I’d forgotten about this one. I’m going to revisit it!
And…what the heck was I thinking, dissing ‘beach scents’? I now LOVE beach scents!
HA!!
So funny.
Tastes change Musette.
HUG
Portia x
Of that sounds pretty although it’s going to take another 15 years to finish the AA Ylang et Vanille,y only ylang
I have one of those too AnnieA, one of the best Guerlain AAs.
Portia xx
It is so rich and fulfilling, stellar scent. I have the white bottle with gold leaf swooshed across it.
YAY! Glad to meet another fan Georgie.
Portia xx
I own a couple of bottles of Micallef but not this one, although it is very pretty. I also love their bottles (not sure how much that might have changed!) I miss all the indie perfume stores that used to carry these and so, so many others. I know some are still around, but a lot of them are no longer with us.
Hey March,
Yes, it seems like mainly the big ones have survived. What a shame for small business.
Portia xx
Ylang in Gold is very pretty, your impressions are spot on vanilla rich sandalwood and ylang. I purchased the original Ylang years ago for my sister as a gift, and she still has her bottle. It was discontinued and difficult to find when I purchased her bottle. I’m not clear but I think Ylang in Gold replaced the original Ylang and is similar? I wore her Ylang a few weeks ago while visiting her, so beautiful and cozy. M. Micallef bottles are gorgeous. I have Ananda.
Hey Kathleen,
I think the Ylang in Gold was just added glitter in the fragrance but same scent.
Ananda was gorgeous. I had the Black Ananda, it was so pretty.
Portia xx
That sounds very enticing. And the new design decoration on bottle is gorgeous. Just visited the Micallef site. The 30ml is 105 euros (91 sterling/112 dollars) which is a bit pricey for a small bottle. But there’s a great ‘offers’ page and a very good sample product.
Hi Cinema on,
Yeah, they have that lovely LE bottle. So fancy.
Portia xx
Nooo, I shouldn’t have read this. It had gone right to the back alley of my mind. I’ve already got the queen of sandalwoods in vintage Samsara. But I’ve just had a squint at this on a site. Oh dear Gawd, just when absolutely nothing was on my radar.
SORRY CassieFlower, but also super not sorry too. It’s a glorious beauty.
Portia xx
I remember liking this but really wanting that tangerine/ geranium opening to stick around. It was very pretty, but my need for coconut in scent is few. So I skipped it..
And spring is springing on your half of the world. How much would I like to winter where it’s summer!
HA! You know Jin and I are the freaks that follow the winter whenever possible Tom? We flee Australia’s summer as often as possible to the frozen north.
Portia xx
Well then you should come to LA. You could rent a cabin in Big Bear and enjoy the snow. I’ll wave in the general directions of the mountains from the comfort and safety of Palm Springs.
HA! Thanks Tom.
This sounds gorgeous. I do love ylang but I have half the world supply of EL Amber Ylang & Guerlain AA Lys Soleia . So my Ylang needs are met
Your needs are amply met Alityke.
Portia xx
I remember. I loved it. Years later I got a decant to see if it had changed. It was different. Was it reformulated? I did wonder if the sample I got had turned. If I could be sure it smelled at least very close to what it originally did, I would get a bottle. It was this perfume that started my love for ylang ylang.
Ahhhhh! Sorry to read that Maya.
What an amazing place to start your ylang love. It must leave everything else just a little flat feeling?
Portia xx
Yes it does, but I did find out that the place I regularly get large decants and samples has it. Next order, I’m getting a small decant. I hope I end up doing a silly happy dance!
Yes! fingers crossed for that exact outcome Maya.
Ooh…This sounds GORGEOUS! Very worth hunting down. Maybe by the time I find it we’ll actually have some cool weather in North Texas.
Fingers crossed for that cool change Maggiecat.
Portia xx