Question:
It has been bashed a lot at Basenotes, but I recently retried it and found L'Homme very pleasant yet elegant. It's not Kouros, M7 or Rive Gauche, but I'm just wondering if it was, say, from Armani, Ralph Laren or Hugo Boss would it be better accepted here? What's your opinion on this one?

Answer:
I think its not bad either. I think people hate it because it not crazy unique or daring. I don't know why people even hate the bottle. I thought the bottle was nice and classy atleast as much as dior Homme.
It probaly a rather expensive bottle to make.If I weighed the bottle and atleast in my collection it would be the heaviest bottle. Beating out even 200 mL bottles when it itself is only a 100mL bottle.
People are probaly angry at YSL for making an generally unoffensive safe scent which makes them appear to sell out.

Answer:
I agree with you Breeze11, - Im a little surprised it has been met with predominantly negative reviews where, to my mind, it is a non-offensive and rather enjoyable scent.
This is the review I wrote for basenotes that is still "pending":
'L'Homme' pales next to 'Rive Gauche PH' in the YSL portfolio as far as 'modern classic' scents are concerned, however there is a delicious substance and depth that should not be overlooked here.
L'Homme captivates with its shimmering citrus and herbaceous blend and its dry-down proves softer and warmer than its fresh opening accords.
The wife thinks its dead sexy, so its already a winner in my book. It's clean, fresh, and has a certain 'je ne sais pas' that makes it likeable and extremely wearable for most occasions. Stacked next to its predicessors, this is YSL's attempt to capture a more youthful audience. And it does just that.
Im actually wearing it today... quel coincidence!

Answer:
I am not impressed by this one at all, specially not if you compare them IMO to the the other YSL scents; they are all much more unique, daring and complex.

Answer:
Compared to the other YSL offerings, it is not so daring. But YSL is also in business to make a profit, not always satisfy the quirky tastes of the minority. Dimitri admits that it is not as daring and unique up against the other YSLs, but alone, it does perfectly what it was designed to do. I sampled it in Dallas this weekend and think it is a very nice scent.
Unfortunately some of the the 'darling favored scents' of basenotes sometimes don't equate to profit for companies. We here appreciate their artistry and uniqueness, but the mass market doesn't always follow. Examples:
Dior Homme
M7
Rive Gauche Pour Homme
L'Homme is an attempt by YSL, I guess, to hopefully have a scent that sells alot and puts YSL in a better financial position. Can we argue with that business decision?

Answer:
My wife thinks it's dead sexy, too. My young son smelled it on me and really liked it. I need to wear it more often.
It's a good everyday type scent. Reminds me of Dunhill 2004. There's a little boozy note, but it's fresh at the same time.
It's modern, hip, clean and masculine.

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Not that original, but It's a decent fragrance. It's casual but with a touch of class (reminiscent of those golden YSL years). Its longevity is good.

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Originally Posted by Jock_With_Scents L'Homme is an attempt by YSL, I guess, to hopefully have a scent that sells alot and puts YSL in a better financial position. Can we argue with that business decision? These are my thoughts exactly. Still a boring frag IMHO but I hope it sells so they can continue to put out some other more captivating frags.

Answer:

I agree that, for what it is, YSL L'Homme is still a notch above the rest. You can tell there's a certain care that's been taken with its formulation. In a recent post, I mentioned why we should all be rooting for it to succeed and pointed to a possible consequence of its not succeeding. I beg the my fellow Basenoters' indulgence to introduce those comments here where they seem appropriate given that there are others who also share my hope that is does succeed:
". . . I think we should all be rooting for YSL, hoping that is finds a middle ground that will allow it to commission great fragrances along with “YSL L'Hommes” despite the dictates of the market. Of course, it could always split itself in two and have an upmarket, exclusive line of fragrances-- the likes of Dior and Hermès--in order to produce quality and compelling fragrances, but if it does, we'll all be paying more for quality YSL fragrances, something, incidentally, we've never had to do."

scentemental
P.S. I will be buying a bottle of YSL L'Homme for myself soon.


Answer:
YSL L'Homme sucks. Plain and simple. It smells like, if you must insist it has a smell, softly softly softly scented water.