YSL Mon Paris: The Fruity Chypre, Its Flankers and What to Wear Next

There is a plant called Jimsonweed, and its name is a contraction of Jamestown weed. In 1676, according to Robert Beverley Jr.'s 1705 history of Virginia, soldiers sent to put down Bacon's Rebellion in Jamestown ate it and spent eleven days in an altered state. Every part of the plant contains tropane alkaloids, so this is a story to tell and never a plant to touch. Yves Saint Laurent calls its flower, datura, the soul of Mon Paris.

That is a dark, slightly dangerous thing to put at the centre of a love letter to a city. YSL Mon Paris launched in 2016, created by Olivier Cresp, Harry Fremont and Dora Baghriche, and Fragrantica files it as a fruity chypre. The top is strawberry, raspberry, pear, orange, tangerine and bergamot. The heart has peony, jasmine sambac, Chinese jasmine, datura and orange blossom. The base is patchouli, white musk, vanilla, ambroxan, moss and cedar. What I like about it is the structure: a classic chypre skeleton, patchouli and musks, dressed up in fruit so that it reads as friendly.

The trick is to choose your Mon Paris by temperature. The original Eau de Parfum is the warm, round one. Mon Paris Intensément, from 2020, pushes toward May rose and Bulgarian rose with vanilla underneath, so it suits the colder months. Mon Paris Lumière Eau de Toilette, from 2022, is a floral aquatic with lotus and lemon, the easiest one to wear in summer. From the wider YSL shelf, Black Opium with coffee and white flowers, Black Opium Pink Glaze and Black Opium Over Red are the night-out family, Libre Berry Crush is the brighter one, and Libre L'eau Nue is alcohol-free, with green mandarin and bergamot.

Patchouli smells different on paper than on a wrist, so smell it on skin, then again an hour later. It is the note that changes most, and the ones worth buying get warmer, not muddier, as the day goes on.

If Mon Paris is your gateway chypre, this grid is where to go next. Mugler's Angel, with patchouli and bergamot, is the legendary one and the furthest from polite. Gucci Guilty Pour Femme with mandarin, lilac and patchouli is brighter and more modern. Viktor&Rolf's Flowerbomb Extreme, with raspberry and vanilla, goes sweet, and Rabanne's Fame in Love Parfum Elixir leans on strawberry, which will feel familiar to anyone who loves the top of Mon Paris.

KAYALI's Eden Plush Pear 23 is the juicy, fruit-forward one. Chloé Nomade, with freesia, cherry plum and oak moss, is the closest in structure, since oak moss is the traditional chypre backbone. Tom Ford's Bitter Peach, with blood orange and patchouli, and its sibling in the grid, the rose with roasted tonka and patchouli, are the two dramatic ones, and I would try them only when you have an afternoon to spare.

A pairing I like: a fruity chypre on a day in a plain white shirt, since it does all the talking and needs nothing else.

What I would skip: a sweet, loud fruit perfume in a small office. Patchouli carries further than you expect.

Mon Paris already supplies the drama, so give your makeup only one loud spot. A bold lip or a dramatic eye, never both.

The Inks Vinyl Cream High Shine Lip Stain is the bright, glossy move, and Make Me Blush 24H Buildable Powder Blush adds color in a softer way. Lash Clash Extreme Volume Waterproof Mascara and Lines Liberated 24H Waterproof Eyeliner are the pair for a longer evening when you do not want to touch up. I would wear either a lip or the eyes, and hold the rest back.

For the base, Touche Éclat Awakening Concealer Click Pen and Touche Eclat Blur Face Primer keep things fresh, and All Hours Luminous Natural Matte Foundation with SPF 30 is the one for a long day. All Hours Hyper Finish Natural Matte Powder sets the T-zone.

I wear a matte lip with the original Mon Paris, because the sweetness of the fruit needs something with a little edge next to it.

What I would skip: a full face of long-wear makeup on a short, casual day. The fragrance and the face will compete.

One soft white floral in the drawer helps on the days when Mon Paris feels like too much. It is useful to have a quieter option within reach, the way you keep a plain black sweater next to the sequined one.

Mon Paris itself has jasmine sambac in the heart, so white florals are a natural next step. Gaultier Divine, with salt and white florals, is the lightest and the most playful of the group. Frederic Malle's Carnal Flower is the famous one and the most dramatic, a serious white floral for people who like an intense fragrance. Dior's J'adore Parfum d'Eau and Chanel's Gabrielle Eau de Parfum are the two classic, polished bottles.

Kilian Paris's Can't Stop Loving You brings honey and orange blossom, and RUHVEDA's Mughal Majesty pairs jasmine with leather for something edgier. CYKLAR's Naked Neroli Roll-On Perfume Oil with sandalwood and jasmine is the one that slips into a bag. Reservation Parfums' Jasmine Haze finishes the grid as a hazy, quiet choice.

The roll-on sits well at the pulse points, with a stronger spray on the scarf. You can have both without either taking over.

What I would skip: layering two strong white florals at once. They blur into one another, and neither gets to be good.

YSL Mon Paris is the bottle I would give a friend who says they do not like patchouli. The strawberry and the datura make it easy, and the structure underneath makes it grown-up.

I would start with the original Eau de Parfum, smell the Lumière when summer arrives, and keep one soft white floral for quiet days. Test each on skin first, and give it a full day before you decide, because a fruity chypre tells you its whole story only after the first hour. The soldiers at Jamestown got eleven strange days from that weed. You get a great bottle and a normal afternoon. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together YSL Perfume and Body Spray Guide.