Champagne by Yves Saint Laurent c1993

Champagne by Yves Saint Laurent: launched in 1993.

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It is classified as a fruity, floral chypre fragrance for women. The effervescent experience begins with a fresh composition of nectarine, star anise and crushed mint and goes into the feminine heart, luminous with rose and lychee. It all culminates with a refined, base note of oakmoss, patchouli and vetiver.

• Top notes: aldehydes, nectarine, mint, star anise
• Middle notes: rose otto, blue rose, lychee
• Base notes: oakmoss, patchouli, Haitian vetiver

Champagne, a name universally synonymous with luxury, grand tradition and celebration, and the name chosen by Yves Saint Laurent for his fragrance. He believed that Champagne is "The Perfume of Success."  This scintillating, effervescent fragrance was created as an homage to women everywhere who light up life, and a symbol of the French tradition of luxury. He dedicated the fragrance for those special moments in the theatre of emotions - moments of intense happiness. 

Bold, yet restrained, it is a dew-drenched fruity floral chypre fragrance. The top note consists of sparkling aldehydes, nectarine, blackcurrant, anise and crushed mint. The middle note is made up of rose otto, blue rose, white lilac, mimosa and lychee, and the base note comprises oakmoss, patchouli and vetiver. This is the first time that nectarine has been used as a dominant note in a fragrance. Its essence was captured by a new technique which perfectly conveys the the scent of the fruit before being picked from the tree. The clear, ascending note of oakmoss sustains the haunting aura of nectarine. 

Bottle:

Champagne is presented in a beautiful squat bottle of chiseled glass and pounded gold circled with authentic cork-wiring. 

Champagne was available in the following:

• 0.1 oz Parfum Miniature Splash
• 0.26 oz Parfum (originally retailed for $85)
• 1 oz Parfum (originally retailed for $200)
• 1.6 oz Eau de Toilette Splash (originally retailed for $47)
• 3.4 oz Eau de Toilette Splash
• 0.13 oz Eau de Toilette Spray
• 0.26 oz Eau de Toilette Spray
• 0.7 oz Eau de Toilette Refillable Spray (originally retailed for $38.50)
• 1.6 oz Eau de Toilette Spray (originally retailed for $50)
• 3.3 oz Eau de Toilette Spray (originally retailed for $77)
• 200ml Perfumed Body Lotion
• 200ml Foaming Bath & Shower gel
• 150g Perfumed Dusting Powder
• 100g Perfumed Soap

Factice (advertising dummy) bottle measures 7" tall x 6" diameter and is filled with colored water to simulate perfume.

Fate of the Fragrance:

YSL Parfums landed itself in court by calling its perfume Champagne. After a two year legal battle with France's restrictive champagne lobby, YSL agreed in 1995 to stop marketing the perfume as Champagne by 1999. The company had been previously barred by a French court from using the name Champagne in France, the Champagne industry is fiercely protective of its heritage product. The perfume was then launched without a name for a limited time until a new name could be created and slapped on bottles and packaging. These boxes are noted for having red scribbling instead of where the name would be. 

The new name, Yvresse, is a play on Yves' own name plus the French word, ivresse, for a state of rapture, intoxication or pleasure. The newly named perfumes were launched in 1996 in the same bottles and packaging, but with the new name in red lettering rather than black as it was for the Champagne branded packages. The press release issued at the time of the relaunch, refers to a "new sparkling sensation," however, loyal users of Champagne recognized the scent and repackaging. 

Released in 1997 was a companion scent, a "light" version called Yvresse Legere. Fresh and lively, Yvresse Legere has fruity top notes of blackcurrant and nectarine and a floral heart note which includes delicate mimosa and white lilac.  

 

Yvresse can be found in the following:

• 0.26 oz Parfum Splash
• 0.26 oz Eau de Toilette Natural Spray
• 1.6 oz  Eau de Toilette Natural Spray 
• 2 oz Eau de Toilette Natural Spray  
• 3.4 oz Eau de Toilette Natural Spray 
• 4.2 oz Eau de Toilette Natural Spray
• 2 oz Eau de Toilette Legere Spray
• 4.2 oz Eau Deodorante Parfumee Spray
• 200ml Perfumed Body Lotion
• 200ml Bath & Shower Gel
• Perfumed Soap
• 0.1 oz Solid Perfume 

Adage,1996:

"PARIS -- Yves Saint Laurent is changing the name of its Champagne fragrance for a third time, this time calling it Yvresse. The noun "ivresse" means intoxication or ecstasy of pleasure. Yves Saint Laurent is substituting the "Y" for a "I" to enable consumers to recognize the Yves Saint Laurent connection more readily. 

Yves Saint Laurent is already forbidden by European courts from selling the fragrance as Champagne in France and other European countries including Germany, Switzerland and Belgium. In those countries the fragrance is packaged in the same flacon that is shaped like a champagne bottle's cork, but the perfume is branded YSL. 

The Yvresse name change will happen first in France, Belgium and Luxembourg in October. In other markets, except for the U.S. and Asia, where the French champagne producers who took legal action against Yves Saint Laurent are less influential, the switch will be made by the end of the year. In the U.S. and Asia the change will be made before 1999, as promised last year by Yves Saint Laurent. The champagne producers won their opening battle to protect the champagne name at the Paris Appeals Court in December 1993, when Yves Saint Laurent was banned from using the name in France from January 1994. 

Yves Saint Laurent is owned by Groupe Elf Aquitaine's Sanofi."