Kouros is a perfume for men produced by Yves Saint Laurent. The perfume was introduced in 1981. It was created by

perfumer A perfumer is an expert on creating perfume compositions, sometimes referred to affectionately as a ''nose'' (French: ''nez'') due to their fine sense of smell and skill in producing olfactory compositions. The perfumer is effectively an artist w ...

Pierre Bourdon Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

. It is also known as "The Scent of the Gods." The perfume was inspired by a trip to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

Saint Laurent had taken. He was particularly impressed by the

kouroi kouros ( grc, κοῦρος, , plural kouroi) is the modern term given to free-standing Ancient Greek sculptures that depict nude male youths. They first appear in the Archaic period in Greece and are prominent in Attica and Boeotia, with a les ...

J’avais été fasciné par le bleu de la mer, le ciel, la fraîcheur intense qui émanait de cet univers voué à la beauté. Dans le même temps, j’ai revu les statues de ces jeunes hommes qui sont la splendeur de la statuaire grecque. ... J’avais mon nouveau parfum. Et son nom.

''(I had been fascinated by the blue of the sea, the sky, the intense freshness which emanated from this universe dedicated to beauty. At the same time, I saw the statues of these young men who are the splendor of Greek statuary . ... I had my new perfume. And its name.)''

PERFUME NOTES * Top notes: Aldehydes, Bergamot, Tarragon, Clary Sage, Coriander * Heart notes: Carnation, Vetiver, Patchouli, Cinnamon, Jasmine, Orris Root, Geranium * Base notes: Oakmoss, Amber, Incense, Honey, Leather, Civet, Musk, Tonka Bean, Vanilla A spin-off fragrance ''Body Kouros'' was released in 2000, and ''Kouros Fraicheur ''by Yves Saint Laurent, a woody chypre fragrance was launched in 1993. Kouros is usually in the top five of all-time greatest male fragrances. The scent has undergone many reformulations throughout the years and the modern version has been largely criticised in fragrance reviews. After being in continual production since 1981 Kouros was taken off the Yves Saint Laurent website in 2020.

References

External links

Kouros
at

Basenotes Basenotes is a United Kingdom-based online fragrance resource which includes a fragrance database, message boards and editorial. The site was launched in August 2000 by Grant Osborne as an information site for men's fragrance and grooming. In ...

Body Kouros
at

{{Parfums Yves Saint Laurent Perfumes Products introduced in 1981