Kouros Yves Saint Laurent for men

So good very nice touch with civet he smells great his poop doesn’t sit well tho kinda musky but great longevity but definitely civet is very nice

This is a super masculine, mature, macho fragrance. I really like it but you can't wear this if your younger than 50. When I smell this I think of a sophisticated, wise,.alpha male with grandchildren. He is worldly, a leader, and loyal. He loves his wife and is dedicated.to his family, a pillar in his community and helps to build confidence in others. He loves books, cigars, red meat, scotch and horseback riding. He is a male icon. The gentleman Sean Connery in real life (not 007, he was a jerk). My nose would instinctively trust the man wearing this, the rest of me would still need to catch up tho.

This is Kouros for me. It could be sexy leaning if the chemistry is right but it's more a well rounded masculine classic. Opium would be the female equivalent of.this classic masterpiece.

Everyman should.smell this at least.once.

Incredible fragrance that seems to me to be totally unlike anything else. Luca Turin was spot on when he called it 'consummately abstract' and 'still so novel' in 2008 - it feels still novel today, more than 40 years after its release!

It feels unfair to describe Kouros in specific words or 'smells like' phrases, suffice it to say that it's extremely complex, shifting substantially from top notes through dry down, and remaining uniquely compelling throughout. It creates a powerful vibe and affects me in a way other scents don't.

Ignore the off-putting characterizations from others and approach it with an open mind. Smell is so subjective and in this case I missed out on years of being able to appreciate this incredible scent, scared off by its reputation. Truly one of the great achievements in perfumery.

Wow!!!! I got this for a nostalgic trip and it didn't fail.
I used to wear this back in the 80s along with YSL Jazz. ( I'm that old)
I forgot how potent this stuff is!!!!!
Not sure about the longevity as yet as only sprayed it about an hour ago.
Definitely smells like I remember though.

Very similar to aramis 900 minus rose note

60 % Aramis by Aramis + 40 % Gentleman (1974) by Givenchy =Kouros

Got a sample of this I sprayed on at work this morning in the bathroom. I was shocked how much it smelled like the urinal next to me and thought I made a mistake going heavy on it. Later a woman at work got frisky and wouldn't get out of my personal space and squeezed my arms in a flirtatious way, but she's gross so I put it out of my mind. Then on my way home I went to the liquor store where an obese woman followed me around smiling. I could have gone without that. I got home and my wife said I stunk, then a few hours later was all over me and it.

Coincidence? Yeah, almost certainly would have happened anyway. Probably would have been better if I didn't stink.

Anyway, this has it qualities and it's masculine, but really, it's not that great these days. I'm a huge fan of animalics but this seems to only have the tee tee smell with no poo poo or zoo to even things out.

It’s smells of a wet dog after a swim in the sea ,cigarette ashes and a vintage bar of soap.

If you're a big Kouros fan--as I am--don't obsess over tracking down a pre-2007 bottle. The current versions are a little less animalic and not quite as potent as the original, but you need only layer the current stuff over a spritz or two of Jeffrey Dame's Scatamalis Base and you'll be right back to the explosive '80s version. JD also sells it in a body cream that's even more animalic layered beneath your Kouros.

Just be cognizant of where you wear this. I'd highly advise against church. Or a Trump rally.

The king of masculine scents. This is from a different era, when there was no doubt who's who. You know what I mean. Animalic, dirty, but clean at the same time, great even in today's toned-down batches. The current formula is closer to the old Kouros Eau de Sport, which is a good thing all things considered. The older pre-reformulation batches are even wilder, but make no mistake, if you have the current batch you are not missing on anything - the magic is still there, believe me. The only difference is that the new batch allows for three sprays to smell good all day, whereas the old batch required only two sprays plus a good hour or two of settling in before you could leave the house.

This would be an outstanding fragrance if it weren't so synthetic.

King. 10/10

This is a masterpiece but it's very hard to use it. :/
you can easily get every note in the perfume. So beautifully done, yet hard to wear as I said.
I use it as aromatherapy. It relaxes me actually.

Yves Saint Laurent’s Kouros - A god-tier fragrance alongside Lapidus Pour Homme, and probably my favourite fragrance of all time.

Among other things Kouros been called “The King”, ”the scent of gods” and “a timeless scent of triumphant masculinity”. These are all correct.

I’ve loved Kouros for years. The first time I smelled it was at a friend’s house when I was a kid in the mid 90s. I’d never smelled anything like it anywhere else and I didn’t know what the scent in the air of his house was until a few years ago when I blind-bought my first bottle and my mind was instantly transported back. His dad must have bathed in it. What a guy.

To me Kouros is actually pretty versatile and I wear it in all seasons, dressed up or down, day or night, office or leisure. I just have to be sensible with the sprays.

To my nose my most recent bottles from a late-2023 batch are as I hoped they would be - complex, long-lasting, dirty-clean, beautifully honeyed and strikingly animalic (“pissy” if you absolutely must). Glorious.

If you want the same, but stronger, brasher, rougher, perhaps fresher, and still animalic but certainly less “pissy”, then try Milton Lloyd’s The Man Silver. It’s much cheaper but still wonderful in its own way. People say it’s more like the vintage version of Kouros but I cannot remember well enough to confirm that.

The hate for this is so exaggerated. I don’t smell anything pissy, more like sweat but not in a bad way. Fresh, clean, and dirty all in one, and it’s ultra-masculine. Strong as well. Will be picking up a full bottle once my travel size sample runs out. Modern batch 9+ hours of longevity with strong silage for first 2-3 hrs

It`s so unique, nothing like it!

Hard to pull this out, it's very controversial... personally i like it, just wear it with confidence, if you have second thoughts don't apply it, you will become devastated...

Wearing that on a date and the girl don't flee (lol) you give promises of spanking and other things if you know what I mean...you better be able to deliver...

Be modest on the sprays!

You have you enjoy Anamalic notes…. Which I do not

Im not a kouros fan, i prefer other types of scent. But i have a lot of respect for this icon, so i wanted a good bottle of kouros not for an everyday use. I found a formula of years ago, it has BRI on the bottom(early L'Oréal era), silver shoulders, oakmoss in the list of ingredients. I dont need to spend a lot of money for a super vintage batch, it's not my favourite scent. I have to say this BRI bottle smells very very good!! So much better than the current formula which i found a bit flat and punchy. The bri batch is still a beast, but it has some rounded edges and its developement is very interesting. The drydown is flawless. I can understand why kouros was sexy in the 80's, it is (or was) a provocative, animalic, testosteronic blend. Something very different from the concept of fluid sexyness of today...the blend of this bottle is great and im very happy with that!
Non sono un fan del kouros e affini, preferisco altri tipi di profumi. Tuttavia, nonostante le recenti formulazioni non mi fanno impazzire, ho sempre trovato intrigante questo profumo. Ho scovato una bottiglia con "bri" sul fondo, ha le mitiche "spalle argentate" e ha ancora il muschio di quercia tra gli ingredienti. Forse le versioni più vecchie sono ancora migliori, ma questa formulazione è veramente ottima, decisamente migliore delle nuove. Il blend è ottimo e ha sempre il suo carattere sfrontato e animalesco. Drydown molto particolare e ben fatto. Capisco perché negli anni ottanta era considerato sexy, è per un uomo virile e forte, tutto il contrario di ciò che va di moda purtroppo adesso...

Scent-8,5
Longevity - 9
Sillage-9
Versatility -6
Uniqueness-8,5
Presentation-7,5
Compliment factor-6
Backup bottle? No

My vote- 8,5

In one word- beast

Alternative - kouros fraicheur, Chanel antaeus, dior jules, emilio Pucci signor vivara, pikenz arrogrance, furyo, cartier santos...

The review is based on a BRI bottle and it smells great!

I don't like it. It's definitely too animalic and strong for my taste but saying it smells like piss is definitely too much lol. Not for everyone.

This is not for those who like unisex perfumes. This is perfume for a Man.

I was walking down the street, smelling of this cologne, and a hysterical woman came up to me and sniffed me like a dog. Then she asked me to spank her. So I did. Apparently once wasn't enough. She said "thank you sir, may I have another?" I realized the only possible explanation for her behavior...Kouros.

Urinal!?!? Piss?!?! Very laughable why would a master perfumer try to replicate the scent of a public toilet... this is a great animalic barbershop fragrance with supreme performance, people are treating this masterpeice with too much disrespect.

Ok my first review.. I’ve bought a bunch of colognes over the years and read so many reviews but I had to say something about this.. I read all the reviews and researched and was intrigued. I like strong masculine scents, I like freshies, I like some niche… I bought this today for $100aud for 100ml hoping for something vintage and masculine, I carefully opened the plastic shell just in case I didn’t like it and wanted to return it, checked the code and it is a 2022 batch, sprayed it on my arm and had a sniff. It was ok, unique.. a bit musky a bit floral… sprayed it on my body.. strong- kind of sweet and really musky… it’s now the end of the day- 5 hours later and it literally smells like urine. Like a dank uriney smell, like I pissed my pants and didn’t know and let it dry smell.. not a strong man sexy gay club studio 54 machismo smell all at all.. but like an elderly man please change me because I’m incontinent smell. Crazy, like I’ve never not enjoyed a cologne so much.. went back to the store just now and returned it. If it works for you great I’m jealous because I read all the reviews and wanted to be a fan but for me (and I like the smell of funk and sweat and natural body odour on a man) it smelt straight up like dried urine, not sexy at all

When I see Kouros, I always remember my father may God accepting him to his heaven. This fragrance was his signature scent from 1981 till 2020. It's still available in the market but after my father I've never smelled it anywhere. Good for me I guess. I hope YSL and all the other companies to keep producing this type of iconic perfume even if its not selling well to keep the memories of our loved ones.

Musky, floral, aldehydic, and animalic…



Side note:

There is a dirty element to this fragrance that coincides with a pleasant cleanliness accord (I assume from the aldehydes and florals), and it’s truly unique in this way. I personally would have named this Yin and Yang because of the experience you get with this. The duality between something animalistic, yet clean and put-together makes this one truly special.





This review is from a parfums corps vintage bottle.

Many hate this fragrances and swears it's outdated, and yes it might be but to me this has the most charm out of every fragrances I own. I pic up just about every note listed and it is so beautifully crafted and blended. Reminds me of greece and how to villa would smell after the cleaning ladies had been there. It is not for just anybody, the fragrances picks you.

This is a marble pillar of my modest collection. It projects different every time I wear this beauty. It opens either adlehydes, coriander, floral or animalic -ish. Then it dries to either mossy or musky base. With this one is my life like a box of chocolates but it had to grow on me.

Horrendous smell, I sprayed accidentally on my hand in the airport and I had to go to wash my hand immediately! Like the review below state in today's age this is really a weird scent! I do love old school fragrances like Jaques bogart, AZZARO POUR HOMME, old spice, brut, paco rabbanne pour homme and many others, but this one is just horrible in my humble opinion.

smells like straight piss

Literally have no clue what people's weird deal with this scent is. It has to just be a culturally perpetuated thing at this point, like a meme that it's some horrible evil animalic thing. It literally just smells like nag champa incense. That's doing it a disservice because it isn't one-note and it's more complex than that, but to oversimplify things - yeah. Nag champa. It's nice.

hilarious does indeed smell like urinal cake but i love it

Applies awesomely spicy sharp. Complicated cherry wood and dense vetiver swoops in. Bright spice bites well. Bold, masculine, sexy.

First half is impressively similar to Gucci Pour Homme II, but instead of fresh blue - is warm woody vetiver. Comfortable, while tasteful/formal and not generic.

Dated/elderly powder becomes too dominant in 2nd half. Dry down of intriguingly sweet tobacco smoke / musky honey. Both safe and challenging.

Smells like mosquito repellant spray and everyones grandpa.

Kouros is by far the most dynamic fragrance I have encountered. I have old bottles (chrome shoulders) and some bottles only 2 years old with f.i.l C165825/2, however it looks like it has been reformulated again this year to list C276518/1. This might explain some mixed reviews.

Anyway it is by far my favourite fragrance of all time with it's floral, incense, green, mossy, dusty spices and leathery vibes, I even pickup some cocoa that's not listed. Less sprays is more with this beast, I'd say 2 max. Definitely works better outside, but not season dependent for me.

Powerful, masculine, magical.

The smell is great but the longevity and projection are not strong as many described in the comments below!

Jumping into the comment section to seeKouros be treated as a celebration of masculinity was kind of a surprise to me, if I'm being honest. I'm a girl obsessed with religion, esotericism, decrepit churches, you name it, and this is what this reminds me of. An archangel so old he has started decaying, eternally condemned to guard a decrepit church. Powerful, divine, complex, artistic, i really think this perfume tells its own story. I'm a gay girl ( i like both masculine and feminine perfumes, i just want it to be heavy and have a story to tell). I have purchased a dupe of this ( if you're in Greece, check out rouge parfumeries, they do come through imo ). Tested it out on my wrist yesterday at 13:15. It's now 10:00 in the morning, and a very faint smell is STILL THERE! Kouros, to me, is one of the most value for money perfumes not only because of its initial price being pretty damn good, but also because you need 3 spritzes at most. This lasts FOREVER and it makes sure that you'll know it's there. I love this, 10/10. While i smelled a bit of urinal on the opening, it quickly settles down. You just need to give it time. Will definitely be purchasing again as i feel like it really goes with my esoteric goth style.

Altough this gets quite a bit of hate, I find this rather charming in a way. It reminds me of greece, not the beautiful beaches, the magical nightlife or the general ambiance while walking down to the town, but rather the a fancy, newly cleaned hotel room where everything is white including the walls that are made out off the type of concrete you find in Santorini. This fragrance is very 80s and very challeging, but it can be done in the right place at the right time. I would wear this in the summer time with only 2 sparys in a hot climate. Good luck

I have a decant of this and loved it so much that I bought a full bottle. No idea when the decant was cooked up, but the bottle is from fall of 2022. The decant opening is a touch sharper and more floral, the bottle opening has more of an incense quality to it. The dry downs are identical. This is a great, versatile fragrance. If you have the right personality, it's a good one to wear to work, especially if you want to lay some olfactory intimidation down on your co-workers. 10/10, I see why some call it the King.

Opening is terrible but the drydown amazing

Review from a 2023 bottle purchase. (Have to rant a bit - Kouros raises a stink - lol, more so on YouTube reviews than here.) Initial spray is kinda harsh with punches in the nose that change - yeah, the urinal cakes, grandma's floral perfume, a wiff of WD-40, a carnation - very interesting. Once it dries and settles (about 45 minutes to an hour), it smells like clean sweat topped off by a powdery accord and a very, very subtle floral accord. What I mean by 'clean sweat' is - I used to workout at a grunge gym, with no AC, only floor fans. On a humid day in the upper 90's it was even hotter inside and only took about 5 minutes for my t-shirt to be completely soaked with sweat but long before bacteria could make it smell funky. It's that smell (maybe clean sweat plus my skin) only amplified, but in a good way, lol. I disagree that it smells like BO or a rank men's locker room and, for me, there's no urinal cake scent once it's settled down.

Someone might ask why I'd want to smell like sweat (clean or not). It ain't a straight sweat smell - like I said above, there's the powdery and subtle floral aspects that make Kouros much more. (I don't get a honey or leather accord.) Maybe the only answer is for the same reason some guys want to smell like a bar of chocolate or a mango - because we can.

The YouTube reviews of Kouros that spray a test strip, wave it around for 10 seconds and then declare that it stinks are a joke. Same with the man (or woman) on the street reviews. If you're going to carry Kouros, give it at least 30 minutes - better 45 minutes to an hour - before going out. Once it settles, it smells magnificent.

I'm no expert, but to me it's a very unique, masculine scent. The only fragrance I own that's in the "reminds me of" roster is El and I disagree that it's close outside of perhaps for about 30 seconds after the initial spray, when you get some of that urinal cake smell. I don't know if there are any fragrances that come close AND are big sellers.

To that point, any age could wear this with some caveats. I'd never say Kouros has any aspects that remind me of dad or grandpa (or a plumber lol). I'd say that about Antaeus but not Kouros. I've never come across any man wearing Kouros or anything close to it. Maybe my life has been too sheltered. hahaha But Kouros is so unlike anything else, a younger guy would stick out compared to the sweet, popular scents of today. And guys who stick out tend to get hammered down flush with the crowd, especially teens and the under 25 crowd. So, if a younger guy wants to give it a shot, you'd better be the jacked dude on the wrestling team or football team or an alpha in some other way rather than the nerd in the computer lab.

Projection is good and longevity is quite good. I wear it any season or time of day, although in summer heat you'd want to spend most of your time in AC. Even a little sweating really amplifies it. I think that's good depending on the place and people around you, but understand many would disagree.

IMHO, Kouros is one of the augusti ruling the masculine fragrance empire, along with Antaeus. Have to give a shout-out to Mr. Bourdon for coming up with this true masterpiece and to YSL for not discontinuing it (albeit reformulated). This scent is masculine magnificence in a bottle.

to frafilipo:

Congratulations on your great taste. Change your social circle. :-)

I don't understand the hate Kouros gets. it's a fragrance from the 80's so obviously it's not going to smell like mass appealing fragrances of today. I only own a decant of newer bottles, that being said, I love how clean yet dirty this smells. wish I could pick up on more honey note but still, it makes me feel like I'm driving a white Countach on a cool humid summer night in Miami.

Help!!! I like this fragrance so much, but almost everybody in my social circle hates it. I don't know where and when should I wear this masterpiece. It has character and never gets boring. Whenever I smell it on my forearm I can pick a different note and accord. IMMO this is awesome juice, and if you like it as much as me you will like Lapidus pour homme even more because it last forever.

Oh my. Quite wonderful. Reminds me of a cat purring and sitting on a bunch of freshly washed bedlinen while I have a Nivea cream soaking into my face. Smells like a Saturday or Sunday.

Powdery, freshly animalic, complex. Best worn in an open space. Reminds me of Paloma Picasso by Paloma Picasso a lot. Very unisex, for people that like animalics, comforting.

As per usual, civet might remind you of male changing rooms, or your eyes might roll back, depends on genetics.

Frankly, I find it comforting, lest a bit heavy on the powderiness.

*This is a review for the current batch (white shoulders). I have not smelled the vintage version (chrome shoulders)

Opens very green, soapy, and aromatic.
As the scent develops, there are nuances of smokey leather.
You always get that dirty musk from the beginning to end of this fragrance composition.
I do get the oakmoss for sure, but not any of the florals.

Kouros is a classic barbershop fougere and is very masculine.
If you like barbershop fougeres, then this one will be a treat!
If you don’t like barbershop fougeres, then chances are you will not like this one either.
Kouros is the King of fougeres!

Personally, I do not get all the negative feedback on this fragrance. I wouldn’t consider Kouros too animalic, far from it! If you really want to try something animalic, get your nose on Zoologist Hyrax; That’s animalic!

This fragrance has a very intense opening and contains a dirty musk, so shoving your nose into where the fragrance was applied and breathing it in will likely be unpleasant, reminding people of old urine or BO. However, this fragrance smells amazing when you let it develop and catch whiffs of it in the air.

Having said that, I don’t consider this fragrance beast mode. It’s strong, but not overwhelming. I apply it as I would most other fragrances (about 8-10 sprays). Although your milage may vary, so don’t overspray.
Longevity is 10hrs+. Projection is strong for about the first 30mis, then it’s good but not too strong for another 2 hours or so.

As for occasions, Kouros is rather versatile. I would wear this to casual events, the gym, office settings, even very formal events. But maybe not date night if you’re in your 20-30s, you just might run the risk of reminding your date of her dad.

Just some background to say I love old school scents. Paco Rabanne Pour Homme and Dior Eau Sauvage are two of my favourite fragrances ever...

Me (customer): “Hey I’m looking for a new fragrance.”
Shop assistant #1: “Ok we’ve got some great deals on today.”
Me: "Great, like what?"

Shop assistant points towards some bottles of Kourus on the counter, “This is on special today.” He picks up a box and hands it to me.

Me: “Oh ok, what does it smell like?”
Shop assistant #1: "Well…it’s got a classic scent profile. I think there’s some honey in there to give sweetness?”
Me: “D’ya have a tester for it?”
Shop assistant #1: "No sorry we don’t. But it’s 30% off this week, that’s a great saving.”
I hesitate. “Don’t really wanna buy something I haven't smelt.”
Shop assistant #1:" Let me ask my colleague, wait there.”

Shop assistant comes back with a male colleague.

Shop assistant #2: "Hey, how can I Help?”
Me: "Hi, just wondering if you know what this smells like?”

The two shops assistants look at each other, the second responds. “Oh that… it’s really nice. It’s a classic smell but lasts ages. It’s 30% off this week, that’s a great saving.”

They both pause and stare at me expectantly.
Me: “Ok. I’ll take it.”

After I’ve paid and left the shop…

Shop assistant #2: "Ha, can’t believe you actually sold one!”
Shop assistant #1: "Yeah I know he asked for the tester but I told him we didn’t have one."
Shop assistant #2: "But we do?"
Shop assistant #1: "I know! Ha ha ha ha!”

I get home, take a shower, I’m getting ready to go out. I dry off and grab my new fragrance. I spray two shots to the chest. The scent hits my nostrils and stings them like an angry hornet.

Me: “That smarts! And it smells like a urinal cake!”

I try my best to scrub it off but they weren’t lying about its staying power. That night I received such compliments as; “Who smells like an incontenent old man?” and “You smell like actual Piss!”

Hard to believe this was created by the same Pierre Bourdon that crafted Silver Mountain Water? The mind boggles, it truly does boggle. Maybe he was having an off day or maybe Olivier Creed deserves more credit than he now gets?

Safe to say this fragrance should never, under any circumstances, be blind bought!

First try: It feels like my nose is being dissolved by the inside out. I can’t stop smelling every few minutes, though. Every time I smell, I pick up something…more.

Second try: This is super strong on the aldehydes. What’s this I’m picking up? Vanilla? Honey? Herbs? Maybe this wasn’t a mistake.

Third try: I can smell past the aldehydes successfully. This is….different. Do I like this? It dries down. Yes, I do like this.

As someone who wasn’t around for the original iteration of this scent, I’d mainly only heard legendary tales of it being both macho and reminiscent of a candied urinal cake drenched in horse piss. While my nose isn’t attuned or biased toward aldehydes, and I’m not sure if it ever will be, the dry down to this is so good and sensual that it makes getting past the opening worth it for me. Considering the transformation from opening to dry down, this is probably a masterpiece, and I can understand why it was so popular in its heyday, and also why it’s so polarizing today.

I don't know about previous formulations but the animalics are really toned down on the recent ones, can't barely detect any civet and I feel the animalic touches come more from the honey. It's a really soapy clean and floral scent with a lot of aldehydes, herbes and spices in the opening, I don't get any leather or patchouli, it's musky clean floral with an animalic vibe. To me this works all seasons any time of the day, very versatile and non offensive actually, this was surely reformulated to meet today's standards and therefore the reason why it's still relevant today.

This fragrance happens to deliver a duality of fresh / clean, and dirty / animalic. The combination of artemisia, oakmoss, leather and patchouli is astonishing. Really bright, green, herbal, fresh and clean in the opening and as it dries down, the leather and patchouli take control giving sexy masculine vibe. I love it but if you want your girlfriend to compliment you or be ok with this fragrance, you'll have to apply it 1h before meeting her. because the first hour or 2, is where it screams and the artemisia shows more its green and mothballs qualities. After that it's ok and I even received compliments actually

It's one of those fragrances where I'm actually worried to wear it. Yes it's different but I don't want people to think I smell bad like for real this is a very animalic strong scent. You need a lot of confidence to wear this. I can't help but feel like whenever I have this on, people around me are thinking wow you smell. lmao...

This is a stunning fragrance - but it takes no prisoners. Old school, masculine - a powerhouse.

Edit - after a few days wearing - I honestly can’t imagine why anyone would object to this fragrance. Strong - sure - but nothing like the headache inducing effect produced by some. I really like it

This was my father’s signature when I was a child and I loved it even back then. This scent was the steadfast, confident start of every day for me. It’s my favorite men’s fragrance of all time — obviously biased due to nostalgia. Kouros is *the* reason I love this art form so much.

He said he remembered it recently and went to find a bottle, but that it didn’t smell the same as it used to (at any of the places he found it) so he didn’t repurchase. Kinda breaks my heart.

10/10. No words needed. The greatest fragrance ever. Classical antiquity. This is the scent of the great leaders from the ancient world. I can imagine warriors, conquerors like Alexander the Great or Roman emperors would wear this throughout history. Also the Greek Gods would smell like this too. Overall this is amazing. Long live the King Kouros!

One of the first aftershaves I wore as a naive teenager back in the early 90s, stole the bottle off my older brother. Probably wasn't the best choice for a signature scent, but I liked it.

Tried today at a counter and it was immediately familiar but either the formulation has changed or my opinion has because now there appears to be much more 'farm' and much less florals. I gave the test strip to my teenage son with a nostalgic "that's what I used to wear when I was your age", and he replied with an eloquent "so you went to school smelling like a horse standing in piss?"

1980s formulation - animalis base fizzes and sings with the top notes, makes my brain squirm with delight, beautiful, deep, heavy yet clean.
The current formulation - smells like a ghost of the original: thin, watery, like NASA tried to develop a cost effective fully synthetic version from burnt meteorites and solvents on the ISS
Absolutely ruined

Im surprised perfume mega corps investors still leech a good profit from this "product" after ruining it so badly

It starts out for me really green and winter vibe. Kind of loud the first hour but calms down after that.

Allow me to weave a lyrical tapestry of appreciation for the olfactory masterpiece that is Kouros. This fragrance transcends the realms of mere scent; it is an embodiment of Art Deco elegance and the ethereal melodies of Vangelis, creating a symphony for the senses.
In the realm of design, Kouros pays homage to the timeless allure of Art Deco. The sleek lines and geometric precision of the bottle echo the architectural brilliance of this iconic movement. The juxtaposition of bold masculinity and refined sophistication mirrors the lavish ornamentation that characterizes Art Deco design. Kouros is not merely a fragrance; it is a visual and tactile journey into the opulence of an era that celebrated the marriage of form and function.
As the first notes of Kouros unfurl, one is transported to a realm where Vangelis' musical genius becomes intertwined with the essence of the fragrance. The bold, assertive opening chords resonate with the triumphant spirit of Vangelis' compositions, echoing the grandeur of his synth-driven masterpieces.
The heart notes, like a melodic interlude, dance on the skin, evoking the complexity and depth found in Vangelis' orchestral arrangements. There's a timeless quality to Kouros, much like the enduring appeal of Vangelis' melodies, which have the power to transcend temporal boundaries
In the dry down, Kouros unveils its true crescendo, a harmonious blend that captures the essence of Vangelis' ability to evoke emotion through sound. Much like the final movement of a symphony, the lingering notes of Kouros leave an indelible impression, a lingering melody that resonates with the wearer and those who encounter it.
Kouros is more than a fragrance; it is an olfactory composition that pays homage to the elegance of Art Deco and the timeless allure of Vangelis' music. It is an invitation to embark on a sensory journey where scent, design, and melody converge, creating a symphony that celebrates the artistry of the past and the enduring beauty that transcends time.

With aromatic regards,

10/10

It sounds criminal but layer Kouros with Oud for Glory, the two blend really well together to give a more modern spicy take on Kouros.

Recently found the old one and still can’t decide if I like or hate it. I’m currently wearing it on my way to the cinema, and I feel like it was the worst decision I ever made. Wouldn’t be surprised if people avoided me intentionally. But it has something to it between all that dead game and warm piss. Kinda smells like visiting your grandparents and driving in grandpas car to get the groceries grandma needs for dinner

The notoriety is absolutely deserved. I’m still not sure whether I love it or hate it. It reminds me of my grandfather and the fragrances of his era. It is aggressively animalic in the drydown and strangely incense-like in the opening. I wear this when I’m doing yard work or sweating actively alone. This isn’t friendly and should probably be worn when you’re alone, although one spray to the chest won’t hurt if you really want. What I hate is that it will smell different to me at different times. Sometimes a trashy screechy smell. Sometimes incense at an altar. Sometimes warm piss. Sometimes baby powder. What the fuck is this shit? It is kouros.

Musky, floral, civet and warm notes, Kouros is just a beautiful ultra masculine fragrance of the 80s and just puts hairs on your chest. It's so amazing in cooler weather and lasts for hours and hours. I really cannot understand why so many ladies turn their noses up to this, yes it's dirty and animalic but it's really not that bad it's just an ultra sexy fragrance that every real man needs to own. The bottle is legendary and reminds me of greek pillars. Truly unique and such a special fragrance

140+ bottles later, it's still my all time favorite...total legend. I just wish YSL would release a near vintage run. Why not? It's not like YSL has released anything worth a damn in the last 20 years. Maybe crowd pleasers for the "dead donkey" nerd, several reviews below mine, but nothing of any worth for more seasoned noses. Smh...shame.

I don't understand why people don't like this fragrance, it's got a great range, very affordable and smells great. Kouros has a great mix of earthy and slight sweet tones. For me it's a very man's man smell and is quite sophisticated at the same time. Would buy again

Incredibly masculine and pleasant to my taste. Beast mode performance for edt. Way better than antaeus, ism't even compareable. One of the perfect ultra masculine scents. Very good just a masterpiece

I'm not usually one to lump fragrances into gender boxes. For me, most fragrances are unisex. But this is REALLY masculine. I cannot imagine this on a woman at all.

Strong and bold, even in the current formulation. Both clean and dirty at the same time, like a well cleaned but also frequently used public toilet. Soapy and fresh, but also has a slight BO vibe. Sillage is impressive. This really packs a punch.

It's a lot to handle, but I can see the appeal. It isn't for me, though.

Dirty. Skanky. Lewd. And absolutely fantastic.

I get why this is polarizing. It's a lot. But this is my favorite flavor of perfume: beautiful, floral top notes with funky, animal, pissy base notes. Think Jicky (my all time favorite). Or Bal a Versailles.

Don't wear this to the office. It's sex in a bottle. (Or I don't know. Maybe wear it to the office?)

I have more than 80 frag in my colection. This is special. Top 5 for me. Classy but not old. When I whore this I fell like I have Churchill power to change the war in peace

Smells LITERALLY like a pubic toilet

My dad wore this all the time when I was younger. I don't even know how to properly describe the scent, it just smells like my dad. Strong and masculine.

smells like dead donkey

Im 58 and ive never not had a bottle of this in my collection and never will…strong masculine fragrance…nothing will beat the original formulation but the dna is still there…my 21 yr old son wears it all the time he loves it…

Surprisingly good even though I would compare the smell to toilet cleaner. :S Probably aldehydes. After reading how polarizing it was I was very skeptical but bought a decant anyway. Glad I did.

Compared to some other older fragrances (Eau Sauvage - for man in their 60s, Beverly Hills For Man - too sharp and confusing with all the ingredients,..) I really like this and can be wearable by me. Its more suitable for younger population than Eau Sauvage which I think is for older man.

In the air its surprisingly good. Light, clean, comes of neutral (maybe a little warm with honey and a little fresh with aldehydes) and musky. Not that sharp at all. When you smell it up close it does smell like toilet cleaner. So not my greatest fragrance but still pleasantly surprised considering other reviews and all the polarizing opinions.

Scent: 7
Longevity: 8

It goes without saying try it before you buy it.

I adore this on a man. There is no other way I want a man to smell than this. There is no other scent for a man I am in love with than this. I cannot stop swooning when I smell it. ♥️ Literally, it drives me crazy.

I’m a woman reviewing the modern formulation. There’re a lot of ‘Alpha Male’ comments down here about balls growing bigger, chest hair sprouting, etc. I can assure you none of those things happened to me upon first wearing.

I have never smelled the OG, so my opinions are based on this recent, apparently neutered version.

It’s a nice, wearable musk that oscillates between clean and dirty, very much the same way that Kiehl’s Original Musk does. Comparing the two, Kiehl’s is more floral and a bit more humid, whereas Kouros is fresher, a little sharper as a result of the herbal elements; coriander, clary sage, etc. Both can become soapy, and neither are disgusting to my nose. However…

They both get a little pissy. Not cat piss, but human piss. I think Kiehl’s does a better job at being furry and sweet and chewy, Kouros does a better job at being pissy and toilet-esque.

I love both of them in the heat, they sweeten and get that moist vaporous scent bubble going. Where it’s basically impossible to overspray Kiehl’s, Kouros is one you want to be mindful of over applying.

I've not been able to buy it, but I have a similar one, Passion by Liz Taylor. The first time I smelled civet, that was so harsh, it smelled like wet dog, wet cat, so animalic, abrasive, but then It mellowed with it's leather note and florals. I would assume this is the same, civet is not like musk, it's more animalic, harsher, so beware, if you don't like musky scents this may not be for you. Passion is similar with florals, leather, and moss, aldehydes, it's less expensive, and for some reason a women's perfume, when it's clearly a very musculine creation, I recommend it if you wish to try something similar. Civet was an odd and harsh note to know, but it settles once you take it in.

Someone recently mentioned they noticed I had never written a review on Kouros. By George, I have not! Well, I honestly felt there really wasn't much more value I could add to the conversation. What can I really say that hasn't been said already? It seems concensus in most fraghead circles that it's a (gay) icon, an institution, the KING. Who am I to disagree? I enjoy it a great deal, too. I have decants of older formulations, a non-silver shoulder recent bottle, and I don't want to pontificate on superior versions, inferior versions, Charles of the Ritz, real civet (eye roll), this and that. It's moot. Look below.

What I can say though is this pet project by Pierre Bourdon where he pushed the limits of where Animalis and costus root can go in a perfume has created a legend—often copied, never quite duplicated, and it has its place in the corps d'elite of perfumes. It was THE new wave in 1981 and I can only imagine how hot it was smelling this on all the writhing male bodies in clubs during the decade.  I would just rather spend my time writing about other fragrances that are owed their due. Kouros has a whole lot of love, and I am just dropping in to share my love. 

I have no idea why this is considered "polarizing", this fragrance is objectively fantastic. It smells like you just took an incredibly refreshing deep-clean bath with John Stamos, Billy Zane, and Stavros Halkias in a palatial Greek palace flanked by gorgeous alabaster columns with the meandros patterns. It's also undeniably dirty-sexy due to its musk and sillage, so like a scene from Caligula, make that a co-ed bath: a corridor of gorgeous naked people walking around nonchalantly with images of water-bearers and steam filling the mind. It's one of my favorite fragrances and something I wear everyday after I take a shower.

No other fragrance has taken me this long to get a grip of. Even though I've liked it for a long time, I've been hesitant to wear it in public due to the animalics and the stupid "urinal cake" associations. (Perhaps my olfactory pleasure is not worth smelling like an antisocial element with all the possible repercussions this might have on one's life.) Curious enough, on the occasions I've tried it, I've only ever received positive comments about it being a manly scent, smelling like incense or just smelling good. Factoring in the rare public usage, you could say that this is actually one of my most complimented fragrances.

I guess it's worth reminding yourself that no one has ever received a compliment going like: "Wow, you smell so clean, familiar and neutral!" Yes, Kouros has a strong character, but that's what makes it a good fragrance and sets it apart from today's mainstream fragrances.

But compliments aside, it all comes down to the composition of the juice. Basically, it's got everything -- funky spices, bracing greens and bold florals in the beginning, nostalgic leathery-soapy notes and powdery warm musk with honeyed sweetness in the drydown. It's warm and pervasive -- nothing sticks out, but this soft blending gives a strong impression. But what about the animalics? At the moment, YSL lists all the ingredients and notes on their website, and there are no animalic notes listed. In fact, there are 7 woody notes, 3 citrus notes, 2 herbal notes, 2 spicy notes, 2 balsamic notes, 1 clean musk note, 1 powdery note... and 14 floral notes! No wonder it smells animalic and indolic with so many florals in it.

So, dear urinal cake sniffers, next time you visit a flower shop, don't forget to mention how it all smells like cat piss.

It's interesting that this was undisputably one of the best of the 80s. Let me say the tide has surely shifted. How did we go from incredible masculine fragrances such as this masterpiece to the overly sweet garbage being introduced into the market today? Kouros is indeed something special and it takes a man with confidence to wear this. Take it easy with the atomiser with this one and enjoy the ride. Little boys stay away. Leave this for the real men

you ever walk into a bathroom at a gas station? This is it. Why anyone would voluntarily douse themselves in this foul liquid is beyond me.

Smells like one if those Pagan style stores that has incense, candles, dragon sculpture, gem stones and witch style stuff.....

Im pretty indifferent about it but find it kinda cool how it invokes such a nostalgic smell.

This kind of reaction about a perfume surely did not occur at the time when this perfume was released, very daring at the time and it remains a classic even today for people who have a good knowledge of perfumery, and not in the smell of public bathroom 😉

Smells like a public bathroom lmfao dont get this…

the elephant in the room would be the animalic notes. this is one of the most bold fragrances that were mass produced that way. I liked it, but I didn't love it. it was a bit too much. once you get more whiffs of that fragrance, you will become addicted somehow though. there's something about this fragrance, it gives a confidence boost that no other fragrance does the same way. I'd give it 3.9 out of 5.

Had a large bottle in the 80s and still have a 10 ml bottle from 1990. An incredible scent like no other.

This morning I thought: "Let There Be Kouros Today!" - oooooh, maaan... that was phenomenal! Kouros is The King! The Unbreakable Lord! The Big White Monster! Now and Ever.

(my batch is from 2004)

I am young and I really enjoy Kouros. It has that perfumery smell - this is what designer perfumes should smell like. Kouros is very masculine and truly one of the sexiest male scents I have ever smelt. The longevity is great. It lasts very long and on clothes maybe forever. I've never smelt the original formulation, but I can imagine that it was much better. It's interesting that this masculine scent attracts mainly other men, women happen to dislike Kouros. One of the biggest compliments I've ever got was when I wore this scent, but the compliments always are from men. I would not reccommend Korous for a guy to use Kouros as his date scent with his girlfriend, it's too masculine and risky, but If you go out with your male friends, they would be very curious what you wear, because they would have the feelings of what they should smell like. Imagine you just played a sport or you were in the gym and you don't take a shower and instead you put on youself a sweet high quality musky scent - this what I would describe the smell of Kouros. Don't ever blind buy this, try it first and see if you hate, like it or really love this.

Where to start on this? It brings back memories from my youth, even my childhood. I remember being on holiday in the Costa Del Sol area of spain in the early 80s, smelling this on people when my mum and her partner went out to town in the evening, enjoying drinks and eating out. Yeah, it was another time, everyone was smoking etc. so you needed powerful and potent fragrances.

Kouros was one of them. I remember getting older and earning money for fragrances myself. I had forgotten about it but some time in the early 90s I found it in a shop and simply had to get it. It was still amazing back in those days. My current bottle is a 2014 tester and while it's still great (LOVE the smell) it's not really the powerhouse I remember. Still, I will try to keep it in my collection forever, because it simple is a classic.

Btw, my wife doesn't really like it. What can I say, a shame. But I still use it sometimes.

Kouros is a gamechanger fragrance from early 80’s. What a comlex, unique and tenacious concoction this is. You may not like it in today’s standards, but it doesn’t change the reality that it is a true masterpiece. Evokes so many memories and has the potential to create new ones. Even the reformulated version is worthy enough to introduce it to younger generations. When it comes to animalics, I may remind you that musk is possibly the oldest ingredient of anything fragrant and it is an acquired taste. Yes, it may smell a bit outdated or strong to you, but give yourself some time to be able to appreciate this beauty. A big shoutout to Pierre Bourdon for making a fragrance that still maintains its charm even after 40+ years.

This always amuses me. "Civet note may be too animalic for some people" and 14 people down vote. How can they answer for everybody in the entire universe? Considering my chances in the bedroom when I'm wearing this (and ofc getting a comment about being lucky to even be in there), I can quickly count at least one who would agree 100% with that statement. Haha

Having a vintage bottle of Kouros … The opening is the only difference really the dry down is the same …

Hi Kouros Enthusiasts

If anyone can spare one or two bottles of the vintage Kouros Charles the Ritz… I would be indebted or please guide me from where I can get it on reasonable price please 😊

Very memorable scent. It is annoying how Kouros inspires many vulgar and macho types of reviews, since I think it is a very well balanced and refined fragrance. A lot of the comments on this page are more homoerotic than actual gay smut. If you really want to smell unadulterated manliness go visit a football team’s locker room after practice lol. I promise you will appreciate how this has tamed that down

smells like the zoo

For years and years i thought its disgusting.
Today, 46 y/o ive smelled it and its so good.
Still some stinking, but in the overall its good!
You cannot give your boss bubble gum perfume.
Sure you cannot imagine prime minister wearing the things going on today.
Or Putin. Imagine Puting wearing Abercrombie or D&G king...
You got to give them something. Something with authority. Something with the old manhood style and not bubblegums and cherries ..
Kouros is for them.

this is my fav out of all the colognes ive owned . the vintage version from the 90's its just perfect only wish it was more stronger and i had more of it . really makes alot of cologne out there smell cheap. i all so have a bottle from around 2014 and really like it too

I love this scent. I smell the soapiness and dirtiness. The honey and aldehydes do this for me. The more I smell it; the more I love it. This comes from someone smelling the current formulation, so the former formulations must be unreal. I am 28 and cannot get enough of its scent. It is beautiful to me.

I wore this to church one Sunday, and two millennials in front of me turned around, “Where’s that smell coming from?!?”.

There is nothing like Kouros. I used to even spray it on my pillow so I could smell it all night long. I love how YSL skilfully marries vanilla with… dirt.

Can’t wait to find another bottle on sale somewhere.

This has been completely neutered.
It smells great still, very clean if anything.

Actually, this has become a sports scent. It's perfect for wearing during physical exercise.

Only worth it if you can find it at a discounter.

"This is a men's world" it shouts. In 2023 it's not a crowd pleaser, think I'll get one when I run out of beau de jour and sartorial. Great value

Kouros is not outdated, it is far ahead of its time, and even the one we live in now. Remember these words!

This is long lasting. It projects well.

However I don’t like the scent note at all. Being a gift to me I did try spraying on multiple occasions but it doesn’t excite me . Maybe I don’t like these category of fragrances. Oh yes I do get that civet piss note sometimes faintly.

Not very dirty like I expected. Like freshly cleaned urinals, a nice smell but I wouldn't wear it.

a pleasant refreshing almost powdery incense fragrance. A wonderful fougere, similar in a way to Paco Rabanne

It took me a few wears to get used to Kouros (current formulation) and now I crave it. Excellent for warm weather and not overpowering for the office (but two sprays max). Starts off clean and ends with a stinky-sweet drydown.

Are you even into fragrances if you don't have this in your collection? This is what Herecles would have worn. Watered down over the years. I dread to think how punchy it would have been in 1981.

Something interesting happened.
The first time I tested Kouros it had in fact a citrusy urinal cake smell during the first 15 minutes. The remaining 5-8 hours were just wonderful animalic masculinity. On my other wrist I sprayed Chanel Antaeus. Both fragrances are very similar indeed but I find Kouros a bit more animalic, a little like smelling an animal's fur. It stays like this for the most part. Whereas Antaeus becomes with time a bit fancy for my taste. Not so much animalic but woody and flowery, something people today are more used to smelling as it is more popular.
After the testing I keep thinking about Kouros and try to remember the smell. I can't, so I smell the shirt I wore and also sprayed on that day. My mind is already set on buying the bottle.
A few days later I'm again in the same store and spray it on my chest, behind my ear and wrist. Now I don't get any citrusy urinal cake smell at all! It's immediately animalic and musky. I love it.

Update: Above I was reviewing the scent from a tester. After ordering Kouros and wearing it regularily now I can say that I don't get any citrus or urinal cake smell even in the first minutes after spraying. However I immediately get a blast of wonderful aldehydes (something I couldn't detect in the tester) and lots of animalic notes (they appeared a lot later in the tester). I'm even more satisfied than I already was with the tester.

I was expecting this to be awful, but it's just okay. Not bad, but not for me. Soapy, powdery and musky. Smells like what I imagine the early 80's smelled like. I can't see this getting you any compliments. I asked my brother what he thought and he said, "smells like an ashtray."

Update: I get the "pissy" note in this. It comes and goes. This is a strange combo of clean/dirty.

Still available decants from Parfums Corp Era, PM if interested

My dad used to wear this. I can't really remember how it smells in terms of individual notes but I just remember the whole house would smell of his aftershave long after he'd gone off to the pub and I'd be able to smell it on him when he came back, sometimes after being out all day and night. Proper masculine smelling. I'd love to smell it again, I bet it'd transport me straight back to my childhood in the 90s.

Review of 2023 batches- mid summer.

The new formula is leaning green-er and more similar to other ‘80es aromatic fougeres, in the opening. Less civet for sure, and more restraint- the soapy character owed to aldehydes- musks is definitely present, adding flash to the bones and compensating for the lack of animalic notes. The green part seems not related to (a divisive) patchouli- but possibly on an incense-carnation axis, clean and conservative but not off putting.

The overall silhouette of the scent is sleek and elegant, more abstract- conjuring the idea of a well-executed still life painting which doesn’t lack direction or imagination.

Far more wearable than the “historical predecessors league “ (“Aka, “King Kouros” as released until around 2013), but not at the cost of missing personality.
In comparison to the most recent formulations (roughly speaking, until 2022)- this version brings back endurance, not necessarily sillage and the formula is overall improved.

If you are well accustomed to the original King Kouros, you may feel, for sure, a bit underwhelmed- as it is not the monster fragrance it was. For practical reasons however, it is better placed to hedge the every day (in)formal settings, retaining, in the current translation, a substantial part of the original message.

I can see how it required hard work, commitment and dedication this effort to resurrect a Lazarus-Kouros which was a walking dead in the last few years.

Kudos to the new Kouros!

I'll say this straight outta the chute, and if you don't like it, well, tough shit...

If your sack don't stretch across the country of Bulgaria on a road Atlas of Hungary to Turkey, then your BulgeArea ain't big enough to wear this shit and you need to scroll right on along to some Abercrombie fufu juice review because your opinion matters fuqawl.
This is GEN-X JUICE loaded with UPPERCUTS! You don't simply WEAR this shit. You ARE this shit!
This is the shit you smelled like 24/7, and didn't even put any on. It is the essence of the mid-late 60's thru early-mid 80's generation of kids who were forced to drink from the waterhose, be in by street lights, and forced to go straight to the shower because you smelled like a rhinoceros
AAAHHHH.... THE GOOD OL DAYS

This shit is ^^^THAT^^^ potent!!! Just happened to find an unopened 1991 bottle, which I believe is the OG formula, and I'm not BS'ing in the slightest. This stuff is an elbow-headbutt-kneecap to the groin-spinning backfist quad-combo compilation to the confused chest-feeders of today's emasculated Arts and Humanities majors.
This is a weakness finder, similar to WonderWoman's lasso of truth, except you don't even have to waste energy chasing them down to lasso them, you just walk down the hall and you hear them coughing and gagging like they got their fill of the Bulgaria Road Atlas or something.

WHO CARES! CHOKER!!

It's a ONE-OF-A-KIND. If you don't like it, that's ok. Just sit down, STFU, and get out of the left lane because that's me wearing Kouros tailgating your ass in the fast lane!!

I genuinely don't understand descriptions like "animalic", "urinal", "toilet" or even "dirty" in relation to this fragrance today. I would agree that these are all things that described what this fragrance once was. It was utterly magnificent, unashamed filth that overcame your best intentions, disregarded your pathetic attempts to be a polite member of a civilised society and made you want more....even though you knew it was wrong.

I see many mentions of the word "clean" in reviews below and that alone demonstrates just how dismally this once great giant has fallen. This was never before thought of as clean nor was it intended to be so. It was hot, sweaty, relentlessly carnal and made no attempt to pretend otherwise. God how I miss it!

Sadly this current bottle will be the last I buy. I appreciate younger generations may discover and even like this as it is now but for me, it's like I've bought a watered down, poorly formulated dupe.

Kouros. The absolute greatest fragrance ever created. The true king. The beast master of all beast modes. The OG OG, on the entire planet, no, in the entire universe. No questions. No if and or buts (I'll have none of that). The end. Full stop. Period. And then some. Get some.

Avis basé sur un échantillon eBay
Connu de tous sauf de moi !
Lacune comblée.
Très Chaleureux, crémeux et addictif !!!
Un chef d'œuvre !!!
J étais près à l acheter aussitôt senti mais ....j' ai déchanté.
Je voulais arrêter le temps. Hélas. ..
Il s est transformé en un parfum d odeurs chaudes et étouffantes , irrespirables , (proche d une crème nivea concentrée et surchauffée) pour moi et pour les autres .
Kouros se déchaîne et délivre toute sa puissance avec la chaleur !
je vous conseille de l essayer jusqu'aux notes de fond et en toutes saisons.
Le lendemain , toujours présent . Amour et / ou écoeurant . Je reste dans l expectative.
Mise à jour du surlendemain :
Kouros est une bête, toujours présent, dépendant de la chaleur et de quantité appliquée, il peut être étouffant , trop fort , trop animal .
À essayer avant d acheter .
Mise à jour .. il dure plusieurs jours et pour l aimer à sa juste valeur de chef d œuvre : évitez la chaleur, évitez d en mettre plus d une pulvérisation et vous serez heureux !!!!

This smells like your hairy sweaty father in the 90s while he is out working in the basking sun, having muscled forearms and doesnt take any bullshit. I would give it a 3 out of 10.

I've sat on this here page for many hours, debating whether or not to pull the trigger on king kouros. And I am glad I finally did. No other fragrance is this divisive. I was scared reading all these reviews. People saying piss, shit, urinal cake, sweat, balls. Now to be clear this is a 2022 batch, and not the vintage kouros, I have never smelt the vintage, so I cant comment. This is not , at least to my nose, at all offensive. Extremely masculine. Smells like what I would imagine a well-kempt Greek man, slightly fat stomach, wearing a clean white shirt with the 2 top buttons undone, rocking a hairy chest and a cross would smell like. On the opening, to my nose, it is very clean smelling, soapy, incense with a slight animalic musk. SLIGHTLY reminiscent of the smell of a clean 2000's era mall washroom. Now as you let it dry down after some wear, it develops into a more spicy, musky animalic scent , I really get a dirty/clean vibe from this 4-5 hours in, and I love it. Unfortunately , the performance on my skin leaves a lot to be desired. I get strong projection and sillage for the first couple of hours, then it quickly fades into a skin scent. I know this fragrance is meant to be rather strong , but this bottle I have is just not.

I like this concept and masculinity eventhough it gets a lot of hate in the fragrance community

One of the First fragrances I got to sniff courtesy of my father who still has a 1980's Dab Bottle . This is a Fantastic Masterpiece and something which Shouts Masculinity all the way. One of the Best ever Masculine Frag ever created . Don't know why it has got Bad Ratings whereas Some Non Perfuming crap perfumes are given Above Average High Ratings .
If you want a Beast you can't get wrong with this one .

When you don't want your girlfriend to ever wonder if you might be wearing her 6 inch pumps when she is not around.

I've never smelled the old school versions. A friend of mine recommended it to me and I just bought a 100ml bottle. I understand the comparison with the urinal/ toilet smell but that's just a confusion because of the disinfectant fragrance used in eastern european public bathrooms. It's combined with urine and that's how oflactory memory works, right? :))
About the fragrance: it's fresh, floral and has a wonderful drydown, indeed. Super masculine, but not for puberty. I'll just turn 30 and maybe that's why I can appreciate this weird yet beautiful invention :)) . First 30 minutes - you leave a honest 30 meter trail of scent. Then it slowly fades into a 10-15 cm skin scent for about 12 hours. On clothes you can clearly smell it the other day(s). Since I know for sure that the basenotes are reformulated, I wish that I could smell the original 80's one, and what the creator intended to do with this perfume.. It's great tho..
P.S. My girlfriend and my mom loves it. :)))

I only can smell civet with something sweet. Awful and outdated. 0/10.

Absolutely stunning. Clean, masculine scent. I really love this masterpiece. Why I’ve never wore this one. I think bad comments about this masterpiece. It’s not urinal cake or dirty smell piss public bathroom. I just talk about new formulation. I’m not lucky use old version. It has to be scent of god.

Modern formulation is clean musky barbershop fougere. All the animatics toned down. Folks smelling urinal cake spending too much time sniffing toilets. Resembles more of a dial gold hand soap than bathroom cleaner. Wear with confidence otherwise it will wear you. In the end you’ll love it at least appreciate it. A pillar of the masculine powerhouses.

I bought a sample of this out of sheer curiosity

Its filthy, animalic and astringent. It has a soapy green, classic vintage masculine background that is pleasant tho.

I would never wear this in public, yet i don't regret buying the sample because its an experience and a point of refference in perfumery.

My father seems to like it.

great stuff but honestly not for everyone and understandably polarizing. you can compare this easily to chanel antaeus which is one of my favorite frags. but this one goes heavier on earth, sweat musk, animalic direction instead of balsamic, floral, animalic as antaeus. ofc theres more differences but this stands out to me the most. they both have the ''piss opening''. this comes off a bit more rugged making it harder to like in the air by people unfamiliar with the scent. but its a great scent with lots goin for it.

I disliked this scent when I first got, or rather had no good disposition, but didn't hate it. As I have smelled more and more scents and my nose has matured over the past few years of being addicted to fragrances I have come to appriciate this fragrance more. It is a solid scent that will make you stand out and smell good.

I was about 10 years old when it came out (1981) and I can vaguely remember it was the scent of airline pilots, cabin crew and high powered business men... I was in awe of it for so long, stealing a spray of my older brothers bottle every now and then. I had a bottle in my mid twenties but didn't really appreciate it for what it is. Now I'm older and decided to revisit it again all my early memories came flooding back... Yes it's dated, yes reformulated from the original... But there is nothing.. I mean nothing that smells like this. A true masterpiece in every sense of the word. 2 sprays are all you need on a mid to warm summers day ... And wait for that dry down👌♥️

An old friend of mine who has been selling fragrances for 20+, years found an old bottle from the early 90's, way back in storage in his basement. He told me it's probably spoiled so he was going to throw it away. I was quick to say I want it! Has the silver flat collar like I hear the vintage bottles have. POWERFUL STUFF! I'm starting to really dig it.

Unapologetically musky and assertive. This is for musk lovers and if you think this smells like a urinal block then stop sticking your face in a urinal cause the acidity of piss is messing up your sense of smell.

YSL Kouros is a solid example of why you should always try the fragrance before leaving an opinion.
I smelled this for the first time in my life. Before that, I was met with how unpleasant, animalic and disgusting this fragrance apparently is, so I never sought to sample it.

Then I went to the fragrance store and just wow, I couldn't believe how surprised I was.
I can't even begin to pick out a specific note, it's just incredibly spicy, incense maybe? Just outstanding, I knew I had to buy myself a bottle of this now.
Apparently it lasts long so I'm hoping for the best.
I recommend you give this a try before you hop on the hate train.

This really does smell like the toilets on trains here in Europe. I appreciate it for being so bold but I cannot imagine actually wearing it.

wait till the hottest day & spray at least 20 times to let everyone enjoy it around you & as a bonus spray boss number 1 cologne to get that pee note going on with the toilet cakes from kouros they go good together and people around you will enjoy it

I sprayed it on last night and WHAM! massive amazing incense. Yes, this fragrance is among the best of the best.

9/10, unfortunately smells too similar to a detergent used in toilets in old Polish trains

Never have I ever been physically recoiled by a fragrance
Until this bad boy came along
How could a human put time and effort into making something so harrowing
Smells like a man who hasn't seen a shower in years and who's hands can't reach to wipe their ass
And of course the performance is otherworldly
It'll leave a trail of destruction anywhere you go
Had to give away my decant days after getting it because I simply would be terrified of the prospect that it is anywhere near where I lay my head down to rest
Please never wear this fragrance for the safety of others
0/10

This is just my view and I think any man 40+ should own a vintage Kouros, vintage Antaeus, vintage Paco Rabanne Pour Homme, and vintage Eau Sauvage Dior. They are worth the money and they are timeless scents.

I gotta say, Kouros used to be a beast and a freaking work of art! The vintage Kouros had this metallic and soapy vibe to it, and that pissy note was part of the whole story, but now it's just soapy and pissy. No wonder, YSL is a wreck since Tomo Ford left to fool around with cocktails and make his own perfumes. YSL is a joke, nobody expects them to be like Chanel for fu**'s sake, Chanel takes care of their beasts, while YSL is now a hit and run house. They release all sorts of crap, and they either discontinued or messed up the old ones like Kouros. It really depends on where the perfume comes from, which brand. Chanel is Chanel, they keep their stuff together, and these ones like Givenchy, YSL, and Armani, they just mix and spill everything. Same goes for Kouros. When you have a perfume that's so damn awesome, and you reformulate it, and you don't give a damn and you're not skilled like Chanel or Guerlain, then you end up with the kind of mess that Kouros is now.

I've been rocking Kouros for years. I had at least ten bottles until 2007, then they messed it up. Before, nobody even thought about the piss note, and now it's so damn obvious, my God! It's like I've been wasted and piss drunk from alcohol the night before and passed out in front of a public restroom and woke up early in the morning, fresh and ready, and the smell of various tourist's weekend fluids hits me. Something like that. Kouros is history, although I understand that some people love it in this condition. But this is now my wedding perfume, so your girl has nowhere to run. Did she say YES? She did! Well, now she has to put up with her man in all his fragrant glory. And when you want to test your wife's love, you put Kouros five times on your neck and chest and sneak up on her while she's doing her nails in front of the TV. If she kisses you and continues to paint her nails like nothing happened, then you hit the jackpot, then you married the right one! Then your girl loves you for real! But if she curses, leaves her nail halfway painted, and makes a face like she's constipated - then you need to wonder if you wasted your time in that marriage!

The drydown is still pretty good. It lasts for a solid eight hours, so this pissy dude is still potent. But you have to be careful. Two reasons for a divorce are a husband who snores like a Croatian bear and regularly using Kouros in large amounts. Even though your girl loves and tolerates your Kouros, you can't shove it under her nose regularly. Don't push your luck dude!

The main problem with this one is that public restrooms have really done it a big disservice by giving people negative scent associations. It smells similar to a lot of urinal cakes and the dry down is reminiscent of the pink hand soap you can find in many public restrooms. I think if those scent associations didn’t exist that the general public would enjoy this one a lot more.

The beach volleyball scene in Top Gun was the best Kouros advert YSL never made.

I don't think I could ever love that.
Personally I don't understand the hype behind it. There is nothing that resembles an aromatic fugue... I wore a decant for a week and literally not a single person I asked didn't like it and I even got strange looks from other people around me. It has a very very intense smell

I‘m looking for some vintage bottles of this here in switzerland.

:-)

“In the spring of 1988, I returned to New Orleans, and as soon as I smelled the air, I knew I was home.
It was rich, almost sweet, like the scent of jasmine and roses around our old courtyard.
I walked the streets, savoring that long lost perfume.”

2019 bottle.

Less civet, more like an incensy version.

All I get is incense, coriander, musk.

It lacks the civet which gives the OG this pissy smell (that I love)

Maybe it needs to maturates, but when I received it, it was smelling from outside the box (2nd hand), so I don't know if it will evolve.




Edit : The opening is more on the incensy side like I said, but after two hours, it settles into this musky soap that I love.

In the end, once the fragrance get to the drydown, both old and new version are 95% similar. You can only get a small difference if you smell directly on the skin

It's November in 1979, a cool drizzly Parisian evening, the street is giving off that rainy smell, so Pierre walks into a movie theater to warm up and distract himself. He sits down. This one scene burns itself into his memory. Giger's beast's second mouth protruding from it's first. He ends up getting the shivers instead of warming up. Almost two years later, now in America, he wakes up in a fever dream, he knows how that jet black shimmering fanged proboscis must have smelled, the breath, the dripping mucus. Little did he know that soon enough hot sweaty nightclub goers would be drowning themselves in this alien concoction.

Charles of the Ritz miniature version.

The opening is so hard that your head will automatically go back lol I'm getting the chills in my head and back, but not in a bad way

It's musky and animalic, but not in a pissy way. It's animalic like you could smell the fur of an animal, with all those scents around.

Veeeeeery strong, far too strong to be wearable in the opening, it's not a slap in the face, it's Ric Flair's WOOOOOOO slap in your throat, every time you put your nose again you get a WOOOOOOO

The drydown is better, I can't detect much except civet, musk, honey.

It's probably the strongest scent I have smelled in longevity. Projection is also a monster !

BUT !

To be honest, I prefer to wear the current version. It's smoother, more wearable even if Kouros by itself is not a very wearable fragrance. But the vintage is too much to wear. If I was wearing this on a Zoo, I'll probably get into a fight with a Silverback Gorilla cause HE would feel offended

That doesn't mean I don't love the vintage one, just that it's really challenging, reaaaaaaaally challenging in the opening and it stays like that for a good 2 hours minimum

My advice : start first by trying the current formula. If you like it, get a vintage decant/miniature and then get which one you prefer

I'll keep my vintage miniature and wear the current one

(I also have the Parfums Corp aftershave, as strong in longevity as the current EDT if not more, and a good mix scent-wise between the Charles of the Ritz miniature and the current EDT)

Yes this smells exactly like a urinal cake. Opening smells like you just ate a bunch of asparagus, and pissed in a urinal. Smells like ass when you put your nose up to it.

Dry down, it becomes a cinnamon bar of soap. An aromatic fougere. Smells amazing after about an hour.

9 / 10. For mature men only.

Starts off apparently clean barbershoppy in the opening and quickly turns into a skanky civet butt animalic musk fragrance. Too bad.

Current version.

Tried it again, 3 sprays on my right hand.

I really, really, reaaaaaaaally think it's the most impactful fragrance I ever smelled.

It's not "beautiful", it's not "sexy", it's like pheromones, you can smell your girlfriend's skin and quickly get the need to ravish her

Kouros is the same for me. When I wear it, it doesn't smell good in a modern way. But it makes me want to seduce, to conquer, to fight.

It's hard to explain, Ramsey on YT gave the best explanation imo, it's a fragrance that touch something primal in your brain, and activates your need to procreate.

The current version is a beast, I don't know about the older one, but this one is projecting like a monster

15/10, I think I'm trapped, I need this like a drug. It's like cocaine, you feel capable of everything with it



Edit: Parfums-Corp vintage Aftershave coming, and vintage Charles of the Ritz 10ml miniature EDT coming.
I have to know.

Genius
Absolutely extraordinary
It’s what I needed in this time and age
A fragrance so good that keeps you nodding all day long with every whiff you get
Dirtiness and cleanliness merged together
It’s the yin yang of the fragrance world with no competition so far
Feeling dirty and clean at the same time is something you rarely get to experience
I loved it and hated it to the max I just can’t put my feelings in words
Performance is incredible the thought of Mr.Pierre retiring from creating masterpieces like this one makes me want to shed a tear

I get compliments all the time with Kouros. So weird, because i wear it so people leave me alone lol. Definitely one of the greatest scents of all time. I love this stuff!

زجاجة اضافية ذات إصدار قديم

Not everyone can pull this scent off (not even me). For those who can, you have my respect! This is for the men who wear it for themselves, and if they get a compliment, that's just a bonus.

The ultimate combination of clean and dirty.

Sharp aldehydes, artemisia, and clary sage create a soapy top. Under this is a tumult of leather, honey, civet, and patchouli which feels completely alive. This is of course all supported by oakmoss, vetiver, orris, and musks as far as the eye can see.

Hard to say for certain if it’s Bourdon’s masterpiece, but it just may be.

Current version.

I love it tbh.

The opening is harsh but I love it, and the drydown is excellent.

Yes it's not a people pleaser, but IDGAF. I don't buy fragrances for people.

The only downside is that I find it hard to wear for a young guy, it's clearly a mature OR very masculine scent.

8/10



Edit: The late drydown!!!!!!! Goodness!!!!!
10/10 eaaaaaaaasy
I will get a bottle ASAP.
The opening was intimidating it's true, but the skin scent it went into !
Animalic, musky, smells like a caveman in the most sexy way.
Masterpiece


Edit again for the lad above me:
I'm wearing Dior Homme. And Kouros.
Masterpieces are to be enjoyed, whatever the "style" they belong to. I like funk, rock, 90's hip hop and salsa. All very different, but one doesn't prevent the other.
Just like fragrances.
A masterpiece is a masterpiece.

Everybody here crazy this thing stinks, it has strong spillage of stench, it's horrible, I didn't like many fragrances but this one, I hate it, it should not be sells for human use

This is a very unique masculine scent. Very original and VERY strong. But as it settles and fades, it's wonderful. I recommend it, one spray only, an hour before you leave the house. It's rich, its strong, it's sexy, and it mellows beautifully.

In the dictionary under "scrubber", there should be a picture of a Kouros bottle. This runs a close second behind Secretions Magnafique as the most vomit unducing scent ever. And its not the civet. I love civet. It's the whole mess of ingredients put together. Why people like this and complain about Dior Leather Oud is beyond me.

urinal cakes

managed to buy a 40 year old 1982 splash bottle new in box . that would make it the 2nd year bottle. comparing it to a 90's bottle its more laid back & weaker then the 90's bottle only because it seems to not last or project as much possibly due to age seeing its older the 90's bottle so about 20 years difference
the opening top notes on the 82 bottle last for a couple of hours then starts to settle down.
i don't think its stronger then the 90's bottle possibly due to age and it being a splash but nice blend it is on point .
i would say i like it better then the green sprayer vintage polo green bottles i have from the 80's which are excellent .

the other bottle i have is like a 2015 bottle it is crap comparing it to the older versions it doesn't smell right smells harsh you spray it on and its gone in around 2 hours .it all so smells poorly blended like it turned bad . not sure what the current version is like but i bet its even worse .

One of the most controversial fragrances of all time, and one of the greatest of all time. People love it, or hate it. I LOVE IT! I don't care about the haters. Get over it! Long live The KING!

I get that there are fragrance trends but how can something that smells this bad ever have been liked by the average person? I’ve been looking for this for a while because of the polarization behind it and I finally found it in the airport. I sprayed a couple sprays on the tester strip and a woman several feet away had a coughing fit and asked which one I had just sprayed because it was awful. There is nothing pleasant about Kouros.

My dad owns this and i sprayed it in the air out of curiosity. Big mistake. Smells like scented toilet paper and baby powder. If you want to smell like a freshly wiped back side then this fragrance is for you 👍

P.S - to BigLongNose, comparing urinal cakes to YSL kuros is not the compliment you think it is

This is just simply gorgeous! Chalky,sweet and leathery. it kind of smells like incense they use in indian shops and don’t listen to people who say it smells disgusting cause they are just wrong and inexperienced with fragrances. There is a reason urinal cakes cloned the smell of kouros (with little to no success). This thing will increase your confidence and possibly testosterone! Pure unbashed manliness. Can be worn all seasons just watch the trigger cause it’s strong!

Scent: 10/10
Uniqueness: 10/10
Compliments: 3/10
Wearability: 6.5/10

an excellent fragrance in my opinion, if you like fougeres. This one is a more chalky incense with slight orangy tangy undertones likely from the coriander, a slight dampness, and a lot of musk. YSL website listed or lists it as ambergris.
A similar fragrance is paco rabanne pour home. Where PR is more of a typified fougere with lavender, Kouros is more of a powerhouse with an incensy musky bent.

Smells exactly like Boss Number One (from 1985).
Or rather the other way because this seems to have come out first(1981).
Very outdated and a bit disgusting for this era.
Its been imitated in almost every cleaning product, urinal cakes etc in the last 40 years and hence very repulsive.

Horrid. Acrid. Musty basement from the 60's after a flood.

the year 1982 president ooze nhower enters the white house and declares the people have spoken his cologne of choice kouros. if you dont have kouros then go to a trucker rest stop and find a urinal cake and rub it on your head

Where do I begin! I’m one of the lucky ones who was around in the eighties when this came out. I was18! Jesus it seems like a lifetime ago and yet only yesterday. New Romantics, big hair, guys wearing makeup ahh! Those were the days. You couldn’t go to a club without the whole place smelling of kouros, men spent more time in the loo’s touching up their hair and makeup than the women.
They were great days, I’m so glad that I was a part of it.
Unfortunately this new version is nothing like the original. I know things change, what was allowed in perfumery back then isn’t now, so we adapt, but in doing so we lose a bit of the magic.
This will always have a place in my heart, because it evokes such amazing memories of a time in my life when everything was perfect, I didn’t have a care in the world and my whole life was ahead of me.

I have a bottle of Parfums Corp. . era Kouros, pre-1993, and a bottle of the current formulation.
The pre-1993 formulation is very, very good.
The current formulation is way weaker and has a funky, insense smell that I do not like. In my opinion, the current formulation smells cheap because of that.
I also have a Kouros clone called Milton Lloyd's The Man Silver. The drydown is very close to the original pre-1993 Kouros, but The Man Silver has a very strong, smokey smell. Some say that it smells like burnt rubber; I do not get that smell, but it is smokey—too smokey, in fact.
It is also missing a honey note that is present in the Parfums Corp. . era Kouros.

people have got it wrong. Kouros doesn’t smell like urinal biscuits, but urinal biscuits do smell like kouros.
The chap who invented the urinal biscuits obviously wanted them to smell amazing and masculine!

Kouros is a stunning masculine fragrance 10/10. Real men only. Don’t be rocking Kouros if you’re under 30 and spend more than 10 minutes when getting ready for a night out. Kouros is for men who don’t mess around, todays metrosexuals can’t wear it, shouldn’t wear it, and probably would run a mile after the first sniff.

I have been wearing Kouros since 1981 throughout various re-formulations. It still evokes memories from the first spray and an unbelievably fine holiday in Austria, followed by several more in Greece (obviously). A huge room-filler on my body chemistry, lasting a good 10 hours on skin and days on clothing. I shall be replacing my latest bottle - 38P4003 - with another now it is gone. It is part of my DNA even if civet isn't so much a part of it's nowadays. If you haven't tried it yet then please do so, but not just a spray - actually wear it for a day or so before rushing to your keyboard full of negativity.

I love 80's-90's Kouros. In the 2000's it changed quite a bit but was still good. By the 2010's, the reformulation was too spicy and it lost that animalic note that made the vintage special. Unfortunately, to get vintage Kouros, you have to pay $$$.

Supposed to smell like bedsheets after rough anal sex, my bedsheets smell nothing like this unfortunately!

A few people at work claim it smells "like piss", I wish my piss smelled like this, would be happy to piss all over myself and others.

Remember smelling this in a Ford Capri in the late 80s, once smelled, never forgotten. The general consensus is you either love it or hate it, same as marmite. I hate that turd but I love King Kouros.

This has to be the Predator's signature scent.

80s skank, piss, musk, dirt, powder, honey and a few bits of animals combine to create history and uniqueness and one hell of a scent. I really enjoy wearing this and have to have it at least once a week!

Only downer is it doesn't seem to last long on my skin 3/4hrs max, a day on clothing, projection close quarters, such a shame. Milton Lloyd's The Man Silver to the rescue.

It has been reformulated in 2022. My bottle is from late 2022 with the formula 875283-04. You can see it just before the list of ingredients. Before this reformulation it was the 875283-02 code.
It’s sadly a little diluted compared to my late 2019 bottle. I don’t get the animalic touch a lot as I’m used to at the drydown. And of course it’s nothing like my bottle from 2006 which last 12hours and has a smooth yet still animalic drydown.
My recent late 2022 bottle batchcode is 38w02ml
It lasts beetween 7-8 hours and smells really like detergent’s synthetic at the top.
Projection is good for about 2-3 hours and after the 5 hour mark you can barely smell it. Hope I ´ll keep finding vintage one.

Unfortunately lasts forever and projects well

There's nothing I can really add to the comments below in terms of analysis. It's a challenging, unique, distinctive smell - not for everyone (or even, anyone). But I do have this to offer for both the lovers and the haters.

So here we go. Rapport offers a human, proportionate, civilised take on this scent, with a herbal and citrus "background echo". Performance of Rapport is equal to this, but wolves and lions will not try to fuck you, and your coworkers will not hate you - or worse, pity you for trying to be 'interesting,' but just being challenging instead.

And Rapport costs pennies. £9 for 100ml delivered.

After so many perfumes, so many releases, Kouros is Kouros, nothing else like it!

This smells exactly like a headshop near me that sells 100+ kinds of incense. Starts off with the incense combo plus soap. It's not pissy in the least, don't see what people hate about this so much. It dries down to a more Nag Champa type incense which does have a hint of barnyard but it compliments the whole incense vibe. The drydown smells like a classy hippy. A touch dated but not as much as I was expecting. I would wear this around the house, I personally enjoy the smell, but I wouldn't expect others to. Not modern, I would wear this to a music festival.

awful, smells like something is burning

90s Europe, and you just went to one of those dirty public toilets, you know with those soaps that look like they've been sitting there for 10 years? Dry, chipping away, just the cheapest, nastiest soap imaginable.

This is an extract of that, it's indistinguishable for me. Just an old, cheap soap smell, or alternatively urinal cakes if you like.

Very interesting and nostalgic in a way, but not in a good way, I think, for most of the population. Maybe just as a display bottle.

God knows when this will wear off my wrist

Where to start with this one..

First of all. If you haven’t smelled this, I can almost guarantee you will recognize it when you get your nose on it. This is the strongest, most room filling cologne in my collection, and it’s not a smell that you forget.

I have asked a few friends/family what their thoughts were on this. Unfortunately none of them enjoyed it. The most common description from the ladies was “smells like a grandpa.”

Personal opinion- I enjoy it and find it very comforting and warm. It’s a tough one to describe but my best concise description would be as follows. A musky, animatic, leathery backbone with cloves and patchouli rounding it off. I get a heavy dose of clove in this. Very dated scent, but a masterpiece nonetheless.

When I do wear this cologne out (which I will admit very rarely happens) I put ONE spray on my chest UNDER my shirt. I find this helps mellow out the projection and mute the harshness.

You all know the deal. 80's in a nutshell. If you know of 70's and 80's perfumes the note list will seem very familiar. This is one of the really good ones, though. The oakmoss and honey is very reminiscent of Boss 1, but it's disappears within a couple of hours. This one is a journey. Just a lovely development.
I got lucky and got my hands on 80 ml worth of miniatures from around '82 for almost nothing. You can't say that it's a great value scent. It really depends on whether it's vintage or not (or if you get lucky). Same thing for everything else about this fragrance. Vintage goes for over 300 usd for 100 ml. but as stated beneath it's a total different animal. Because this is an actual animal. Mine are splash bottles, but you don't splash. That would be insane. You place your arm on top of the bottle, closing the hole of the bottle with your wrist, turn it upside down and back again. 2 times each wrist. Those spots where the liquid touched your skin is enough to hold you for an entire day and with a tolerable sillage (let's face it, this one isn't for everybody). I'm not saying 300+ dollars is worth it, but if you do decide to pull the trigger you won't be disappointed.

95% same with lauder for men estee lauder

I got 22W11CR batch in 2022 for 40 bucks/50ml. I was hoping for a strong, masculine, sexy animalic BOish smell that I've heard and read so much about. As a gay man who is into BO fetish, all the descriptions of this particular fragrance sounded like heaven to me, so my expectations were very high. Upon my first spray, I was a bit confused. The juice smells very clean and almost soapy. I get lots of fresh, green, herbal musky notes. I don't know what everyone is moaning about. This notorious bottle smells rather beautiful and very civilized to my nose.

Before I got this bottle, I also bought a clone from this British clone house and their version smelled quite similar but more pungent, acrid with this 'pheromone' like BO note in the background. So I decided to get a real bottle, expecting the BOish note might be stronger. Maybe I should wait and let it age a bit, see if it gets any stronger.

Dear Mr. FU, If you read my review as a hatemonger you’ve missed the point precisely! This is an INTENSE fragrance, which makes me feel intense emotions, that is exactly what I love about it. I’m happy to see a scent has moved you to the point of defending it at all costs, because it’s exactly that kind of scent.

“Everything is dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled." - an ancient text

The ridiculous hatemonger remarks like the one below reached a new level of stupidity... hating someone because a perfume?! Or hating a perfume?! I mean, wtf?

I can understand if one doesn´t like a perfume, I don´t like several, but using the term "hate" in relation to a perfume or to someone that wears it it´s just idiotic.

Well, I think I´ll just say...FU

A sexually frustrating scent. I hate it with all my guts, could make me hate a man for wearing it, but I’ll still fantasize about it. It is dangerously irresistible…. I love it.

I´M GOING TO RECEIVE THIS FOR CHRISTMAS.

ONE OF THE 80´S POWERHOUSE. A CLASSIC. THE MAN´S MAN PERFUM.

THE GREATEST VIRIL SCENT EVER MADE.

WEARING THIS IS LIKE:

"OH, YOU DON´T LIKE? FU!
OH, IS IT TO STRONG IS IT? WELL, FU!
OH, IS IT TO HARSH? FU!
OH, YOU CAN SMELL THIS MILES AWAY CAN YOU? WELL... FU!!

I DON´T GIVE A ...."

IT TAKES BALLS TO WEAR THIS. IT STAYS ALL DAY AND YOU CAN NOTICE THIS BAD MF MILES AWAY.

OTHER BRANDS SHOULD TAKE A LOOK AT THIS GEM AND STOP MAKING THOSE BULLSH... WATERED DOWN SCENTS, THAT GO A SECOND AFTER YOU SPRAY.

KING KOUROS AND THE 80´S GO HAND IN HAND. THEY WILL NEVER MAKE A CLASSIC LIKE THIS AGAIN. 100 YEARS FROM NOW THIS WILL STILL BE A CLASSIC.

Listened a lot of reviews about "new" Kouros without metal rings like baaahhh it's not it,nothing to do with old formula and was thinking God da*n why did they do this??!! It's was one of a kind. By pure coincidence I got reformulated Kouros 4yrs old batch and booom it drove me back 15yrs in to the past. Only difference is it's a little bit easier to wear but old original Kouros is still there!
People just repeat like parrots.

At my previous employer, a coworker wore Kouros to the office every single day, half a year consecutively. Legend says that HR got involved in the process and he was forbiden to wear it indefinitely. Nothing more to say.

What a stinker. I was about to go on a steroid cycle for the gainz but putting this on for the first time increased my testosterone so much that my biceps turned into a quadriceps. Wherever Kouros touched my skin, I now grow fur-like chest hair. Asphalt roads can no longer withstand the sheer force of my feet's impact so instead of running, I wrestle bears for cardio. I can now fix car engines just by gazing at them.

Doesn't deserve the low rating, it's a lovely juice. From the 80s powerhouses, Antaeus remains my favourite, but this is also nice. The very animalic opening fades into a mix of civet and a pleasant sweeter green barbeshop scent with a hint of incense or smoke.

I recently received Kouros as a gift from my father who had worn it in his 20s. At first when I smelled this I was completely put off. I recognized it from my childhood being worn by older family friends. The bottle just sat in my room for a few weeks until one day I gave it another try. After trying it a few more times I slowly I came to love it and now its my signature.

There is definitely a clean/dirty contrast as many say. The "clean" aspect of this fragrance is very similar to Paco Rabanne Pour Homme. To me they're like cousins. It also has this sweaty, musky aspect which gives it a raucous and sexually suggestive character, which does not come off as a body odor smell to me. It does not smell like urine! Kouros is best appreciated as a close waft because if you smell it directly on skin and are not used to this kind of a scent, you will most likely be put off by it. With the current formulation 3 sprays should be enough. Definitely lasts more than 10 hours and even the next day I can still smell it very lightly on my skin.

Although in today's age, older men gravitate more toward fragrances like this, it does not come off as "old man-ish" to me anymore. I think young masculine men could pull this off if they are just confident enough to rock it. Even so, this is not for everyone.

I could see someone like Elvis Presley wearing this but obviously it was released after his death. I think this would suit his persona very well. Kouros is very much a badass, rock n roll type of a fragrance.

After many years of not daring to try this very manly scent (being a woman and all) I finally had a little spray on my wrist... well... it smells the same as YSL's rive gauche for women (on me), (which I also love). The only difference is on the very last couple of hours of wear. Kouros smells beautiful. It melts into my skin. Animalic, slightly sweet, floral, clean but a tad dirty. mmmmm !!!
I was complimented twice. All from one spray !

Was expecting this to be WAY more offensive than it ended up being.

I imagine the original formulation was a lot stronger.

It's a mature, soapy, aromatic men's fragrance. Doesn't have those tobacco, pine or oak moss notes that are very frequent in a lot of those similar fragrances, this smells more streamlined.

A lot of stuff I've tried as far as mature 80's men's fragrances try to knock off this kind of profile I think.

So, I know a lot of reform talk is overblown and out of proportion... but I have to say the Kouros I fell in love with is not the same as the current stuff. I currently have and had Kouros from Charles of the Ritz era (early-mid 80's) up to 2021 or so. The current stuff is basically missing the entire sweet honeyed 'urinous' type base of the Kouros I fell in love with. Look for Kouros 2012 and older, with the FIL/formulation code of '2YF02-3' or something similar. Not sure about '875233', but that may be too far gone as well, and definitely '875283' sucks. I got a newer bottle last year or so because I was curious. Keep in mind Kouros is my #1 (look at my wardrobe for what I own and owned). I got rid of the bottle soon after. Then just this year because my gf fell for Kouros (I was surprised too, trust me lol) I got her a modern bottle... we both agree it's just not the same. It's missing the sweet honeyed aspect, and the animalic/funky aspect is just different. So I tracked down some semi-vintage bottles (2YF02-3 or so), and I'll be replacing her modern bottle with one of these instead. Try to find 2012 and older bottles!
Nothing wrong with liking the current stuff, it's still good, it's just... not really the Kouros that's infamous, loved, hated, etc. It's a different iteration that's been altered to, I assume, align more with modern tastes? Or perhaps IFRA, who the heck knows.

@...Pleasehold
LMAO I can't believe you used Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force to describe Kouros 😭😂🤣

I thought that I had chest hair but you need a lot and I mean A LOT of chest hair to pull this off.

Google Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force and that's who wears Kouros and how Kouros smells

Imagine Carl hopping in the shower after a long day of sweating but he just wets himself and hops out quickly because he needs to get to the club. He puts on his boots, blue jeans, wife beater, and gold chain and starts heading to the door but realizes he still stinks since he didn't technically shower. So he sprays on an old-school powerhouse fresh cologne and walks out the door.

That is how Kouros smells