Yves Saint Laurent was born in 1936 in Oran, Algeria, and as a teenager became an assistant to Christian Dior. After Dior's sudden death in 1957, he took over the house of Dior at just 21. In 1961, together with Pierre Bergé, he founded his own brand, which changed fashion forever: Yves Saint Laurent created the women's tuxedo Le Smoking, the safari look, and was the first to popularize luxury ready-to-wear. You can read more about him in our article The Story of Yves Saint Laurent.

The brand's first perfume, Y, was launched in 1964. Legends followed, such as Rive Gauche (1971), Opium (1977), Kouros (1981) by Pierre Bourdon and Paris (1983) by Sophia Grojsman. Today YSL Beauté fragrances are part of L’Oréal, and among the most sought-after scents are Black Opium, Libre, Mon Paris, Cinéma, L’Homme, La Nuit de L’Homme and Y.

Some of the best perfumers in the world work for the brand, including Anne Flipo (Libre, L’Homme), Dominique Ropion (Y) and Olivier Cresp (Black Opium).