After March reviewed Cinéma a little more than a week ago, it took all of my willpower not to buy a full-bottle unsniffed on eBay. Instead, I exercised restraint, and applied my New Year’s Resolution number-one: No more unsniffed bottles! So, bastion of integrity that I am, I bought a few 1.2mL manufacturer’s samples (they were practically free).
Opium was my perfume of choice for a few years (poo poo at reformulation! All the zazz is gone!), but other than a cursory sniff of Parisienne—which I’m apparently anosmic to—Yves Saint Laurent perfumes have been sorely neglected by my nose.
Cinéma is positioned by YSL as “Glamorous, seductive, startling.” Noooope. Not at all. Fun, pretty, big-hearted? Ready to party in space? Yes!
Comes with Mr. Howe’s seal of approval.
If you’d like to try Cinéma for yourself, leave a comment, and I’ll draw a winner on Sunday. International friends welcome 😉
YSL Cinéma EDP goes for anywhere from $15 to $70 on eBay; at YSL it ranges from $72 to $98—still not too bad!
beauty on the outside 
I love that you said that samples are “practically free”! That is exactly the kind of justification that I use when I drop coin in smaller increments (let’s not mention what it all adds up to at the end of the month). I am in the market to try a few YSL scents, Nu being the major one. But, I would really like to party in space, and who can resist a fragrance with the name Cinema? Not this cinemaphile.
When you’ve gotten to the point where you’re justifying the acquisition of three bottles of Amouage (dry-washing my hands and cackling) samples *are* practically free! LOL.
… we eat less in my house these days… haha. Just kidding.
Good luck in the draw! It’s good stuff 🙂
I saw that review too and wondered why Luca Turin had been so dismissive of it it in his remarks. He gives it four stars tho’. Maybe Cinema is one of those quiet steady sellers that has a loyal fan-base that is not obvious to perfumistas. Lovely ad.
That rogue, Luca Turin, he wants to keep it all to himself! 😉
After smelling it, I’m surprised that it’s not more popular with perfumistas. So many of us love and stand by Bvlgari Black, which bears similarity to Cinéma— I’d be willing to bet my Safran Troublant that should it become discontinued, it would reach Chaos proportions!
Party in space? I’m in! 🙂
Now I’m very intrigued by the possibilities this offers…
Party in space! 🙂
A Mr’s approval is always a big plus!
Integrity must be in the air and contagious! I was a bastion of integrity just yesterday too 🙂 Bought a sample of something, instead of a bottle unsniffed.
Marina, you are a Bastion of Self-Restraint! LOL.
No need to enter me, but I saw your comment about March’s great review and had to agree. It caused me. To dig out my own bottle too. It is a very glitzy, appealing perfume. v
After reading the review, then wearing it, I’m amazed that it isn’t more popular—and it’s still in production! That gives me hope. 🙂
Would love to try this! Thanks for the opportunity. 🙂
Good luck! 🙂
Great show of restraint! 🙂
Are there any perfumes you would compare Cinema to?
Thank you B.!
Well, it reminds me of Bvlgari Black. Not that it smells like BB, but it has a similar… spirit. It’s an “odd ball vanilla,” as March would say:
http://perfumeposse.com/2011/01/11/oddball-vanillas/
It also has that symphonic, synthetic quality that BB has (also see Givenchy Organza), which seems a tad polarizing.
For whatever reason, it makes me think of Starbuck from the new Battlestar Galactica. I’ll leave it at that 🙂
I sniffed this recently from a tester at a duty-free shop, but didn’t get to spend enough time with it. Would love to try it again!
When I tried it on myself, I liked it right away. But later, when I walked into the room where Mr. H was wearing it, that’s when I was sold. The sillage is *perfect*. The projection is astoundingly wide, but it doesn’t feel at all loud.
Good luck in the draw!
I liked it the first time I tried it when it just came out. Since then I wanted to own it but probably not bad enough since I still do not have it. I’m watching a couple of minis on eBay but am still waiting – I have no idea for what. It was so long since I smelled it that I’m not sure if I like the perfume or my recollection of it.
Nows your chance to spend a little more time with it before making the leap to a bottle 🙂
For my part, I still haven’t decided, but I’m going to wait until I drain my spray sample. I might hunt down a mini after that… although, if it were discontinued, I’m pretty sure I’d snap up a bottle right quick.
Was Cinema released under the direction of Tom Ford? I would love the opportunity to win a bottle!
Hi Thomas! I’m not sure about the Tom Ford connection… looks like I have some research ahead of me 🙂
You’re entered in the draw, but it’s for a sample, not a bottle—I don’t want you to be disappointed!
Best,
dee