Onyx

Onyx is The Fragrance World UK's interpretation of Yves Saint Laurent's Y Eau de Parfum, Dominique Ropion's 2018 update to the modern men's fougere. The original opens with apple, ginger and bergamot, moves into a sage-and-geranium heart, and dries down to amberwood, tonka, cedar and a hint of incense that reviewers credit for the fragrance's unusually long eight-to-ten-hour wear. TFW UK's composition follows the recognisable skeleton - bright bergamot at the top, a sage-geranium heart, and a woody amber base - landing closer to the fresh, aromatic identity of Y than to any other blue-bottle fougere on the market. Where it diverges from the designer original is staying power: Y EDP's reputation rests partly on its unusually deep, warm drydown holding shape for most of the day, and a budget dupe at this price point trades that longevity for a lighter, quicker-fading version of the same shape - expect four to six hours rather than the original's marathon performance. Still, for anyone who likes the sage-forward, fresh-but-warm direction of Y and wants to try it before committing to the full-price bottle, Onyx delivers the right character at a fraction of the cost and works well for office-to-evening rotation.