Civet, a rich cream taken from the anal gland of the civet cat and used as a raw material in traditional French perfumery, poses a question for perfume criticism: How, in the 21st century, do you judge a piece of scent art that was created for an earlier time? Which is to ask, What is a five-star perfume?

Use civet or a synthetic facsimile up front, and you get Yves Saint Laurent’s Kouros . This men’s fragrance was created by the perfumer Pierre Bourdon in 1981, but for anyone outside of France, it might as well be 1881, when the scent would have been perfectly in sync. The experts agree that Kouros is an excellent juice qua juice: as strong and clear as a Roberto Alagna B flat, persistent on skin, as structured as an ocean liner. “C’est un grand parfum!” a French perfumer told me. It’s a great perfume! The problem is that this strength, clarity, persistence and depth are applied to the hot, ripe smell of a French trucker’s Jockey shorts after a muggy day on the A51. Which illustrates the difference between being great and being wearable. This perfume is fecal. Technical excellence must count: thus two stars, for solid construction. But an era’s aesthetic must count as well, and despite its molecular wizardry, Kouros is as wearable in the 21st century as 19th century spats.