Opium Perfume, A Classic Fragrance By Yves Saint Laurent
Thinking back, I can still remember the first time I experienced the opulent fragrance of Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium perfume. One of my friends had just come back from a cruise in the Caribbean, and I was attending a party she was giving. She was wearing Opium perfume and as she walked by to say hello to a guest, I caught the first wisps of the fragrance she was wearing. It made my head spin around and reminded me of something Oriental and spicy.
I complimented her and within 30 seconds I’d learned the name of the fragrance she was wearing. I wanted some and I wanted some now. She told me she’d bought hers at one of the duty-free ports in the Caribbean, but thought it was also available in local department stores and perfume shops. Naturally, I bought some as soon as I could.
That all happened a long time ago, but in all the years since I’ve never found a fragrance I adore quite as much as YSL’s Opium perfume. Unlike many of its competitors, Opium perfume is an enduring classic with a popularity that has never waned.
Despite its somewhat controversial name, Opium perfume has enjoyed a widespread appeal throughout the years. When it was launched by YSL in 1977, almost all of the reviews were favorable. It soon became a worldwide favorite.
The fragrance of Opium perfume is voluptuous, opulent and Oriental in nature – recognizably different from any other perfume. Its controversial name may have been chosen because of the longstanding significance of opium (the drug) in certain Oriental cultures. Because of the historic tie-in between opium and the Far East, the words “Opium perfume” evoke exotic images of being in the Orient. Even its beautiful flacon, so reminiscent of things Chinese, brings the Orient strongly to mind. The fragrance, the name and the packaging of Opium perfume all conspire to provide the feeling that you’re visiting the Orient.
At first the fragrance is floral, but Opium perfume is complex and has several fragrance “layers”. From its flowery beginnings, it transitions into a head-turning exotic fragrance that evokes Oriental spices and bamboo forests. Wearing Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium perfume is such a remarkably pleasing experience, it might make you wonder how the company ever achieved this degree of complexity.
The answer lies in a specific concoction of essential oils and botanicals which allow the different fragrances in Opium perfume to bloom in so-called “layers”. The formula includes certain essential oils which are richly evocative of the Orient, including clove, coriander, plum and tangerine oils. YSL’s Opium perfume contains a lot more than just those oils, however. In fact, sandalwood, cedarwood, myrrh, jasmine, lily, rose and carnation are also part of this opulent fragrance. Yes, it’s a complex perfume, and it’s oh-so-voluptuous.
All these fragrance layers make Opium an extremely distinctive, essentially unique perfume. They’re also responsible for Opium perfume staying so popular for more than 30 years. Its competitors have tried (without success) to imitate its opulent, layered fragrance. They’ve failed even when the same or similar oils and botanicals are used. No one layers the fragrances quite as well as Yves Saint Laurent. None of the copycats have attained anything resembling the timeless, widespread appeal of YSL’s Opium perfume.
There’s no better way to describe Opium perfume than by saying it’s a complex, opulent combination of fragrances that remains unparalleled. That’s why Opium perfume is an enduring classic that has captured the hearts of so many women around the world. By all means try Opium perfume, but realize that when you do, you’ll fall under its spell too.
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