Black Opium: Between sophistication and originality
Chic and rock, a bit mischievous and of a disturbing beauty, the “Black Opium” woman seduces as much as this fragrance plays with contrasts.
Black Opium between rock and flowers, between elegant woman and “bad girl”
With the release of the first Opium opus in 1977, the perfume caused a scandal. Explicitly linked to the world of drugs, although being “just one” fragrance, let us remember, it unleashes passions to the point of being banned in certain countries to be considered as an incitement to the consumption of narcotics. It must also be said that the sulphurous Yves Saint-Laurent had already created controversy a few years earlier with daring advertising …
Whatever the case, the Opium code was clearly taken up for the image and the advertisement “Black Opium”, although the image of the addiction seems to be much more a pretext to create the mystery than it. illicit incitement… Because the great Yves Saint-Laurent seems to have understood how to make people talk about him!
The very dark universe of the “Black Opium” commercial is led drastically by a muse as disturbing as it is magnificent, Edie Campbell, and it is impossible not to follow her frantic race in search of her perfume. The heroine transports us to dark streets and golden passages, takes us into light wells and guides us in the dark. The “Black Opium” universe is tinged with chiaroscuro, which instantly brings us to the luminous contrasts of its fragrance and its bottle.
A rich and complex fragrance for a “dark and luminous” oriental fragrance
No less than four great creators in perfumery have looked at the cradle of “Black Opium”: Honorine Blanc, Nathalie Lorson, Marie Salamagne, Olivier Cresp. The result is up to their talents: a deep fragrance that plays with caffeine in overdose to better surprise us.
The fruity and juicy top notes of pear blend with finesse with pink berry spices. Then it is a powerful and intoxicating note of coffee which opens the heart notes towards the flowery. Notes of jasmine and very sunny orange blossoms capture our senses towards the light. However, the background of very raw and very “rock” cedar wood and patchouli plunges us again into the darkness of the undergrowth. But… A touch of exotic and gourmet vanilla will leave us in a luminous and gourmet trail.
Like the perfume, the bottle also plays with the effects of light. In the same shape as its predecessor “Opium”, “Black Opium” is imprisoned in a samurai vial filled with light and a very trendy glitter black. Always more surprising, the pale pink porthole breaks the dark effect of the lacquering, a great technical feat in addition, to offer the light and the beauty of its juice.
“Black Opium” plays with codes and surfs with ease and elegance between rock, darkness, raw materials and lights, sun and exoticism. From the fragrance to the bottle, from advertising, to the image of the muse, all the meticulously calculated details bring us back to these chiaroscuro. It goes without saying that this extreme precision can only be at the birth of a great perfume. A fragrance for a free and independent young woman, passionate and intoxicating, but also a rocker in high heels, elegant and sophisticated.
The story of “Black Opium “begins in 1977, with” Opium “. Having become legendary, “Opium” caused a real scandal at the time of the liberation of morals. Indeed, this perfume with a sulfurous name was decreed as the symbol of debauchery, sex, drugs or alcohol were thus associated with “Opium”. In 2014, Yves Saint Laurent unveiled “Black Opium”, a still devilish fragrance, with a modern side, a rock look.
The 4 perfumers who revisited the sulphurous essence of Yves Saint Laurent
No less than 4 perfumers were needed to create “Black Opium”, namely Olivier Cresp, Marie Salamagne, Nathalie Lorson, Honorine Blanc. You could say that Olivier Cresp “fell into it when he was little”. Born in Grasse, Olivier Cresp made his debut at Firmenich. We owe him particularly exceptional fragrances such as “Angel” by Thierry Mugler, “Kokorico” by Jean-Paul Gaultier or “L’Eau pour Homme” by Kenzo. Marie Salamagne graduated from the ISIPCA perfume school. She particularly likes working with balsam notes, wood, ambroxan or even patchouli. We owe him “Aqua Allegoria Mandarine Basilic” by Guerlain or “Eau de Nuit” by Giorgio Armani. Nathalie Lorson is a perfumer at Firmenich. She likes to work with rose, vetiver and musky notes. We owe him very beautiful fragrances like “So First” by Van Cleef & amp; Arpels, “Perles de Lalique” by Lalique or even “Gentleman” by Givenchy. As for Honorine Blanc, she was born in Lebanon and she also graduated from the prestigious ISIPCA perfume school. We also owe him great perfumes such as “Loversose” by Diesel or “Encounter” by Calvin Klein.
Coffee, the star of Black Opium
With “Black Opium” , Yves Saint Laurent has decided to play on coffee notes. The intensity of the fragrance also plays on the addictive side of coffee and on association with floral notes. The coffee is & nbsp; present from the top notes and immediately contrasts with the fruity sweetness of pear and the spicy side of rose berries. The heart of “Black Opium” revolves around an elegant bouquet of white flowers, including jasmine and orange blossom. The trail leaves a trail that is both woody and sensual, as it combines patchouli, vanilla and cedarwood. Much more rock than the original, this composition is intended for mischievous, somewhat rebellious women.
Almost 40 years after the sulfurous“ Opium ”, Yves Saint Laurent continues the saga with“ Black Opium ”. Much more modern, “Black Opium” has a look that is both rock and casual. Here, coffee is the star of the composition. Associated with white flowers, coffee offers captivating and above all addictive tones.
Gourmand