The Family of Opium Perfume by Yves Saint Laurent
Anybody who claims to know something about fragrances, knows Opium perfume by Yves Saint Laurent. Any important perfume and cologne has at least three things in common: they are still out there in spite of their age (Opium perfume was launched in 1977), they are imitated many times but never equaled, and are put to good use to create a whole line of perfumes based on them.
This article is an overview of the latter: the collection of Opium perfumes.
Opium pour homme
The masculine counterpart of Opium parfume was launched in 1995. It is a fresh fragrance, not particularly oily but still capable of retaining the style of the eighties.
From the very beginning, the opening notes are spicy, with anise notes mixed with lavender, that give this perfume a classic touch. A well-trained nose can spot further orange, mandarin and blackcurrant notes from a distance. In Opium perfume for men, the evolution towards the middle notes can take a while, more than the usual 20-30 minutes. When it gets there, the list of the middle notes is so long that you need to write it down: peppers and ginger give it a red hot side, traces of sweet vanilla with wood, a hint of fresh lavender. In the base notes the red hot pepper is still there, but the dominant is a resinous cedar, made sweet by the notes of balsam of Tolù and vanilla. The base notes are more sweet than woody, but without any excess.
This masculine version of Opium perfume is quite popular among men. Before trying it for the first time I thought it would be as intense and thick as the original Opium perfume (women would know what I mean), but it is actually both fresh for the summer, and woody for the winter. It is elegant enough to be worn in the office, and it also work as perfume for the evening, even if it is easily recognizable. The ideal age range is between 25 and 60.
Opium poesie de chine
This version of Opium perfume is very recent (beginning of 2008) and came out as a special edition of the original, a more fresh and modern version of its predecessor. The woody and incense notes are softer, in favor of an opening of magnolia. According to Yves Saint Laurent website, the base notes are mandarin, Chinese magnolia and vanilla.
That the opening notes are magnolia mixed with what smells like cinnamon. There are also some background soft notes of orange. In the middle notes cinnamon takes over the magnolia, and more oriental resinous notes appear. Curiously enough though, the spices keep relatively fresh, without becoming thick or dark.
As the middle notes evolve, they acquire more woody notes, with a hint of incense. This where the some of the spicy notes, resinous cinnamon and white pepper, remind of the original Opium of the seventies. Floral notes are kept to the minimum, but they tame the oriental side, making this version more suitable for a daily use, and for younger users.
From the floral opening to the middle notes, more similar to the original Opium perfume, this fragrance has a fresher attitude. It starts as a summer perfume, but it becomes more wintry as it evolves towards the base notes. The light floral notes make it suitable for an office use. This is an important difference with the original Opium perfume, which had a flower called ylang-ylang among its ingredients. Typically this flower has rubber and custard notes that, along with cinnamon, release notes that are very woody. By night it is still young and informal, perhaps not very romantic. The age range I would recommend it for is between 25 and 50.
Opium pour homme poesie de chine
This is the masculine version of Opium poesie de chine, and were launched on the market together. The list of the notes according to Yves Saint Laurent's website are the same as the original Opium perfume: star anise. fresh ginger and vetiver.
At the beginning it is a very fresh fragrance. There are notes of bergamot and green grass, along with a spicy cinnamon touch. It is a cold spicy though, and this goes well with the fruity summer notes. The middle notes are still fresh spicy, perhaps becoming a little stronger with cinnamon, nutmeg and fresh vetiver, like the original Opium perfume, but much fresher.
There are also fruity neutral notes, mixed with a mysterious spicy note that I would not be able to recognize, like a soft wood from the eighties. The heart notes tend to be spicy and quite dry (again, the eighties), with anise, nutmeg and pepper, which give the wood a red-hot touch, like of sandalwood.
All in all, this men's perfume is independent from the original, with only a few hints here and there in the middle notes, that give the where-did-I-smell-this-before impression.
With this perfume, a daily use is not totally out of place, both in closed and in open spaces. This definitely an opium summer perfume, due to its fresh spices. From a seducing/romantic standpoint, even if it has a strong masculine character, it lacks of specific notes for that purpose. Age range between 25 and 50.
Opium pour homme eau d'orient
This fragrance is a fresher and lighter summer version of Opium pour Homme. Even if it reminds of the original Opium perfume, it much less sweet and has green final notes. The opening notes are citrus, with bergamot and grapefruit. The spicy notes are also summer fresh. The pepper and ginger of the original Opium perfume are still there but in different proportions. There is also a light hint of nutmeg, and for a brief moment, the citrus of the opening notes.
The heart notes are a soft mix of green vetiver, wood and amber. There are no sweet or resinous notes like vanilla or balsam of Tolu of the first Opium, and the pepper note is more intense.
It is more summer oriented, and can be used daily even in the office. It is not so intense as the original Opium, nor does it have the style of the eighties that made it suitable for romantic occasions.
Check my other barrel about the family of Angel Perfume for men.
Yes
No
Flag
Comments
Add a new comment - No HTMLYou must be logged in and verified to post a comment. Please log in or sign up to comment.