It was 1977 when House of Yves Saint Laurent released Opium, a spicy and floral fragrance on an incensey oriental base of myrrh, vanilla and amber. It is told that the bottle designer Pierre Dinand asked Yves Saint Laurent about what he saw when he thought of orient, his answer was "flowers of fire". Hence the opening had to be sharp and the rest was a statement in a bottle, like a match lighted near an opium pipe and the explosion. Opium was not for everyone but it was a beautiful work of true art and surely made its place in the history of perfume.
It was not only the notes of Opium which spoke out loud but also the media and public as well as some authorities who demanded a change of name. Opium was the name of a drug after all, and the society was not ready for a juice named after it.
More than a decade into 21st century, we welcome "Black Opium", right after the return of Opium a few years ago.
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| Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium Eau de Parfum |
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