Black Opium Extrême, a perfume for the woman of character. The Yves Saint-Laurent style is recognizable among all others, whether in terms of couture or in the world of perfumery. In this instance, Yves Saint-Laurent is renowned for its unfailing elegance but also for its audacity and its unrivaled sense of provocation.
1977: this is the year the Yves Saint-Laurent house crafted one of its greatest fragrances, a true legend of perfumery for women. Named Opium, it delivered the portrait of a free and liberated woman, fascinated by experimental art.
2014: a new era. Yves Saint-Laurent then decided to modernize its cult fragrance to turn it into a more modern perfume, a true dedication to present-day femininity. The result was an addictive and contrasted fragrance, born of a soft and luminescent darkness.
2021: a new change of scenery. Black Opium Extreme intensifies the ingredients of its predecessors and pushes the power of its forerunners to their peak. Here is a breakdown of its composition.
Caffeinated top notes
Black Opium Extreme by Yves Saint-Laurent is a fragrance that reprises the main elements of its predecessors, while intensifying them. As a result, it claims the cult ingredient of this entire collection: coffee. As intense as a sip of caffeine, this fragrance hits hard from its very first breath. It acts daily as a genuine jolt and does not hesitate to stir the senses. Nevertheless, it manages to find a perfect balance by pairing coffee with cocoa. The bitterness is offset by the roundness of this other raw material. Coffee immediately becomes more gourmand and particularly appetizing.
The very floral heart of Black Opium Extreme by Yves Saint-Laurent
At its heart, Black Opium Extreme by Yves Saint-Laurent resembles a generous and opulent bouquet. For this, it combines two emblematic flowers from the perfumer's palette: sambac jasmine and orange blossom. As a reminder, orange blossom is one of the most expensive ingredients in the world. Its value currently stands at around €7,000 per kilo, which makes Black Opium Extreme by Yves Saint-Laurent a fragrance exclusively reserved for fine perfumery. Luminous, green and sun-kissed, it is combined with sambac jasmine, which is very subtle and rich in multiple facets. Full of nuances, Black Opium Extreme by Yves Saint-Laurent is a fragrance that moves from surprise to surprise.
The vanilla and woody base of Black Opium Extreme by Yves Saint-Laurent
Finally, Black Opium Extreme by Yves Saint-Laurent concludes with a play of light and shadow, made up of vanilla and patchouli. A cult ingredient of perfumery, patchouli elevates both feminine and masculine fragrances alike. Renowned for its woody note, it brings more depth and sensuality to fragrances that contain it. When paired with oriental notes, it has no equal in making a fragrance smoother. Here, in contact with vanilla, it considerably amplifies the sensuality of the woman who wears it. Moreover, it is also thanks to this ingredient that Black Opium Extreme by Yves Saint-Laurent displays excellent longevity.