Yves Saint Laurent
Opium
Opium, a fragrance of character by Yves Saint Laurent Yves Saint-Laurent is a designer who, beneath his shy appearance, always enjoyed being talked about. Beyond the quality of his creations, he was a fervent advocate of scandal. Thus, several of his fragrances were subject to enormous controversy, sometimes for their advertising, other times for their name.
- Brand
- Yves Saint Laurent
- Launch year
- 1977
- Perfumer
- Gender
- Unisex
- Olfactory family
- Oriental
- Concentration
- Eau de Parfum
Where to buy
This was also the case with the fragrance Opium, created in 1977, and to this day one of the most controversial yet most adored juices in the history of perfumery. Focus on this legend of perfumery that never grows tiresome to rediscover.
The Opium controversy
Opium is a shocking name for a fragrance. It instantly breaks taboos, opening the doors to imagination as well as to the forbidden. If I chose Opium as a name, Yves Saint-Laurent stated, it is because I intensely hoped that, through all its incandescent powers, it could release divine fluids, magnetic waves, heartthrobs, and the charms of seduction that give birth to wild love. In any case, it did not go unnoticed, becoming at once the source of immense buzz and of countless devotees. It was the first juice to dare display a direct connotation to drugs. Opium is a revolution in itself, one that dared to address the themes of sex, transgression, and illicitness. A supreme enchantment for some, utterly exuberant for others, some countries even deemed it fit to ban it upon its release. And yet, all this controversy only made it more talked about. Barely a month after its launch, every European retailer had sold out of Opium. What is more, starting in 1986 it came with a slogan that could not have been clearer: Opium, a fragrance of dependency. Today, far removed from the turmoil of its early days, Opium remains an exceptional fragrance with unmatched magnetism. Its addictive quality has kept its notoriety alive into our contemporary era.
The intoxicating, spicy scent of Yves Saint-Laurent
Two perfumers were behind the creation of this fragrance, namely Jean-Louis Sieuzac and Raymond Chaillan. Together, they devised a complex juice requiring months of work and numerous trials. Opium opens with a fresh citrus scent combining Italian mandarin, lemon, orange peel, and bergamot. What is more, the whole is spiked with several spices in which clove and coriander largely dominate. Then comes a particularly floral heart. It combines rose, lily of the valley, and carnation. Plum, meanwhile, enriches this essence with its impertinent, juicy facet. Finally, the base of Opium is remarkably powerful. It combines pepper and chili pepper with the smoothness of vanilla and Siam benzoin. Patchouli, cedar, and vetiver add further mystery, while Opium leaves behind a smooth sillage of sandalwood. Its animalic quality, in turn, comes from the presence of castoreum. Opium thus becomes a fragrance in perfect communion with the skin.
Olfactory pyramid
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The advertising
In 1977, Opium entered the legend of perfumery alongside N° 5 or Shalimar. With its name and its sulfurous advertising, the Yves Saint Laurent fragrance was described as an incitement to debauchery. The Yves Saint Laurent woman here is not only sensual, but above all provocative. Indeed, the designer has enjoyed provoking people since his early days, particularly the bourgeoisie, which he claimed to despise. At once ultra-feminine and sophisticated, Opium has something unexpected about it. It therefore needed a face of the campaign equal to its stature.
Emily Blunt hooked on Opium by Yves Saint Laurent
Emily Blunt was born in 1983 in London. She became known for roles in films such as My Summer of Love and, above all, The Devil Wears Prada. With Opium, this marks the first time Emily Blunt has been the face of a fragrance campaign. When asked what she thinks of the fragrance, she states: It is a fragrance of both scandal and taboo. It speaks to a very feminine and mystical woman, the type of woman I adore. I am not a girly girl, I love spicy, enchanting scents. I remember my mother never went out in the evening without a spritz of Opium… She then continued: For me it is extraordinary to work with Yves Saint Laurent. I have admired the house of Saint Laurent for many years and I have great respect for what it does. Embodying this new chapter of Yves Saint Laurent is tremendously exciting.
A sulfurous clip for the fragrance Opium
Since 1977, Yves Saint Laurent has continuously stirred up a wind of scandal with its advertising clips. Here, the house wanted a fiery, almost reckless woman, with a magnetic allure that neither anything nor anyone can resist. In this advertising clip, Emily Blunt appears radiant and fatal. She wears a thick gold necklace and is dressed in a black suit. Her neckline is dramatically plunging. Incandescent, the magnificent Emily Blunt then lies down on a prestigious sofa, in the manner of the Queen of Sheba. The sensual Emily Blunt and the emblematic black suit revive the chic couture side of the YSL house. The latter also wished to contrast modernity and tradition, urban fashion and Oriental pleasures. With its enchanting ingredients, one must not forget that Opium bears witness to a dazzling Oriental passion.
To represent this fragrance of scandal, a femme fatale like Emily Blunt was needed. Seductive and enchanting, the beauty leads us all the way to her sofa where her fragrance awaits. Enchanting and captivating, the advertising clip is every bit as much so as the fragrance. A new triumph for the great YSL.