Yves Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent
246 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Crisp cherry and green mandarin burst forth with immediate vitality, their tartness cutting through the composition like citrus through cream. Within moments, you catch the first whisper of black tea—drying, almost smoky—beneath the fruit's jubilant chatter.
The jasmine emerges gradually, honeyed and creamy rather than heady, whilst the black tea becomes more pronounced, creating a compelling sweet-bitter dialectic. The orange blossom absolute joins this conversation, adding a waxy floral sweetness that bridges the gap between fruit and gourmand without tipping into excess.
Bourbon vanilla and coffee drift forward as the fruity elements fade, settling into a creamy, patchouli-grounded base. What remains is warm, softly sweet, and decidedly intimate—a skin scent that whispers rather than shouts, lingering close to the body with increasingly subtle coffee and vanilla undertones.
Black Opium Over Red announces itself as a confectionery reverie dressed in silk rather than sackcloth. Where the original Black Opium trades in dark coffee mystique, this 2024 iteration pivots toward something altogether more indulgent—a gourmand flirtation that never quite descends into tackiness, thanks to Nathalie Lorson's measured hand with the florals and tea notes. The cherry and green mandarin orange opening establishes brightness immediately, a zesty counterpoint that prevents the composition from becoming cloying. What truly distinguishes this fragrance is the interplay between the Moroccan jasmine and black tea in the heart: the jasmine arrives honeyed and almost indolic, whilst the tea anchors it with a subtle astringency, creating a compelling tension between sweetness and restraint.
This is a fragrance for the person who gravitates toward gourmands but bristles at overt candy-sweet presentations. The Indonesian patchouli in the base adds earthy structure, preventing the bourbon vanilla and coffee from becoming mere dessert notes—instead they read as sophisticated indulgence, the olfactory equivalent of dark chocolate mousse with espresso. The creamy accord (64%) softens without obliterating the sharper elements, creating a unified whole rather than competing layers. One wears this during evening transitions, when daylight fades and you're moving between spaces—a café, a gallery opening, somewhere dimly lit where sweetness becomes an asset rather than an assault. It's unisex in the truest sense: neither aggressively floral nor brutishly gourmand, simply luxurious.
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3.5/5 (119)