Yves Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent
163 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Mandarin zest catches first, its citric sharpness tempered almost immediately by pink pepper's spicy warmth. Within moments, the composition pivots—what seemed fresh dissipates, revealing instead a creamy floral base asserting itself with surprising speed, as though the bright opening was merely prologue.
Orange blossom and jasmine emerge as powdery, almost talc-like florals, their sweetness softened by the benzoin beneath. The amber accord becomes the composition's gravitational centre, wrapping everything in a warm, skin-scent softness that feels more intimate than expansive.
Vanilla and patchouli create a gentle, creamy finale, with benzoin providing lasting warmth. The scent becomes increasingly intimate and whisper-quiet, fading gradually rather than falling off a cliff—persistent but deferential, lingering as a subtle sweetness rather than a fully realised base.
Opium Vapeurs de Parfum occupies a curious liminal space between ethereal and indulgent, never quite committing fully to either extreme. The mandarin and pink pepper opening promises brightness, but the composition immediately pivots toward its true identity: a powdery floral with pronounced amber undertones that cling to the skin like expensive talc mixed with warm honey.
What emerges is distinctly retro—this smells like the 1980s filtered through a 2012 sensibility, all soft focus and diffuse edges. The orange blossom and jasmine heart doesn't sparkle with the metallic brightness of modern florals; instead, it settles into a creamy, almost soapy embrace. There's a peculiar domesticity here, as though someone has dusted their grandmother's vanity with Chanel No. 5, then overlaid it with warm benzoin and vanilla. The patchouli lurks beneath rather than dominate, adding earthiness without grounding what is fundamentally an airy composition.
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