Opium is a women’s perfume- although classified in Men’s category on Mouthshut )
.::: Opium :::. by YSL for Women
Year Introduced: 1977
Scent Type: Oriental - Spicy
Notes
Top Notes: Plum, hesperides, clove, coriander, pepper, bay leaf
Heart Notes: Jasmine, rose, carnation, lily of the valley, cinnamon, peach, orris
Base Notes: Sandalwood, vetiver, myrrh, opopanax, labdanum, benzoin, benjamin, castoreum, amber, incense, musk, patchouli, tolu
Notes: Courtesy: Perfume Mart
{ for explanation of notes, read last paragraph }
Opium- created by French Designer Yves Saint Laurent, power play with perfume. The bottle is transparent with orange and gold lid- ORANGE signifying the potency and fire in the scent, and GOLD indicating the timelessness, the richness and the strength.
Available as Eau de Parfum and Eau de Toilette, the former stronger than the latter- in both splash and spray- 5o ml bottle and 100 ml bottle.
A gift set containing a 50 ml bottle (spray ), a 10 ml hanky splash and a powder in a very attractive square box is also available.
Opium is a very potent, addicting perfume just as the name suggests. The initial scent is fiery, spicy, forceful emerging as a heady, woody fragrance with the base notes. It’s a very long-lingering smell, perfume used in the early evening, stays on your body even after a morning shower.
Perfumes can be roughly categorized as:
-Earthy
-Chic
-Carnal
-Romantic
Opium with its kind of qualities sure falls in the CARNAL category, extremely sensual, bewitching, arousing, drive-you-crazy kind of smell.
Use it :
Only on your body. It does stain light colored clothes sometimes (from personal experience)
Best spots:
Being a very STRONG perfume, use it at subtle locations like behind the ear, elbow pulses, very little on the neck pulses. A light spray on your hair is also a good idea. Whenever you are close to that Someone Interesting…..a subtle ruffle to your hair can release enough doses of that irresistible bouquet in the air
How much is enough
People more than one foot away from you shouldn’t be able to smell you, if they can, you are over-scented, that could again give out the wrong kind of vibes to people.
Right times
Enticing evenings, Never-ending nights, and when you are facing those low blues, a little dab of Opium and you are ready once again to take over the world. Wear this in a party and people wont fail to take notice of this distinctive, unforgettable smell, which if you make your SIGNATURE SCENT will make you an unforgettable memory !
Opium suits ….
Strong mature women, who know what they want and also what they don’t, who have a mind of their own, unafraid to express herself, a trendsetter, fearless, who never fails to get noticed in a crowd, always leaves a lasting strong impression, be it one of the two extremes
My tryst with OPIUM ….
happened over 7 years ago when a family friend who had come down from US got me the Opium Gift Set. And me, like a kid with a new toy experimented using this wondrous smell at different occasions, different spots, different moods, and was pleasantly surprised to see this “smell gel so well “ with my core. It is very essential to feel comfortable and one with the smell you are wearing, I feel just that with Opium. Just wearing this scent can make one feel so sexy, it has to be experienced !
The kind of hyper-allergic person I am, going into a sneezing frenzy with the slightest irritant in the air, be it dust or smell, my nose is amazingly tolerant and in love with Opium despite its really STRONG flavor, has befriended Opium well and behaves itself in Opium’s company. Thank God for small mercies, or else you can imagine a lady all perfectly dressed, smelling gorgeous and sneezing nineteen to the dozen…….enough to shoo all the guys away….doesn’t that paint a sorry picture ???????
Anyway, today Opium is my Signature Scent, and am already into my third bottle, although a bit steep at around Rs.3000 for 100 ml of Eau de toilette, it lasts really long, as one needs to use very little each time, due to its concentrated juices. The richness and potency are worth each Rupee and its nice to treat oneself to such rare and beautiful treats at times.
Once you buy this or any other perfume for that matter …..just start using it, I know the costlier the perfume, the less one wants to use it, save it for future, but believe me, its more fun making the present more beautiful instead of anticipating and waiting for an occasion to use such lovely things in life…..Treat each day of life as a gift from God and living itself a reason for celebration…..
Opium’s got me addicted completely……. What are you addicted to? Let me know in your comments if time permits
Did you know:
A perfume’s fragrance instantaneously affects our emotional makeup. It can bring back old memories- which have been sub consciously associated with the times of using the perfume
Moisturized skin retains the perfume and doubles the life of the perfume on you. Some brands of perfumes also have matching moisturizers, powders etc
The same perfume can smell different at different times depending on body chemistry- Medications, exercise, physiological changes like menses, pregnancy
Fragrances last less than usual on a smoker’s skin ( Those ciggy toting public- you listening/. )
NOSE FATIGUE -a physiological mechanism by which our nose gets accustomed to a smell after a while and shuts it out- reason why you cant smell your own perfume too much after 30 minutes or so-advantageous for morgue workers, garbage workers !
NOSE is a person who creates the Perfume-art of blending the SCIENCE, ART and CREATIVITY
The alcohol in the perfume is responsible for the VOLATILITY-for spreading the smell from your body to where it should be spread
A perfume like music-also has NOTES.
Top Notes is the first of the scents-like the OUTER SKIN-lasting about 10 minutes from the time of using the perfume
Middle Notes -HEART of the perfume, the theme of the Perfume Designer
Base Notes -SOUL of the perfume, and lets the middle notes linger for hours.