Top Notes 
Bergamot
Mandarin orange
Heart Notes 
Myrrh
Jasmine
Base Notes 
Opoponax
Amber
Noturfave
91 Reviews
Noturfave
3
Good reformulation done under great constraints.
The new Opium is a magical work of mimicry. How do you create an Oriental perfume of orange and rose layered over a heavy cloud of myrrh, clove, and spicy carnation - without using the key ingredient eugenol, that makes up a huge amount of the composition?
You don't. You use things that point to the same smell, the same tone, that haven't been indicated as causing issues.
So: We have a juicy citrus opening with bergamot. Then, instead of the clove, carnation, and cinnamon rosy floral, we go straight into myrrh and jasmine. Sweet warmth, yet without the heavy, spicy weight of the mid of original Opium. Then we dry down with light, ambery-floral sweetness, instead of the almost choking, not quite sweet, and extremely opaque cloud of woods in original Opium. Luckily, the new version lasts quite long, though not as eternally as the original Opium, and with less projection - but still detectable at 5 hours.
There are differences in the consistency of the juice, too: the original Opium Eau de Toilette from the splash bottle is thick with oils and slightly greasy to the touch. The new one is not. The color of the old version is slightly darker amber, but this might be down to the difference in ages.
The result is still recognizably Opium, and extremely beautiful. Is it the same? No. It's a stripped down, less antagonistic version. I'm glad we still have this, and I'll spray it with abandon.
If the ingredients are not too scarce, and the issue is simply sensitivity, I'd gladly buy the original, more dangerous formula of Opium with a warning label attached.
Although - maybe if things were different, and YSL had stuck to the original version, there would not be enough popularity to warrant Opium's continued production. And that's a world I don't want to live in.
Perhaps Opium needed this update. Although I love it for exactly this reason, original Opium is as big and outrageous as the 80s themselves, and I see how it could feel dated, choking, or offensive to people in 2025.
So, I will have and treasure my beloved bottle of Opium original for special occasions, and I will continue to enjoy my modern Eau de Toilette.
One is the queen, one is the princess, both are lovely.
You don't. You use things that point to the same smell, the same tone, that haven't been indicated as causing issues.
So: We have a juicy citrus opening with bergamot. Then, instead of the clove, carnation, and cinnamon rosy floral, we go straight into myrrh and jasmine. Sweet warmth, yet without the heavy, spicy weight of the mid of original Opium. Then we dry down with light, ambery-floral sweetness, instead of the almost choking, not quite sweet, and extremely opaque cloud of woods in original Opium. Luckily, the new version lasts quite long, though not as eternally as the original Opium, and with less projection - but still detectable at 5 hours.
There are differences in the consistency of the juice, too: the original Opium Eau de Toilette from the splash bottle is thick with oils and slightly greasy to the touch. The new one is not. The color of the old version is slightly darker amber, but this might be down to the difference in ages.
The result is still recognizably Opium, and extremely beautiful. Is it the same? No. It's a stripped down, less antagonistic version. I'm glad we still have this, and I'll spray it with abandon.
If the ingredients are not too scarce, and the issue is simply sensitivity, I'd gladly buy the original, more dangerous formula of Opium with a warning label attached.
Although - maybe if things were different, and YSL had stuck to the original version, there would not be enough popularity to warrant Opium's continued production. And that's a world I don't want to live in.
Perhaps Opium needed this update. Although I love it for exactly this reason, original Opium is as big and outrageous as the 80s themselves, and I see how it could feel dated, choking, or offensive to people in 2025.
So, I will have and treasure my beloved bottle of Opium original for special occasions, and I will continue to enjoy my modern Eau de Toilette.
One is the queen, one is the princess, both are lovely.
T3lk4
Saradonin
Noturfave
Bistdumeine
Bottlefinder
Andrula
Yatagan
Runa
Fabistinkt
ClarasTante
