Black Opium (Eau de Parfum Extrême) by Yves Saint Laurent

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Black Opium Yves Saint Laurent 2021 Eau de Parfum Extrême

7.9 / 10 250 Ratings

A popular perfume by Yves Saint Laurent for women, released in 2021. The scent is sweet-gourmand. It is being marketed by L'Oréal.
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Main accords

Sweet

Gourmand

Spicy

Floral

Oriental

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Mandarin orange Pear

Pear

Lemon

Heart Notes

Indian jasminum grandiflorum

Orange blossom absolute

Base Notes

Coffee

Bourbon vanilla

Cocoa absolute

Patchouli

Perfumers

Nathalie Lorson, Marie Salamagne, Olivier Cresp, Honorine Blanc

Videos

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Ratings

Scent

7.9250 Ratings

Longevity

7.5214 Ratings

Sillage

7.3211 Ratings

Bottle

8.0211 Ratings

Value for money

7.3158 Ratings

Submitted by OPomone, last update on 10/21/2025.

Interesting Facts

The face of the advertising campaign is actress Zoë Kravitz, filmed by Jonathan Desbiens a.k.a. Jodeb.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Black Opium Eau de Parfum

Black Opium Eau de Parfum Intense

Vaniglia Sopraffina e Rhum

Café Tonka

04 Musc Maori

Hello Eau de Parfum

Reviews

10 in-depth fragrance descriptions

01/21/2025

8.5Scent 8Longevity 6Sillage

Nterixx
7 Reviews

Nterixx

3

What I wanted from the original

This flanker is exactly what I expected the first time I tested the original Black Opium. The original is not strong enough on the florals or coffee to my nose—they’re minor characters overshadowed by the fluffy, sweet, marshmallow-y vanilla.

This version is much more balanced in my opinion. Starts with a fresh, slightly tart and fruity opening that quickly becomes a gorgeous chocolatey black coffee. It then smoothly transitions into a gorgeous floral heart that, mixed with the vanilla, is probably my favourite part about this perfume’s development. After the flowers fade, you’re left with a beautiful, addictive vanilla with whispers of that coffee note from the beginning.

I much prefer the vanilla in this version. The OG’s is too sweet and fuzzy. In this version it is unsweetened—more of a cozy, warm vanilla. This flanker is Black Opium perfected in my eyes.

02/09/2022

7.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Perfeptions
146 Reviews

Perfeptions

1

Roasted coffee beans and 60% dark chocolate

Great twist on the original Black Opium, this Extreme version is extreme in the smell. It's chocolatey for all of its life, it reminds me of a niche perfume I own as it couples very similarly white flowers in the heart with the ever present "chocolate". For more details please watch my Youtube review linked here below.

09/24/2024

7.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

GrandNez
12 Reviews

GrandNez

1

Obsidian and Amethyst fusion

Good but personally prefer the original as it was lighter and had more prominent jasmine, when I first bought this one, first sniff wasn't the coffee, the chocolate or jasmine, it was alcohol, this one is a heavier version that tries to imitate the original, It’s like Black Opium is having a hangover, It’s heavier, darker, and more rebellious, but the jasmin soul is still there.

Your Wednesday's grim aunt just got pissed off after some kid neighbour shot a ball through her window.

Zoe kravitz after the surgeries while knowing the before version.

You just dropped a jasmine while drinking your black coffee at the night while looking at the moon and stars. So started listening to Wannabe x Down with the sickness mashup

Rhea Ripley mommy wannabe, Danny phantom girlfriend kind of perfume.

For edgy pretty girls (and boys) vibes.

---------

After sniffing it again from my dusty wardrobe, it's actually not that bad, still the alcohol is the first note then it dissipates. I can smell a synthetic note from behind, I cannot explain it as my schaffer collateral didn't input this properly.

Now you are Jenna ortega Wednesday but on steroids, much taller and got fit body with horse legs after hitting the gym.

You are cat woman Zoe Kravitz making your first appearance in Batman.

You are whispering victoria secrets in your boy's ears just like Bloody Ripley.

You just conquered the beast like Cleopatra did to Caesar.

You are a serious Adriana Lima on the runway in 2008.

You are Widowmaker from overwatch mind blowing whoever encounters you.

You have medusa pretty eyes that will stun whoever sees you.

All black outfit vibe (and some purple). Mainly for youngsters.
Long lasting and slight over-moderate sillage, 3.8/5

Got it from a 50% discount, best business decision in perfumes ever.

07/30/2021

9Scent 10Longevity 9Sillage

Kalamata
1 Review

Translated · Show original

Kalamata

Top Review 23

Intensive, more intense, Black Opium Extrême

First of all: If you are looking for a relatively discreet, summery, or fresh scent, you can keep looking. This one is not for you.

My girlfriend already owned the Black Opium Intense, and even that stands out for its strength and longevity. When YSL recently announced an even stronger version of Black Opium, she was immediately interested. This week, the Black Opium Extrême arrived at our place and... my goodness, is it strong. Both in terms of intensity and purely in scent.

The Intense and the Extrême share coffee as a common fragrance note, and that is noticeable. With the Extrême, there is even more vanilla and cocoa coming through. The combination of orange blossoms and patchouli gives the scent a noticeable spicy note, which is somewhat overwhelming on the nose, but not too overpowering.

Even after a full workday, the scent is still clearly noticeable on my girlfriend in the evening. Longevity here is definitely a big plus.

The main differences between the Intense and the Extrême, in our opinion, are as follows:
The Intense is much more aromatic, while the Extrême is significantly spicier.
In both, you can notice the coffee and vanilla notes, although the latter is more prominent in the Extrême.
While the Intense has a certain bitterness, we find finer woody notes in the Extrême.
Both have long-lasting wear, with the Extrême lasting even a bit longer.
CONCLUSION

That this is still an EdP is almost surprising. When someone smells this fragrance for the first time, they are more likely to think that it is pure perfume of the highest concentration.
If you enjoy characterful, strong scents, are a dynamic person, or want to make a statement at a business dinner or on a date, you can't go wrong with the Black Opium Extrême. However, for everyday wear and warm temperatures, it is definitely too strong and overpowering for us. In that case, the Intense or even the regular Black Opium is often the best option.
In other words: A high-quality, strong, dynamic perfume, but only for specific and special occasions.

08/27/2021

8.5Scent 4Longevity 4Sillage

Tats
13 Reviews

Translated · Show original

Tats

Top Review 23

Extrême != Extreme ....

... this is how I would describe the fragrance to my colleagues. Which means nothing other than that Extrême is not the same as Extreme. But I'll get to that shortly.

A few years ago, I loved wearing the regular Black Opium in the depths of winter. At first, I never liked the coffee note, but my nose quickly got used to it. At that time, I swore I would only wear this fragrance. :D Well, I didn't really know many other fragrances until then.

Anyway, some time ago I got a decant of Black Opium EdP and had been toying with the idea of getting the fragrance again for months. Although it would only be for nostalgia.
When I saw that Black Opium Eau de Parfum Extrême was coming out, I was determined that it would be exactly the right version for me. Until just now, I thought it would be called "Black Opium Extrême - Eau de Parfum" and not "Black Opium - Eau de Parfum Extrême". So my expectations were very Extrême, no matter where the Extrême would have been placed.

I will first explain my initial impression and then the more detailed test, followed by a brief summary.

I received the fragrance as a gift. Full of curiosity, I first ran into a perfumery and sprayed "Black Opium - Eau de Parfum" on my right hand. Quick out, quickly opened the packaging, and quickly sprayed "Black Opium - Eau de Parfum Extrême" on my left hand. I alternated sniffing my hands. On the left, I smell the bitter chocolate and the espresso, just as Yanlizkalp79 mentioned in her statement. On the right, clearly Black Opium. Outside, in direct comparison, "Black Opium - Eau de Parfum" smelled sweeter and fruitier, indeed brighter (I am consciously not going into the normal fragrance too much).
It seemed to me that the Extrême variant was actually darker and more mature.
Just for your information, I think I have scent-absorbing skin. Because after 2 hours, I could hardly perceive the Extrême. Very, very faintly, my skin still smelled of warm vanilla. The right hand with the normal variant was still present with all its fragrance notes.

Well, my enthusiasm was dampened and my expectations were not met. Well, maybe I need to engage a bit more with the fragrance.

Said and done, now I’m sitting here. To my left is "Black Opium - Eau de Parfum Extrême" and to my right is "Black Opium - Eau de Parfum". Test strips on both sides. Laptop on. Each sprayed 3 times on the test strips and 3 times on my hand. Same game as before: left "Extreme", right "Normal". For both, I’m creating the fragrance pyramid on Parfumo. Only now do I see that it is only called "Eau de Parfum Extrême". And only now do I notice the citrus notes in the fragrance. I hadn’t perceived the citrus notes at all. Now that I read it and the fragrance has faded a bit, I can perceive them. More on the test strip than on my hand. But that’s not worth mentioning.
By now, my nose is probably scent-deaf. I can hardly smell a difference between the two fragrances. I bring in another nose, and that person also perceives hardly any differences, except that "the right (Normal) smells sweeter than the left (Extreme), but only minimally". The point for longevity now goes more to the Extrême.

I will sniff the test strips again tomorrow morning, with a fresh nose, and probably provide an update here.
Conclusion:
So inconspicuous, the word Eau de Parfum was added, just as inconspicuously one perceives the changes in the fragrance. I believe the Extrême fragrance gets its bitter note from the cocoa and that the coffee has changed its level. However, this is only somewhat noticeable to me in direct comparison. The fragrance remains a sweet scent nonetheless. The word Extreme raises expectations high. But Extreme is not really that Extreme. No one would notice these minimal changes. As for how the longevity really is, I need to test it more closely. Now on my hand, the Extrême is still perceptible after an hour. The normal one has already lost 20% - 30% of its intensity.
Does the fragrance need to be in the collection if "Black Opium - Eau de Parfum" already has a place? - Definitely not. Very fine noses might learn to love it if they have always wished for a Black Opium.

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