Opium pour Homme (1995)
by Yves Saint Laurent

Sweet boozy and spicy oriental. Smells so much like Paul Smith London but with a sweeter note. This stuff seems like it should be from the 80's powerhouse realm but was formulated in 1995. Reminds me a little of Tommy for Men without the synthetic fruits though it might be my nose playing tricks. This is definitive fragrance.

Very similar to a cheap bottle of Brut a relative owns (and I sampled). Sort of a cross between root beer and and minty toothpaste, possibly with some spices mixed in. Horrible stuff. It may be that on my skin, some fragrances don't seem to "progress," such as Kouros. They just get stuck in a stage that is nauseating. In any case, for vanilla, I suggest Ignition by Lomani (or Jaipur EDP if you don't mind forking over a lot more money). For an oriental that is spicy but well-blended, contains nice rosewood, a little amber, a little sweetness, and is not nauseating (unless you spray too much, of course) I suggest Carven Homme. If you want pungent spices and cedar, go with Cuba Red. The ultimate oriental for men is Witness by Bogart, though. There are just too many better choices that Opium.

Like the EdP's opening salvo, the EdT has a dark fruit hue too but it's sharpened up with star anise bringing out the blackcurrant more so. There's a dish that I like at the local Tapas joint that serves a stuffed prune with mint cream filling that reminds me of the EdT. In it's next phase, the black pepper and ginger bring the orientalness to the foreground. Each is excellently blended never tilting the balance too much over the edge. Finally, the vanilla/amber accord finishes off much like the EdP but with a lighter and slightly woody finale. Lighter and spicier than the EdP and more versatile for wearing too though I have trouble with this one in the heat.

This review is under revision.

It's horrible -- wouldn't even use it as a room spray. Comes on really harsh and synthetic with a sort of sour spice aroma, then settles into vanilla, but still the sourness persists. I suppose you could call it edgy or difficult and I'm all for that sometimes -- but it's just plain unpleasant. Could be used if dropped in hot water and inhaled when you have a cold.

From a House that brought us Live Jazz and M7 Fresh, it's hard to fathom.

This is the richest most sumptuous men's fragrance out there. Spicy, woody, fruity in turns, rich dark exotic, but somehow managing to stay fresh and powerful without being cloying. The dry-down is nothing short of intoxicating. It's so fruity, yet rich masculine and totally addictive.

I love wearing it, and every time I put it on it still feels like a "new" smell, rather than being a tired old thing.

The smell lasts all day on me, and considering that my skin usually kills off most fragrances that's very good going.

Given that I live in Australia, the winter vs summer fragrances don't have the clear climate distinction that they would in the northern hemisphere, whence people often wear the darker fragrances in summer and vice versa, so I'm often wearing this one to the office. And I always always, no matter how many times I've worn it, get the obligator "Oooh, gee, you smell nice," or "What are you wearing? It's sexy?"