Reviews of Impérial Opoponax
by Les Néréides

Previous reviews have said it all. All I have to add is that this is what Obsession Men could 've been had the people who decided to market it have had better taste.

Opoponax. Vanilla. Benzoin. Amber. Sandalwood. What could've easily been a syrupy and cloyingly sweet fragrance is given a dry resinuous finish to produce one of the smoothest blends I've had the pleasure to smell. I'm nobody's fool but a woman could easily put me under a spell with IMPERIAL OPOPONAX. No extensive list of exotic ingredients, no marketing gimmicks, no pretenses. Just beauty in simplicity, perfection in execution. Are you paying attention, Mr. John Varvatos?

A warm, comforting and sensual take on opoponax. Sweet (but not excessively so) and resinous. Great longevity. And quite reasonably priced! I hope to buy bottle soon.

Sweet, powdery woods. Amazingly classy. Amazingly good. Amazingly nice in all the ways possible. It's strong but not cloying.

I sent a sample to my mother who has always worn Shalimar and she ordered a bottle! I did too. I guess I like sweet myrrh and a citrus combination more than I knew I did. Addictive is right (someone said that in the reviews). I wish more bottles were dark so you can set them on your vanity and not have to worry about sunlight getting to the juice.

This is absolutely in my top 3 favorite scents. I just adore it and can't get enough. I treasure it so much, I'm afraid to use too much of it because I never want to run out. I am not an expert at all in perfume but I know what I like and this is liquid heaven. The first time I took a whiff I was completely intoxicated by the incredible, intense beauty of it. I keep the bottle nearby because we are having such a love affair that I need at least one sniff daily. I can't break it down into description of layers, dry down etc. because I am a novice at this but I promise you will never regret buying any perfume from this house. They are deliciously, sensuous, gorgeous and inviting. My fiance is glued to me when I wear this! Now I am constantly on the hunt for anything that contains opoponax in any way shape or form! I even found a book by the feminist author Moniqiqe Wettig called The Opoponax, an astonishingly brilliant book. Try this you will not regret it!!!

Absolutely gorgeous - rich, spicy, sweet, comforting, long lasting. And such amazing value - this smells and wears like something way, way more expensive than it is. Fantastic!

warm, soothing, ultimate comfort scent. very sensual. easy to love, easy to wear.

With this lineup of notes, it’s hard to make a bad scent, but I’m here to say that this is not a good scent – it’s a GREAT one. Imperial Opoponax opens with an intriguing set of notes: some richly textured sweetness, a citrus element of sharpness, and a facet of resinous dissonance. The conflict between the sharp resinous opoponax and the obscenely rich sweetness of the vanilla, amber, and benzoin is captivating and to make matters even better, the top notes move right into the heart level to extend the long lasting top notes right into the drydown. The drydown is a quiet, sweet, and rich blend of amber, vanilla, benzoin and sandalwood. It seems to last forever.

This is such a classic scent. It suggests characteristics of the past – a past of elegance, sumptuousness, and legend, and yet, as already been noted, it is unique and original. Addictive, sensual, refined, proportioned, historic – Les Néréides’ Impérial Opoponax is one of a kind.

Dark, dry & a little masculine. Puzzling & surprising because it changes from hour to hour -- sweet to sharp. The vanilla & sandalwood warm throughout the day & make me feel like I'm wrapped in cashmere.

Vibert's posted a top drawer review of this baby below -- I especially like his description of the "sandalwood and vanilla pillow" on which the opoponax rests.

Rich, Byzantine stuff -- the kind of warm and sweet fragrance you can curl up with on a cold winter night. It has a real Eastern incense vibe going on, and also something vaguely gourmand (must be the vanilla).

I for one can't imagine wearing this stuff in warm weather -- it's the olfactory equivalent of winter comfort food.

very exquisite. reminds me of a very luxurious harem lady reclining on a divan, with a servant girl applying this scented delicacy to her soft skin.

My first impression wearing it today, was there is a note that is strangely familiar to the prominent note in Serge Lutens Chergui. Buttery is an apt, apt description of how it smells. This is not a scent that will make you thing, UGH, how could they bottle that, but then again, it is not going to knock your socks off. It may unfold today, but it is a very pleasant, pleasant scent.

Imperial Opoponax is an interesting and original take on a note that I enjoy. It starts with blunt citrus over an unusual, soft, buttery accord that I can't quite place at first. The citrus recedes rapidly, while the buttery accord reveals itself to be an incredibly smooth sandalwood seasoned with benzoin or vanilla. The combination smells remarkably like warm condensed milk, and is just as comforting.

When the opoponax arrives it's surprisingly sharp, and I realize immediately why it needs the fluffy sandalwood and vanilla pillow. The heart of the scent is at once arid and sweet, reminding me not only of condensed milk, but of sweetened flaked coconut.

As the scent evolves the opoponax takes on a bitter edge - something I actually like, since it keeps the scent from getting sickly sweet. The drydown is all about vanilla and sandalwood, becoming quite powdery by the end. Good sillage, moderate projection, and the scent lasts quite well.

Lovely lasting resinous myrrh. Not sweet precisely, but rich and elegant. I agree completely with Zenobia on the 1920's fancy dinner scent description: It's easily a formal, but also wears well during the work day if you use it sparingly. Benzion, sandalwood and citrus give it a slight masculine tone that still sits well on female skin. Amber and Vanilla round out the base. I love to wear this between my breasts (sorry, overshare, I know) so that it rises gently up to me all day. Gorgeous scent.

I describe Imperial Opoponax as golden and 'oldy-worldy'. Imagine dressing for dinner, in the 1920s, aboard a luxurious airship (zeppelin) crossing the Atlantic. This fragrance creates that atmosphere - relaxed and indulgent. It's unisex for sure, in a dark and brooding way, not a fresh and citrus way. The opoponax is quite sharp but the vanilla and sandalwood are soft and lovely in the dry down. It's a little bit of Must de Cartier (for women) but with a masculine and antique edge. It wafts around you creating a confident warm glow.

Vanilla, benzoin, and sandalwood are balanced adroitly with the resinous, balsamic qualities and tantalizingly pungent medicinal edge of opoponax (sweet myrrh) to produce a very interesting tension that resolves itself into a full-bodied, luxurious accord. It is simultaneously a sensuous, bracing, and edgy scent. When the fragrance dries down, vanilla predominates with echoes of sweet myrrh reverberating enough to give it an ever so slight but sharp and engaging edge. Excellent longevity. A most original creation.