It is the only legit dupe of Belle d'Opium by Yves Saint Laurent but it lacks the mystical complexity, the elegance and the hypnotic smokiness of Belle. The dry down is more one dimensional and, well, dry, slightly astringent, with an added sourness from the Orange that does not exist in Belle’s notes. It lacks crucial notes, such as the Tobacco , the Vanilla , the Jasmine and the Rose . It does a good job with the Sandalwood and the Peach , and the other white flowers as well as the Olibanum (Frankincense) are present although weaker and less distinct. Its sillage is weaker than Belle’s and the longevity might be similar or slightly weaker. Having said all that, it is the closest perfume you can find if you search for something remotely similar to Belle, like me, and for this reason I own it and I love it. It is a pretty good perfume as is, I am only being strict because I compare it with Belle. Exact score: 4.5.
It is an okay perfume but I am not sure why it got so much more successful than its infinitely more unique, mystical and special (and very unlucky) shortlived predecessor, Belle d'Opium by Yves Saint Laurent . This one has nothing in common with the classic Opium Eau de Parfum 2009 by Yves Saint Laurent . It is a warm sweet gourmand. I also can't understand for the life of me why it is advertised as a perfect rock star vibe or a clubbing perfume. It's not dark or edgy at all, I would wear this to grab a cup of hot chocolate (I like the aroma but I hate the taste of coffee, so chocolate it is!) and read a book by the fireplace! The misleading name and advertising puts me off. It's not black, not dark, not opium, not oriental enough (or at all, if you ask me), not necessarily for a "special occasion or night out". It is sweet, warm, cozy and sexy though.
As I literally got so interested in perfumes solely due to my anxious journey to find a perfume reminding me of this one, this is going to be my only long and somewhat emotional review! I believe this perfume has a mysterious story and has been unlucky in its treatment by perfume lovers. Immediately scrutinized since its release with the accusation that it was so far apart from the classic Opium Eau de Parfum 2009 by Yves Saint Laurent (yet the successor Black Opium by Yves Saint Laurent is ten times more different than the original's DNA but all of a sudden nobody had a problem with this). Others would find the TV advertisement problematic, as if the original's name and concept is not by default questionable, what an irony... Reviewers would go on and on about how uninspired and ordinary Belle's scent was. Yet to this day, there is no perfume that is listed in any frangrance website as remotely similar to it, except for Roohy Tehbak by Rasasi which is a dupe, but it has almost half the notes and so it's lacking both the crucialTobacco and the Vanilla and the Jasmine . Somehow the producers succumbed almost immediately to the negative reviews and they discontinued it after two-three years, instead of believing in it and pushing through. Scent-wise, it was exactly what I wanted in my signature scent, a world of contrasts; hypnotic oriental yet airy, mystical but sweet, dark but full of vibrancy. Sophisticated, sensual and spiritual all in one go. Definitely not a girl's perfume but by no means a mature lady's either. Ageless. It resonates with me and the culture I come from, which is situated right on the crossroad of the West and East. I assume you can tell I was totally heartbroken when it was discontinued. I just think they should have pushed through with it a bit more. On the negative side, it is true that the perfume did not have a long stay. The sillage was pretty decent but it could have been better. They could have worked on the longevity a little bit and trust in their creation. I also remember that I had noticed that the second bottle I had bought did not have exactly the otherwordly scent of the first one. Maybe this lack of consistency fueled the negative reviews even more. All dupes and imitations I have tried have failed to grasp the fine balance of the original and if anything, they remind of the second bottle more than the first one. Not sure what went so wrong with the production of this fragrance but I know this was a lost gem and a hugely wasted opportunity for something great.
P.S. The bottle is simple yet gorgeous and elegant. I was first attracted to the bottle and the content just confirmed my instictual pull to it.
