Yves St. Laurent Opium smell-alike?, Is there a BPAL similar to Yves St. Laurent's Opium? Options

[arcticwolf]

My mother has recently started stealing my BPAL. She stole my 5 mls of Black Opal and Anne Bonny on my most recent visit home, and while I'm happy that she's found scents she enjoys, I would like to be able to find a BPAl scent that is similar to her all-time-favourite perfume, Yves St. Laurent's Opium.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[MrsVeteran]

This may not help a lot, but I found somewhere that listed the notes in Opium as follows:

Cinnamon, Pepper, Orange, Pimento, Carnation, Jasmine, Rose, Ylang-ylang, Vanilla, Benzoin, Patchouli, Opoponax.

Horreur Sympathique (Diabolus) has "blood musk, golden honey, thick black wine, champagne grapes, tobacco flower, plum blossom, tonka bean, oakmoss, carnation, benzoin, opoponax, and sugar cane" and so has several notes in common.

Satan and Death with Sin Intervening (Salon Exhibit I) has "Opoponax, benzoin, orange blossom, mahogany, karakarounde, white tea and vetiver."

I haven't actually smelled either of these, so I don't know if they'd be close or not. From the notes alone, I'd be more optimistic about Horreur Sympathique, but there's no way to know how those notes are mixed until you actually smell them. To me, YSL Opium is Vanilla and spices with just a hint of patchouli. Possibly Snake Oil or one of the Snake Pit scents would be close. I haven't smelled YSL Opium for awhile, but my tormented memory says that Cottonmouth may be similar. If I find some Opium and it smells like anything I know of, I'll post back here.

In the meantime, you might just look for things with notes in common. Hopefully someone else here has Opium and can give you a solid answer. :-)

MrsV

ETA: After some searching through the reviews part of this forum, the following are BPAL scents that people have specifically said smell like YSL Opium to them:

Anathema (Sin & Salvation)
Darkness (Ars Moriendi)
Scherezade (Bewitching Brews)

Maybe you could get some imps of those to test out if no one else responds here.

Good luck!

MV

This post has been edited by MrsVeteran: May 25 2007, 11:29 PM

[arcticwolf]

Thanks MV!

We did try Scherezade, but that one was a no-go. Neither of us saw the Opium connection.
I'll get some imps of the others in my next order, and pass them on to my Mom. Hopefully one works for her. Snake oil is on the way, and I have high hopes for that one.

~ArcticWolf

[moonarcana]

I used to wear Opium a lot when I was in my 20's...and while I don't think it's a comparable match, a BPAL scent that is evocative of the mood of that fragrance is Chrysanthemum Moon (Lunacy from Sept. '06) I see bottles listed for sale here on the forum as well as on eBay for less than original sale price from the Lab, so you may want to keep your eye out for a decant or bottle of that one.

[parrot_suspect]

Yes, there is a BPAL scent that smells almost EXACTLY like YSL Opium. It is Debauchery. Here's the description: "A sinful, licentious scent: self-indulgent and luxurious. Mingled heady civet and red Egyptian musk, thickened with opium."

Other scents that are *somewhat* similar include Vixen, Sin, Lust, Anne Bonny....but Debauchery is a dead-ringer, IMO.

[MrsVeteran]

*sneaks off to put Debauchery on my wishlist*

Interesting, thanks for that note! I actually found a bottle of my YSL Opium, and unfortunately, Cottonmouth and Snake Oil aren't really even close. (Sorry, Arcticwolf. I honestly didn't remember.) I'll be interested to see what you think of Horreur Sympathique, Anathema, and Darkness. Arcticwolf, will you post back here if you find one that's sufficiently Opium-like?

MV

[sedona]

I've found Languor to be close to YSL Opium - Paperwhite and black narcissus, three lilies, black poppy and tuberose and a hint of hypnotic opium den haze.

I have Horreur Sympathique and really like it but don't find it similar to Opium.

All our skin chemistries are different though!

[bloody sore]

I'll admit that I've never actually tried YSL opium, but I am an opium freak.
I second the Chrysanthemum moon comparison, on my skin it's just like opium incense. Kanishta (it's a LE from earlier this year) is the closest I've found to a BPAL version of my favorite opium single note, while Darkness is a sweet/floraly opium. I have bottles of all of those.
I've tried Anathema too, and it seemed like a not as good (less opium, more other stuff) version of Darkness. If that makes sense.
There's my two cents . . .

[arcticwolf]

I will most definitely post back here when I find *THE* perfect BPAL. I have faith in the Lab and I'm sure it does exist.

As for Snake Oil...It does remind me of Opium in some way, but its just not quite right.

My next order will include Debauchery, Darkness, Horreur Sympathique, Anathema and Langour imps (they're all off of notes that I happen to like too, so even if they're not a dead ringer for Opium, how can I go wrong?).

[harmonyfb]

Bakeneko was a dead ringer for Opium for me (to the point where it threw me into college flashbacks ::chuckle:: I spent the whole day in a nostalgic fugue.)

[The_Witching_Hou...]

Onto more 'dead ringers' for Opium....

Wild Men (Carnaval Diabolique) wears just like Opium on me but just a tad lighter. It has the same base/mid/top note feel to it on me. Everyone's skin chemistry is different, of course but if you haven't tried Wild Men yet.....don't pass it up!!! Put it on the list to try. (IMG:http://www.bpal.org/style_emoticons/default/icon_smile.gif)

[Chrysantza]

I love YSL Opium, too - I used to wear it all the time before I discovered BPAL. (IMG:http://www.bpal.org/style_emoticons/default/magtongue.gif) I find that the LE The Masque is very similar in feel, though maybe not in ingredients.

[lark_ascending]

I found that Vechernyaya *reminded* me of Opium - it had the same kind of mood - although I don't think it necessarily smells very similar. Personally I find Opium a bit overpowering, and Vechernyaya slightly lighter.

[melrose]

Seconding Vechernyaya. It puts a smile on my face, plus I don't have to worry about knocking people out with it like I did with Opium. Also, V gets compliments from strangers.

[melrose]

Just discovered Lust - it's a dead ringer for Opium on me, much closer than Vechernyaya even.

[MrsVeteran]

Just discovered Lust - it's a dead ringer for Opium on me, much closer than Vechernyaya even.

Wow, really? They are not even close for me! Then again, I have the "Snake Oil = Pla-Doh" skin chemistry, so it could be worth a try. (IMG:http://www.bpal.org/style_emoticons/default/icon_smile.gif)

Now I need to get Vechernyaya. Dang it, another one to track down!

MV

[suileach]

This is an old thread, but I just had to pipe in that, after the initial pine/juniper burst, Black Forest smells exactly like Opium on me. I know that sounds weird! I used to wear Opium regularly, so I'm very familiar with it. I think maybe it's the ambergris combined with the woodsy notes that does it on me - Opium has a very complex, musky, oriental, spicy sort of smell and that's how ambergris + wood smells on me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mnod.gif)

It's interesting..there seem to be a number of theories floating around about just what notes are in Opium, and they're all just a bit different. The ones that are almost always mentioned:

- plum
- clove
- carnation
- rose
- tangerine
- lily of the valley
- coriander
- myrrh
- sandalwood
- cedarwood
- castoreum
- opoponax

I don't think musky vanillas like Snake Oil are going to cut it.

[twistygirl]

Smut smells a lot like Opium on me after the dry down.

[ClareN]

I've found that the scents with an "opium" or "poppy" note listed share a certain similarity with YSL Opium. Debauchery, Euterpe and Bitter Moon, for example.

[AthenaRose]

Malice (diabolus) reminded me of Opium. It does share the ylang ylang and the patchouli notes.

[YoSaffBridg]

Oh wow! Even after seeing the light [aka scented oils and online etailers (IMG:style_emoticons/default/00001753.gif) ] I am still in love with Opium. I'm going to keep a close eye on this thread to keep up with the HUGE list of new suggestions . . .

[MrsVeteran]

A friend of mine also thinks Bakeneko (2007) reminds her of Opium, but I have both and I don't quite see it. Maybe a little...

[ImperatrixMundi]

Stuff with the poppy note always reminds me of Opium, my mom used to wear it. That was some time ago but when I tried Vechernyaya I really had flashbacks (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_smile.gif)

[lady_pandora]

I've never actually tried Opium, the real one and not the crappy fake versions, but let me put in a good word for Event Horizon; I love it and it has some similar notes.

Black opium, labdanum, opoponax, black orchid, and benzoin.

This post has been edited by lady_pandora: Jul 16 2008, 06:27 PM

[strangemodegirl]

My Mom always wore Opium.

Anyway, Baghdad is the one that I have tried that really reminded me of Opium.