Happy Friday everyone! I am trying to shake this cold, or whatever it is I have had hanging over me for a while. So, I am working at home today, and thinking I will share a not so positive fragrance experience. No, I am not in a bad mood, just clearing out the backlog of things on my to-blog list. :)
You may recall that one of the fragrances I received in my advent calendar was Yves Saint Laurent Opium.
This was a rollerball-sized spray bottle, and it was a welcome sight in my calendar. I love to try fragrances, and honestly, will give anything a go if it is a sample or small size. I had a mini bottle of Opium in the 80s, when I was a teenager, and used to sniff at it regularly. I maybe wore it once, because it seemed like a mature, spicy oriental scent. I have heard that the formulation has changed somewhat in the past three decades, so I was curious to give my new bottle a try.
My usual rule with a scent is I have to wear it 3 times before I will give it up. With this one, I couldn't wear it past a second attempt. A whiff from the bottle gave me top notes of rich carnations and spice - once I sprayed it on, the main scent on my skin was more of a heavy metallic spice combination that was jarring with my own body scent. I tend to prefer white florals (jasmine, orange blossom), citrus, vanilla, and tea scents on me the most, with blue (water, ocean) and green (herbal, grass) scents a close second. I occasionally wear other florals - roses, iris, lilac - when the mood takes me. You can see that covers pretty much everything in a scent catalogue! There is something about heavy spices and amber, cinnabars, that do not blend with my body scent and I can't stand them on me. Unfortunately, that was the case with Opium.
I can see this suiting someone with a love of dark scents - incense or spices that one would use in a smoky room to impart a religious atmosphere. While I can appreciate this on others, my bottle is now in the pile of things to give away.
What do you think of Opium? Have you worn it? I would be curious to hear if it is your signature scent and if you know how it has changed over the years.
Have a great weekend, and I promise I will post scents I love next week! :)
ETA: I forgot to rate this --- 1 whiff /5 (my lowest rating --- I would give a 0 to rotten eggs or something totally disgusting. :)) Bye!
You may recall that one of the fragrances I received in my advent calendar was Yves Saint Laurent Opium.
This was a rollerball-sized spray bottle, and it was a welcome sight in my calendar. I love to try fragrances, and honestly, will give anything a go if it is a sample or small size. I had a mini bottle of Opium in the 80s, when I was a teenager, and used to sniff at it regularly. I maybe wore it once, because it seemed like a mature, spicy oriental scent. I have heard that the formulation has changed somewhat in the past three decades, so I was curious to give my new bottle a try.
My usual rule with a scent is I have to wear it 3 times before I will give it up. With this one, I couldn't wear it past a second attempt. A whiff from the bottle gave me top notes of rich carnations and spice - once I sprayed it on, the main scent on my skin was more of a heavy metallic spice combination that was jarring with my own body scent. I tend to prefer white florals (jasmine, orange blossom), citrus, vanilla, and tea scents on me the most, with blue (water, ocean) and green (herbal, grass) scents a close second. I occasionally wear other florals - roses, iris, lilac - when the mood takes me. You can see that covers pretty much everything in a scent catalogue! There is something about heavy spices and amber, cinnabars, that do not blend with my body scent and I can't stand them on me. Unfortunately, that was the case with Opium.
I can see this suiting someone with a love of dark scents - incense or spices that one would use in a smoky room to impart a religious atmosphere. While I can appreciate this on others, my bottle is now in the pile of things to give away.
What do you think of Opium? Have you worn it? I would be curious to hear if it is your signature scent and if you know how it has changed over the years.
Have a great weekend, and I promise I will post scents I love next week! :)
ETA: I forgot to rate this --- 1 whiff /5 (my lowest rating --- I would give a 0 to rotten eggs or something totally disgusting. :)) Bye!
Aw thats a shame! Well at least you know without buying a whole bottle, or having to walk round the shops smelling of it all day :)
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, yes. It came in my advent calendar, so it was almost like getting it for free. I don't feel so bad about rejecting something I hadn't smelled before receiving it. Thanks for the comment!
ReplyDeleteOpium sounds like a scent that I wouldn't like just because it's very strong. Plus it sounds like a mature fragrance, and apparently my nose prefers very immature, teeny-bopper aromas that make me smell edible. ;)
ReplyDeleteYou said that you've worn lilac scents. Which one would you recommend that's the most true-to-life scent? Lilacs are my favourite flowers, and the scent of the common purple variety is something that I've been looking for in an eau de parfum for years and couldn't find! Please help!
Thanks,
Mary's Nose
Hi Mary's Nose! Scent is so personal, so never apologize for liking "immature" scents. I think it just means you prefer something that is softer - vanillas and light florals. :) As for a recommendation, I wish Jo Malone still had their lilac scent out - that was pretty perfect. I will keep my eyes peeled for anything with lilac. I do recommend you check out the Fragrantica website for notes...it is an awesome search engine:http://www.fragrantica.com/notes/. Perhaps perfume shopping should be next on our agenda? :)
ReplyDelete