Belle D’Opium by YSL

Belle d’Opium is a Yves Saint Laurent perfume that I’ve liked for a long time. However, since it came out back in 2010 and is discontinued, I hadn’t come across any in years. Luckily, I saw a sample for sale online recently, and bought it to do a full review.

How does Belle d’Opium smell? Does it last long? Is it worth tracking down a bottle?

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What does Belle d’Opium by YSL Smell Like?

Notes include: Casablanca lily, mandarin, gardenia, incense, pepper, tobacco, peach, rose, amber, patchouli, vanilla, sandalwood

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My Full Review

Here’s how Yves Saint Laurent describes it: The thrill of bewitching, a new oriental. An overdose of rare and precious ingredients: the narcotic scent of Casablanca Lily blends with spice swirling incense and mysterious overtones of a Nargileh accord. A true olfactory manifesto.

An interesting feature of this perfume is the Nargileh accord. Basically, creating the effect of hookah, with a smokiness, spiciness, and tobacco note. Perhaps, even a flavored smoke with the mandarin, peach, and other fruits.

After that opening act, the next phase is a sweet white floral blend with a decent amount of peach lurking underneath the lily.

While it doesn’t feel as smoky or spicy, as it did at the start. The ‘Nargileh accord’ still does have a presence here. It’s a light tobacco at this point, without as much influence from the incense.

The mood really matches that purple bottle. The fruity blend is feeling pretty jam like, at this point. Almost boozy, with how it can come across on my skin. Just not a hyper-sugary sort of sweetness.

The white floral notes are a tug of war between the lily and the gardenia. Though, I do really like the balance between them. Jasmine, is around.

As we transition, the patchouli note and amber will come out more. It does have a ‘fruitchouli’ perfume smell for a good portion of the wear. I like it, I think that it’s a fine example of the type versus a lot of others out there nowadays.

The tail end for me, is a sweetish blend of more of the lily than gardenia. Amber with sandalwood, less of the patchouli, and perhaps a dab of vanilla to tie it all together.

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Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

This one does have some substance. It’s not massive, but it’ll leave a scent trail and can project quite far at times. It’s sort of weird. Belle d’Opium will feel like a strong fragrance, then, be absolutely light at other times.

All in all, it’s above average, but seemingly not capable of blowing the doors off with normal spraying.

The longevity for me is good, but not great by any means. Somewhere in the 7-7.5 hour range, on my skin. At times, you expect this to be more of a beast, but Belle never fully takes on that role.

Seasonally, Belle is built for autumn through early spring. Maybe late spring, if you live in a colder area. This YSL has a good amount of body and a thicker feel without being overly heavy.

Still, enough to it to where the heat and humidity of the summer months wouldn’t be too appealing.

Belle d’Opium is well put together, but not formal. It has a sensual and nightlife kind of vibe mostly, but not super serious or stuffy. A bit more than the usual casual fare, great for certain parties or evenings out for cocktails.

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Overall Impressions of Belle d’Opium

Overall, do I like Belle d’Opium? Yes, this is one of my favorite releases from the women’s side of things at YSL. It was kind of a shorter lived fragrance, somewhat forgotten now, but it was a gem.

The opening with the fruits, hookah, and white floral notes is great. I love how the fruit notes come across here and the gardenia and lily play off of one another.

The performance is above average, but not too much so. It’s not exactly a weak point, since that aspect is still quite good, it just could’ve been better.

Is it worth picking up? Since the remaining bottle go for nearly $200 each, as of posting, it probably won’t be worthwhile for most people to get one for themselves. Collectors or just those who want to get deeper into the fragrance hobby, and missed this, could do well with this perfume.