Yves St. Laurent Opium smell-alike?

[hologhost]

Opium was my favorite scent in high school. I have to vote for Chrysanthemum Moon. Debauchery did not do it for me. Looking at things that don't smell precisely like Opium, but might appeal to an Opium fan I'd like to add Crowley and Stimulating Sassafrass Strenghener.

[veronicafranco]

hmm. chemistry is a wacky thing. on me, clemence (grindhouse) smells a lot like opium.... which i always liked, but wasn't sure i could pull off, and that's pretty much how i now feel about clemence! at least clemence is only $20 right now.

[opiumaddict]

The reformulated Opium is awful so I ended up on BPAL after internet searching every imaginable related topic -- already tried Snake Oil, Morocco, Al-Shairan, Vixen, Shug-Niggurath, Bathsheba, Bengal... I know I'll end up finding a completely alternative scent eventually, but I've worn original Opium since the 90's b/c it really suited me and didn't cause the usual allergic reaction (Vixen!). Looked through the forums but saw very few suggestions (and some are not searchable on BPAL, they must've been LE)... Any suggestions would be VERY appreciated, I'm actually anxiety stricken about losing my signature scent! The very light patchouli in Opium is about all I can take of that ingredient w/o incurring a huge headache... Anyone familiar w/ the old Opium??

[AliBabble]

The reformulated Opium is awful so I ended up on BPAL after internet searching every imaginable related topic -- already tried Snake Oil, Morocco, Al-Shairan, Vixen, Shug-Niggurath, Bathsheba, Bengal... I know I'll end up finding a completely alternative scent eventually, but I've worn original Opium since the 90's b/c it really suited me and didn't cause the usual allergic reaction (Vixen!). Looked through the forums but saw very few suggestions (and some are not searchable on BPAL, they must've been LE)... Any suggestions would be VERY appreciated, I'm actually anxiety stricken about losing my signature scent! The very light patchouli in Opium is about all I can take of that ingredient w/o incurring a huge headache... Anyone familiar w/ the old Opium??

 

i remember the old opium, but haven't smelled it in a while....in rappacini's garden section at bpal there is "opium poppy" - i used to have an imp, but gave it to a friend - as i recall, it was a very deep, sweet opium scent....almost too much for me, but since then i have come to love opium, so want to try it again - it was very warm, strong, and womanly -

a great opium scent i would recommend is: clermont - available on the dark delicacies site...it's opium tar and rose - they blend great, and again - it's very opium-y and womanly - maybe close to what you are looking for?

[calivianya]

Hmm, I'm not sure about Opium, but I looked up the notes on Sephora's website: Tangerine, Plum, Cloves, Coriander, Carnation, Lily of the Valley, Rose, Myrrh, Opoponax, Castoreum, Cedarwood, Sandalwood.

 

Based on those notes, I'd say you could try Belle Époque - Sweet opium, Lily of the Valley, vanilla, mandarin and red sandalwood. I imagine the tangerine and mandarin would smell fairly alike, and they share the lily of the valley and sandalwood notes. I'm not sure if this is close or not, but that would be my best guess.

[violetblue]

I know I've smelled a BPAL that reminded me of Opium (my mom always wore it) but I can't remember now! I will have to try to retest some of my blends and get back to this thread if I find it. I am wondering if it was Tombuer, which I swapped...

 

ETA:

This review may be help with one..

Edited December 27, 2010 by violetblue

[opiumaddict]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm starting an imp list while I wait for more suggestions

[khazakant]

It's not Tombeur, although Tombeur is a very good scent in its own way.

 

The last time I had on Opium was years ago - might have been Opium pour Homme, too - but I remember liking it because it smelled exactly like Russian Orthodox church incense. I'd try Midnight Mass (it's in the LEs), which I like for the exact same reason.

[parrot_suspect]

I've recently noticed Event Horizon is very similar to YSL Opium.

[Gold Dust Kitten]

Minamoto No Yorimitsu Cuts at the Earth Spider smelled a lot like Opium to me.

[ChaosKitty]

Schwarzer Mond, the 2006 blend more so than the 2008 one. I can barely tell them apart from Opium, even side-by-side with the YSL perfume to compare.

[mrsveteran]

Schwarzer Mond, the 2006 blend more so than the 2008 one.

 

Interesting: I wonder if the 2008 version will be closer after 2 years -- maybe it's the aging that makes it closer to Opium?

 

MV

[LuneNoir]

Resurrecting this thread in the hope that someone has found something similar. Or even blending scents to achieve something similar.

Edited April 2, 2016 by LuneNoir

[Pixie-elf]

Another resurrection.

My Granny always wore Opium, and thanks to my fiance's Aunt, I have a bottle of the Vintage Opium. I love it, and would love to find something similar. She's SUPER miffed because of Oakmoss being removed screwed up the reformulation of Opium. I was hoping someone might have found a BPAL version so I could keep it in mind for a gift.

Thanks!

[theredkilt]

Blood smells like spicy cloves and reminded me of opium.