Fragrance of the week (17) 2013 - philosophical thoughts about Opium

Picture: New Opium Edp
Photo: PR Yves Saint Laurent (c)

This week has been a week in Guerlain, except Tuesday when I wore Yves Saint Laurent Opium Edp in the current version.To me it was a pleasant experience despite all complaints I have read in different blogs and forums. Yes, of course it isn't the same as earlier formulas, compared to my Y2K Opium Edt formula the new Opium is woodier, darker, less spicy-floral and for a short while it has a slight artifical vibe. But most important is that the special Opium style and aura is still there, I don't think it has lost its soul which is what is important to me. It's just an Opium adapted to a new decade, just as much older classics as Guerlain Shalimar and Chanel No 5 have done multiple times. Of course a fragrance could not smell as before as the circumstances are changing over the years and maybe also it should not as it's, at least from a Parfumista viewpoint, interesting to investigate the development of a certain fragrance between different decades and formulas. This exercise is almost as exploring different but similar in style fragrances.