Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium Review
Illustration, not a product photo.
Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium is a gourmand fragrance (vanilla, tonka, coffee, caramel and edible notes) from Yves Saint Laurent, marketed for women. Yves Saint Laurent is a designer house.
Price varies (no price snapshot observed)
Based on 71 Reddit owner comments (43 with a clear rating) · Top 34% of tracked fragrances by overall score
Is Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium worth it?
Owners are split: 3.5/5 overall from 43 rated owner comments, with an average owner rating of 3.8★. Owners talk most about unique (10 mentions).
Who it suits
- You want unique: 6 owner comments praise it.
- You want compliments: 5 owner comments praise it.
- You want sweetness: 4 owner comments praise it.
- Summer wear: the season owners mention most (3 comments).
- Everyday: the occasion owners mention most (4 comments).
Who should skip it
- Longevity matters to you: 2 owner comments raise it as a downside.
- Sweetness matters to you: 2 owner comments raise it as a downside.
- Synthetic / harsh matters to you: 2 owner comments raise it as a downside.
Longevity, projection and compliments
| What owners report | Positive | Negative | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longevityi | 2 say it lasts well | 2 say it fades fast | 3.1 |
| Projectioni | 2 say it projects well | 0 call it weak or a skin scent | 4.1 |
| Complimentsi | 5 report compliments | 0 report none | 3.3 |
Counts of owner comments that describe this fragrance's performance on their own skin. "Not rated" means no owner described it.
When owners wear it
Seasons
Occasions
Number of owner comments mentioning each season or occasion alongside this fragrance (positive or negative).
What Reddit owners say
2/5 Unique“Perfume smells different on everyone. There's some that I have absolutely hated, like gagged on. But smell great on someone else. I can't say I have ever smelled perfume on another woman and thought she stunk. Maybe still not for me, but she smells good. Some things are just not for you. Also I think when something is as popular as black opium, you're going to hear about it more than less popular fragrances, which means you'll also hear more from the people who don't like it. And when something is popular, you have additional criticism from people who just like to be contrarian”
5/5“For years I have worn Angel edP, Opium, Obsession, Coco, Black Opium, Coromandel, Shalimar...and on me they smell amazing and NEVER once has anyone asked if I was wearing "ladies perfume".”
5/5 UniqueSummer“We had a very nice thunder rainstorm yesterday with really good chances for another one today so I wore my YSL Black Opium.”
3/5 Unique“black opium has been popular for a long time for a reason.”
4/5 ProjectionSweetness“Whether it is the fig scent you start wearing for the walk each day you commit to get fresh air, whether the rose before you plant that rose bush and start gardening, whether it's the out and proud tuberose before you go sit at a park and j”
+66 more owner comments
5/5 LongevityMass appeal“Black Opium is such a crowd pleaser for a reason.”
2/5 Night outEveryday“My first nice perfume I have ever got was black opium.”
3/5“YSL Black Opium - my boyfriend at the time talked me into buying & wearing it because his ex girlfriend used to wear it & he found it irresistibly sexy on her. She HATED me & I think in retrospect he was probably cheating on me with her 🥲”
5/5 Value“Nope. Tell them to go spray their Hundred Silent Ways, which came out a couple years after Black Opium and smells a lot like it, just with a niche brand price tag. Black Opium was a trendsetter. It's a masterpiece that I will always have in my collection. And by the way, I'm not knocking niche fragrances. I just spent over $200 for the smaller bottle of Parisian Musc. 🤣”
5/5“I really love vanilla lattes. Black Opium to me smells like a vanilla latte. Big fan of OG and Le Parfum, but the Glitter one is captivating me lately. They kind of went in reverse and this is the same scent to me but its lighter with that marshmallow note and becomes like a cloud of happy in your scent bubble. something else im not sure but i want to brush the ahri of a my little pony when i have this on. its in your face saying lighten up On the gourmand fragrances of things i truly loved to ingest i went "simpler" on the scent and love it.”
1/5 Formal“Not only do I not care, I hate the smell of most men's fragrances. My boyfriend used to wear Black Opium. For his birthday, I got him Escapade Gourmande. He wears it to work and on special occasions.”
5/5 Unique“I have this little theory that we often gravitate towards fragrances that naturally work well on us (not always obviously!) and black opium may just work really well for you!! I try not to take others opinions too seriously because we all have different tastes and skin chemistry. Also just a quick glance at fragrantica, both of those black opiums are wildly popular and loved so while ppl are bashing it here, overall it's well liked and I bet you smell great <3”
5/5 Formal“Mine always compliments whenever I put something on. I think he likes YSL Black Opium on me the best because that was the perfume I bought for our wedding day. But lately I've been branching out and trying much nicer perfumes and now my husband's like, *wait I want in on that too*. So we've been getting decants of higher end fragrances and experimenting with them together.”
1/5 Synthetic / harsh“Black opium, Estée Lauder youth dew is disgusting, Thomson carter vanilla night smells like musty unwashed synthetic clothes . Can't stand peppery fragrances or ones with tobacco listed. Patchouli is offensive to me as well as ylang y lang- dries down to plastic on my skin. Oud is completely overdone in my opinion too”
5/5“My guy LOVES Gucci Flora Gorgeous Magnolia he literally hasn't kept his hands, lips, and nose off me since we met and tells me all the time how good I smell. I've gotten compliments from men and women while out when wearing this. I have also gotten compliments from strangers when wearing Black Opium and one called Citizen Jill.”
4/5 Fresh & clean“Healthcare. I wear Squid, Fresh Cream Warm Cashmere, Bee, Spice Must Flow, Black Opium Over Red, and a variety of BPAL oils. I have Ghost Milk on right now.”
4/5 ComplimentsNight out“I get people saying things like, It smells nice in here, to their friends or coworkers when I walk into a room, but I rarely have strangers actually say it directly to me. 😂 The other day I was wearing bianco latte and a lady said to her coworker It smells like a bakery in here haha Back when I used to go clubbing all the time, I always got compliments on my fragrance. I always wore ysl black opium . Thinking back on it now, maybe the alcohol gave people the confidence to compliment strangers lol”
5/5 ComplimentsUnique“Lol last winter I wore black Opium ysl red all over!”
5/5 SweetnessEveryday“Black Opium is my signature scent. On my body it's a perfect spicy and sweet vanilla. If you are scared that it will not turn well with your body chemistry maybe you can try to look for decant/sample?”
5/5 Longevity“First is What the Fluff layered with Alt's dupe for black opium.”
4/5 Unique“Still don't love any Black Opium as much as I love Opium but I am a creature of habits lol.”
3/5 Sweetness“I used to love Black Opium, just got info perfumes and kept hearing how Opium was the best scent there is.”
2/5 SweetnessMass appeal“Easy answer for me YSL Black Opium Neon, a scent that is special because not only was it my very first perfume I bought myself, but it was the first perfume I got as a full size gift from my dear dad ❤️ (I keep that bottle under lock and key and it is kept away and snuggly safe because I'm worried about loosing it) I haven't been able to find a dupe for it, and I'm unfortunately not a fan of the other members of the black opium line. The others are either too sweet or there is a floral note in them I don't like, or it's too peppery.”
4/5 ComplimentsSweetness“Gourmands aren't usually my thing (love the scents on others, just not my preference to wear myself) but two gourmand/gourmand-adjacent scents in my collection are Milk+ by Commodity and Black Opium Over Red by YSL that both get complimente”
1/5“I bought Black Opium based on liking a sample vial, but then it smelled completely differently somehow when I sprayed it from the bottle. I noticed it immediately and tried to let it sit, revisited it 6 months later and it still smelled bad to me. I bought the bottle new in box from Sephora so I have no idea to this day why I liked the sample so much but hated the full size, but I ended up selling it at a loss”
4/5 Fresh & clean“It's supposed to rain today. I'm wearing Black Opium Illicit Green. Warm but also fresh, like the rain we're expecting. I only have half a travel size left of this scent. It's going to be a sad day when I finish it. It's the only Black Opium I like. I don't know if one day I'll get a dupe. I have too many other perfumes to wear before diving into dupe land.”
5/5“I love YSL Libre, contrary to many people...but black opium smells like literal mothballs on my skin”
1/5 Sweetness“I have been wearing vanilla fragrances for basically as long as I wear perfumes, ever since my aunt gave me Manifesto and Black Opium when I was still a teenager. And I definitely noticed how over the years more and more people would hate on vanillas to show that they have superior taste buds 😑 I don't care, never did. I like my perfumes sweet, and I don't mind over spraying them either. But honestly so far if someone does comment on my fragrance, it's definitely for a compliment”
5/5 Sweetness“I blind bought candy. The Fragnatica site says it open with bubble gum and a cupcake note lingers. I don't get bubblegum or cupcake. The best way I've been able to describe it to friends is “if Prada Candy and Black Opium had a baby.””
5/5“Black Opium smells like straight vanilla ass on me, but I did chase down a woman in a Target to tell her she smelled amazing, and she was wearing Black Opium.”
5/5 Compliments“If i listened to what everyone said about the scents I wear, I probably wouldn't own any. Black opium is divine! I have an into the night b&bw cream I wear with it and I usually get a lot of compliments.”
4/5“I tried three of their sample perfumes - Lost Cherry, Black Opium & Mademoiselle. they were all nice but I prefer The Essence Vault, their dupes smell better and last longer on me.”
2/5“I've had all of these and they're all boring and generic except for black opium which i love and im also buying venus full bottle soon for now i just have a sample”
2/5 Synthetic / harsh“It's crazy because I used to like black opium. I'm finding out a lot of the mass market scents smell a bit chemical to me.”
5/5“I think it just really depends on what you fancy but personally, I have the original black opium and the new strawberry one and I love the strawberry one so much. It's actually one of the only perfumes my mom has smelled and needed to get one for herself. But again it is all about preference, but definitely for me. I love it.”
4/5“Dossier ambery vanilla. Saw it while at Walmart and was curious about ysl black opium so I bought it. Sprayed it on in the car for the ride home and was nicely surprised. It's a little sweeter than what I usually wear but really nice.”
5/5“My father loves Black Opium and it works rlly well on him! Most of my fragrances are unisex but i love layering rose perfumes with everything and i use lavender body care products, my friends said i have a very distinctive smell of lavender which made me happy”
4/5“Black Opium EdP is a good one. I wear this too, and I am a male.”
4/5“Black opium review and deep dive I tried imagination it was good”
4/5“Biggest dents: Black Opium Over Red: finished this one first! Had this one for less than a year. Indult Tihota: 2/3 of the bottle empty, took over a year but I wear it almost daily (with some occasional other scents between)! Theodoros Kalotinis Matcha Ice Cream: 1/2 of the way through my bottle, my second most worn perfume and I have had it for over a year as well. I have around 10 bottles in my collection at any given time, so lots to work through and enjoy!”
Dupes and similar fragrances
No dupe pairing for this fragrance reached our evidence bar (2+ comments naming both with a "dupe/clone/smells like" phrase).
Clone houses named next to Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium in "dupe/clone" comments: Dossier (10), Lattafa (1), Oakcha (1), Armaf (1).
Alternatives in the same family
- Burberry Burberry Goddess — 3.5 from 61 owner comments
- Kayali Yum Pistachio Gelato 33 — 3.5 from 11 owner comments
- Tom Ford Lost Cherry — 3.4 from 30 owner comments
FAQ
How long does Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium last?
In the Reddit owner comments we analysed, 2 owners said it lasts well and 2 said it fades quickly. Longevity varies with skin, climate and concentration.
What season is Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium best for?
Owners mention summer most often (3 comments), followed by winter (2).
Does Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium get compliments?
5 owner comments in our sample report compliments while wearing it.
Can I buy Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium on Amazon safely?
We did not find it sold by Amazon.com or by the brand's own Amazon store, so we do not link to it. Third-party fragrance listings carry a counterfeit and grey-market risk.
Keep deciding
- Yves Saint Laurent fragrances ranked
- Best gourmand fragrances
- Best summer fragrances
- Best winter fragrances
- Best fragrances for the office
- Best Women’s Perfumes
- Best Designer Fragrances
- Buying guide shortlists · Methodology
Details
| Brand | Yves Saint Laurent (Designer) |
| Fragrance family | Gourmand |
| Marketed for | women |
| Amazon listing | No listing sold by Amazon.com or the brand store found |
| Reddit evidence | 71 owner comments, 349 mentions in total across r/fragrance, r/FemFragLab and related subreddits |
| Last updated | 2026-11-03 |
Family and "marketed for" follow the brand's positioning and common fragrance references; flankers (Intense, Elixir, Parfum editions) are tracked separately or excluded.