INTRODUCING NEW BLACK OPIUM EAU DE PARFUM ILLICIT GREEN.
There’s a new thrill in town. A call to party all night under flashy neon lights. Edgy. Experimental. And so, so desirable it should be illicit…
With the 2014 Black Opium Eau de Parfum, YSL Beauty remastered the notion of olfactory addiction, shooting the first ever floral coffee accord into a feminine YSL fragrance. For YSL women who dare to be different, it was love at first spray. An instant It-scent.
Today, YSL Beauty shakes up its olfactory icon. With BLACK OPIUM EAU DE PARFUM ILLICIT GREEN, the juice gets higher than ever, turning a scandalous shade of neon green. Channeling the vibrant creativity of contemporary mixology, Black Opium’s signature floral coffee accord is infused with a fresh, bold mix of sparkling green mandarin, crisp fig leaf & creamy fig flesh accords.
Like a trippy electric aura, neon green lights up the glam black glitter of the bottle. It radiates on the beauty of Zoë Kravitz, Black Opium’s hero since 2018. In the new ILLICIT GREEN campaign, she draws us into the festive world of the thrilling It-mocktail juice…
The sensual superpower of a scent. Dare it.
The sensory trip of a mocktail. Shake it.
The sensational edginess of YSL. Feel it.
THE FRAGRANCE.
A NEW EXPERIMENTAL ENERGY SHOT.
It’s an addictive shot of adrenalin. A sensual thrill that makes your heart race faster. With BLACK OPIUM EAU DE PARFUM ILLICIT GREEN, YSL Beauty’s edgy icon hits the night scene with a crazy, experimental scent mocktail. A crisp green vegetal accord that infuses an energizing freshness into Black Opium’s signature of black coffee accord, sensual white flowers & hypnotic vanilla.
The new juice was born of a unique collaboration between two inspiring, talented women. Master Perfumer Nathalie Lorson (IFF) – one of the quartet of perfumers who created the original Eau de Parfum –, a brilliant fragrance composer for whom “perfume is pleasure”. The new creative force here is mixologist Margot Lecarpentier, owner of COMBAT Belleville, winner of the 2019 Cocktails Spirits Paris awards for Most Influential Bartender & Most Influential Bar.
“It was extremely audacious, different and innovative to get us together to create this new fragrance.” Nathalie Lorson
“Meeting Nathalie felt very natural, we were surprised by how close our expertises were.”
Margot Lecarpentier
For BLACK OPIUM EAU DE PARFUM ILLICIT GREEN, Nathalie Lorson has given an Illicit Green twist on Black Opium that delights every sense – from the vivid neon green of the juice to the sensual textures of the olfactory notes. Starting from the same inspiration, Margot Lecarpentier has created an Illicit Green mocktail that translates the thrills of the Black Opium night.
The secret formula of the new mocktail-inspired fragrance? Into a shaker, start by mixing the signature Black Opium accord:
An energizing shot of fresh black coffee accord, inspired by fresh coffee from the expresso machine. A surge of pure adrenaline, captured directly from to the cup and reinvented as a fragrance note for YSL BEAUTY.
A lavish dash of sensual Jasmine Superinfusion from India. A modern take on the flower crafted for YSL Beauty to bring out its freshest, most petally facets, the ultra-feminine flower amps up the radiance of the fragrance. Delicious orange blossom absolute adds an extra dollop of sexiness.
A decadent dose of hypnotic Vanilla Bourbon Premium Extract from Madagascar, a precious extraction that unveils the pod’s deep, mysterious, warm vibrations, with delicious balsamic tones.
Shake well, and give the iconic blend a jolt of fresh energy with a new ILLICIT GREEN vegetal accord:
A zesty twist of green Mandarin Superessence from Italy. Greener than orange, sweeter than lemon, the sustainably sourced citrus, crafted for YSL Beauty, crowns the mocktail with its sparkling, tangy, juicy facets.
A crisp green touch of fig leaf accord. So crunchy you can practically hear a leaf you’d crush between your hands, the accord adds its woody, slightly bitter verdancy – like a dash of Angostura.
Lush slices of mouth-watering fig accord. The most sensuous of fruits yields a delicious, pulpy flesh. Recreated by the perfumer, its green, milky sweetness melds in with the creamy white floral accord and balsamic vanilla.
Now, dare it. Shake it. Feel it. BLACK OPIUM EAU DE PARFUM ILLICIT GREEN.
THE INGREDIENTS.
CRAFTED MATERIALS.
Because at YSL, extreme edginess & extreme luxury are two facets of the same rock attitude, BLACK OPIUM EAU DE PARFUM ILLICIT GREEN glams it up with two fabulous natural ingredients crafted for the brand.
JASMINE GRANDIFLORUM SUPERINFUSION from India. A tiny bloom with an outsized personality, jasmine is the epitome of femininity. The extract crafted or YSL Beauty smells as natural as the fresh flower. Hand-picked by women at dawn, the harvest is extracted to obtain a fragrant wax: the concrete. This concrete is macerated in alcohol for a period determined by the perfumer. The process preserves the most volatile notes of the ingredient, imparting a fresher, more vertical and harmonious floral profile.
VANILLA BOURBON Premium Extract sustainably sourced from Madagascar. As sleekly black and glossy as a pair of patent stilettos, the precious Bourbon vanilla pod gives off sensuous textured facets, fully captured by the premium infusion crafted for YSL Beauty. The ingredient is obtained through the extraction of the pods using supercritical fluids, yielding an extract that is extremely faithful to the scent of the raw material.
THE TALK.
NATHALIE LORSON SPEAKS OF BLACK OPIUM ILLICIT GREEN.
What inspired the mocktail that adds a shoot of energy to Black Opium?
Nathalie Lorson: Black Opium Illicit Green is the outcome of a collaboration with the mixologist Margot Lecarpentier. We pooled our expertise to connect the olfactory and the gustatory, always focusing on the Black Opium addiction! Fig turned out to be the perfect ingredient: distinctive and easy to recognize, both lively and addictive, it blends perfectly well with coffee and orange blossom, both of which are also used in mixology. Out of this idea, I created the perfume, and Margot the cocktail, two surprisingly complementary interpretations.
The perfume is neon green, how does that translate into scent notes?
L.:There’s fig, of course, both the leaf and the fruit, whose very crisp greenness projects Black Opium into a new dimension. But also, a green mandarin exclusively crafted for YSL that’s tart and less sweet than classic mandarin essence. Together, the green fruity duo boosts the green facets naturally present in the floral heart – orange blossom absolute and jasmine Grandiflorum extract –, revealing a more radiant facet of Black Opium.
Why choose a juicy fig, how does it work with the formula of Black Opium?
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L.:From the very outset of the project, green was an obvious choice for the new Black Opium. I wanted to translate this electric energy with fig, which has two different scents: its green leaf gives off a green, incisive smell, crisp and almost bitter; while its fruit is fleshier, colorful, sweet. Associated with coffee, this green fig transcends Black Opium’s addiction and adds contrast to the original fragrance with an unexpected shoot of energy.
As a perfumer, does mixology inspire you?
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L.:I’d never worked with a mixologist, but I loved it! There are many parallels: a lot of the ingredients are identical, as well as the vocabulary – we talk of notes, contrast, structure, intensity… For any creator, whoever they may be, being inspired by another world is always very enriching.
THE BOTTLE.
A NEW SCANDALOUS YSL COLOR.
It’s green. But not just any green. Loud, electric, fresh, the hue that lights up the round window of the Black Opium bottle draws its inspiration from one of Yves Saint Laurent’s most iconic pieces. Worn with nothing but an updo and strappy sandals, the short green fox coat became the emblem of the couturier’s epochal, scandalous, 1940s-style “Libération” collection. A style manifesto that rocked and shocked the fashion world in 1971.In a flamboyant couture statement, it is the very juice of BLACK OPIUM EAU DE PARFUM ILLICIT GREEN that takes on the vivid color, echoing the verdancy of the green mandarin and fig accord. Like a mocktail lit by neon lights, it flashes in the night of the glam-rock black glitter bottle.Follow its call. Experience the thrill. Party on.
DISCOVERING THE NEW BLACK OPIUM ILLICIT GREEN FRAGRANCE
“At first, we smell the citrus and then comes a wave of sparkles. It’s giving me a rush of adrenaline.” Joanna
“I think it’s energetic in a chemical way. It’s very sexy and beautiful.” Shahed
“I think it’s very exotic, oriental in a way. We smell a spicy note, a bit fizzing.” Bilel
“It’s very addictive, energizing, full of life.” Helena
“It’s very very intense and addictive.” Gogo Lupin
DISCOVERING THE BLACK OPIUM ILLICIT GREEN MOCKTAIL
“There is a delicate balance between the full-bodied, addictive and energizing coffee and freshness.” Margot Lecarpentier
“A very powerful coffee combined with such sparkling energy. I really think it translates perfectly Illicit Green.”
Nathalie Lorson
DARE TO GIFT THE NEW BLACK OPIUM TWIST. A LUSCIOUS PRESENT FOR VALENTINE’S DAY.
It’s the ultimate seduction in an ultra-desirable, glittering black bottle. An ultra-sensorial, delectable cocktail that turns heads and teases your senses.The thrill of a forbidden fruit: the sweet, juicy, ultra-sexy fig, tickled by a zest of flashy green mandarin, in the Illicit Green accord that gives Yves Saint Laurent’s iconic fragrance a new, intoxicating, ultra-edgy twist. The perfect gift for Black Opium addicts. It’s love at first spray for Valentine’s Day. #Dare it. Shake it. Feel it.