Best Black Opium Pure Illusion by Yves Saint Laurent Alternatives & Similar Perfumes

Comes on juicy and fluffy before revealing its true character. Co-created by Allie Goodbun, a showgirl at an iconic Parisian cabaret, Pear Pavlova mirrors her qualities as a dancer: the duality of lightness with strength. Aquatic pear and airy meringue are anchored by musky ambrette seed and heady jasmine sambac to give it unexpected va-va-voom.

Hélène Napoleone was the daughter of Napoleon’s last lover, Albine de Montholon, and although it was never confirmed if the now-exiled Emperor was indeed her father, he did give her his name, so…? Her namesake fragrance is a vivacious bouquet of fruits and florals, headlined by sparkling pear and creamy magnolia. The charm deepens with the amber base, warmed by sandalwood and patchouli.

A poetic coffee perfume, conjuring the charms of a mid-century coffee shop in the Showa era. The contrast of the bitterness of roasted coffee beans and the sweetness of orange blossom supplies the sparkle, before the caramalised drydown of musky vanilla brings the mmmmm!

Perfumer: Fabrice Pellegrin approached the song through the angle of a soft transition into a new era.

“Faire le mur” means “going AWOL” en Français, and if you’re going to make a break for it, you might as well do it fragrantly with this fruity-floral escapade. Heady jasmine and spicy lily get juicy thanks to orange and pear. Osmanthus, with its delicate apricot tea facet, bridges flowers to fruits.

Ah the wiliness of youth! You think that fresh face shines with only innocence, until a feral cunning presents itself. Disco Inferno starts off playing the game with happy-sappy pear and peach blossom, frangipani and pineapple. Then you realise oud and soft woods are at work behind scenes, allowing that innocent visage into places they should never be allowed.

A milky green fig oozing sweet musk.

PERFUMER
FLORIAN GALLO

The wild and free spirit of a lost island captured in a fruity and sweet perfume with notes of icy pear, soft iris and creamy vanilla. Happy and juicy, Isla Bohemia slows its roll into a mellow base of sandalwood and musk.

Mallow is the story of a candy flower that explodes in the infinite sweetness of violet powder. You do more than smell Mallow. You listen to it, you see it, you drink it and you touch it. Borne aloft by the vanilla-marzipan of heliotrope and plush sunshine of orange blossoms, this extrait is a haze of violets softly radiating from your magnetic self.

Hasbaya is a city in Lebanon, and Néroli Hasbaya is inspired by a Lebanese dessert called mouhalabieh, a milk pudding flavoured with orange blossom and pistachio. This extrait opens with incandescent neroli, wrapped in nutty’n’buttery hints of pistachio and almond. Orange blossom reveals its full depth in the base, and the creamy richness of sandalwood and Peruvian balsam enhance the enfolding trail of this radiant perfume.

Perfumer: Céline Perdriel