I took a risk and bought this without testing it in store or with a sample and I’m glad I did. The notes are all things I like so I figured I could not go too wrong with it, particularly on sale. Upon first spraying it I was disappointed because it smelled totally floral - which is fine but I was expecting the chocolate and coffee scents people rave about. I was doing something around the house and thought "why does it smell like brownies are baking" then I realized it was my perfume! An excellent scent! Then throughout the time wearing it the scent shifted between chocolate, coffee, and floral. A great experience. Also the packaging and outer box are pretty. I’d be interested in trying some of the other scents from this line.

Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium Extreme is a great fragrance that captivates the senses from the first spritz. Its wonderful blend of coffee, vanilla, and orange blossom is one of a kind. With a touch of spicy pink pepper and jasmine, it's both alluring and sophisticated, perfect for evening wear or special occasions. The longevity is exceptional, ensuring you'll leave a lasting impression wherever you go. This is easily one of my favorite fragrances of all time. I always receive compliments when I’m wearing this beautiful perfume!

A sexy scent in my top 3

I have an extensive perfume collection ranging from high end to drug store varieties and Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium Extreme has been in my top 3 favourite fragrances for many years. When it comes to sensual feminine fragrances Yves Saint Laurent does it best. The scent is sexy and elegant with its mix of florals with bold robust coffee beans. The lasting power is great, so this fragrance is perfect for a long night our or romantic date. The bottle is glitter clad and easy to use. It displays nicely in my collection too.

Bold, sensual signature warm scent, I’m obsessed

Details: You may have heard of this perfume before in the context of the original black opium fragrance. This extreme iteration offers a bold new twist on the original fragrance. Features a gorgeous, seductive all black bottle to represent the edgy, darkest version of the original fragrance & a woman who isn’t afraid to take on the night. This fragrance is in the warm & spicy category. Key notes include coffee, vanilla bourbon & jasmine.My experience: I have mentioned in the past that I tend to prefer sweet, musky & warm scents. This fragrance embodies the combination of deliciously warm & deep fragrance notes with a hint of sweet. The vanilla bourbon is the first thing I notice along with coffee. It’s a beautifully bold & sensual scent combination. With longer ... MoreDetails: You may have heard of this perfume before in the context of the original black opium fragrance. This extreme iteration offers a bold new twist on the original fragrance. Features a gorgeous, seductive all black bottle to represent the edgy, darkest version of the original fragrance & a woman who isn’t afraid to take on the night. This fragrance is in the warm & spicy category. Key notes include coffee, vanilla bourbon & jasmine.My experience: I have mentioned in the past that I tend to prefer sweet, musky & warm scents. This fragrance embodies the combination of deliciously warm & deep fragrance notes with a hint of sweet. The vanilla bourbon is the first thing I notice along with coffee. It’s a beautifully bold & sensual scent combination. With longer wear I start to detect a hint of patchouli & jasmine. This is a bold & seductive fragrance yet well balanced. It was tough to separate the different juicy fragrance notes because of how well they blend together. This is a long wearing full perfume meaning you’ll get minimum 6-8 hours of wear from just one spritz. I’ve been using the fragrance for date nights (my fiancé LOVES it) & even sometimes during the day.Overall: I’ve become obsessed with this fragrance. It’s bold & sensual with warm notes of vanilla bourbon, coffee, patchouli & jasmine. The longevity of this fragrance & need for only one spritz means this bottle will last a long time. 5/5 cannot recommend this fragrance enough. 1 fl oz bottle retails for $78 which I don’t mind investing in for one of my new signature scents.

I absolutely LOVE this version

The extreme version is exactly what I’d hoped for when I bought a bottle of the original black opium EDP last Christmas. My mum used to wear the original and it was so powerful. I’d love to sample that to see what it’s like now.I have autism, and use fragrance for grounding when I am in busy environments (mature student at university) The original Black Opium was really nice, you’d get a whiff here and there, but I couldn’t smell it on myself enough, for my needs.I bought this on a star gift offer at half price, a total blind buy, hoping the dialled up version would be everything I’d hoped for because I love the DNA of black opium.It is EVERYTHING I had hoped for, I use 6-8 squirts, I get a lot of compliments. Perfume needs to counteract sensory overload to ... MoreThe extreme version is exactly what I’d hoped for when I bought a bottle of the original black opium EDP last Christmas. My mum used to wear the original and it was so powerful. I’d love to sample that to see what it’s like now.I have autism, and use fragrance for grounding when I am in busy environments (mature student at university) The original Black Opium was really nice, you’d get a whiff here and there, but I couldn’t smell it on myself enough, for my needs.I bought this on a star gift offer at half price, a total blind buy, hoping the dialled up version would be everything I’d hoped for because I love the DNA of black opium.It is EVERYTHING I had hoped for, I use 6-8 squirts, I get a lot of compliments. Perfume needs to counteract sensory overload to some degree for me, and this scent is bold, intriguing, dark and mysterious.The florals compliment the coffee so beautifully. I can’t drink coffee but I love the smell and it is very prominent in this.The Jasmine adds a beautiful, light floral which contrasts beautifully with the intensity of the coffee, I’m generally not a fan of vanilla, and patchouli has to be mixed correctly, but it adds lovely earthiness here, the vanilla adds creaminess, and rounds everything off beautifully.I can still smell this on clothes the day after, it’s amazing on a scarf, and my partner loves it. Most importantly it helps me with sensory overload.I ended up buying 2 at half price. I’m trying to ration it because as a student it’s a splurge but I love it soooo much. It’s delicious.I need to smell the original opium again. This reminds me of that in that it’s very powerful, original and distinctive.For me, wearing it is a very pleasant sensory stimuli which helps counteracts one’s such as noise. This one fully ticks all my boxes. I hope this is a flanker which stays around.

Not for me

Basically identical to the original Black Opium. Both pull way too floral on me. It’s not bad, but I find it a tad too sharp. The vanilla finally starts coming through after a few hours. Black Opium Illicit Green is also quite similar but even less sweet. I can see a lot of people enjoying this, it’s just not for me. I prefer Black Opium Le Parfum as it’s much sweeter and I smell the vanilla more quickly. It has moderate sillage and lasts about 7 hours.

Stronger & More Extreme! :)

Id just tried the opium black just before this and loved it.The Opium Black Extreme is just that, I’m happy to say. It had a more extreme coffee-like scent to it, in the way the previous Opium black gave off. I usually like extreme, almost cloying scents. This is not cloying at all, but it does have a longer standing throughout the day, with a stronger output per spray.For me, it’s nice to need less sprays per bottle, because I can get a little ridiculous with the layers.I did get compliments on a few outings even. I was stopped at lunch just yesterday, and at the antique shop I shop at often. So that was nice.My daily fragrance is Born in Roma. But this is in my top 5 now.And the lady’s at Saphora were adorably helpful. I think I sampled every perfume in ... MoreId just tried the opium black just before this and loved it.The Opium Black Extreme is just that, I’m happy to say. It had a more extreme coffee-like scent to it, in the way the previous Opium black gave off. I usually like extreme, almost cloying scents. This is not cloying at all, but it does have a longer standing throughout the day, with a stronger output per spray.For me, it’s nice to need less sprays per bottle, because I can get a little ridiculous with the layers.I did get compliments on a few outings even. I was stopped at lunch just yesterday, and at the antique shop I shop at often. So that was nice.My daily fragrance is Born in Roma. But this is in my top 5 now.And the lady’s at Saphora were adorably helpful. I think I sampled every perfume in there!

The Best Black Opium

I have tried every version of Black Opium. This is the best one by far.It is smokey, seductive, even mysterious, drying down with lovely florals while holding onto the spice and darkness that the original loses over time (in my opinion and on my skin). The bourbon in the vanilla note brings some added sensuality as well that makes this even sexier, darker, and elegant than the original without being too heavy.The vanilla is also not as strong as the one in Le Parfum, but on my skin Le Parfum pulls far too sweet. If you enjoy a really strong vanilla, then Le Parfum (warm vanilla dominant, supported by coffee and light white florals) may be the way to go. This is more dark white florals supported by a boozy vanilla.Extreme balances the florals, spice, coffee, ... MoreI have tried every version of Black Opium. This is the best one by far.It is smokey, seductive, even mysterious, drying down with lovely florals while holding onto the spice and darkness that the original loses over time (in my opinion and on my skin). The bourbon in the vanilla note brings some added sensuality as well that makes this even sexier, darker, and elegant than the original without being too heavy.The vanilla is also not as strong as the one in Le Parfum, but on my skin Le Parfum pulls far too sweet. If you enjoy a really strong vanilla, then Le Parfum (warm vanilla dominant, supported by coffee and light white florals) may be the way to go. This is more dark white florals supported by a boozy vanilla.Extreme balances the florals, spice, coffee, and vanilla perfectly. It smells like what Black Opium should always have been.YSL, I beg you. Please never discontinue this flanker. It's a masterpiece.And if you are not a fan of Black Opium, but like white florals in your perfumes, I strongly encourage you to try this one.

They changed this fragrance- not good anymore.

I delayed in buying this fragrance, and when I finally bought a bottle it was nothing like the one I smelled in store years ago. This used to be a really in your face coffee and chocolate smell with cinnamon, and now it is basically the same as the regular black opium. It is way too sweet, I don't smell any coffee at all, and the floral actually upsets my stomach. I think it smells like hair products. I don't think it is incredibly offensive or anything, but I would never wear this. It is so BASIC. It smells like an inexpensive celebrity fragrance or something. Maybe it wasn't selling as well as they would like and they just massively reformulated it without telling anyone. Since I personally shied away from it for so long because it was so unique, I guess I only ... MoreI delayed in buying this fragrance, and when I finally bought a bottle it was nothing like the one I smelled in store years ago. This used to be a really in your face coffee and chocolate smell with cinnamon, and now it is basically the same as the regular black opium. It is way too sweet, I don't smell any coffee at all, and the floral actually upsets my stomach. I think it smells like hair products. I don't think it is incredibly offensive or anything, but I would never wear this. It is so BASIC. It smells like an inexpensive celebrity fragrance or something. Maybe it wasn't selling as well as they would like and they just massively reformulated it without telling anyone. Since I personally shied away from it for so long because it was so unique, I guess I only have myself to blame for not buying it before.

Unusual and intriguing!

Black Opium Eau de Parfum Extreme is housed in a black bottle which is accentuated with silver glitter, giving it an air of elegance. The initial spritz is strong and you can really smell the coffee and cacao top notes mixed with the warmth of the bourbon vanilla. The fragrance transitions beautifully from the top to middle notes into a more complex and well- rounded scent. I really enjoy the more mellow top notes mixed with the slightly sweet, barely detectable floral middle notes. With “extreme” as part of the the name, I expected a strong and bold scent and was worried that the coffee notes would be overpowering which was thankfully not the case. After the initial dry down, the fragrance is very subtle and comforting. Overall, Black Opium is very unusual, ... MoreBlack Opium Eau de Parfum Extreme is housed in a black bottle which is accentuated with silver glitter, giving it an air of elegance. The initial spritz is strong and you can really smell the coffee and cacao top notes mixed with the warmth of the bourbon vanilla. The fragrance transitions beautifully from the top to middle notes into a more complex and well- rounded scent. I really enjoy the more mellow top notes mixed with the slightly sweet, barely detectable floral middle notes. With “extreme” as part of the the name, I expected a strong and bold scent and was worried that the coffee notes would be overpowering which was thankfully not the case. After the initial dry down, the fragrance is very subtle and comforting. Overall, Black Opium is very unusual, intriguing and is extremely different than any other fragrance. Just imagine walking down snow covered streets, wrapped in a thick and warm winter coat, past a florist and a café while catching whiffs of different types of hot drinks such as dark hot chocolate, vanilla lattes, and light roast coffee…Black Opium Eau de Parfum Extreme is definitely not a fresh and girly but a more mature, gourmand scent. The scent is cozy and comforting and too warm, at least for me, to be worn during the summer months. I would definitely recommend Black Optimum Eau de Perfume Extreme for the cooler fall and winter months. Overall it is not a scent I would wear daily but it is perfect for a night out![I received Yves Saint Laurent Beauty- Black Opium Extreme complimentary from Yves Saint Laurent Beauty USA in exchange for my honest review.]