Despite the sales assistant advice, who really wanted to push me some other fragrance, I bought my first 30ml bottle. The original gives me a solid 8+ hours longevity with incredible sillage and a good 4ft projection for 3+ hours before slowly tailing off. And besides, if my nose doesn't fool me, I think that from the original formula to this one there have been no major changes.

It sure smells sexy, elegant yet approachable and I can only imagine how it must have been back in the day.Maybe if you are only familiar with the very synthetic fragrances of today it will be difficult to love, but it is still a masterpiece. I myself will be picking up a backup bottle in the very near future and for how much I love this fragrance I may have to get a few backup bottles.

i dont know if the edp with the blue cover is discontinued but i heard is not available in most of countries. The Black Currant blends well with the Star Anise, and you get a boozy vanilla undertone with pepper. Surely, there are more assertive orientals out there, but none is as sophisticated as Opium pour Homme. I imagine the scene would be," During the 12th or 13th century a perfumer from the west is in the spice bazaar of some far east country for the first time and all these new smells are awakening his senses as never before.First you’ll enjoy the delicious fruit cocktail of currants and mandarins, supplemented by aromatic star anise and the essence of masculinity – lavender. In any case Opium pour Homme is pleasantly intoxicating in its own right: opens with an effervescent fruity note (that I would never have identified as blackcurrant) paired with a subtle anise (reminds me of watered absinth), wonderfully different to a more traditional citrus or bergamot overture, and evolves to become a wonderfully creamy ambery vanilla with a soft spicy aspect. Starts heavy like Dior Fahrenheit, not pleasant, but quickly goes to heavy vanilla base with black currant reaching out and stinging your nostrils. Sure, after an hour it dries down to a nice vanilla scent like most vanilla fragrance does but I really don't like the opening or that first hour.

This is a scent profile that is hard to find in the current bunch of modern day releases But yet can stand tall and high and makes you stand out amongst a crowd where you get the Designers Bleus, Sauvages, Eros, Gourmands Niches etc. According to this site, and something that I've never been aware of, the other top note is Blackcurrant. But give it a bit and after about 10-15 min it starts to follow the opening and progression of the EDT albeit at a slower more prolonged pace with slightly more modulated spicey blast as compared to the EDT, but still with a stronger black currant note which is much nicer once it takes a step back. I can never pull this off unless I'm wearing a suit or am going out at night, and even then, I have to limit myself to one or two sprays max so I don't offend anyone with it's harsh, distinct smell.

The scent is reminiscent of a very different time than now, a composition with ingredients that seem exotic and foreign. I recently picked up a new bottle and I like it even better now than back when it was first released. Even though it's EDT concentration, this easily outperforms many of the EDP and extrait concentrated fragrances in my collection, and mine isn't even a vintage formula - I bought it last year and presumably it's from 2019 or 2020. Update - if you're looking for a near identical clone of this famous fragrance, try 'Mystery Tobacco' (2016) by Carolina Herrera, it is very, very similar to the original.