Opium is an Oriental-spicy

perfume Perfume (, ) is a mixture of fragrance, fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), Fixative (perfumery), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agre ...

for women, created for the French fashion house Yves Saint Laurent by perfumers Jean Amic and Jean-Louis Sieuzac. Introduced to the market in 1977, Opium quickly generated publicity with its controversial name and the ensuing press coverage helped to increase its sales. In late 2000, an advertising campaign for the product featured English model

Sophie Dahl Sophie Dahl (born Sophie Holloway on 15 September 1977) is an English author and former fashion model. Her first novel, ''The Man with the Dancing Eyes'', was published in 2003 followed by ''Playing With the Grown-ups'' in 2007. In 2009, she w ...

, whose nudity and bodily expressions in the advertisement were met with mixed reactions internationally. The top

notes Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened versi ...

of Opium are a mixture of fruits and spices, with mandarin orange, plum, clove,

coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

and pepper, as well as bay leaf. Its floral middle notes consist predominantly jasmine, rose and

lily of the valley Lily of the valley (''Convallaria majalis'' ), sometimes written lily-of-the-valley, is a woodland flowering plant with sweetly scented, pendent, bell-shaped white flowers borne in sprays in spring. It is native throughout the cool temperate No ...

, in addition to

carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' ( ), commonly known as carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus'' native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region. Its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive cultivation over the last 2,00 ...

, cinnamon, peach and

orris root Orris root (''Rhizoma iridis''; etymology possibly an alteration of ''iris (plant), iris'') is the root of ''Iris germanica'' and ''Iris pallida''. It had the common name of Queen Elizabeth Root. It is commonly used as a fixative (perfumery), fi ...

. It is underlined by the sweet woody base note containing sandalwood, cedarwood, myrrh, opopanax,

labdanum Labdanum, also called ladanum, ladan, or ladanon, is a sticky brown resin obtained from the shrubs ''Gum rockrose, Cistus ladanifer'' (western Mediterranean) and ''Cistus creticus'' (eastern Mediterranean), species of rockrose. It was historicall ...

, benzoin resin and

castoreum Castoreum is a yellowish exudate from the castor sacs of mature beavers used in combination with urine to territorial marking, scent mark their territory. Both beaver sexes have a pair of castor sacs and a pair of anal glands, located in two c ...

, in addition to amber, musk, patchouli,

tolu balsam Tolu balsam or balsam of Tolu is a balsam that originates from South America (Colombia, Peru, Venezuela). It is similar to (and frequently confounded with) the balsam of Peru. It is tapped from the living trunks of '' Myroxylon balsamum var. b ...

and

vetiver ''Chrysopogon zizanioides'', commonly known as vetiver and khus, is a perennial bunchgrass of the family Poaceae. Vetiver is most closely related to sorghum while sharing many morphological characteristics with other fragrant grasses, such as ...

Naming and theme

Opium caused a stir with its controversial name and brought accusations that the brand designer Yves Saint Laurent was condoning drug use. In the United States, a group of Chinese Americans demanded a change of the name and a public apology from Saint Laurent for "his insensitivity to Chinese history and Chinese American concerns." They formed a committee called the American Coalition Against Opium and Drug Abuse, which expressed outrage at the choice of a name representing "a menace that destroyed many lives in China." However, the ensuing press coverage helped to increase the sales, with the perfume soon becoming a best-selling product. For its promotional U.S. launch party in 1978, the German ship ''

Peking Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is l ...

''—named after the Chinese city of

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

—was rented from the

South Street Seaport Museum The South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan, centered where Fulton Street (Manhattan), Fulton Street meets the East River, within the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial ...

and draped with colorful banners, the well-known American novelist

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics ...

sitting at its helm at the event. ''Peking'', along with a bronze statue of the Buddha that was decorated with white

cattleya ''Cattleya'' () is a genus of orchids from Costa Rica south to Argentina. The genus is abbreviated C in trade journals. Description Epiphyte, Epiphytic or terrestrial orchids with cylindrical rhizome from which the fleshy noodle-like roots ...

orchids, displayed the supposed Eastern theme of the perfume at the party. The brand conveyed the theme into the red plastic container holding the perfume's glass vial, which Pierre Dinand designed based on ''

inro An is a traditional Japanese case for holding small objects, suspended from the (sash) worn around the waist when wearing a kimono. They are often highly decorated with various materials such as lacquer and various techniques such as , and are ...

''—the small Japanese

lacquer Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity. Asian lacquerware, which may be c ...

ed cases that were worn hanging from the and held perfumes, herbs and medicines. Opium, Lilac Perfume Oil and White Musk from

The Body Shop The Body Shop International Limited, trading as the Body Shop, is a British cosmetics, skin care, and perfume company founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick, who opened her first store in Brighton, England. The company is now based in London Bridge ...

, Juniper Breeze from

Bath & Body Works Bath & Body Works, LLC. is an American retail store chain that sells soaps, lotions, fragrances, and candles. It was founded in 1990 in New Albany, Ohio, New Albany, Ohio and has since expanded across six continents. In 1997, it became the large ...

and Royal Secret formerly Germaine Monteil were among the perfumes tested in 2003 in a study of the relationship of scents to memory.

Advertising campaign controversy

A poster

advertising campaign An advertising campaign or marketing campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ide ...

for the perfume caused another controversy in October–November 2000. It featured English model

lying on her back naked except for a necklace, a bracelet and a pair of stiletto heels, with her eyes closed, seemingly in the throes of ecstasy, and her legs spread apart as she covers one of her nipples with her hand, leaving the other exposed. This advertising campaign, photographed by

Steven Meisel Steven Meisel (born June 5, 1954) is an American fashion photographer, who obtained popularity and critical acclaim with his work in '' Vogue'' and '' Vogue Italia'' as well as his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book, '' Sex''. He is ...

, was widely seen in print advertisements and posters in bus shelters across many countries. It won an award in Spain but was met with negative reactions in some places, particularly in the United Kingdom. The British Advertising Standards Authority received more than 700 complaints from the public, and ordered the posters to be withdrawn on the grounds that they were too sexually suggestive, degrading to women, and likely to cause "serious or widespread offence". American journalist

Susan Faludi Susan Charlotte Faludi (; born April 18, 1959) is an American feminism, feminist, journalist, and author. She won a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism in 1991, for a report on the leveraged buyout of Safeway Stores, Inc., a report that the ...

argued that certain perfume advertising campaigns pushed "idealization of weak yielding women" to the extreme, citing the Opium advertisement as a primary example.

''Opium pour Homme''

YSL launched the male complement ''Opium pour Homme'' in 1995, created by

Jacques Cavallier Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud (born 24 January 1962) is a French perfumer, formerly with the Swiss fragrance and flavor company Firmenich, who currently works for Louis Vuitton of the LVMH Luxury Group. He has created or collaborated in the cre ...

of Firmenich. Its main note is set by

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

, with

black currant The blackcurrant (''Ribes nigrum''), also known as black currant or cassis, is a deciduous shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its edible berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, w ...

galangal Galangal () is a rhizome of plants in the ginger family Zingiberaceae, with culinary and medicinal uses originating in Indonesia. It is one of four species in the genus ''Alpinia'', and is known for its pungent, aromatic flavor. Greater gal ...

star anise ''Illicium verum'' (star anise or badian, Chinese star anise, star anise seed, star aniseed and star of anise) is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to South China and northeast Vietnam. Its star-shaped pericarps harvested just before ripen ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

and

pepper Pepper(s) may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plants ** Black pepper ** Long pepper ** Kampot pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanacea ...

, fusing with base notes of

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae * Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona ...

and

Tolu balsam Tolu balsam or balsam of Tolu is a balsam that originates from South America (Colombia, Peru, Venezuela). It is similar to (and frequently confounded with) the balsam of Peru. It is tapped from the living trunks of '' Myroxylon balsamum var. b ...

. Its flask was designed by Jérôme Failliant-Dumas.

Commercials

In 1992 and 1999, U.S. film director

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

created commercials for ''Opium''.

Notes

References

External links

Opium Eau de Toilette
(YSL) {{Parfums Yves Saint Laurent Perfumes Products introduced in 1977 Yves Saint Laurent (brand)