Bold and feminine, Black Yves Saint Laurent is fragrance with a difference, to say the least!
Created by perfumers Nathalie Lorson, Marie Salamagne, Honorine Blanc and Olivier Cresp, Black Yves Saint Laurent plays on the intense pay-off that happens when darkness meets sweet luminescence.
Just like that first shot of caffeine with white flowers to go with it, this new generation oriental gourmand is different from the structure of the classic perfume, and instead is inspired by the artistic movement of the “chiaroscuro”, where the emphasis is on the contrast and tension between light and dark.
Four stars of the fragrance world bring their different strengths to Black Yves Saint Laurent, creating an original, enticing, multi-faceted new fragrance. Nathalie Lorson creates the black and intense coffee accord. Marie Salamagne’s idea of “rock” revolves around the crisp notes of pear, and the electric pink pepper; Olivier Cresp’s vision focuses on the addictive nature of fragrance while Honorine Blanc, based in New York, looks for light in everything, working in particular in this instance with white flowers.
Playing on the incongruity between the bitterness of the coffee bean accord, an ingredient never used before in such a high quantity in a feminine fragrance and radiant white flowers, Black Yves Saint Laurent gives a sensation of light-headedness, bordering on ecstasy.
First there is the wake-up call. The coffee bean note hits you hard, jolting the senses. Next, it becomes softer and more feminine with the white flowers of jasmine sambac and absolu of fleur d’oranger to finish incredibly addictive and emboldened by the ambrosial appeal of vanilla and the woody notes of cedar and patchouli, giving a roundness, depth, and mysterious elegance.
This play on light and dark is instantly subversive, piquing the curiosity of all who come near; inviting them back for more; willing players all in an olfactory game with an intense pay-off.
Audacious? Perhaps. Addictive, electrifying? Definitely.
The shape seems strangely familiar: the round, feminine centre at the heart of the square iconic OPIUM bottle.
But that’s where the similarities end.
Finished in a matt, black glitter, there’s something intensely urban about the Black Yves Saint Laurent bottle, as if it could only live in a city. Its diamond-dust finish sparkles gently, a diamond in the rough, yet always subtle. Incongruous in a downtown environment it is the antithesis of “bling”. Subversive, tactile, it belongs in the palm of a hand, feels enjoined. A part of you.
Then there’s the ring of fire at its core, a burning, womanly gold that blazes full of energy, yet has its own softness and sophistication. Aristocratic, cool, not quite what is expected, yet hard, too.
Echoing the three dimensional appeal of the precious juice it holds within, the bottle is encased in an opulent black box, the famous “Cassandre” symbol magnified in black glitter, the Black Yves Saint Laurent logo in a delicate pink gold.
