Our take
What does Black Opium Neon smell like?
Late in 2019, Yves Saint Laurent added another chapter to the Black Opium family, which started in 2014. This one is called Neon and landed at Sephora in 10, 30 and 75 ml bottles. The house never named a perfumer, and retailers disagree on who made it. The opening is unusual for the line: pitahaya, mandarin and citron. Dragon fruit has almost no smell of its own, so what you get is mostly a juicy, tart effect. Coffee returns in the heart as expected. It is less roasted than in the original, softened by orange blossom and a fairly sunny sambac jasmine. Vanilla and musk do the usual job in the base. The result smells like Black Opium with the windows open. Compared with the original, which is darker and sweeter, Neon comes across fresher and fruitier. It keeps the same coffee backbone, though, so you can tell where it comes from by the second hour.
When to wear it
Wear it in warm weather, for evenings or weekends when classic Black Opium feels too heavy. Two sprays are plenty because the coffee comes through fast.
It belongs to the Oriental / Amber family. Black Opium Neon is one of 35 creations by Yves Saint Laurent in our encyclopedia.
