Black Opium Alternative: Yves Saint Laurent’s Black Opium has been a staple scent in the brand’s collection for years. With notes of sweet vanilla and strong coffee, the fragrance can charm almost anyone.
Sadly, the delightful scent is also quite an investment. So, if you’re in the market for Black Opium* alternatives, you’ve come to the right place.
Let’s take a look at some of the perfumes that share the top notes with this fragrance.
Top 20 Black Opium Alternative
Without further ado, let’s jump into some of the fragrances that share the Black Opium scent.
1. Instyle Fragrances Inspired by YSL Black Opium
If you’re looking for a lighter version of Black Opium, then this scent may be for you. The YSL perfume inspired Instyle Fragrances with one major difference.
The coffee notes in Instyle are much more muted. That means the aroma is slightly lighter, with less staying power.
2. Alexandria London Destination
Alexandria’s London Destination is a softer version of Black Opium. It has strong coffee and licorice notes with a nice floral background. On top of that, London Destination is unisex.
Sadly, this fragrance doesn’t contain the spicy finish of the YSL perfume.
3. Little Black Dress Be Layered
The top notes in Little Black Dress are orange blossom, pink pepper, cedar, and jasmine. These are similar to Black Opium’s mid-notes.
To top it all off, there’s a small sprinkle of coffee essence in the perfume. This creates an almost identical scent to the YSL fragrance.
4. Divain-167
YSL’s Black Opium directly inspired Divain-167. Because of that, both scents are similar, with a few differences.
For starters, the vanilla in 167 is incredibly pronounced. Other than that, the floral notes of the perfume are much more subtle.
5. Alt Fleur Noire
Fleur Noire is a sweeter version of Black Opium. At first, the only scents you can identify are bitter coffee and sugary vanilla.
Then after the perfume dries down, you get a kick from the spicey pink pepper notes. On top of that, there are subtle hints of pear and jasmine.
6. Bodycare Lovali Black Addiction
At first glance, you’ll notice this scent has an almost identical bottle to Black Opium. Although, that’s not where the similarities end.
Both fragrances use vanilla and pink pepper. However, Lovali focuses more on the amber undertones. That makes for a spicey, cozy scent.
7. PB Parfums Belcam Eau de Parfum
The three main notes of Belcam are black pepper, pear, and bitter almond. It also has hints of coffee and vanilla.
The final result is a sharp scent with a floral background. This is similar to Black Opium but delivers less of a punch.
Yet, this is one of the most affordable options on our list.
8. Floraiku Sound of a Ricochet
If you’re looking for an earthier version of Black Opium, this fragrance may be for you. Sound of a Ricochet’s main notes are vanilla and sandalwood.
This gives the perfume a warm finish. On top of that, it contains Tonka beans, which are similar to coffee, with a softer scent.
9. Good Girl Carolina Herrera
Good Girl by Carolina Herrera is a more complex version of Black Opium. Even though both of them share the same base notes, Good Girl has more of a kick.
This is likely due to the citrus notes. The Carolina Herrera fragrance has hints of lemon and bergamot that add a nice, fresh burst.
10. Dossier Ambery Vanilla
Dossier’s Ambery Vanilla combines all the main scents in Black Opium. It contains:
- Coffee
- Cedar
- Vanilla
- Pink pepper
- Licorice
- Jasmine
The only difference between the two is the concentrations of the essential oils. Instead of the warm scent of Black Opium, Ambery Vanilla has a much more feminine finish.
11. Fleur Noir by Caline
When you smell Fleur Noir, you’ll immediately pick up on the spice scent of pink peppers. Then, you’ll start to notice the notes of mandarin and Nashi pear.
These give the perfume a much brighter profile than Black Opium. Although, as soon as both scents dry down, all you can smell is the earthy coffee and amber notes.
12. Mademoiselle N.17 Parfums Constantine
One of Mademoiselle N.17’s base scents is cashmere wood. This adds a sharp, earthy spin to the classic floral notes.
You’ll notice straight away that this increases the complexity of the fragrance. It’ll leave you with a luxurious scent that can last all day.
13. Be Seduced Girl Johan B
Be Seduced Girl is a much more youthful take on Black Opium. This is probably because of the added cinnamon and praline notes.
On top of that, the perfume contains hints of roses and irises. These give the fragrance a spicey, sweet finish, that’s perfect for any night out.
14. Kisses Rain Renier Perfumes
Kisses Rain is a less mature version of Black Opium. You can still smell the coffee, vanilla, and amber.
However, the fragrance can fade a little in the background. This may not be ideal, but it makes the perfume great for layering.
15. Zara Gardenia
Most of us are familiar with Zara’s clothes collection. However, few know that the fashion brand also has its own line of alternative perfumes.
One of the best-selling products is Gardenia, which is a replica of Black Opium. It doesn’t have great lasting power, but it’s affordable.
16. Aldi Lacura Dark Blossom
Aldi is a grocery store that sells an assortment of products. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise to find out the brand makes a Black Opium alternative.
The scent is incredibly similar with slightly more pronounced citrus notes.
17. Oil Perfumery Black Opium Nuit Blanche
If you’re looking for a travel-size perfume, Oil Perfumery has the solution. Nuit Blanche smells like Black Opium but comes in a tiny container.
18. Vanille Café Comptoir Sud Pacifique
This fragrance combines coffee and bitter almonds in a swirl of acidic, earthy notes. They’re reminiscent of Black Opium, but with a sharper finish.
19. Fabulous Orchid Fragrance Mist Liu Jo
As you can tell by the name, Fabulous Orchid is more of a floral fragrance. However, it does faintly smell like Black Opium once it dries down.
20. Rawaa Al Haramain Perfumes
If you’re looking for something with more staying power than Black Opium, then Rawaa is for you. It’s a little more pungent than the YSL fragrance, but it has similar base notes.
Top Notes in Black Opium
Yves Saint Laurent launched Black Opium* in 2014. The brand focused on creating a scent for strong, emboldened women.
To help you find the perfect alternative, it’s a good idea to be aware of the top notes in the scent.
These include:
- Black coffee
- White flowers
- Warm vanilla
- Amber
- Almond
- Pink pepper
- Patchouli
- Cedar
- Jasmine
Wrapping Up
There are hundreds of Black Opium alternatives on the market. Some of these include Zara Gardenia, Fleur Noir by Caline, and Dossier Ambery Vanilla.
Other than that, you can check out Oil Perfumery and Vanilla Cafe for alternatives.
*Disclosure: We only recommend products we would use ourselves and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
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