OPIUM (the breath of four* raging Chinese dragons), the seams split and the hinges break.

A lascivious, oriental, magical fragrance, spicy with pure bliss, unbelievably sensual, mysterious, addictive, intoxicating.

A resinous fragrance, divinely hellish, immensely intoxicating, with men surrendering to its allure.

A fragrance of forbidden euphoria, a seductive bombshell that takes your breath away, a fragrance of ecstasy and carnal pleasures.

It will be the Greatest, and we will call it Opium (It will be the Greatest, and we will call it Opium).                                  (Yves saint Laurent - 1976)

AWARD (1979) from the Fragrance Foundation: YVES SAINT LAURENT OPIUM Fragrance of the Year – Women's Prestige - Fragrance of the Year – Women's Prestige.

The OPIUM fragrance (1977) is an intangible part of world cultural heritage.

It is the third women's fragrance launched by YVES SAINT LAURENT PARFUMS.

Twenty-nine (29) OPIUM editions have been launched to date, but the First is unrepeatable.

In 1963, the American cosmetics company Charles of the Ritz began working with YVES SAINT LAURENT.

This fragrance is from the First Era (1963–1986), made in France. Production took place at the Yves Saint Laurent factory, which belonged to the same group as Charles of the Ritz, which owned 80% of Yves Saint Laurent.

Oval cinnabar-colored (red) box, the flowers of fire in gold, all details in the same color, two borders of black (blue)/gold/black (blue) in the center; all the other details at the top and bottom in black (blue)/gold. At the bottom, YVES SAINT LAURENT appears on a black (blue) border. The inside of the box is purple, and the product's protective cover is the same color; everything is dreamy.

Bottle enclosed in a bakelite lacquer case, cinnabar-colored (red), based on an antique Japanese samurai design called Inro*. In the middle and on the right side of the bottle is the round window; all details are gold. There are four small supports for the bottle on the base.

Inro* case (lacquered), for carrying small objects such as coarse salt, spices, herbs, opium, etc.; it was hung from their belt or beneath the kimono.

White clasp, hemispherical in shape, with a gold-colored strip at the bottom and a base in the same color. A black silk cord with gold-plated fittings passes through the clasp and ends in a black silk tassel.

The fragrance was to be named after the design of the bottle.

The stunning red packaging and the bottle, a work of art, were designed by the famous designer Pierre Dinand.

The bottle was made by French artisans at Pochet du Courval, bearing the HP trademark, a world leader in glass packaging for luxury fragrances, and the case was made by artisans at MBF PLASTIQUES.

The product was imported, packaged and manufactured in France, and distributed in Greece by BIONIKI S.A. (158 Alexandras Avenue, Athens). We had exclusive sales rights as authorized distributors. 

PERFUMERS : Jean Louis Sieuzac, Jean Amic and Raymond Chaillan, using raw materials from Roure Bertrand Dupont, needed thirty (30) attempts to complete this unique fragrance.

AROMATIC RAW MATERIALS: (BOTANICAL – MINERAL – ANIMAL) AND SYNTHETIC (CHEMICAL):

Bergamot (Calabria) - Lemon (Citrus limon - Sicily) - Mandarin (Citrus reticulata) - Neroli (Citrus aurantium – Orange blossom - Calabria) - Plum (Plum) - Clove (Syzygium aromaticum – Sun-dried buds - Zanzibar) - Black pepper (Piper nigrum) - Coriander (Coriandrum sativum - India) – West Indian Bay Leaves (Bay leaf West Indian – Pimenta racemosa – Caribbean).

Jasmine (Jasminum grandiflorum – Grasse) - Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata – Madagascar) - Rose (Rosa damascena – Bulgaria) - Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus – India) - Orris root (Iris pallida) -  Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) - Peach (Prunus persica) - Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum).

Sandalwood (Mysore) - Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin – Leaves - Malaysia) - Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides – Java) - Cedarwood (Cèdre de Virginie - Juniperus virginiana – Red cedar) - Benzoin (Siam - Styrax tonkinensis – Thailand) – Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia – Bourbon Vanilla – Réunion) - Musk (Moschus moschiferus – Tibet) - Benzoin (Java – Styrax benzoin - Indonesia) - Frankincense (Boswellia carterii - Yemen) - Labdanum (Cistus ladaniferus) – Tolu balsam (Myroxylon balsamum – Colombia) - Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha – Yemen) - Opopanax (Commiphora erythraea var.glabrescens - Iran) - Castoreum (Castor fiber) - Ambergris.

Aldehydes.

A lascivious, oriental, magical fragrance, spicy with pure bliss, unbelievably sensual, mysterious, addictive, intoxicating.

A resinous fragrance, divinely hellish, immensely intoxicating, with men surrendering to its allure.

A fragrance of forbidden euphoria, a seductive bombshell that takes your breath away, a fragrance of ecstasy and carnal pleasures.

The OPIUM fragrance (1977) is an intangible part of world cultural heritage.

Period advertisement (1977) : No fragrance has ever caused such a sensation.

THE   PRODUCT   IS   UNTOUCHED

THE   PRODUCT   HAS   NOT   BEEN   USED

CERTIFICATION NUMBER KEEF (State Laboratory for the Control of Medicines/1973) : K.P. 609/80

GENUINE   AND   RARE 

THE   BOX   IS   SEALED   WITH   CELLOPHANE

MADE  IN  FRANCE    EMB  60350       

PRODUCT CODE : 05015

The production code is on the bottom of the bottle.

ÁÁÁ      EDITION

Inside the box is an information leaflet about OPIUM products.

Opium is one of the most counterfeited fragrances in history: someone estimated that there are ten fake bottles for every genuine one. Therefore, it is possible that many people have never tried real Opium, having always worn a fake fragrance, writes

about Opium, on the blog (Raiders of the Lost Scent) a distinguished fragrance expert. 

As you will see in the photo section, there are no photos of the inside of the box or of the bottle, because firstly, we are prohibited from unsealing fragrances, and secondly, it would not be right to do so and deprive the buyer-collector of the joy and pleasure of being the first to open a product after many decades—43 consecutive years, to be precise.

PRODUCTION  1981 → (1245)  

PRODUCTION  1982 → (2224)  

Four digits on the box and five digits on the bottle: the same digits plus the digit (1) or (2).

four* = So they reach all four points of the horizon.