Cavallier manages to create a perfume in which amber, vanilla, and sweet resins intertwine perfectly with the spicy, astringent and fruity area of it.

Also a bit similar to 1989's Elizabeth Taylor Passion for Men, but Passion is a little sweeter than Opium Pour Homme. However, if you do not have a problem with pepper or cedar, Opium is the dankest fragrance you can get. It was, of course, the newest reformulation, I thought it was the same as always, and I was happy with my bottle. The ginger and pepper notes slowly come forward over around 20-30 min after this cools off and After about an hour it keeps a tiny some of of that initial edge, but the cedary woody notes come forward a lot more.Don't let the opening scare you off its the shortest part let this baby fully dry down and give it a chance. In all honesty, I can judge audio speakers and balance sheets with a fair bit of acumen but the arts and scents (fragrances) elude me.

The original gives me a solid 8+ hours longevity with incredible sillage and a good 4ft projection for 3+ hours before slowly tailing off. yes, there is the blackcurrant, and yes, it is funky, but that doesn't detract from the scent one bit. The problem for me is that I find the scent slightly irritating, probably due to pepper and cedar, so it spoils the fun a bit. I still have a factory sealed strong old version that I may be willing to part with but it's not going to be cheap.

For now, I'm going to enjoy my EDT, and let's hope I can find some of the infamous EDP to know more about this oriental spicy legend. Initially sprayed on test strip, this smelled like a plastic beach ball with vanilla and sweet spices rubbed on it (lol). The Black Currant blends well with the Star Anise, and you get a boozy vanilla undertone with pepper.