Opium(1977)

Created by Jean-Louis Sieuzac for Yves Saint Laurent, Opium opens on mandarin, clove, and bay leaf, moves through a heart of carnation, jasmine, and cinnamon, and closes on myrrh, patchouli, amber, vanilla, and labdanum. Its name and imperial Chinese-inspired marketing generated significant controversy on release, controversy that Saint Laurent's house leveraged rather than avoided, helping make Opium one of the most talked-about fragrance launches of the decade. Its dense, spiced-amber-myrrh structure represented one of the boldest, most maximalist orientals since Youth Dew. Opium became enormously commercially successful and remains one of the most historically significant and widely imitated oriental fragrances ever released.