Let’s begin with the definition of opium from the world English dictionary – the dried juice extracted from the unripe seed capsules of the opium poppy that contains alkaloids such as morphine and codeine and or something having a tranquillizing or stupefying effect

Whether it’s the smell, the packaging, the name, the hype or its appeal to a particular market each fragrance has its own uniqueness. The popular and controversial name, Opium perfume by Yves Saint Laurent was launched in 1977 as an oriental spicy perfume.  The noses behind the fragrance are Jean Amic and Jean-Louis Sieuzac. Opium perfume has stood the test of time and been around for more than thirty years and still going strong becoming a timeless classic for women around the globe. With the success of Opium for women, Yves Saint Laurent launched the male version, Opium Pour Homme which was launched in 1995.

A perfume of a provocative and egregious name, when Opium perfume was released, we were given an insight into the fascination and inspiration by Yves Saint Laurent’s attraction of the Orient. This perfume also displays the understanding that Yves Saint Laurent had of a women’s nature. Opium perfume is a symbol of the many facets of a woman’s personality and their hidden enigmatic passions.

Opium perfume opens the window to the fantasy world, exploring the mystery of the unknown, an extraordinary elsewhere full of sensations, magic and emotions. Opium perfume is an embodiment of all that is mysterious and enchanting in our lives. This is truly a perfume that rouses our imagination with its exotic accords. When you open the Opium perfume bottle you are quickly embraced with the smell of luscious rich and heady spices, flower tones and the notes of deep woody tones.

Opium excites the senses with a unique blend of a fruity and aromatic opening with mandarin, bergamot and lily of the valley. The rich and spicy heart reveals its sensuality with jasmine, carnation and myrrh. The deep sensual base lingers on the skin with vanilla, amber, sweet myrrh and patchouli leaving a trail that arouses desire.

Opium Perfume By Yves Saint Laurent

Lets start off with the meaning of EUPHORIA. The dictionary definition – a feeling of happiness, confidence, or well-being sometimes exaggerated in pathological states as mania.  When you describe extreme happiness to someone, the natural reaction is you cannot help but smile. Evidently when describing Calvin Klein’s Euphoria perfume, your mood instantly changes into a cheerful and happy feeling.

Calvin Klein Euphoria perfume was launched in year of 2005 with great acclaim and response. The Calvin Klein Euphoria perfume was nominated for that years Fifi award for best luxe perfume and no surprises there it took out the prestigious award over its rivals. The noses behind the fragrance were perfume creators Dominique Ropin, Carlos Benaim and Loc Dong.

Euphoria by Calvin Klein is a fun, flirty and exotic floral-fruity fragrance. It’s an enticingly beautiful fragrance which is mysterious. It invites you to really enjoy all the beautiful things in life. The fragrance is very reminiscent and appealing like the mystifying flowers, exotic fruits and a rich creamy signature creating a memorable impression with just one spray.

Top notes of pomegranate, green accord, persimmon open the sensation while heart notes of champaca flower, black orchid and lotus blossom unfold. Base notes of cream accord, mahogany wood, liquid amber and black violet complete the oriental woody harmony. Calvin Klein Euphoria perfume is a fragrance of sophistication with sensual tones, confidence yet mysterious with and edgy touch on the playful side in a bottle.

Due to the success of the Euphoria perfume, Calvin Klein launched several limited edition successes to the original also with great success. First inline was Euphoria Luminous Lustre which was launched in 2006, an oriental fragrance, Euphoria Blossom was introduced in 2006 as an oriental floral fragrance, Euphoria Crystalline released in 2007 as a floral version and two newer versions were released in 2009, Euphoria Eau De Toilette also an oriental floral fragrance and Euphoria spring temptation as an floral perfume. Whatever your type of fragrance family is, there is a Calvin Klein Euphoria perfume to suit everyone woman.

Euphoria Perfume

Euphoria Blossom Perfume

If you’re like us and watch the current affairs shows like the Today Tonight episode on the other night, you will appreciate the saying you get what you pay for. Like the statement suggest, the show was about the all the fake products and fake brands that are available for purchase at a fraction of the original recommended retail price. Major brands and products ranged from cheap perfume and fragrances, handbags, movies, music, clothing, make up, watches, wallets and much more.

The industry is estimated at a trillion dollars. Wow, that’s a lot of money and it’s not often you hear the word trillion. All the major brands are victims of the fake market which is fuelled by people who purchase these fake brands and products. The copies have advanced so much that on some products the differences are very hard to point out and in some case impossible to pick.

It’s simple, the more fake brands and products are purchased the more reason for these fakes to be produced and sold. Getting what you pay for is exactly that, dangerous and harmful materials are used, life of the products are shortened, no warranty or guarantees and more often than not fake business are setup  as a forefront to ensure customers the products are the real deal.

When buying cheap perfume be very careful that you are getting the real thing and do your research beforehand.  Be suspicious of really cheap perfume. There several ways to identify fake perfume and we have a guide that’s easy and will assist when trying to spot the fake from the real. http://www.myperfume.com.au/blog/hints-tips/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-a-fake-and-genuine-perfume.html

Perfumes have been a very important part of culture and religion since ancient times. Not only were the perfumes valuable but so were the bottles that held them. The oldest known perfume bottles came from the Ancient Egyptians. They used containers made of stone and alabaster which kept the perfume cool and did not leak the precious liquids. Many perfume containers have been found in tombs around the globe. Scents and perfume were an important part of the Egyptians preparation of the dead.

Some glass bottles date back to the fifteenth century BC. The glass perfume bottles adorned the homes of the noble and wealthy. While early scents were designed to ward off bad spirits, grace the gods and disguise body odors, the bottles were a true symbol of luxury. In Greek and Roman times, scent bottle designs became increasingly more sophisticated, even imitating the shapes of birds, humans and other animals.

Perfume bottles found in Palestine were made of glass, and had narrow long necks. They were primarily found in tombs. They believed the perfume bottles would cover the smell of the dead bodies.

The Ancient Greeks made beautiful containers for perfume. They hand painted vases which were often shaped as animals. They used lidded bowls for holding less expensive perfumes.

The Roman’s used hollowed-out precious stones to carry their most valuable perfumes before the introduction of glass bottles.

Glass blowing techniques had been developed in Syria. This was a huge advancement in bottle construction industry. Expensive Roman scent bottles created from transparent glass adorned with coloured decorations were widely acclaimed.

Today the trading of unusual, limited editions and ancient perfume bottles has become big business. Their books and material on how, when to be collecting the perfume bottles, conventions, places to sell and buy the perfume bottles. This usually happens at auctions, exhibitions and collectors markets where dealers and appraisers are presents for evaluations of the precious bottles.

The Fragrance Foundation was established in 1949 by six industry leaders affiliated with Elizabeth Arden, Coty, Guerlain, Helena Rubenstein, Chanel and Parfums Weil, to develop educational programs about the importance and pleasures of fragrance for the American public. Today, America is the largest fragrance market in the world and The Fragrance Foundation has become an international source for historic, cultural, scientific and industry related reference materials.

The FiFi Awards are an annual event sponsored by The Fragrance Foundation which honour the perfume industry’s creative achievements and are considered the “Oscars” of the fragrance industry. These awards have been held annually in New York since 1973 and are attended by around 1,000 members of the international fragrance community, designers and celebrities from the fashion, theater, film or television industries.

The 2010 FiFi awards were recently held in New York City and here are some of the winners in their respective categories.

This was reproduced from fragrance.org with permission of The Fragrance Foundation “Copyright ©2001 The Fragrance Foundation. All Rights Reserved.”

In the world of perfumes there are hundreds of brands, different perfumes and fragrances, enormous advertising campaigns with well known public figures like celebrities and models endorsing them. There are many perfumes that have over the years stood out more than the rest. As we all have different opinions, some might say the best selling fragrance is that of a unisex type used by both men and women. Unisex might have a bigger market both genders like the scent and both genders use it.

If it is the French perfumes, there is no question that their reputation has a big sway. French perfumes have won a secured place in the arena of perfumes for a long time. As statistics show that French perfumes sell very well and earn the French perfume industry billions of dollars. Many perfumes are released into the market and the few true classics emerge by standing the test of time.

Now there is no compromise with price and what is liked by all becomes the times tested perfume. The question still remains, what is the best selling perfume of all time? A timeless classic, It is the one and only,  CHANEL N°5. This famous perfume was created for Coco Chanel in 1921 by a perfume creator named Ernest Beaux. Ernest Beaux presented Gabrielle Chanel with a choice of fragrances; she barely hesitated before choosing the fifth one, which was to become CHANEL N°5.

This top-selling perfume is very popular among celebrities. In addition to being a favourite fragrance of Marilyn Monroe, the latest celebrity to join the list is none other than Nicole Kidman. CHANEL N°5 has been on sale continuously since its introduction in 1921. Like many other iconic brands, CHANEL N°5 secured a place in the art world. In 1959 Andy Warhol, did a series of nine silk screens of the CHANEL N°5 bottle.

“The secret of timelessness is to simplify, to pare down, to keep only what is essential” Gabrielle Chanel

CHANEL N°5