Red Velvet

YSL's Black Opium Over Red put cherry on top of the brand's coffee-vanilla signature, and this version follows the same reinterpretation: bright cherry opens it, black tea and orange blossom carry the heart, and coffee, Madagascan vanilla and patchouli settle the base. The opening is a strong match, sweet and cherry-forward in exactly the way the 2024 flanker distinguished itself from the original Black Opium. Where the two diverge is in how long that coffee-vanilla-patchouli base holds together. YSL's version keeps a dense, grounded coffee note running underneath the cherry for hours; Red Velvet's base is noticeably lighter, and the coffee-patchouli combination fades into a simpler sweet vanilla within a few hours rather than anchoring the composition the way the designer version does. Projection starts bold and cherry-bright, then drops off steadily. It's a fun, faithful-smelling way to try the cherry-edged Black Opium variation for an evening out, but it won't carry the coffee-vanilla depth through a long night the way the original does.