Midnight Noir 24

Midnight Noir 24 is The Parfum Hub's dupe of Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium (2014), the floral-coffee gourmand that has become one of the best-selling feminine fragrances of the last decade. The pyramid takes a similar fruity-floral-gourmand route: bergamot, pink pepper, blackcurrant, pineapple, raspberry and aldehydes open bright and fruity, iris, orris butter, jasmine and rose build a powdery floral heart, and oud, vanilla, cedarwood, solar notes, musk and patchouli settle into a warm, sweet base. The fruity-floral opening and vanilla-forward drydown are recognisably in the same family as Black Opium's cozy, comforting character. What's noticeably absent is the roasted black coffee note that is the entire reason Black Opium became a phenomenon in the first place - without it, this version reads as a generic sweet vanilla-fruity floral rather than the specific coffee-jasmine contrast that made the original so distinctive, and it falls short of the eight-to-ten-hour longevity Black Opium is known for. A pleasant, sweet gourmand for fans of the vanilla-fruity side of Black Opium, minus its signature coffee kick.