Effects Of Uniq

Black Opium Le Parfum is one of the few perfumes that make me roll my eyes so far back that the whites start to show. It would have been my signature scent if I weren’t on a student’s budget. I save it for dates- often successful ones, coincidentally (make of that what you will) and the infrequent use only adds to its exclusivity. The original is overhyped, overused, and too bright, with the coffee note being too dominant, whereas Le Parfum is deeper, darker, more elegant, and sensual due to the combination of the four vanilla notes. I have been on the hunt for a worthy alternative ever since it came out, but my search proved futile. Enter Armaf’s Effects of Uniq. Reading people’s shared opinions on its likeness to Black Opium Le Parfum, my interest was piqued, and it was on its way to me in two mouse clicks. I almost bolted back home after receiving the notification of its arrival. My anticipation was sky-high, would it give me the same experience others had, or would it be too good to be true? After the initial spray, I was saddened to find that it was the latter. Effects of Uniq’s opening is bright due to the pear and mandarin notes and harsh because of the alcohol. Neither the vanilla, caramel, nor coffee notes were anywhere to be found. Where Le Parfum whispers, this one screeched. I disliked it so much that I vowed never to blind-buy a fragrance again until I sprayed it once more two days later. In true Middle Eastern perfume fashion, the opening was now less bright, less masculine-leaning, and the wafts of alcohol had vanished completely. It made way for the vanilla, caramel, and coffee, turning all the individual notes into one cohesive scent. It’s deeper, more rounded, and creamier, and I expect it will continue to develop further in this direction over time. Is it an indistinguishable twin of Le Parfum? No, but for the price point, it will keep me company during the daytime, while Le Parfum remains my weapon of choice for the evenings.

i LOVE. this. to be fair i’ve never smelt the original but i fell in love with this fragrance. it’s really elegant and mature whilst being nice and sweet, it’s hard to find a good balance between the two. this is definitely more suited to cooler weather. from the bottle: it starts smells almost like yakult, the probiotic drink! with hints of woody and musky notes on my skin: a fresh bottle is definitely slightly alcoholic but after waving my arm around it dies down quickly, i can definitely smell the musk, vanilla and caramel at this point. when you smell hard enough you get the mandarin and orange blossom. it ends up drying down really nice and woody and with patchouli with a subtle sweetness in general i would recommend this to people who want a more feminine leaning unisex perfume, and those who might have grown out of true gourmands but they still hold a place in their heart

#1713 in my “Tour de Fragrance” I have so many caramel dominant scents. My favorite candy as a kid. This is not gourmand sweet at all. Comes closest to Nobile 1942 “Levante”, but if you like Mugler “A*Men”, or the discontinued “Pure Malt”, Fragrance World “Star Men”, Xerjoff "Aqua Regia”, you’ll enjoy this as I do. I also would say if you’re a fan of all the Armani “Stronger with You” scents you probably will like this. For the ladies V Canto has something like this that adds some chocolate to the mix for a mocha latte effect called “Hamartia” that a girlfriend of mine really likes. I think this is solidly unisex. Good longevity and projection. More date wear for cold weather than business wear for me. And for $25 this is a no brainer. Good Luck and Good Hunting!

This fragrance sits somewhere between the original YSL Black Opium and Black Opium Over Red, but with an extra twist that I absolutely love. I went to the drugstore to compare it with Black Opium Le Parfum, but surprisingly, I found it less similar to that one than to the two fragrances I mentioned above. Out of all the perfumes I own (and there are quite a few!), this is the one my partner rated the highest. It's become one of his absolute favorites on me. During my teenage years, Black Opium was my signature scent. To me, this feels like a much more mature and feminine evolution of it. I'm absolutely in love with it, and I know I'll be wearing it a lot.

Just got this in the mail and right off the bat I'm loving it! I don't know or care what the OG smells like because the coffee note on this is so prominent that it ticks all my boxes as a coffee lover! I can also detect the vanilla and some bitter note, but it's only been 15' since I sprayed it on my wrist. If it's true that ME perfumes improve with maceration, then this is a winner for sure. One of my fortunate blind buys! Update: the harsh note that I picked up in the opening has completely disappeared over the past month giving way to this creamy, sweet (but not overly) coffee note. I am so happy! Just wish it lasted a little longer 🤩