tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post1467161560715423508..comments2024-03-15T06:00:46.018-04:00Comments on I Smell Therefore I Am: Sleight of Hand: Opium, Version NowAbigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-10542483607800537542013-04-15T16:55:01.666-04:002013-04-15T16:55:01.666-04:00I am so sad because of the reformulation. I do not...I am so sad because of the reformulation. I do not like the new Opium. It smells cheap and synthetic.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-58760656571392089052010-05-07T17:24:28.227-04:002010-05-07T17:24:28.227-04:00I find the loss of these perfumes is like a death;...I find the loss of these perfumes is like a death; a path to a magical place has been taken away, and there is no was to get it back.<br /><br />I too came of age in the '70s, and find the loss of Opium to be another painful loss in a long list of losses. <br /><br />Doesn't look promising for us lovers of perfume, does it?<br /><br />monikaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-6164107628814842822010-05-02T00:21:24.210-04:002010-05-02T00:21:24.210-04:00WTF? Your review leaves me saddened. I so want to...WTF? Your review leaves me saddened. I so want to hear of a reformulation that is BETTER or equal to the original just to know that it can be done. This phenom can happen in music sometimes so why not perfume. In my opinion Carole King's version of Natural Woman was pretty damn good but when Aretha Franklin did it, it became something else and the version I think most remember. <br /><br /princess gleenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-27911997585260528562010-05-01T08:33:08.038-04:002010-05-01T08:33:08.038-04:00Those constant, stealthy reformulation do feed par...Those constant, stealthy reformulation do feed paranoia because perfume online communities are aware of them, to the extent that an olfactory difference between a new and older bottle will now raise reformulation rumors, when the difference could just be the normal variation in the quality of the natural raw materials, or the fact that the juice has aged.<br /><br />In the case of Opium and carmencanada /Grain de Muschttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04046101625425953248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-590020752194419812010-05-01T05:37:35.367-04:002010-05-01T05:37:35.367-04:00maitreyi,
Alas, I'm afraid the Sephora cookin...maitreyi,<br /><br />Alas, I'm afraid the Sephora cooking-under-hot-lights torture routine wasn't to blame this time around... <br /><br />When I noticed the diff, I was horrified, tried the new stuff various times, then snagged a carded sample that I compared home side-by-side with my old bottle. It was heartbreaking. <br /><br />But I guess I'm more sensitive to the change because ISix'https://www.blogger.com/profile/03386119372459993709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-62224752538254917842010-05-01T02:51:42.454-04:002010-05-01T02:51:42.454-04:00NOOOOO!!! When did they change Hypnotic Poison? Ma...NOOOOO!!! When did they change Hypnotic Poison? Maybe you just got a bad bottle. That happened to me once with Gaultier's Le Classique. I spritz some on at Sephora and it smelled awful. I tried it again at another store and it was wonderful, and always has been since. The Sephora was keeping their bottle under very hot shelf lights and it got ruined.maitreyi1978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-9095779766540564512010-04-30T18:14:02.346-04:002010-04-30T18:14:02.346-04:00Brian,
What you said in a comment above is so, ve...Brian,<br /><br />What you said in a comment above is so, very true. By this point, with all the stealthy nips and tucks, it's becoming disheartening to even attempt to talk about a fragrance that wasn't released last month. You're describing the scent of a bottle you bought a few years back - well, there's a mighty good chance that anyone trying it based on your review won't Six'https://www.blogger.com/profile/03386119372459993709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-22965408064603199002010-04-30T12:17:03.087-04:002010-04-30T12:17:03.087-04:00A beautifully written post, Brian. Thank you.
I&...A beautifully written post, Brian. Thank you.<br /><br />I'm one of those people who have always felt that Opium, and Poison, for that matter, were too much of a muchness. But it is a travesty that even the iconic, strange, shocking weirdos of the perfume world are having their distinctiveness pared away.<br /><br />Jennifer Grey might be *prettier* since she had a nose job, but she's Mals86https://www.blogger.com/profile/09757305840611623427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-88675458454877631662010-04-30T09:48:25.417-04:002010-04-30T09:48:25.417-04:00Thanks, Gretchen. That's really sweet. I hav...Thanks, Gretchen. That's really sweet. I haven't felt much like "myself" posting lately. I started to realize that the versions I'm smelling might not be the versions people are buying, because none of us can really be sure anymore what we're smelling or reading about or looking at, and that sort of paralyzed me. Blogging for me is about direct communication, and Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-11962903207485910392010-04-30T09:35:26.746-04:002010-04-30T09:35:26.746-04:00Oh, hell! And here I was thinking I could get a bo...Oh, hell! And here I was thinking I could get a bottle of Opium in my own good time, no hurry. This makes me sad.Pimpinetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08253317515828585697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-66060511551512102142010-04-30T06:49:22.843-04:002010-04-30T06:49:22.843-04:00I never wore Opium, but having come of age in the ...I never wore Opium, but having come of age in the late 70s (and had a first job in a department store right by the perfume counter) I could recognize it blindfolded. Which is why I let out a yelp when I smelled the new version. I'd be less lenient on it than you: I feel it's been eviscerated. Not that it smells bad: it doesn't. It's just not really Opium anymore. Now I have to carmencanada /Grain de Muschttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04046101625425953248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-7562679624101553182010-04-29T18:15:43.662-04:002010-04-29T18:15:43.662-04:00And this type of posting is precisely why I scour ...And this type of posting is precisely why I scour "I Smell Therefore I Am" daily...I'm a huge fan of the "old" fragrances, not necessarily in their vintage formulations, but in attempts to locate new favorites, I keep finding "meh." And couldn't figure out why. I learn from you, Brian, and Abigail certainly, how to drill down to what it is that I love aboutGretchennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-36939164565417168652010-04-29T16:46:56.638-04:002010-04-29T16:46:56.638-04:00Thank you, that was beautifully expressed and so t...Thank you, that was beautifully expressed and so true.<br /><br />I've been wearing Opium for over 20 years, and I can't imagine settling for the reformulation, no matter how good it is. Some things in life shouldn't be tampered with.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com