If you would have told me when I first started blogging that I was going to become the fragrance aficionado that I am today, I probably would have laughed at you. But here we are...some hundred bottles into my collection later... :-D
As you have joined me on this journey, we have explored some of the most designer and niche fragrances and now is the time where we as the consumers get a chance to shine the light on some of our favorite scents. That means that it's finally time to vote in the The Fragrance Foundation Consumer Choice Awards for 2016!
Beginning on Monday, March 28, 2016, you will have the power to vote in the following categories: Men’s, Women’s Popular and Women’s Prestige fragrances that launched in 2015. The nominees are:
Men's - Dior Sauvage; Prada Luna Rosa Sport; Ralph Lauren Polo Red Intense.
Women’s Popular - ARI by Ariana Grande; Victoria’s Secret Forever Sexy EDP.
Women’s Prestige - Jimmy Choo Illicit; Marc Jacobs Decadence; Versace Eros Pour Femme; Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium.
So there are only two ways that this could get any better. For one, all voters will be entered to win select fragrances from each category in a random-selection sweepstakes (32 of you will win)! Secondly...well you know we have to dive into all nine of those fragrances before the voting period ends right? That's right! So from now until May 27, 2016, we are going to be diving into all of them as a group and as an individual fragrance to find out the story behind the scent. So why not get to know them a little bit more intimately before voting?
What can I say about Black Opium from Yves Saint Laurent that I haven't already? This fragrance literally took over my life from October 2015 to the start of the New Year. Seriously, I think I gave everyone this fragrance for the holidays. And everyone thanked me because of its addictive notes of rich coffee accord, orange blossom and sensual vanilla.
A little bit of elegance, a hint of class and a blast of decadence. Marc Jacobs Decadence is a woody eau de parfum with hints of bulgarian rose, jasmine, liquid amber, papyrus woods, iris flowers and vetiver. The glamour of combining all of these notes together in such a stunning bottle design is what really made this fragrance my winter scent. 
ARI by Ariana Grande is one of the newest fragrances to my collection and I can tell you that I was first drawn in by the bottle. This is a sweet and soft scent that I'm looking forward to wearing more this spring as the notes remind me of a fruity and floral explosion. They include: crispy pear, pink grapefruit, juicy raspberry, soft muguet, rose buds, vanilla orchid, blonde woods, creamy musk and marshmallow - yum!
I'll be honest and tell you that I never smelled Jimmy Choo Illicit until the announcement of these awards. I cannot believe that I let such a good fragrance pass me by for so long too. Illicit is an alluring fragrance with noes of ginger, feminine sambac rose, turkish rose, bitter orange, honey-amber and sandalwood. I absolutely adore how rich the scent is and how it settles into my skin.
Versace Eros Pour Femme is a powerful floral fragrance with hints of citrus that has notes of Sicilian lemon, Calabrian bergamot, pomegranate accords, lemon, sambac jasmine absolute, jasmine infusion, peony, sandalwood, ambrox, musk and various cedars.
Created with golden thread of Amber, Forever Sexy by Victoria's Secret is as beautiful as the lingerie. It has warm juicy notes of belladonna orange, creamy gardenia petals and warm golden amber.
Prada Luna Rosa Sport is a flanker to already popular Prada Luna collection. Just an FYI - in the fragrance community, we normally refer to a newly created fragrance that shares similar attributes of an already existing fragrance as a flanker. These similar attributes may include the bottle design, the packaging, the name or even similar notes that were taken from the pre-existing fragrance.
Prada Luna Rosa Sport has citrusy notes with a tart blend of ginger and leads into the sweetness of juniper berries. The heart notes are enriched with lavender while the base notes of tonka beans and vanilla warm up and smooth out the fragrance.
Ralph Lauren Polo Red Intense is a fresh and spicy woody fragrance for men with notes of blood grapefruit, cranberry, lemon, saffron, ginger, coffee, sage, lavender, amber, red cedar and leather. This is definitely more of a concentrated and masculine scent than its predecessor Polo Red.
Dior Sauvage was created for a daring man who loves the outdoors. It was created with carefully selected natural and fresh ingredients of Calabria bergamot, ambroxan, precious ambergris and cedar.
Don't forget to click here to cast your vote and remember to come back every week to talk about one of the featured nine fragrances!
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The Bottom Line
This is a fragrance that is meant for floral and coffee lovers. Personally, I don't like to drink coffee but I love the aroma of it. Whenever I smell someone brewing it - especially the french vanilla flavored beans - I am in heaven and that's what Black Opium is to me.
Availability
Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium Eau de Parfum is available in 1.0 oz, 1.6 oz and 3 oz bottles at 
