PARIS — Alisha Boe is Yves Saint Laurent Beauty’s new global brand ambassador for its blockbuster Black Opium.
“I think in some way or another we all have a link with Black Opium — it is such an iconic fragrance,” the actress said. “I have always loved what the fragrance represents, and I think that is what drew me to it most. She’s the cool ‘It’ girl with a magnetic aura — yet relatable and fun — and I guess in some ways, I’ve always seen parts of myself in the ‘Black Opium’ girl.
“Being the face of Black Opium feels like the most organic partnership I could ever have asked for, and becoming part of the YSL Beauty family is a dream I never even knew I had,” Boe said.
Black Opium is consistently among the top 10 women’s fragrances worldwide.
“One of the key signatures of YSL Beauty is this ability to capture the edginess of the now, while always remaining entirely rooted in its couture heritage,” said Yann Andrea in his first interview since becoming global brand president of YSL Beauty, at L’Oréal, in March. “The way we have been working on Black Opium, on this new campaign, fully connects with this spirit. It is on one side to stay true to the franchise DNA, but at the same time to make it even more connected with the now.”
Andrea described the Opium franchise, which began in 1977, as well as the Black Opium franchise, starting in 2014, as giving a unique sense of thrill and intensity, with always a hint of provocation.
“The idea was to capitalize on that territory, bringing contemporary relevance,” Andrea said, adding while working on fragrances there’s always a sociological aspect. He noted young people today live with intensity and magnetic electricity that differs from the past.
“Today the young generation really craves something more collective, shared energy, a kind of crew built in the moment,” Andrea said. “This is what we wanted to infuse in the new campaign of Black Opium. It was about bringing this notion of the collective into the [fragrance’s] territory.”
The notion of togetherness resonates strongly globally, he believes. “The new campaign really embodies this cultural shift,” Andrea said.
Boe made her acting debut in the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why.” She has played strong, complex female characters in “Jessica,” “Poms” and “Yes God, Yes.” Boe is now filming the third season of “The Buccaneers,” from Apple TV+.
In the Black Opium campaign, which introduces the new scent Pink Glaze, Boe unlocks a party in the hills.
Alisha Boe with Black Opium Pink Glaze.
Courtesy of YSL Beauty
“She’s the catalyst who pulls her entire crew into a state of shared and electric obsession,” Andrea said, describing Boe as “fiercely magnetic, while remaining approachable and deeply relatable. We like this tension.”
Working with rising talents has always been part of YSL’s DNA. The beauty brand signed on Dua Lipa for Libre, for instance.
“Alisha is young, free-spirited, a rising voice,” who is inclusive, with an intense and daring attitude the brand was looking for, Andrea said. “She’s deeply connected to the values of our time.”
Olfactively, the original Black Opium is a black coffee white flower fragrance. “Today, we are talking so much about intensity, prestige, signature, [trail],” Andrea said, of the perfume industry overall. Those have always been Black Opium attributes.
Pink Glaze, created with Dsm-Firmenich perfumers Nathalie Lorson, Marie Salamagne, Honorine Blanc and Olivier Cresp, has a sensual fruity gourmand twist, including a strawberry note that infuses the fragrance and enhances the original juice.
Pink Glaze is out starting in Europe Monday in a bottle revealing the blazing pink eau de parfum.
Meanwhile, the Black Opium edp bottle has been reworked to be sharper, more elevated and refillable. The flacon’s dark transparency was a focus, so there’s a play of light and shadow, as was its glitter, to be more sophisticated and sensorial. The new bottle is being phased into the market now.
Black Opium is not built on the same territory as Libre, which is a perfume of freedom, so as to address different audiences.
“YSL fragrances represent the identity of the people who are wearing them,” Andrea said, explaining they are “a way to express yourself.”
The executive lauded his predecessor at YSL Beauty, Stephan Bezy, for his “visionary leadership,” as well as the brand’s dedicated teams worldwide for its remarkable success.
Andrea contributed to that, helping develop Black Opium more than a decade ago, while heading up YSL fragrances globally.
Black Opium Pink Glaze and Black Opium, from YSL Beauty.
Courtesy of YSL Beauty
The brand strategy is to keep building on its iconic scents while bringing newness and excitement, with the likes of line extensions and immersive pop-ups.
In full-year 2025, YSL had four women’s and men’s fragrances in the top 10 around the world. Alongside Black Opium there was Libre, a leader, in the feminine category, as well as Myslf and Y for men.
YSL Beauty — among L’Oréal’s “billionaire brands” — is strong around the world.
“In Asia, YSL Beauty has started to establish a core business in skin care, mainly with our Pure Shots Serum,” Andrea said, adding it’s a product offering breakthrough formulas while speaking directly to a young, urban consumer who lives life intensely. The serum’s tagline is: “Live fast, stay young.”
“It is a nice example of how YSL is accelerating worldwide,” Andrea said.
He explained YSL makeup is all about innovation, too. That takes many guises, such as new gestures. A case in point is the Skin Affair Soft Glow Cushion Foundation, which recently launched in the U.S.
A decade ago, YSL Beauty introduced the first luxury couture cushion beauty product in Asia. Since then, the brand has become the leader in the segment. And today, the idea is to bring that nomadic, on-the-go makeup gesture from Asia to the Western world.
YSL Make Me Blush 24H Buildable Powder Blush is another innovation. “This is about breakthrough formula [with a strong color payoff, but giving a soft, blurring effect, as well], and ultra-desirable packaging,” Andrea said.
A recent innovation in skin care is the YSL Care Crush Hand & Body Serum-in-Cream, with its container coming in the brand’s iconic heart shape. Its formula is billed to have immediate effect — so selfie-ready.
“The business of YSL Beauty has been very dynamic over the past 10 years,” Andrea said. “My vision is therefore — before everything else — to keep that momentum. Then looking ahead, it will be about once again finding the right balance between consolidating YSL Beauty leadership all over the world, while also unlocking fresh growth opportunities where they exist and are relevant for the brand.”
He said an important part of his mission, along with the YSL Beauty teams, is to ensure the brand continues capturing “the edginess of the now.”
