By Ashley Sinclair
The recent Super Bowl weekend in Phoenix consisted of two things. The city was filled with tons of visitors, and it was the perfect time for a girls’ night — a night with no judgment, laughter, and new friends.
Girls’ night began with blowing out and styling our hair, picking out our outfits, doing our make-up, and most importantly, our perfume. Would we be fun and spicy? Dark and sexy? Or sweet and fruity? The choice set the tone for the evening. I chose Black Opium by Yves Saint Laurent. I didn’t know it yet, but it was a fabulous decision. The Perfume has aromas of spicy gourmand, a mix of pumpkin and ginger; coffee, and white flower. It’s my new obsession. My best friend Kailey — who will be referred to as K — and I both spritzed it on, took a mirror selfie, and took off.
Night 1:
K and I made a goal to hit six places on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s locations were Zipps, AZ 88, and Society by Evo. We arrived at Zipps around 9 p.m. and were seated at a high top close to the bar. We started with water and were greeted by two servers named Jazlyn and Taylor. Right off the bat, Taylor said, “I really like the perfume. It smells really nice,” which enhanced our confidence. After 15 minutes a group of guys, probably around 23-30, bought us two shots of Casamigos. I had to decline because I’m only 20, so their server gave me a pineapple back instead. However, with K being 21 she happily drank it. We all made a toast with our glasses, talked for a bit, and then ordered some food. At 10:15 p.m. we decided it was time for adventure number two, AZ88.
The place was packed. No open tables and people were packed around the bar to get a drink. K and I decided to walk around and find an open spot. A gentleman named Kaleb quickly offered us his seat at the bar. We thanked him and asked what gravitated him towards us. He said he first noticed my beauty and then the smell of Black Opium. I asked him what he thought about perfume, and he said, “It improves beauty. It takes a girl that’s an 8 to a 9,10 or even an 11.” After talking more about perfume, cologne, and how it makes someone more attractive he kindly bought K an espresso martini. We thanked him and jumped to the next stop, Society by Evo.
I saw this restaurant pop up on my Instagram search page and thought it looked super
cute. K and I picked up my brother and went to Tempe. We arrived at 12:15 a.m. with
low expectations because it looked empty. We ordered some appetizers and K ordered a drink. Around 12:40 a.m. K and I decided to take some mirror selfies near the powder room, a very Instagram-worthy area covered in flowers. We touched up our makeup, applied another spritz of Black Opium, and returned to the bar. Around 1:25 a.m. we were greeted by two guys carrying shots, Benedict, 24, and Declan, 22. I declined the shots again, but we had a good conversation with the two guys. Declan said that he saw K and I pass him and his friends and felt persuaded to come over. I smiled and then asked him about the perfume. Declan said he noticed it as soon as he came over and that he would give it a 6/10. He said that it smelled youthful and fruity, but a little immature. I appreciated the honesty. Around 2 a.m. we decided to head home. We were exhausted but encouraged because that was only night one of Black Opium.
Night 2:
K and I hoped Saturday would be a relaxed night out. We chose to go to the ESPN Tailgate and the Diego Pops/Montauk Block Party. We arrived at the ESPN Black party later than expected around 8:15 p.m., but what can I say…better late than underdressed. We walked around for maybe 30 minutes, got too cold, and decided to go to Diego Pops/Montauk. Both restaurants were packed — this was the place to be. After eating at Diego Pops, we walked over to the field game area where there were fire pits, an outdoor bar, and some small tables near TVs so people could watch sports games. Two gentlemen named Pat and Nick approached us. I began talking to Pat and he shared that he noticed my perfume right away. He said, “I love it, it smells really fresh. It’s not too much. It’s just enough. It smells very fresh and clean. It gives off a vibrant smell.” I asked if perfume makes someone more attractive and he told me, “I think perfume is important. It’s like cleanliness.” K and I cut our conversations short with them. It was getting late and we were tired. On both nights that K and I wore Black Opium, we were approached and complemented by guys and girls, making it obvious that the perfume has some magic in it. The smell of coffee, white flower, and spicy gourmand is a fantastic combination, thank you YSL for making Girls’ Night a huge success.