FORGET being on best behaviour. Black Opium was never about being subtle – it’s about being remembered. Enter Alisha Boe: YSL Beauty‘s new Global Ambassador, and a woman who inhibits the type of cool that doesn’t ask for permission.
The Norwegian-American actor, who made her name in the raw, unflinching performance that turned 13 Reasons Why into appointment viewing, steps into the role with the ease of someone who has never much cared for permission. It’s shrewd casting: Boe has spent her twenties collecting complicated, unglamorous women – Jessica, then Conchita in Apple TV+’s The Buccaneers – roles that reward presence over polish.
“It’s really an invitation to embrace your most unapologetic self,” Boe says of the fragrance, and it tracks. Black Opium has always sold a mood rather than a memory – that hour of a night out when the plans dissolve, and the good decisions along with them.
Her first outing is the new Pink Glaze, a strawberry-gourmand spin on the original, arriving with the daring-but-relatable tension YSL Beauty does so well: cool without trying, luxury without apologising for itself.
Speaking exclusively to GLASS about this new chapter in her career, she lets us in on what it means to be the face of one of the most memorable fragrances of the 21st century.
Alisha Boe for YSL Beauty’s Black Opium
Black Opium has long been associated with a certain kind of nightlife energy: spontaneous, and unapologetic. What did the fragrance represent to you before this partnership, and how do you see yourself redefining that narrative today?
Black Opium is such an iconic fragrance, and I associate it with nightlife, partying, being bold, unique, unafraid and very magnetic. I think that we’re redefining it in a really fresh way, keeping true to its form while pushing the idea that we can redefine what nightlife is. Obviously, with Gen Z, we’ve changed the way that we go out. It’s whatever we want to do, whether that’s a day party or staying out and raving. There’s more freedom to it, so I’m excited for this fresher take on it.
The idea of the ‘It Girl’ has evolved dramatically over the past decade. Today, authenticity often feels more aspirational than perfection. How do you personally define modern cool?
I’m not the spokesperson for Gen Z. I think Gen Z would kill me if I said, “I will speak for all of Gen Z.” I just want to say that. But speaking for myself, what I find cool is meeting somebody who is so self-possessed and doesn’t really give a shit about how other people perceive them. Especially in this digital age, where there are so many comments. We’re so overconsumed by media that I think it’s incredibly inspiring to meet someone who is unafraid to be themselves.
You know when you meet that person and you’re like, “Oh my gosh, I’m so gravitated towards you,” because they’re so free? I think that’s what I define as cool. Being cool means you can be loud if you want to be loud, and you can be quiet if you want to be quiet. There are no rules. There are no rules to coolness. I think what it really boils down to is authenticity.
Alisha Boe for YSL Beauty’s Black Opium
You’ve built a career around playing characters with emotional depth, so what drew you to becoming the face of a fragrance that is now entering its own new chapter?
I’m just really aligned with what YSL Beauty stands for. I think the modern-day woman they represent aligns with me. It’s kind of what I was saying before: it’s about embracing the dark with the light. You’re allowed to be messy, you’re allowed to be free, and you’re allowed to be polished, sexy and cool. There’s an element of freedom. I know I’m beating a dead horse by always saying “freedom”, but it’s true. I really aligned with it, and it felt like a very natural partnership in that way.
Alisha Boe for YSL Beauty’s Black Opium
What does freedom look like to you?
I think Nina Simone said, “No fear.” I think she was asked, “What does freedom mean to you?” and she said, “No fear.” I really believe that. Just fearlessness.
In three words, how would you describe this new chapter of Black Opium?
Cool, sexy and magentic…
by Imogen Clark