The song combines dance, disco, EDM, and pop music to create a laidback atmosphere, accompanied by 1970s-style instrumentation of bongos, electric guitars and pianos.

It was designed to combine a 1960s liquid light show with a contemporary setting and displays the journey of Lipa and Young Thug stranded in a tropical island in a purple ocean.

[5] The song was released for digital download and streaming in various countries by Sony on 27 May 2022 as the lead single from Harris's sixth studio album Funk Wav Bounces Vol.

[6] Marking Harris and Lipa's second collaboration following the release of "One Kiss" (2018), he elaborated, "It's an honour to work with Dua and Thug again [...] They're both such dynamic artists who have contributed so much to today's musical landscape.

[14][16] The song is anchored by a "steamy hook from Lipa, a nimble verse from Thug, a snaking bassline",[17] disco and retro beats,[10][14] rhodes riff, "seductive" chorus, and synth-heavy groove.

Paolo Ragusa from Consequence highlighted Lipa and Young Thug's vocals as well as Harris's production in the song as a demonstration of his competence to "work with any kind of artist to accomplish his vision".

[16] Dylan Green for Pitchfork also complimented Harris's "well-engineered" production, which he described as "sturdy enough to house a steamy Lipa hook and a nimble verse from Thug".

[11] Rachel Narozniak from Dancing Astronaut commended Lipa's "inimitable mezzo-soprano" and Young Thug's "flair" also feeling the song to be a "seamless continuation of the Funk Wav [Bounces Vol.

[18] Isabel von Glahn of Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) noted the song's "electrifying vibes", with Lipa and Young Thug complementing the sound perfectly, making it an "ideal summer pop track".

[20] Starr Bowenbank from Billboard described the song as "sultry", with Lipa exuding a simmering sensuality, predicting it to be a "sweltering, soon-to-be hit that's primed for dominating party playlists".

[22] Alex Gonzalez of Uproxx labeled the song as "funky", aligning with the "disco and synth-pop sounds of Lipa's Future Nostalgia" that is "edgy enough to serve as a bridge to her next".

[15] In reviewing the album Funk Wav Bounces Vol.2, Ryan Bulbeck from Renowned for Sound found "Potion" to "effectively encapsulate the record's direction".

[55][56] At the opening of the psychedelic video,[11] a camera is panning towards a tropical island in an ocean, gradually transitioning from a purple sunset ambiente to a darker twilight setting.