Top Notes 
Clary sage
Heart Notes 
Apple
Cardamom
Base Notes 
Maltol
Amber
Cedarwood
Papyrus
Patchouli
Sandalwood
Vetiver
NicheOnly
122 Reviews
NicheOnly
Helpful Review
3
A first impression for the ages
Ladies & gentlemen, welcome to Boadicea month. Very often you'll hear me refer to so-called "luxury niche brands" and I'll typically include Clive Christian, Royal Crown, Roja Parfums, and Boadicea the Victorious within said definition. Up until today (read: a few days ago), I had not smelled a single scent from Boadicea, the British luxury brand for which I'll be covering 34 scents in the month of September. The initial coverage will be towards Boadicea's mainstream catalogue which features lower prices and more simple product, but towards the middle, I'll be switching over to their more expensive and impressive product, incl. various sapphires and zodiacs.
This is the first review (and statement) of many, but it's also an early red flag. Boadicea faces numerous criticisms in the market, typically related to the price at which they sell their products. However, another criticism of Boadicea's catalogue is their lack of originality with the catalogue having numerous fragrances that are inspired by various mainstream designer and niche competitors. For Angelic, the only question was always going to be where do the weaknesses lie.
As a scent, Angelic opens fresh spicy & sweet. While I did write down some comparables in the first 10-20 seconds, it doesn't actually remind me of anything specific. I get a hint of metallic tinge from what I assume is saffron and there's a very prominent musk in the base too, making for a scent profile that is in the realm of a masculine aromatic profile. So at first, I had it begged as just that: a spicy-sweet-woody-fresh fragrances. Once I saw the notes, it was pretty easy to allocate the experience to them: the clary sage gives the scent some masculine designer DNA and it's a lot more prominent in the dry-down. Saffron isn't listed, but cardamom is and that note is commonly used in masculine aromatic scents to sweeten the deal, whether it be in designer or niche (think of scents like The Blazing Mister Sam or even X for Men). That combination of woody tones, sage and cardamom remains relevant for both the top and the heart, albeit the woody notes are non-descript.
The scent does take a turn as it heads into the dry-down and at that point, the main notes for me are the vetiver and a very prominent smell of amberwood. I find this pretty ironic, because the main comparable product that I see listed on Parfumo and on the competing websites is Amber Wood Eau de Parfum from cheapie middle eastern brand Ajmal. The quality at this stage is objectively embarrassing, not that the designer-style open was any better. We can put another 2 cherries on top of the sundae: (1) the retail price for this product is €835/100ml which is the true definition of a 0/10 value fragrance; and (2) the performance for this scent is very light, a criticism that I'll have for several other scents from Boadicea down the line. All-in-all, this scent is not only unpurchaseable, but the fact that it even exists is offensive as a whole.
This is the first review (and statement) of many, but it's also an early red flag. Boadicea faces numerous criticisms in the market, typically related to the price at which they sell their products. However, another criticism of Boadicea's catalogue is their lack of originality with the catalogue having numerous fragrances that are inspired by various mainstream designer and niche competitors. For Angelic, the only question was always going to be where do the weaknesses lie.
As a scent, Angelic opens fresh spicy & sweet. While I did write down some comparables in the first 10-20 seconds, it doesn't actually remind me of anything specific. I get a hint of metallic tinge from what I assume is saffron and there's a very prominent musk in the base too, making for a scent profile that is in the realm of a masculine aromatic profile. So at first, I had it begged as just that: a spicy-sweet-woody-fresh fragrances. Once I saw the notes, it was pretty easy to allocate the experience to them: the clary sage gives the scent some masculine designer DNA and it's a lot more prominent in the dry-down. Saffron isn't listed, but cardamom is and that note is commonly used in masculine aromatic scents to sweeten the deal, whether it be in designer or niche (think of scents like The Blazing Mister Sam or even X for Men). That combination of woody tones, sage and cardamom remains relevant for both the top and the heart, albeit the woody notes are non-descript.
The scent does take a turn as it heads into the dry-down and at that point, the main notes for me are the vetiver and a very prominent smell of amberwood. I find this pretty ironic, because the main comparable product that I see listed on Parfumo and on the competing websites is Amber Wood Eau de Parfum from cheapie middle eastern brand Ajmal. The quality at this stage is objectively embarrassing, not that the designer-style open was any better. We can put another 2 cherries on top of the sundae: (1) the retail price for this product is €835/100ml which is the true definition of a 0/10 value fragrance; and (2) the performance for this scent is very light, a criticism that I'll have for several other scents from Boadicea down the line. All-in-all, this scent is not only unpurchaseable, but the fact that it even exists is offensive as a whole.
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