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8.7 / 10 114 Ratings
A popular perfume by Boadicea the Victorious for women and men, released in 2016. The scent is floral-fresh. The longevity is above-average. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Floral
Fresh
Fruity
Citrus
Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
BlackcurrantBlackcurrant Sicilian blood orangeSicilian blood orange BergamotBergamot LemonLemon
Heart Notes Heart Notes
TagetesTagetes CyclamenCyclamen MagnoliaMagnolia OsmanthusOsmanthus NeroliNeroli
Base Notes Base Notes
VetiverVetiver CedarCedar MuskMusk SandalwoodSandalwood AmberAmber
Videos
Ratings
Scent
8.7114 Ratings
Longevity
8.2100 Ratings
Sillage
7.8101 Ratings
Bottle
9.1129 Ratings
Value for money
4.781 Ratings
Submitted by IRA007 · last update on 12/18/2025.
Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Bal d'Afrique (Eau de Parfum) by Byredo
Bal d'Afrique Eau de Parfum
Contralto by Sospiro
Contralto
Expo 2020 by Taif Al-Emarat
Expo 2020
Strength of Wind by The Dua Brand
Strength of Wind
Vétiver Tonka by Hermès
Vétiver Tonka
Al Rayhan by Attar Collection
Al Rayhan

Reviews

5 in-depth fragrance descriptions
AntonioPORT

2 Reviews
AntonioPORT
AntonioPORT
Very helpful Review 6  
My meeting with Mr. Hanuman
Today I had the pleasure of meeting the famous monkey from Boadicea The Victorious.

As soon as I put the first spray in the back of my hand I immediately felt transported to the smell that reminds me of Bal d'Afrique, it was unmistakable, due to its freshness, its aromatic fruity side and its lightness, with a slight floral sweetness.

Then I compared the two and the differences started to emerge right at the opening of Bal, with more alcohol, sweeter and more fruity… while Hanuman opens right away in all its splendor of richer, creamier ingredients, and, obviously, with higher quality , greater complexity and more intense smell in general.

I love Bal. It is one of my favorite perfumes since the first day I met it. I recognize that it’s composition is not that sophisticated, it is a perfume with incredible lightness, a vetiver that does not look like vetiver, a summer perfume that is used all year round, but I think it has a lot of quality and was created in 2009, being this Hanuman from 2016, so I can't help thinking that there may have been an inspiration here for Boadicea.

Hanuman is more "herbal" and more aromatic, less sweet, but more deep in terms of olfactory range. In fact, I love them both, being a little different in the sweetness and the orientation that each one follows (fruity / sweet versus herbal / aromatic). These differences are clearly visible side by side, but the experience of using each one has a high percentage of similarities and ends up staying at the same level of smell.

The price difference is what spoils everything. Hanuman is incredibly expensive, even though it contains ingredients of a higher caliber, it is difficult to justify paying such a high price for a perfume that has another one similar, up to 6 times cheaper. Still, looking only at the smell, Hanuman is stunning … a 10/10.
0 Comments
NicheOnly

122 Reviews
NicheOnly
NicheOnly
Helpful Review 2  
King of the Hill
The Boadicea coverage is in the final stretch with Hanuman, the pen-ultimate product I am covering from the British luxury brand with just Dragon left to come. Hanuman is an infamous fragrance that essentially has carried the idea that "Boadicea makes superior versions of popular fragrances" forward for years. And this is the ultimate test: in a side-by-side with Byredo's Bal d'Afrique Eau de Parfum, can it outclass the Swedish brand's hero franchise?

For this review, I did actually get Bal d'Afrique Eau de Parfum and smelled it just before I put on Hanuman. I had never sampled Bal d'Afrique, but that DNA sure feels familiar... and fairly basic too. It opens fresh-sweet-musky-citrusy, offering up a prominent contrast between sweetened lemon and Baccarat-style sugared amber. The scent has very little depth, drying into that sweet-musky base with light touches of citrus. The floral and fruity tones that people vote for aren't all that noteworthy. Overall, Bal d'Afrique Eau de Parfum feels like an easy-going daily signature fragrance with a slight feminine lean.

So I'm taking that knowledge with me into Hanuman which opens with the same type of DNA. The open feels more lemony with the note being well-executed, but with Hanuman, I can smell the profile that I was expecting: a musky-fruity DNA with light floral touches. The primary note is the blackcurrant and it is opposed by musk & magnolia, a story that won't sound foreign to those experienced in this genre as those are also the same notes on which Initio's Musk Therapy Extrait de Parfum is built upon. Hanuman's actual execution ends up with the better parts of Bal d'Afrique (the open) and the better parts of Musk Therapy (the heart) with the main accords being fresh-fruity-sweet.

In the past, I heard how Hanuman was an upgrade all across the board. For me, that upgrade isn't that pronounced in the performance category. While Bal d'Afrique Eau de Parfum deteriorates into musk & amber within an hour, Hanuman carries the core DNA throughout which is a clear upgrade to the Byredo (while being about on-par with the Initio), albeit the profile of Musk Therapy Extrait de Parfum is easier to execute. Longevity wise I find Hanuman and Bal d'Afrique about on-par for longevity (in the 7-8 hour area) with sillage on Hanuman superior by 1-2 points. It's been a while since I smelled Musk Therapy Extrait de Parfum, but based on my ratings, the Initio has the best performance of the bunch, especially as it relates to the longevity. Hanuman also carries a hefty price tag of €1,150/100ml which, needless to say, is a significant downside.

One of the things I've implemented into my ratings since I started revising my past scores at the start of 2025 is a so-called "market-leader ceiling": for profiles that have a specific subgenre and no obvious flaws, I have started rating the best product in that category an 8.5/10. Some of those fragrances include Manhattan Eau de Parfum, Oud for Greatness Eau de Parfum and Mana. When the profiles are more popular, that ceiling is an 8.0/10 instead, applicable to a scent like Vibrato and Rain (which smells like Green Irish Tweed). This means Hanuman joins a very limited group of subgenre-leading products as to my nose, it is the supreme take of this profile in the market today. I was able to smell Bal d'Afrique Absolu de Parfum approx. 1.5 months after this review and it definitely can't reach Hanuman's quality, so for the foreseeable future, we have our king of the hill.
2 Comments
Omarareej

29 Reviews
Omarareej
Omarareej
2  
Hanuman
Hanuman is a perfume to love. His smaller brother from Byredo does smell like Hanuman. But Hanuman is something else. It’s better and rounder. Smoother and more natural to the nose. Yet again the price is also quite more expensive. So the real question is, is it worth it? If you ask me and you have the money to buy second hand at 40-50% discount it’s worth it. Full retail you would better get is small brother.
0 Comments
Cimi

393 Reviews
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Cimi
Cimi
4  
Hanuman I The Monkey God Loves Floral Lemon Cakes I Bal d'Afrique at a High Level, but P/L Underground!
Finally, I was able to test Hanuman here in Stuttgart, especially because I got "Expo 2020 | Taif Al-Emarat / طيف الإمارات" and wanted to see if they are comparable. Hanuman is inspired by the monkey god and is supposed to be powerful as well as spiritual - harmony and inner peace. Does the fragrance live up to the idea?

Let's get into it:

- Hanuman starts with a good portion of currants and citrus; yes, a refreshing, fruity-fresh opening that strongly reminds me of Bal d'Afrique Eau de Parfum and "Expo 2020 | Taif Al-Emarat / طيف الإمارات," but this zestiness is better executed here; more intense, revitalizing.

- Very soon, the floral side of the fragrance emerges; especially noticeable is the magnolia. It has been crafted in such a way that it appears slightly citrusy with the opening, but also creamy-green at the same time. In this respect, it carries the citrus from the opening forward, reinforcing the neroli, which is in the heart note, with a creamy undertone.

- The magnolia then really carries through to the drydown, where musk and creamy sandalwood can be perceived; yes, you can smell the woodiness, but the magnolia effectively dominates in combination with the musk, and the combination with the sandalwood enhances this citrusy, floral-creamy drydown with slight green accents, which are created partly through neroli and in the drydown through vetiver.

- The longevity is quite good; I must honestly say. The fragrance lasts really long on clothing; however, my skin completely absorbed this DNA very quickly. The sillage is rather slightly above average; you would expect a bit more, but still better than "Bal d'Afrique (Eau de Parfum) | Byredo," whereas "Expo 2020 | Taif Al-Emarat / طيف الإمارات" projects and lasts at the same level, if not better. Differences are minimal.

Overall, a beautiful, high-quality, and creative fragrance; citrusy, creamy, slightly green, and floral; and that in this quality and execution. However, for the price, I really don't know what to say. I think, at half the price, the fragrance would still be overpriced, but one might find a compromise due to the bottle and better performance. For the MSRP, definitely no purchase recommendation.

In any case, you have to test it, because you really have to like the fragrance; you have to enjoy the fruity-citrusy-creamy-green mousse :)
0 Comments
Jeannedarc

20 Reviews
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Jeannedarc
Jeannedarc
2  
Heavenly.
Hanuman is a popular and revered Hindu deity in India, a loyal companion of Rama, an avatar of Vishnu, and an incarnation of Shiva in the form of a human-sized monkey. As such a sacred being, Hanuman embodies loyalty, optimism, courage, and strength, combined with a considerable amount of playfulness. That’s the story behind the perfume.
As a scent, Hanuman indeed seems to have heavenly qualities.
However, on my skin, I can only detect a minimal resemblance to Bal d'Afrique, which many describe here. The Targetes does come through, but it remains more in the background. I completely miss the Buchu that is characteristic of Bal d'Afrique. While Buchu does have a slight blackcurrant scent, which also resonates in Hanuman, Buchu is distinctly mintier and spicier.
Hanuman smells strongly of neroli, violet, vetiver, and cedarwood on my skin, a beautiful shaving foam variant, more robust and masculine than Bal d'Afrique. Just a hint of sweetness.
On a guy to kneel for ...
0 Comments

Statements

23 short views on the fragrance
3
Well-blended scent with a creamy, juicy opening. Then, it gets a little more floral, woody, rounded by a cozy musk and a green, earthy note.
0 Comments
2
This is Byredo - Bal d'afrique on steroids with better quality and solid projection.
0 Comments
2
Between Bal d'Afrique (sweet lemon & sugared amber top) & Musk Therapy (fruity blackcurrant & white musk heart). Well-executed throughout.
0 Comments
2
Absolutely stunning. Perfectly unisex. However, this is a straight up 1:1 clone of bal d’ agrique with better performance. 0 creativity.
0 Comments
2
Initially juicy citric-fruity, a clean and uplifting, fruity floral-woody Summer fragrance, balanced by a gentle green earthy-woody base.
0 Comments
2 years ago
35
33
In one sentence:
Contralto, my darling,
at five times the price
with musk details.*
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33 Comments
17
8
Blood orange moon, lemon stars sparkle
Fruity bitter wind brushes
through myriads of blossoms
and sandalwood cedar trees
in Hanuman's garden
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8 Comments
13
2
Expected: Bal D'A with a twist
Received: Bal D'A with longevity
This is what I've always waited for
Expensive but unfortunately I love the DNA
Bottle is a dream
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2 Comments
11
7
The god in monkey form gathers fresh fruits + picks gentle flowers. On a wooden divan, he indulges in musk cream. Noble FF.
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7 Comments
11
2
WOW! A high-quality cocktail made with love - the perfectly balanced blend makes the key notes shine.
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2 Comments
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