Intense Boadicea the Victorious

There are discontinuations I can understand.

Intense by Boadicea the Victorious is not one of them.

Every time I smell it, I find myself wondering how a fragrance this beautiful ended up disappearing from the collection.

Honey is the heart of the experience for me, but forget the thick, heavy and sometimes suffocating sweetness that honey can bring to a fragrance.

The honey in Intense feels soft, creamy and almost caressing.

Rose and jasmine give it a beautiful floral character, while patchouli underneath adds enough depth to keep all that creaminess from becoming overly sweet. The result is rich and sensual, yet surprisingly gentle in the way it wears.

My bottle also has a little story behind it.

A good friend gave it to me as a gift. It’s one of those old 50 ml Boadicea bottles that were once sold partially filled, with 25 ml of fragrance inside - a presentation you don’t really see anymore.

That makes my bottle even more special to me.

A female friend of mine is also completely in love with Intense, which doesn’t surprise me at all. I consider it genuinely unisex, although if I had to choose a direction, I would say it leans slightly feminine.

But only slightly.

On the right man, that combination of creamy honey, rose, jasmine and patchouli can be just as beautiful.

And thankfully, the performance lives up to the fragrance itself. Excellent longevity and impressive presence make Intense feel complete rather than simply beautiful.

If you manage to find a bottle today, you’re lucky.

Some discontinued fragrances are interesting because they’re rare. Intense is worth finding because it’s genuinely that good.

Intense by Boadicea opens with a blast of vanillin and tonka on a dry woody accord, slightly salty too, with earthy and rooty nuances. At the heart of the scent, a nice pollen-caramel "roasted" accord of dry, resinous honey sweetened by a silky floral breeze and light fruity hints. I must admit this honey accord is quite well played, it is thick and compact, dry and crunchy, quite compelling too, and it beautifully and effortlessly blends with the earthy-woody side of patchouli, and with the flowers. It is not sweetish and not cloying like it often happens with this type of scents, despite being quite bold and strong it's still pleasant. After a hour or so, the pollen-resin-honey notes move a bit aside leaving the main stage to patchouli and dry flowers, in a way that it does not really "change", just feels like the harmony makes a 180° twist – now the center is patchouli and flowers, and they are sweetened by honey and resins. So in short, a nicely executed honey-floral gourmand scent, a bit affected, far better than the average gourmand scents, still with a couple of defects in my opinion – mostly due to the fact it is quite bold, so you better try it carefully before wearing it. For "aficionados".

7/10

INTENSE is so refreshing and it soothes so much the soul, as the classical music.

Its bottle could be called "chest of flowers", billion of flowers, that are long-range, intensive, lovely ones, giving true impression of the nature. Mimosa is the nearest association here.

Later on a fruitty proliferation begins upon the flowers, covered by honey. You can almost taste the fruit juice, it is exuberantly sweet, but still keeps the refreshing aroma of the best tartish fruits. Natural all along, very fine.

My sister told: this is a fruitty honeyed cake. Please confirm with sample, do not blind-buy, since the perceptions can be a bit different of course.

So after a bush grew from my wrist, it is hard to keep writing on the keyboard, therefore I express the rest of my opinon shortly:
Endurance: 100%
Sillage: 100%
Gender: female.

Some scents need not many words.
Not when it’s called Boadicea.
Not when it’s about honey, about honey and about honey.
Not when I already surrender after the first breath, effortlessly defeated by this tender soul-catcher made of the finest beeswax, adorned with dark golden honey droplets and entwined with light silvery silk threads.
A gentle breeze carries the scent of lemon trees, a bit of sticky resin, a hint of smoke.
I feel anointed, wrapped in the noblest velvet, amber-golden, silky shimmering, flowing around every line, every curve of my body.
Never too warm, never too dense, too heavy, too sweet - not with just one drop, just a single one.
Sun-drowsy afternoons beside you in the tall grass, countless flower cups and the buzzing of bees.
Summer, sun, happiness.
In July, in January.
Whenever I want.

Yesterday, after a sorrowful visit to the cemetery with gloomy thoughts, I entered the perfume shop.

Christmas is approaching - and so many dear people and animals are missing!
I always become painfully aware of this during family celebrations.

I’m not usually drawn to the martial-looking bottles from Boadicea, and I also had difficulties with Delicate - but I reached for Intense.
A good inspiration, as this fragrance immediately reaches the senses and the heart.

A powdery honey note glides smoothly and non-sticky onto my skin, soothing my frayed nerves and thoughts.
I think of the delicious liquid fennel honey that helps me fall asleep.
The lily emphasizes the flattering sweetness of the fragrance, supported by velvety rose.
Vanilla and patchouli round off Intense softly, adding depth.

A true comfort for the soul - and a must-have in restless times.