Place Vendôme Boucheron 2013 Eau de Parfum

A long time ago in a perfumed galaxy distant to ours, those bottles which were beautiful enough and a bit more ambitious than your average Joe, were lucky winners. They (i.e. their contents) could while away the hours snuggling up to an attractive lady's bosom, probably somewhere between Place Vendôme and Rue de la Paix. They were neither called mainstream nor niche perfumes, they were just "parfums".
Today, most perfumes are anything but happy. In fact they are a miserable bunch. The root cause of their problems is of course the tin-pot notion that everyone should own several "modern" perfumes which means that the average perfume bottle (and its contents!) become suprisingly common. Upon smelling "Place Vendôme" I could spend hours bemoaning the loss of quality (and even lifestyle) this average scent is an example of - but this would be nearly as pointless as being unable to accept that flip-flops are not a suitable form of footwear for the office. Modern orange blossom-honey-jasmine-artificial-cedarwood-fragrances deserve our sympathy and should be hugged. I mean, it's our duty to feel sorry for them. Especially when they are called "Place Vendôme" and smell like "Place Partout" or "Passe Partout".

Such a light, delicate scent to wear. Reminiscent of flowing, long, gauzy dresses and wide, straw-brimmed hats, tall grasses, and beautiful trees with wide arms full of green leaves towering above me, blue skies with patches of white breezy clouds and the air is warm. This is a light perfect perfume for the spring weather.
The woods of cedar immediately burst through with roses and muted jasmine, while creamy pralines delicately mix with notes of honey. Vendome Boucheron seems classic in its projection, never overpowering, always ladylike, always subtle, ever gentle.
I could see this a a wedding day perfume for a very young woman because of its lack of sexuality or flirtatiousness. Its simple. Its clean. Its elegant with a hint of pepper peeking through, ever so powdery at its dry down. The benzoin lends its hand to a creamy vanilla finish that sits and intermixes well with the woods as this perfume ends its run.

Top Notes: Pink Pepper, Orange Blossom, Rose, Tangerine.

Heart Notes: Jasmine, Honey, Peony, Praline.

Base Notes: Benzoin, Cedar.

I love these notes, especially the orange blossom, honey, praline, benzoin, and cedar. This is a beautiful fragrance that is slightly gourmand and extremely feminine throughout its evolution from top notes to base notes. The only complaint I have concerns performance. It performs more like a body spray than an eau de parfum. It is light and almost ethereal but delicious. I use at least six sprays anytime I wear it. It has mild projection and sillage, and longevity is poor. I get approximately three hours wear out of it, but I adore it for those three hours. If these notes appeal to you, then I highly recommend it. Just do not expect great performance.

I do not think anyone would be offended by in an office setting, but it is a romantic type of fragrance, so one may wish to reserve it for after work. Given its lightness, I think it will work best in Spring and Summer. I think very cold weather would probably mute these notes, but I look forward to testing it in the cold weather this Winter. This is definitely a winner for Bucheron. If only it had greater projection, sillage, and longevity especially.

The bottle is pretty and quite heavy in one's hand. The presentation is quite good compared to many of its contemporaries.
Fragrance: 7.5/10
Projection: 5/10
Sillage: 5/10
Longevity: 5/10

This Boucheron has always been part of my fragrance inventory and is frequently found in the front ranks of my cabinet. This is because it possesses a certain quality, but more on that later.
Primarily, for me, BPV exists in the EdP version with only three notes. From the first spray to its last breath, it gives me pepper, orange blossom, and jasmine, and you can tell that it loves to give. It is so generous with its gesture, as if there were no tomorrow. It flings and scatters with full bottle usage, even with just one spray. The pepper note really tickles the nose and fortunately covers the orange note enough that it doesn't put me in "health trouble." Buckets of jasmine are poured around me, so much so that I hardly perceive anything else but this trio. The pear, which is actually only present in the elixir, I already perceive here as part of the top note. Somehow, the three of them in their blend create this juicy fruit note that ultimately lingers heavily sweet in the air, wrapping me up completely like a large, soft yellow pillow. Dressed like this, a difficult day can come for me. I am prepared. Because this is exactly where the initially hinted quality comes into play. BPV can do more than just lie heavily in the air or envelop. It manages to make me breathe in, up, and through with a sense of soul. Despite its "weight," it conveys a lightness that allows me to almost block out everything around me. Somehow, this fragrance brings me down to normal operation when I feel that everything must be done in a single day. It lets me shift down a few gears when I am once again on the fast track and feel too slow for everything. It gives me strength when I feel drained and tired and would prefer to hide away somewhere. Then its breath caresses my face like an invisible and comforting hand, and it allows its magical scent vines to flow through my nose into my head, where they can ultimately complete their healing work. Especially in cooler temperatures, it has the most effect on me. It somehow comes across as warming, as if it were a freshly prepared compote or a fresh jam from the stove that one wants to taste. The longevity of the EdP is quite decent, but it could be a bit more and especially more consistent, because where other fragrances remain well recognizable and slowly fade away, it somewhat disintegrates, the individual notes break away from each other, and one can hardly sense its former beauty. Its sillage is only quite strong at the beginning, then it steps back a bit.
Whenever I need a bit of soul balm, I reach for Boucheron Place Vendôme in my cabinet, because in it I find the lightness of being and a quantum of comfort...

Yesss... there was almost a whole year when I exclusively wore this fragrance. Back then it was still very expensive. I received it from my parents for Christmas in 2013 and wanted nothing else. In 2014, I was only in Paris at Place Vendome :) Sweet, floral, very feminine and very sensual... This was by far the most feminine scent I have ever worn. I am known for my men's perfumes and this was really not me at all. But it truly enchanted me. There is something very special about this fragrance. French but not too classic and not too ladylike, gourmand but not too heavy and not too pudding-like. I emptied the bottle back then down to the last drop and have now had a 100ml bottle in my online shopping cart for months. What is holding me back from buying... Do I want to relive the year 2014? Hmm...