Summer is: abundance, freedom, heat. Light citrus colognes are a “necessity” in hot, muggy weather, but it’s also good to have a big, brassy summer fragrance for cool nights, mild breezy days and body-numbing, overly-air-conditioned environments, a scent full of summer flowers, resins, as well as citrus. For me, that summer powerhouse scent is Boadicea the Victorious Invigorating.
When I read Invigorating’s list of notes, two notes in particular made me wince: dark chocolate and black licorice. I do NOT like chocolaty perfumes and licorice? Don’t put licorice in my food, drink or on my person, please. So, why is it that Invigorating has become one of my favorite fragrances?
Invigorating contains, apart from dark chocolate and black licorice, yuzu, bergamot, orange, rose geranium, jasmine, fir, rock rose and ambergris. The fragrance starts off with dense and sweet yuzu-orange “syrup.” After the rich and distinctive opening, Invigorating’s notes are well blended. I detect a touch of licorice, a hint of chocolate, but neither are big players in the scent…they are accent pieces to the stronger notes of jasmine and rose geranium. It’s really wonderful how fir (of all things!) works with the food-y and floral notes, and leads to a slightly “salty-sweet” ambergris/rock rose finale.
Last week I wrote about spring and a perfume that made me a tiny bit “sad” (in a good way). Invigorating is a sunny, warm and “happy” fragrance, brimming over with life and good cheer. Wear Invigorating when you’re feeling good; if you're at all depressed, being around such a “positive thinker” might make you want to kick Invigorating’s bottle.
Boadicea the Victorious Invigorating has excellent lasting power and sillage, and it smells like the highest-quality materials were used from top to bottom. Invigorating is available in 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum. For buying information see the listing for Boadicea the Victorious under Perfume Houses.
Note: top center image is Sunrise by Margret Hofheinz-Döring/Galerie Brigitte Mauch Göppingen via Wikimedia Commons.
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Kevin: reading your fragrance reviews always makes me happy even if the fragrance is one that I am highly unlikely to smell in my insular, suburban little world. I do like the idea of a fragrance for a cool summer night.
Minnie: Thank you, and when it comes to Boadicea…we’re ALL in an insular world…it’s hard to come by! (unless you buy a sample somewhere)
I’m having a hard time imagining a place where summer nights are cool and days are mild and breezy– okay, maybe Monterey and Carmel. Got it.
ooh, wine country.
Minnie: this would be PERFECT to wear on a wine country vacation too.
Welcome to Vancouver!
RR: Shout out to Vancouver…and YAY…I can finally visit since the Olympics are over!
Thanks, K. C’mon up. Now we’ve got our Winter Olympics SNOW! A little late, but what the hey. . .
Maine, too, at least most of the summer.
Fernando: Maine…YES…hope it won’t attract mosquitos, though. HA!
ggperfume: here in Seattle!
Thanks, guys, for all your good suggestions for summer vacations! As you might have guessed, I’m more acquainted with places that are attractively warm on summer nights and insanely hot on summer days.
But at least they’re all arid, not swampy-hot.
Chocolate AND Licorice??? Scary combo there Kevin.
But based on your mysterious love of this–I’m going to have to sample some….even though “salty” is another no-no as far as my nose is concerned—so far every salty fragrance has triggered or nearly triggered my gag reflex—but bergamot, rock rose, ambergris, jasmine, orange? those sorts of notes reel me in relentlessly…
Sounds like another Kevin-inspired split, Daisy? He got us with the Balsamo della Mecca . . . (Kevin, darling, you are a fearsome enabler)
sheesh, Razz…..don’t use the “s” word around me this week! I’m already splitting some Chanel no22, Dyptique Oyedo, Iris Ganache, Bois d’Iris……yikes! my poor finger! I have to go lie down now….
Iris Ganache?
yes dahlink, Iris Ganache.
Daisy: Oyedo…love that one!
mmm yes—it makes me think of hot summer days and cool, delicioso creamsicles…..yummy. They were a summer favorite when I was a kid hanging out all summer long with my best friend Gina at her family’s cabin on Erieville Lake…..those were the days! When you’re 9 all you need is a reasonably clean swimsuit, air in your bike tires, a couple buddies and a box of creamsicles….
We need to give you some kind of award, Daisy Lou, for all you do for us with splits. The Golden Splits Spritz Finger Award?!
RR: I accept no blame!!!!!!!
Ha! and yet we continue to lay the blame squarely at your feet…no,no that’s not right…..at your keyboard! uh-huh
Kevin, that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to.
P.S. We’re indebted to you. Or should I say, we’re in debt thanks to you.
RR: HA! I think we should start the Now Smell This credit card with your favorite bottle on the card. How about it?
Daisy: I predict you will like this! (or maybe even love it….)
The rumors are true—-you’re trying to KILL me!! I’m resisting….
I’d say something like “look at me being strong” but you all know me too well and it’d only make you laugh….
Daisy: HA! True, true.
For me, licorice as a note is often a good thing — but chocolate and licorice together would have me a little wary. This sounds wonderful though! (I’ll make sure I don’t wear it when I’m depressed — thanks for the tip.) Great review, thanks!
Jill: thanks!
I’m wondering if this smells at all like Eau des Merveilles.
Minnie: EdM is very wan compared to Invigorating…doesn’t remind me of it at all.
I keep thinking I want to try Boadicea because it is so raved over here. Usually I like things NST folks like (though I am sampling Ormonde Jayne’s Tiare today and it’s not doing anything special for me. Surely I have a number of other summer florals that could take its place?).
However, now I DON’T want to sample it because EW. LICORICE.
But I’m taking your point that it’s a side note.
If I sample it, it certainly will be a sample and not a full bottle unsniffed!
lemonprint: here’s hoping you never buy unsniffed!!!!!!
Oh Kev…can you say slightly drooling? Sounds great.
So…you’ll be adding your review by the weekend?
lol…doubt it boojum.
that $265/ 100ml price made my head hurt…..
It’s no worse than an Amouage…just sayin’.
True…but with a BUNCH of splits…it would be a mere bag of shells…just sayin.
throwing my Amouage Ho-ness in my face, eh?
C: wipe your mouth!
I loved it when you warned us from wearing this “positive thinker” when depressed!!!
Thank you for your great review, as usual.
And as usual, the more I like something to eat -in this case liquorice- the less I like it in perfume! But if you say here it’s ok, I will give it a try!!!
Zazie: don’t let the licorice scare you AT ALL.
I havent sampled this line at all yet, because of the pricetag. I assume its the same fragrance for both men and women, just the bottle shape is different?
rictor: yes, same fragrance.
The chocolate-licorice combination is unusual, and might sound bad on paper, but in fact it is the basis of one of my favorite chocolate bars of all time — the Draumur bar, found only in Iceland, alas. These babies are delicious. I’ve made my own approximation at home by covering pieces of panda licorice with dark chocolate ganache. mmmm.
So now I’m very intrigued by this scent!
Magoldbe: dark chocolate can make me like just about anything (even licorice I bet)
Mmmm. Chocolate-covered liver.
RR: with bacon already in chocolate bars, who knows?, maybe dark chocolate with smoked liver bits is next.
Hi Kevin. This is another review that of course makes me very curious, but to be honest, I’ve mostly written off this line — haven’t even made an attempt to touch it — just because the sheer number of scents in the line is too many. And yes, the price, too. But I’m sure I have a Boadicea sample or two lying around somewhere, and I’ll have to scramble in the pile (Ziploc BAGS full!) to see if this is among them.
Would you say this is particularly “masculine” and/or balsamic? I’m imagining some kind of floral layered over Yatagan. Really, you’ve made it sound wonderful. Something about the description is reminding me of my beloved Noir Epices (citrus, pepper, geranium, over a darkish base). And I don’t mind licorice in my perfume!
Joe: this cheery thing is squarely in unisex territory…don’t think of it as masculine or feminine…just delightful.
Kevin, I just love your reviews. I think I have a little writers crush on you. I don’t know much about you (and you know nada bout me!) but your writing makes me feel like you’re one of my besties. Thank you for brightening my days.
K-Scott: what a sweet thing to say, thank you!
Damn. Wish I’D said it.
Oh there you go Kevin – you’ve done it again. I have to sample this now. This really does sound lovely.
Rustic Dove: hope you like it.
Kevin, once again and right in the first paragraph you have identified a perfume truth that seems obvious in retrospect but that I had never seen clearly before. Thank you! I definitely want to sample Invigorating.
Coincidentally, I was testing Killian’s Pure Oud last weekend and started wondering if it might not work in summer on non-muggy days (in contrast to most oudh and incense scents). What do you think?
These things are SOOO expensive, but we WANT perfumers to dare to use quality ingredients and to aim for OUR hearts instead of playing it safe for the mass market, so at least a split or modest decant is in order.
Nozknoz: the oud might work…like you said: not on muggy days though!