Boadicea the Victorious Opal

Opal is an unapologetically bold and irresistible perfume, glittering dramatically on skin, Opal is danger, transfiguration and sensual shift. Our skin allows us to alter and transform perfume differently from each other. Opal is atramental alchemy. We cannot help but stare into the fires flickering in the reflected night of an empowering scent and fall in love. Opals are coveted by some, shunned by others but the shimmer in iridescent stones is hypnotic, suggesting worlds within worlds. Looking into opals, especially the rare black stones, it is easy to understand the reputation of talismanic magic associated with them. The iridescence comes from the interplay of light within the crystalline strata of hydrated silica. One of the most legendary black opals was a 700-carat stone given by Napoleon to his consort Joséphine de Beauharnais. She named it The Burning of Troy, due to flashes of crimson fire that flickered amid the dark depths of the opal. It always caused a sensation when worn by the Empress in public. After her death, the opal disappeared, probably held by one of her heirs. It resurfaced in 1924 when it was purchased by the City of Vienna for 50,000 dollars only to disappear again at the end of World War 2. Not seen publicly since, this opalescent fable has only enhanced the beauteous legend of The Burning of Troy. The aura of Opal is pervasive and confident. A perfume with myth and gracious modernity. There is seamless beauty in the grand overture of notes. A haunting sense of moody rose and violet lipstick dreams enhanced by bay and rich black coffee. Coffee, a note that must be utilised with smooth seduction, suggesting perhaps an earthy, mountainous Ethiopian bean, precision roasted to extract an oily lee of swirling richness. The addition of bay in Opal hints at traditional men’s perfumery, the herbaceous citrus of smartly masculine old-fashioned barber shops. Cinnamon, saffron and black pepper are dusted over the fascinating head notes segueing into the heart of Opal with a luxuriance of rose, soft suede and a sleekly transparent orris note. Cedar and Cashmeran are layered with musky, medicinal oakmoss with hints of tonka bean and leather. There is an intriguing mood deep in Opal, a smouldering haze of herbal fire diffused with studied phosphorescence in the twilight of the perfume’s hypnotic development. Cocoa butter, nutmeg and sage exalt Boadicea’s beautiful Opal with an infusion of complex and striking effects, olfactive silk tumbled over radiant skin, shadowed and crimson, changing hues as light pierces and refracts. Opal melds myth, history and gemmed brilliance into a truly unique perfume of dark and fiery magic. One could imagine a gold torque glittering around the neck of Queen Boadicea as she did battle with the Roman army. The centrepiece of the torque might be a dazzling black opal, lit from within by flames of power. Confidence and oracular mystery flow through this dynamic new scent.