SA extraordinaire Desiree Monroe (L) in action at New London Pharmacy in NYC.
Photo: courtesy of the New London Pharmacy website.
Some people run marathons, some people collect coins or stamps. It’s just their thing. My thing is fragrance. I try, test, smell, sniff and wear a lot of fragrances. I’m not an expert, just an aficionado. And like anyone else with a hobby or a special interest, pursuing it isn’t a chore or a duty, it’s just woven into my everyday life. In my spare time, I read about fragrance in newsletters and books and on blogs and I learn about them from conversations with colleagues, family and friends and, of course, when I smell them on someone else.
I mean, I can read about a fragrance, just the way you are reading this right now, or hear about a perfume, and it may sound like I’d like it – it has notes I like, from a perfume house I like and was created by a nose I like, but really, until I smell it I can’t be sure.
So I used to keep a list of scents I want to try, experience and maybe buy, now I just use the “Scents to try” and “Decants to buy “ sections on the back of our perfumeniche.com business card that goes out with every order. I keep mine in my wallet so I’m ready to pounce….when I’m doing another one of my favoutie things – shopping for perfume.
I love perfume shopping online from home, at shops in the city where I live, and places I visit. Last month, that was New York. There are so many great places to buy perfumes in NYC from department stores like Barney’s and Bergdorf’s to great niche shops like MiN and Osswald (two of my personal faves, BTW). I’ve had great experiences at all of them and highly recommend you visit them when you are in New York, but as I usually stay in the Chelsea area, New London Pharmacy tends to my go-to perfume store when I visit NYC.
Cause it’s in my hood, I tend to drop in often over the course of a visit and spend hours going over the perfume lines they carry with SA extraordinaire Desiree Monroe. A renowned make-up artist, Desiree is a great resource - she really knows her products and her perfumes. So, there I was last month, swooning over the D.S. and Durgas, when my nose caught something else. “What are you wearing?” I asked Desiree. “Oh, it’s my new favourite perfume. Glorious by Boadicea the Victorious.” she said, “I just love it. Abby loves it too. She wears it all the time.” That would be Abby Fazio, owner of New London Pharmacy.
Ah, yes, Boadicea the Victorious – I’ve read about the British niche brand founded in 2008 by Michael Boadi that was inspired by Boadicea, Celtic warrior and queen of the Iceni tribe who led a revolt against Roman occupation in 60 AD. I love Seductive and Warrioress from their Power Collection, and now smelling Glorious on skin makes me think it’s time for me to try a little something-something from their Sprit Collection.
Desiree read me like a blog and handed me the tester. Glorious opens bright and fresh from piney, citrusy elemi. The freshness is heightened by a note of sparkling, succulent pineapple. Peach is here too, fleshy and full, it gives a gorgeous depth to the tropical pineapple. Ripe plum and juicy raspberry join the mix, their thick jamminess balanced by a touch of crisp apple. As the top notes fade narcotic, exotic, jasmine comes forward, its floral aspect amplified by lush rose, warmed by cardamom and nutmeg. The base is woody from cedar wood, guaiac wood, sandalwood and patchouli while musk extends the animalic aspect of the jasmine to the drydown. There’s also an illusive camphorous balsam note that wafts up from the woods from time to time and fits in perfectly here, while amber and vanilla add a deep, refined sweet note that echoes the fruits at the opening.
The drydown is rich and complex yet light and engaging – it never gets too fruity, dark or sweet – and is just, well, glorious to wear. And, like all frags in the Boadicea the Victorious line, it can be worn by men and women.
Every time I wear Glorious, I mean every time, I get asked about the fragrance I’m wearing. I just pass along the recommendation, the way it was passed along to me. Glorious is definitely a scent to try...
Glorious is listed in our Decant Store. Decants are $6.00 for 1 ml.