Boucheron

(Vintage EdP, bottle c. 1992) My how times have changed. This EdP was Boucheron’s debut in 1988, and two notable things happened: firstly, they released an EdT and EdP. Boucheron was all-in on the EdP concentration from the get-go, and even released Pour Homme as an EdT and an EdP, the latter of which was unheard of for a men’s fragrance. They were ahead of the concentration trend it took the majority of brands to get to by more than a decade. Secondly while on the topic of Pour Homme, they didn’t release the men’s version of Boucheron for another three years after this debut. Today, a brand would release everything in two formats, an EdP and a parfum concentration, and there would be at least five perfumes in the debut in the first year - not two in a span of three years. This modus operandi of taking your time and doing something different shows in the quality of the perfumes the brand released. Some of it is predictable though. A tuberose forward amber was hardly anything new for 1988, but the opening was certainly attention grabbing. Orange blossom, basil, blackcurrant and hesperidics create a very energetic yet quite odd melange of soft orange fruit, white florals, anisic/licoricey earthiness, green notes, a stiff animalic musk type facet, and plenty of citrus. It makes your brow furrow and your brain kick into overdrive, that is until the heart begins rushing up at you and connecting to this opening very well. Tuberose, jasmine, muguet, orris, and tonka all find partners to hold hands with. Tuberose takes over the white florals from the orange blossom and amps it up to pleasantly powdery rose territories, while also providing a bit of a green edge as the basil and blackcurrant did. Jasmine and muguet come in for the assist with citrusy white floral links and sweet animalic muskiness. Orris keeps the heart stately by not letting it fall over the line of too sweet or too floral with its powdery dry starchiness, and the vanillic tonka shifts the character of the earthy anisic note of the basil. The final dry down and skin scent has enough oakmoss in it to make you say chypre for a little while, but then you correct yourself as time goes a bit further on and the tonka, balsams, benzoin, a bit of incense, and animalics present a very convincing amber union. It is on the pleasant side of sweet, and has more than enough richness but with plenty of air and space to be compelling without being thick or crowding. Boucheron has absolutely beautiful dry downs, and the brand mandated that their perfumes did so, as evidenced here and later on in the arguably more masterful Pour Homme. At one point I said, “some of it is predictable though.” A floral amber in 1988 was hardly anything new; despite Boucheron’s forward thinking in some areas for the time, and their meticulous attention to details and composition, they gave us what was arguably an outdated and commonplace perfume even for that period. I’ve said it once and I’ll say until my dying breath: it’s the details that make all the difference. Rarely does anything truly new come along in perfumery, it’s the details that set perfumes apart from each other. For example, Boucheron love powdery aldehydes but despite their volume at no point are they ever allowed to hide anything from the nose as so frequently happens with other brands’ compositions. Every note has a partner note in the same layer or one below that they are completely inseparable from, even though they maintain their distinction. It’s beautiful work that is far too underrated.

Absolutely fabulous! 💯 The addiction is real on this one! It should be classed as an addictive substance! Or given out on prescription as a mood elevating anti depressant. I know it makes me instantly happy! I bet this is what GOD smells like! Oh my goodness this is amazing. Total soap addict here 👋 so thourilly soap me and soap me again please! This satisfies my soap fragrance addiction like no other! I'm living for the soap bomb vibe of this beast. It's become one of my top 5 perfumes of all time. It's expensive french luxury and sophistication in a bottle. Its a struggle not to reach for it every single day! As soon as the fragrance opens for me its soapy and clean and vanilla and almondy in a hypnotic poison type way, and it has a wonderful big floral with gardenia type smell but it doesn't have gardenia in it so it must be the tuberose. I'm so drawn like an addict to big personality heavy soapy beast perfumes or powdery beasts the stronger the better. No fragrance could ever wear me so l indulge in the stronger perfumes more. People have said this is very 80's soap bomb, l guess that could be true, but l was 5yrs old in 1980 and dont remember smelling fragrances like this. I'm sure if l did the smell would have imprinted on my mind and nose. l was surrounded by the scents of Dior, Chanel, Estee-Lauder and Yves-Saint-Laurent in those days from my mum & aunt, and their friends.. l bought a bottle for my mum a couple of weeks back and she's never smelled anything like it, it didn't remind her of any scent she had come across in her 68 years and trust me when l say that between me and my mum, all the best selling perfumes worth having in history we've had them all TWICE! She loved this too. I was getting so bored with my perfume collection l just felt uninspired when trying to choose one to wear so didn't wear any for about a year. I found this on Ebay so cheap l thought if it's awful l can just give it away. The name Boucheron sounded so French and posh, l saw the RRP price point, & l thought it must be okay. It immediately made me smile with a giddy type glee, and l couldn't stop smelling myself going "Mmmmmm" each time l inhaled the scent, it literally makes me weak at the knees, its pure pleasure and fragrance magic for me. That fancy expensive French soap smell with the vanilla scent and the sandlewood amber floral composition is amazing. I couldn't love this more. This scent belongs on a very sophisticated chic beautiful woman who dresses impeccably in seriously expensive Couture and makes other women stare because they want to be like her. Boucheron Pour Femme you are gorgeous. l cant imagine ever getting sick of this fragrance! ♥️ I give this sexy little beaut a 10/10.

My first experience with Boucheron occurred on a joyful testing spree at Nordstrom about six years ago. I remember thinking, now This IS perfume... but do I LIKE it? The scent polarized me! On the one hand it genuinely smelled expensive and elegant in the classic feminine manner I adore. On the other there was a decidedly Bitter edge I couldn't overlook, which seemed to dominate the composition. It puzzled me, the beginning perfume explorer, even while simultaneously beguiling as well. (Word to the wise - the same thing happened to me with Knowing, Youth Dew, Chanel No 5, and countless other classics shortly after. To my mind, if you're simultaneously enamored and repulsed it means you're eventually going to fall heavily!) Fast forward a year or so, and my second testing of Boucheron created a better understanding of the scent. Ah, that touch of bitterness (not so bothersome now!) is there to offset and balance the sweetness and lush florals, which could otherwise become cloying. Not bad, not bad at all. And I began to seek a bottle... Every time I've bumped into the fragrance of Boucheron since then, it's been Love. Tagetes and Marigolds may be an acquired taste, but - hey, presto - I'd acquired it! And this year, Oh Happy Day, I finally have a full bottle to enjoy any and every time the mood hits. Lush femininity and dignity combine to create a queenly floral perfume with depth and personality. What more can I ask? Allure, that's what, which any perfume containing musk, amber, civet, and orange blossom cannot help but deliver! <3 In short, a true winner. <3 If you enjoy traditional, FEMME florals and florientals like Bijan, Organza, or Classique, you can count on an experience worth repeating when spraying on this perfume-that-IS-perfume. The orange blossom, civet, and musk beauty of Boucheron will envelop, seduce, and cheer you and yours throughout the day. So... sometimes with challenging scents it's worth a second try. Or more! One of the best things I've learned in my perfume journey is to take time to acquaint myself with fragrances I don't understand. It more than repays the effort, or so it seems to happen... again and again and again. I'm so VERY glad I persevered and got to know Beautiful Boucheron better. Five Stars!

This may be the scent that gets me to enjoy tuberose in a perfume. I am a sucker for nostalgic perfumes, and for fellow vintage lovers, Boucheron EDP is an absolute must for your collection. Be warned though, this lady is not an open book, you must get to know her slowly. My reaction went from “maybe I’ll give it to mom” to “holy cow I’m wearing this forever” over the course of a couple of days. At first, all I got was heavy orange blossom, and I thought it was too close to perfumes I already had. 24 Faubourg, Reem Acra, and Roberto Cavalli edp immediately jumped to mind as orange blossom ladies I’ve already either loved and kept or liked and passed on. But I am seeing the different sides of this perfume now and the sweet warm softness is something I am becoming addicted to by the hour. Roberto Cavalli is fruity and clean. Reem Acra has that pear, but was a bit stifling (bye girl), and 24 Faubourg is gloriously aloof. Boucheron opens with a fuzzy warm clean feel, like a blanket out of the dryer, then a lovely powderiness follows. There’s a discordant saltiness that comes in soon after that reminds me of the opening of SL Ambre Sultan (a firm favorite). I enjoy this actually, it’s a texture I wasn’t expecting in this otherwise sweet and warm composition and it’s all the more original for it. It softens further into its really addictive stage- fluffy warm amber goodness brightened by a pink bubblegum tuberose. These facets play hide and seek- sometimes I’m enveloped in a warm sweet haze, then a salty, animalic punch, or pop of gummy tuberose will rouse me out of my doze. I absolutely love it. I would wear this with a lighter or heavier hand in all seasons and weather. The verdict: It certainly could be written off as an 80s powerhouse on the surface, but dig a little deeper and discover that it’s far more nuanced and interesting. So glad I didn’t dismiss Boucheron before really giving her a chance. Those who do don’t know what they’re missing.

I have the EDT and the EDP. One great thing is that they’re even better after macerating for a couple of years. I went through several bottles (of other perfumes) during that time and then came back to Boucheron. I initially liked the EDT better, but now I like the EDP better. However gorgeous, neither was quite clean enough for everyday daytime use upon first unboxing. Now it doesn’t matter. The narcissus sings on my skin after an hour or so. The animalic snarl of the EDP has calmed down to a sexy poof, and it’s just right. It’s almost a clean sexy and almost a dirty sexy. The animalic notes fall in just the right place after a long period of maceration, whereas two years ago it was just filthy gorgeous. And asafoetida is always a force to be reckoned with, but here it’s very well-balanced. The EDT has remained about the same. It has a wider appeal with a cleaner musk that reminds me of Le Troisième Homme by Caron, but cleaner. It also brings to mind Lalique. One or two sprays is plenty with either, and these days nobody will know what I’m wearing. I would rather wear a tickle sweet chic musk like these than a sweet sugar confection. The citruses are beautiful. It’s very high quality. At this rate, these two bottles will last me ten years. Many have likened it to 24 Faubourg, and I find similarities between the two, but Boucheron never veers into dirty laundry territory like 24 Faubourg. I still hold the opinion that this EDP is the original from which Bond No. 9 Manhattan was derived, and I still think that Boucheron EDP is better.