The illusory scent of personality detachment, Boudicca - Wode, scented with opium

Today's perfume is a more experimental one. I say experimental because this scent is not mainstream at all. You wouldn't imagine an office worker smelling like this, nor would you picture a beautiful, fashionable girl wearing such a fragrance. The overall visual impression it gives me is this:

Tearing open a poppy fruit, finding a hint of milky white color gradually flowing down within the deep green fibers. Turning my head to look at the green field behind me, a grayish color gradually spreads from my fingertips, staining the background, the sky, and the plants surrounding my body. Looking closely again, I find that everything has turned into achromatic branches, as if reaching an unmanned zone between parallel worlds. You are a forgotten loner, walking alone on the dry grass in a vast world. A wisp of smoke in front of you is not a house, but the plain tranquility built from burnt opium.

I've seen many peculiar materials incorporated into perfumes before, and each time it sparks my curiosity to try them. In my search for different scents, I came across this Boudicca Wode perfume, developed in 2014. Its notes made me suspect it would be a scent that would subvert my past experiences, and indeed, after trying it, I didn't hesitate to write about it and introduce it to everyone.

Scent Analysis

• Top notes: Juniper berry, sage, angelica, pink pepper and black pepper, coriander, bergamot, nutmeg, cardamom

• Middle notes: Cumin, saffron, jasmine, tuberose, rose

• Base notes: Opium, white tobacco, leather, benzoin, castoreum, oakmoss, guaiac wood, cedar, sandalwood, musk, tonka bean, amber

What does it smell like?

When first sprayed, it has a fresh and cool feeling, much like aimlessly walking at night on a very dim road with no streetlights. After walking for a while, a 3C store suddenly appears in front, brightly lit and visually clean inside. Why do I say night? Because the freshness here is not the comfortable sunshine impression of morning, but rather a slightly turbid, hazy feeling, much like after a day's work when you're a bit tired and your steps aren't light.

A hint of earthy scent and the coldness of conifers make the whole thing more industrialized and unreal. I say 3C store because the so-called freshness is not the invigorating feeling of mint toothpaste, but a combination of the spiciness of coriander and pepper, and the medicinal quality of juniper berries, blending into a sharp, cold metallic impression.

After a few more minutes, nutmeg and cumin gradually become more prominent, and the scent becomes softer, like a grayish-white plaster statue sitting in front. It has a certain "human touch" but no warmth, still an achromatic world. Personally, I get a little dizzy from cardamom, so after smelling it for a while, my head does feel a bit light, but it doesn't diminish my enthusiasm for it. After all, there's always a subtle, lingering "stem-like" scent that attracts me (a plant?), something I've never experienced before.

1. Fragrance Family: Woody Floral

2. Top Notes: Jamaican fruit Nesberry

3. Middle Notes: Violet, Magnolia

4. Base Notes: Musk, Cedar

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Combining the bitterness and deep scent of oakmoss, and the somewhat animalic scent of castoreum, like a leather coat stained with cigarette smoke.

The perfumer's inspiration at the time came from one of the ingredients, "opium." After the perfume has been on for a while, a slightly sour greenness emerges, like a torn fruit. And because of its hypnotic, medicinal quality, it brings a sense of calm amidst the chaotic layers, like a grayish-white jungle in front of you, where the branches, though messy, intertwine to form an abstract painting. Plus, the white tobacco flower extracts a hint of sweetness. Combined with the bitterness and deep scent of oakmoss, and the somewhat animalic scent of castoreum, it's like a leather coat stained with cigarette smoke. The owner of the coat is a pale young man with dilated, empty pupils, his withered body propping up an oversized silhouette of clothes, with fluffy gray fur lining the collar, making him seem even more like a character from a nightmare.

Guaiac wood, cedar, and sandalwood make the whole scent more serene, but because the grass and wood in this one are perfectly balanced, it doesn't smell overly meditative, as if you're about to meditate or worship Buddha. Instead, you wouldn't think this is a woody scent; it's extremely dry and grassy, like an emotionless dream, everything in grayscale, moving from dampness to dryness, from darkness to light, trapped in a time that never progresses, unable to escape reality from the dream.

This scent is definitely not for office workers, big bosses, or formal and social occasions. Instead, it's for pale, artistic individuals and creators during their moments of self-seclusion, wearing headphones, with coffee or wine, as the faint light of dawn streams in, drawing or writing by the window. It's a scent suitable for such near-mad, hallucinatory, and unrealistic moments. If you, like me, enjoy exploring different perfumes, you might want to try this perfume that actually uses opium. Perhaps then you'll understand the imagery I'm trying to convey with my words.