There are floral perfumes and then there are Boadicea the Victorious floral perfumes. Statement scents of power and beauty. Andraste is a potent portrait of efflorescence, honouring the iconic warrior queen who inspires the brand and the multitudinous arrangement of blooms, insects and sultry weather that shimmers and radiates within a walled garden. There is something magical about walled gardens, and Boadicea the Victorious have captured the contemplative privacy of such concealed enclosures. Honouring Queen Boadicea, Andraste, is an Iceni rose, sensual and steely, a floral scent of concentrated glamour and horticultural fascination. An intense and cacophonous rose with metallic thorns and a scent of storm. The name Andraste is the name of the Celtic Warrior Goddess invoked by Boadicea before she engaged the Roman army in battle. As always, Boadicea the Victorious perfumes concern themselves with aromatic cause and effect and the tension and balance sought in olfactory ingredients. Walled gardens capture and magnify heat, sun travelling from wall to wall, reflecting off brick, slate, trellises and espaliered fruits. All the senses are heightened, beds of flowers, vegetables and medicinal herbs flourish in the honeyed pollen-soaked air. Butterflies flit and glass-winged dragonflies hover, ornamental water reflects the blue sky above. Time feels suspended. The magic of Andraste is the sultry blending of exquisite floral notes, foliage, herbs and alluring resinous leather dusted with powdered earthy orris and musky ambrette. A mentholic eucalyptus note works artfully with smoky Lapsang Souchong tea, golden saffron, and thyme. Honeysuckle, wisteria, pungent jasmine and Lady Emma Hamilton Rose create an all-consuming atmosphere of sylvan beauty, a bouquet balanced with a dose of citrus and anchored in the vegetal muskiness of ambrette, supple leather, fumed woods and vetiver. Andraste is an intoxicating, floral scent of complex grace and power, worn like insignia into the maelstrom of modern life. to protect and dazzle. An exhilarating perfume from a brand renowned for statement scents with longevity, impact and difference, Andraste is another magnificent perfume from a British fragrance house linking past and present with bravura creativity.
