"Artisanal" fragrances come and go, but we've found a rogue aroma that will have both guerrilla artists and girly girls sprinting to spray faster than taggers running from the cops! The avant-garde UK design duo behind Boudicca has been testing the limits of threads since '97, but their elixir, Wode, shoots warm notes of juniper, berry, cardamon, nutmeg absolute, clary sage, coriander seed, and angelica root — in a mad splattering of Lichtenstein-bright cobalt blue! But, not to worry, just like street art disappears right before our very eyes, this mist fades within minutes, only leaving the eau de parfum behind. (For those of you squeamish folks, you can buy the scent sans the hue spew, too.)
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True to the brand's thoughtful philosphy, the concept was born from the legend behind its namesake, Queen Bouicea, who ferociously fought the Romans back in 60 AD. Her tribe is said to have rocked indigo war paint when advancing into battle, which obviously delivered quite the trippy scare tactic to its enemies! The magical component in both the combat paste and modern-day perfume is called Woad and is extracted from a plant that converts to color when exposed to O2. One last bit of history? When the wild Queen was finally defeated, she swallowed a fatal dose of hemlock, another ingredient in today's potion. We love a good tale behind anything we own — almost as much as we dig double-duty products — so you better believe our orders are already placed!
Photos: Courtesy of Des Kohan