BOUCHERON by BOUCHERON 1988 Perfume Review

Hey Posse Peeps,

Portia from AustralianPerfumeJunkies back again. Today we are going back to 1988. Remember? The Winter Olympics happen in Calgary, Canada and Summer Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea. The Last Emperor wins 9 Oscars and still nobody sees it, do so though because it’s gorgeous. Australia celebrates its Bicentennary and in Brisbane, Australia we have World Expo “88. Celine Dion wins Eurovision Song Contest, um….did that really happen? George Bush Snr elected President of USA and Benazir Bhutto becomes the first woman to lead Pakistan as Prime Minister.  Die Hard, Rain Man, Crocodile Dundee, Beetlejuice and Cocktail are the movies we are watching. Topping the pop charts you’ll find Enya, U2, Kylie Minogue, Bros, Gloria Estefan, George Michael, Guns’n’Roses and Madonna released “Like A Prayer” as a Pepsi commercial.

BOUCHERON by BOUCHERON 1988 Perfume Review

It was an era of big stuff. Big hair, big shoulder pads, big bank accounts and big fragrances. Calvin Klein released Eternity, DIOR Fahrenheit, Caroline Herrera and Kenzo eponymous, Rumba by Balenciage and Charlie Oriental. These were statement and signature fragrances that took your breath away and often walked in ahead of the wearer by 3 steps, needless to say sillage was mammoth. It was the era of being worn by your perfume, not a bad thing, just not the now sensibility.

 


Photo Stolen Fragrantica

 

Into that time and space came a fragrance that was awesome even by the standard of the day. I have a small original era Boucheron by Boucheron EdT and it feels like EdP at least when I wear it. Luca Turin gives Boucheron a glowing 5 stars in Perfumes the A-Z Guide saying, “…This is the Athena Nike of all Floral Orientals…Boucheron, at this time,  felt 100 percent synthetic and, amazingly, none the worse for it. Being near someone who wears it is like having your picture taken next to a marble foot as big as a car.”

 


Photo Stolen Fragrantica

 

The Boucheron by Boucheron opening is citrus, basil, marigold and ivy and manages to be both sweet and dark, the green of the ivy and the charge of marigold give a viscous depth that is like wading through Daiquiri or Mojito (not minty but herbal). Soon the white and yellow flowers arrive and they are beautiful and to keep the slightly bitter tinge there is geranium and orris, this keeps the whole nicely balanced, especially with the deep baseline of musk, civet, sandalwood, vanilla and resins galore. Although Boucheron by Boucheron is sold as a big floral perfume there is much more to it, character, spontaneous highlights and shades of colour, it is an attention grabber but acts almost like light filtering through a mid autumn deciduous tree, you get dappled warm light that is broken by cooling shade and the constant movement is pretty and mesmeric. Once you get past the sheer magnitude of this fragrance you can start to notice the subtle play of all the ingredients; lasting power is good too, I am getting about 4-5 hours from the EdT before it becomes a skin scent of musky vanilla and civet.

 


Photo Stolen Fragrantica

 

Available still for good prices on the discount sites
FragranceShop has 50ml EdT around $35
FragranceNet has 50ml EdP for around $55
Surrender To Chance starts at $3 for 1ml but my advice is to get a 3ml spray and go crazy

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about Boucheron by Boucheron, do you know any of the Boucheron range? Have a favourite? Tell me, I’m agog. It will give me new fun things to hunt down, one of my great pleasures in life.

 

Please come and see us at AustralianPerfumeJunkies, there’s always something fun and exciting happening over there too.

 

Wishing you painless, easy and harmless world domination.
Love,
Portia xx


  • nozknoz says:

    Hi, Portia – I just stopped by Australian Perfume Junkies and watched you and Robert Radium review Secretions Magnifique – very funny! Will check out APJ from time to time!

  • FragrantWitch says:

    Fab review, Portia. I have a partial bottle of this that belonged to my grandmother and I love it. It is VERY BIG though, so what I have will outlast me! Like nozknoz, I struggle to pick out any specific notes rather I get a warm enveloping pashmina of a scent. Definitely a cool weather frag for me as I think I would suffocate in summer.

    • He He He. In summer it is FUN. Definite SKUNKing fragrance for dinners with horrible Aunties, ex partners or for co workers who shit you. Great idea! Pashmina of scent! Nice.
      Portia xx

  • nozknoz says:

    I bought one of the beautiful parfums on ebay a couple years ago. I don’t often think of wearing it, as my nose tends to crave some natural ingredients, but it’s very nice. I perceive a solid, luminous wall of scent rather than any individual ingredients.

    • nozknoz says:

      PS I love your recap of 1988 – it was a great year!

      • I have never smelt the Parfum but am always on the lookout for one. It will be lovely to find but I don’t count on it. You are very lucky. 1988 was a very good year, wasn’t it?
        So much happening. I performed at the Sydney opera house for the 1st time and did my first pro drag show. BIG year.
        Portia xx

        • nozknoz says:

          WOW – Sydney Opera House – that WAS an amazing year – it’s never too late to say Congratulations for something like that!

  • Gail S says:

    I went through a nostalgic phase a couple of years ago and had to repurchase several scents that I wore in the early 90’s. Boucheron Jaipur was one of those and it was crazy hard to find at the time! None of the online discounters had it, there was none on Ebay or Amazon, finally found one lone bottle at one of those perfume stalls in the middle of the mall. I still love the way it smells (mmm, peachy floral!) but it’s not really me any more. However, I will hold onto the bottle this time.

  • DinaC says:

    I’ve got a sample of Boucheron that I’ve worn a few times. It’s a big, complex beauty — like a symphony of notes, instead of just an acoustic guitar. I’ll have to get out that sample and try it again; I want to see if I can identify the ivy and the geranium. I love orris/iris, so it doesn’t surprise me that that’s in there. No wonder I like it!

    I have a dear friend who’s signature scent is Boucheron Jaipur. But I haven’t sniffed that one on myself.

    • I am a sucker for Jaipur Men EdP too. The Jaipur ladies is ggod but the men is extraordinary and wearable by everyone. I like Boucheron’s work, it’s on my scale,
      Portia xx

  • tammy says:

    I have always wanted to try this house, because like MS Anderson above, I love the bottles.

    You have pushed me right over the dithering edge, and a bottle is on its way to me now!

  • Melissa Anderson says:

    I never tried any from this line until recently, when I bought a couple of minis-Jaipur and Jaipur Saphir. I saw a couple of positive comments about them and I liked the bottles, so another late night ebay purchase was born! I wouldn’t own a full bottle of either, but Jaipur is pretty darn nice. It’s a fruity floral, but nothing like the pop-tart fruity florals that are on the shelves today. Sort of a sweet fruit compote, not overwhelming, with blended floral notes and a soft base. The flanker, Jaipur Saphir, is simply too indistinctly musky sweet for my tastes.

    Thanks for the review of Boucheron. I’ll re-read it at midnight tonight, when I’m tired and my self-control is at its lowest. That tactic will guarantee a purchase.

    • HA HA HA!! I love the honesty. Yes, we are all easy targets at midnight. Me included.
      It is a worthwhile try though, the EdP even more so. MMMMMMM
      Portia xx