Vivienne Westwood, Boudoir:

*** Introduction ***

Not last Christmas but the one before I was looking round Debenhams for a perfume for myself to wear over Christmas but the only one I liked, (I am VERY fussy about perfume there are only four I have found that I like), was Boudoir by Vivienne Westwood and it was just over £50.00 a bottle. I could not justify that sort of expense on myself so I left it. Recently I received a mini bottle of Boudoir as a free gift and I was over the moon.

*** Vivienne Westwood: A Great British Eccentric ***

I have to say I really admire Vivienne Westwood and I feel a great deal of warmth towards her; for me she is one of the people who make Great Britain truly great. For me eccentric people are part of the very fabric of this country and something we should cherish as they seem to be a dying breed.

In 1970 Vivienne Westwood and her partner Malcolm McLaren opened a shop called Let It Rock at 430 Kings Road, Chelsea in London. They sold 1950s rock and roll records and 50s memorabilia as well as clothing designs inspired by the period which was an "out there" idea at the time with the Hippy movement being the order of the day. It was a great success and become popular with young people all over the country.

In 72 the whole concept of the shop changed and the décor and designs were based on Black culture with leather and zips adorning the cutting edge designs. The concept of the shop changed again two years later, (rubber bondage clothing), and then again two years after that, (Punk). Vivienne Westwood has managed to keep up to date and move with the times right up to this very day yet the Punk era has left a stamp on her designs as it has on the fashion industry as a whole.

Vivienne herself is a joy to look her; her style is outrageous and her shock of ginger hair lends itself perfectly to her punky style. She truly is one of a kind.

Boudoir was her first perfume and Vivienne even managed to break new ground with this using viburnum flowers which had never been used in perfumery before!

*** Packaging/Appearance ***

When I buy a perfume I want glamour; I want something that will look stunning on my dressing table, in my boudoir, if you will. I want the box to be alluring and the bottle to make me say wow. Boudoir fulfils all these requirements. It is overtly Vivienne Westwood and frankly I feel like a have a piece of her design in my possession, something that was impossible before.

The bottle is a round rectangular shape with a neck leading up to the amazing stopper. It is shaped like the Sovereign's Orb, (one of the crown jewels, I think the queen holds it in her left hand), an orb-shape with a cross on top. It is of course pale gold in colour. For me it looks suitably expensive and very Vivienne Westwood.

The colour of the perfume shows through the clear glass bottle and it is a lovely peachy-pink colour. Often perfume is a colour similar to wee but this is a nice change! It actually looks like something feminine that you would want to put on your skin.

The box is powder pink with a dusty rose coloured panel. It has the orb shape logo in several places as well as the name Vivienne Westwood and of course, "Boudoir". There is a cute little faun, (half man, half goat), joyfully dancing under the branding. It is definitely a box that I will be keeping. It has great feel to it too being made of thick, quality, textured card.

Obviously all the usual information is on the box including the ingredients. The ingredients list has lots of nasty sounding chemicals in it but a quick glance round the net confirmed that these were quite normal in perfume production. I was impressed that I could actually recognise some of the ingredients like some of the spices.

*** Scent ***

In the bottle this smells very strong; I don't really like the smell when it is in the bottle but my Mum does which goes to show how different people react to scent. Once on the skin the smell quickly develops. At first it is string and smells like an old fashioned perfume, like Channel Number 5 or something similar. It almost has a talcum powder like smell. Quickly the scent becomes softer and sweeter. There is a definite floral note balanced out by a warm spiciness. It is perfectly balanced and there is an almost incense like smell.

Looking online I have found that this perfume contains Cardamom, Coriander, Cinnamon, Cilantro, Turkish Rose, French marigold, Iris, Patchouli, Tobacco flower Orange Blossom, Sandalwood, Vanilla and Viburnum Flower. You can detect each and every glorious scent, I remember using some body shop tobacco flower products years ago and I loved them so detecting this scent was a joy for me. The patchouli and sandalwood, (two of my favourite smells), would account for the incense like smell I noticed.

I personally love this scent; it is like nothing I have smelt before except maybe the smell inside a "hippy shop" or perhaps even Lush. It lasts all day and night but doesn't taste like some perfumes, (I mean when you wear a perfume and you can actually taste it because it is so strong).

*** Price and Availability ***

www.supaperfume.com has this for £22.99 with free UK postage which is a great price. Make sure you look around to get the best deal as this is available in lots of places but the price varies massively.

*** In Conclusion ***

As you will probably tell, I love this perfume. It is so sexy and feminine and makes me feel womanly. It really changes my mood and I will sure to buy a couple of bottles as soon as possible. I think for less than £23.00 this is a huge bargain for something so special and from such a British Icon. Obviously I can't recommend this enough but be sure to test it first as perfumes seem to react differently to different people's skin.