When I smell Boadicea the Victorious Salubrious, I get this synesthetic rush of a color and texture. It’s a solferino velvet. So dark, with a purple tint, soft, smooth. This vision is somewhere between Interview With a Vampire and if a plum had peach fuzz. I don’t think a bridge exists to join the two, except for this fragrance. Salubrious reminds me of velvety rose petals, dark stone fruits, red wine with a licentious, vampy darkness.
Visions aside…Salubrious opens up as a fruity, chewy rose. It reminds me of candied orange peels with a sweet rose jam…like a rose jam marmalade with zinfadel or a malbec. The farther it is from your nose, the more fruity wine this smells. Up close, the scent is a boozy rose with an oiliness and rose geranium mintiness/coolness. This fruity rose top dries down after about an hour+ of wear. Underneath, I keep getting this dry, grassy vetiver. I do get more animalic oiliness. It’s dirty, but not too dirty, rounded by amber and the sweetness of tonka. I adore this base. It’s like a glamorous motor oil. You must understand that Salubrious always smells dark. This isn’t an innocent fruity-rose. It’s a fruity-rose that joined the dark side.
Notes listed include rose, orange, rose geranium, amber, tonka bean, animalic notes, Idonesian patchouli, Somali frankincense, and Bourbon vetiver.
This is a dark, “Arab”-style jammy rose. If you like scents like By Kilian Rose Oud, Juliette Has A Gun Midnight Oud, Montale Black Aoud, and/or Montale Aoud Damascus. How is Salubrious different than these? Salubrious is jammier and with more wine than the others. If you want more fruit but still want a dark rose, try this. Also try it if you want an “motor oil” rose.
This scent has wonderful projection and is very, very long-wearing. It’s a unisex fragrance. It’s fruit and rose but it has a darkness that will appeal to men that like “Arab”-style roses. The fruit/wine makes it a great choice for women too.
The name – Obviously, Boadicea the Victorious with their extensive collection has ran out of names. Or maybe they meant it. Red wine is healthy, right?
Salubrious is available “exclusively” at Harrods Knightsbridge or on the BtV website for 100£-150£. You can also purchase samples from the site too.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Jammy rose with wine over a motor oil vetiver. You may not want a bottle if you own any of the fragrances listed above. UNLESS you want a fruitier version/more wine. I enjoy wearing it.
For the love of all things boozy, rosy, fruit & all things noir, this sounds like heaven! (If in you version of heaven all the angels have black feather wings, dark red lips and black fishnet stocking, which mine does…)
Yes! That’s my version too.
Based on your heaven, I really think you’ll like this. It has this depth, a richness. It’s one the best “wine” fragrances I’ve tried not just because it smells like wine but because it smells like the color of a red wine…if that makes sense.
:o) Lovely! I need this in my life!
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I tried this perfume once and liked it more than a couple of others from the line, planned to test it again – and since then haven’t found an inspiration. I will re-test it soon.
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The line is HUGE so I lost interest after testing about 4. But, I thought all of the 4 were good and this one stood out to me as one that I’d wear more frequently.