Woah Wode!

NOTE: I had some blog downtime last night because of my ISP and so this post comes a little late...Election Madness I tells ya.... hope ppl are ecstatic with the result!

NOTE NOTE: I also realised that this blue paint comes on a significant day for the world... I'll be painting the town a Democrat blue courtesy of Wode.

I had high hopes for Boudicca's first perfume because a) it's Boudicca, where I had a real fashion moment walking into their Fashion in Motion event at the V&A by mistake and b) when they did up the Christmas tree last year at the V&A, they chose the wonderful Escentric Molecules as the fragrant of the tree where I proceeded to inhale deeply and then waft outside into the cold crisp air, wanting to sing carols out loud and give out presents to strangers like some sort of deranged female Scrooge.

Meaning, that I trusted Zowie Broach and Brian Kirkby not to put out a scent under their name that was a half-ass cheapshot.  I think I need to bang on about the deal between me and perfume though for a bit.  If I'm honest, there is one passage of text that changed my outlook on perfumes and scent forever and it comes from an unlikely source... British Sunday Times journo India Knight who talks about shopping in her book er..The Shops.

"I think most scent today smells common. The idea of complexity or evocativeness seems to have disappeared from the perfume-maker's art and to have been replaced with naff - and usually synthetic - scents. A really good scent is an amazing thing, with almost narcotic qualities: it makes you feel sexy, complicated, alluring, confident, ready to take the world on.  Yet today's most commercially successful scents smell 'fresh' and 'clean', which usually means abrasively citric.  Given that I wash regularlly, I don't want to smell extra clean - I like scents that are a little  bit dirty and complicated.  You wouldn't wear giant, wiast-high white cottong knickers when out on a hot date, would you?  So why smell of their olfactory equivalent?" (She recommends Guerlain's Apres L'Ondee, Vol de Nuit, Caron's Tabac Blond, Quel Amour by Annick Goutal, Shiseido's Feminite du Bois...)

Words that for some reason have stuck with me when making my scent choices.  So from Boudicca, we have WODE.  Legend has it Queen Boadicea wore cobalt war paint on her skin and when her tribe was defeated by the Romans, she killed herself by swallowing hemlock.  In ode to that, WODE is a graffiti spray can scent that appears blue when first sprayed but then magically the colour disappears within seconds once it has settled leaving a scent which actually has extracts of hemlock in it to linger on.  The name is also a significant one as it comes from the old English word 'Woad', a blue plant extract that in its raw state would only turn blue when exposed to oxygen.

Wode does also come in a clear version if spraying oneself with blue paint doesn't appeal.  Like a girl who's just bought a new pack of Magic Pens of course I couldn't wait to try out the Paint scent...

I realise Smell-o-Vision or Smell-o-Web has not quite developed properly yet so I can only give my honest opinion which is that it ticks the boxes of India Knight's words which I carry with me and more.  It LINGERS and LINGERS and keeps coming back to me in different ways throughout the day making it probably the most complicated scent I've worn.  Poo-masker, this is not!  I'd refer to Comme des Garcons scents for reference if comparisons must be made but with a bit more delicacy perhaps...

It's available at selected stockists and UK peeps can buy it online...

Comments

[Guy Hipwell]

dearest susie

how are you!!! you look AMAZING in these images and a really cool idea to promote a great product, it is very hard to do this without looking as if you have been bribed by some PR. I know you well though and at fashion156 I only feature items i really love. as i'm sure happens with you we gets hundreds of horrible items emailed to us every day, and the Pr's go crazy when we don't publish!

speak soon

guy xx

[susie_bubble]

Defo not a PR push here....had been waiting for Boudicca's perfume for an AGE....couldn't wait to get my mitts on it!

[Katlin]

Whoa that's weally weally cool. I think I'd get to spray crazy watching the blue fade into nothingness! And yeay for non smelly cats!

[Dressed and Pressed]

Okay... It's a bit gimmicky, isn't it? And also bloody expensive. But all this comes from the girl who still has an almost full bottle of Chanel No 5 bought circa 2002!

[lizzie]

That passage from India's book has always stayed with me too. Only buy old scents now. Where did you get the cat t-shirt?

[Brigadeiro]

What a fascinating perfume! Love the packaging, and the mind boggles! Would love to smell it person...

[songy]

That could well be the most entertaining product review of all time, Susie. :)

[Aus Anna]

hahaha thats so cool. have to get my hands on it too! great post. AusAnnax

[phee]

this is amazing. anyone know if it's available anywhere in Australia?

ps. susie you're lookin like such a cutie today :)

[KD]

That's so neat!

[dw]

hmm, this must be snatched up methinks. let's paint the town blue!

loved your post, v. funny. i especially enjoy your wry look in the 1st picture.

[For Fashion's Sake]

Susie.

This is what I call a product review!!! I can almost smell the scent here in Brazil.
XX

Grazi - For Fashion's Sake

[woodley park-zoo]

Yes, beautiful review, but I wanted to comment mostly that you look SO SO PRETTY in these pics plus the recent post about pro-choice style... can't believe that U-word has ever had any application to you, ridiculous.

Woad makes me think of Marion Zimmer Bradley novels... nerdy?

[WendyB]

Clever product and clever post!

[For Fashion's Sake]

It's an honour to have you visiting my BLOG Susie... please, come back often!!!

Grazi- For Fashion's Sake

[Danielle]

Does anyone know where this can be sampled?

I would like to try it first, before dishing out £65.

I guess this product must work on the same concept as that Kids sunblock that goes on coloured (usually purple) and then fades to nothing.

[Hapsical London Fashion Blog]

This is MENTAL.. I was going to blog something about it too, but I think you did a better job :)

[selina]

makes me wonder if you can actually get fabric paint in spray cans?

[Hannah.]

So cool. I kind of wish that the colour DID stay. Loving the cat, it reminds me of Flight of the Conchords.

[amanda@ithinkfashion]

I LOVE THE AD! it was so eccentrically orgasmic :D you looked v pretty btw.

[susie_bubble]

Hopefully it's coming to Aussie soon.... I'd register on the site for news of more stockists...in the UK, you can try it out in Browns Focus in London.... I wouldn't buy a perfume online too without smelling it....I'm telling you...where is Smell-O-Web???

[Samantha]

A. Maz. Ing.

And cute photographic storyline hee!

[lady coveted]

hehe... part of me wishes the cat stayed blue.

[Chic Looks]

this is so cool, I'm one of those people that gets excited and possibly end up buying anything that comes across as magical, the disappearing blue has completely got me...

[Sister Wolf]

God, now I'm excited. I LOVED the ads, but I didn't dare expect it to be actually good. A complicated, decadent fragrance = bliss.

Grand Amour is a wonderful scent, too. It reeks of sex and sweaty hotel sheets.

[Top Bird]

You are hilarious - I love the look on your face in the "It's a Miracle" frame. Cracks me up.

I've been dying to check this out, but I'd be really scared about spraying it on something ultra-delicate in case it left some weird stai.

[kirstie]

awesome review, haha. i can't wait until this comes to aussie shores. i just want to see the blue disappear!!!

[a dreamer]

hahaha! dammit, i want to smell that thing!

[Lizzie]

Lol! Your post is so cute today. I love the cat t-shirt. I want one. This sounds like a cool thing to buy. I like to freak everyone out and say oh look, I accidentally spray myself with paint and then ... ha ha. Fun stuff

[Lizzie]

Lol! Your post is so cute today. I love the cat t-shirt. I want one. This sounds like a cool thing to buy. I like to freak everyone out and say oh look, I accidentally spray myself with paint and then ... ha ha. Fun stuff

[lisa]

Your captioned photos cracked me up. :)