Dasman

Dasman is a seaside resort district within Kuwait City, originally hosting the Sheikh Abdullah Al Jaber or Dasman Palace as it is better known. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, this certification will allow experts and Kuwaiti officials to stabilise the remains of the palace that are in a much-degraded state, partly due to its age and being shelled and burned during the Iraq war. Fittingly, Kuwait means fortress by the sea.

This beautiful, lush scent is one of the most striking in the Boadicea catalogue, the composition centred around a rich triumvirate of roses, saffron and amber, classic brand materials used with huge drama. Dasman opens with an unexpected boozy mood, like grape concentrate that slowly becomes more like liquorice as the velveteen roses bloom. For a moment there is a fleeting whisper of mentholic antiseptic that echoes the petrolic whiff of certain roses.

As the heart notes bloom, Dasman exudes a scent of beeswax polish on heirloom furniture. It is immensely comforting, like wearing smoky desert nights.

The base of Dasman is packed with materials, used to draw out the lingering effects of the ambered, fumed roses charred around the edges over a smouldering fire of oud and cypriol. Incense is a subtle base presence, tendrils of perfumed smoke woven around musks and an oddly dissonant vetiver that succeeds however in tempering any potential heaviness.

In the final stages, Dasman reveals a seared lavender note, exalted by the golden earthiness of saffron. The fortress of desert roses never dims making this remarkable perfume so memorable.