Opal, the exclusive and commanding new launch by British luxury fragrance house Boadicea the Victorious is an unapologetically bold and irresistible perfume, glittering dramatically on skin, Opal is danger, transfiguration and sensual shift. Our skin allows us to alter and transform perfume differently from each other. Opal is atramental alchemy. We cannot help but stare into the fires flickering in the reflected night of an empowering scent and fall in love. Opals are coveted by some, shunned by others but the shimmer in iridescent stones is hypnotic, suggesting worlds within worlds. Looking into opals, especially the rare black stones, it is easy to understand the reputation of talismanic magic associated with them. The iridescence comes from the interplay of light within the crystalline strata of hydrated silica. One of the most legendary black opals was a 700-carat stone given by Napoleon to his consort Joséphine de Beauharnais. She named it The Burning of Troy, due to flashes of crimson fire that flickered amid the dark depths of the opal. It always caused a sensation when worn by the Empress in public. After her death, the opal disappeared, probably held by one of her heirs. It resurfaced in 1924 when it was purchased by the City of Vienna for 50,000 dollars only to disappear again at the end of World War 2. Not seen publicly since, this opalescent fable has only enhanced the beauteous legend of The Burning of Troy. The aura of Opal is warmly pervasive and confident. A perfume with myth and gracious modernity. There is seamless beauty in the grand overture of notes. A haunting sense of moody rose and violet lipstick dreams enhanced by bay and rich black coffee. Coffee is a note that must be utilised with smooth seduction, suggesting perhaps an earthy, mountainous Ethiopian bean, precision roasted to extract an oily lee of swirling richness.