Boss Orange Woman
Anyone who finds most women's fragrance too sweet should spend a minute with Hugo Boss Boss Orange Woman Eau de Toilette, because the middle of it goes somewhere unusual.
It opens mildly enough. Red apple is round and juicy rather than tart, and coriander beside it adds a warm, seed like spice with a slightly soapy edge, so the first few minutes are gentle, faintly spiced and give very little away about what is coming.
Incense is what changes the picture. It is dry and resinous with a trace of smoke in it, the smell of a cold church rather than a candle shop, and finding it in the heart of a mainstream women's scent is genuinely unexpected. Sichuan pepper sits with it and adds a bright, tingling prickle, almost citrus like, which stops the resin from turning sombre.
Vanilla closes the whole thing, and it is handled smooth and warm rather than sugary, softening the smoke into something comfortable to wear for hours. Five materials in all, which makes this a short composition, and it moves in a straight line from spiced fruit to resin to warmth with nothing doubling back.
It dates from 2011. At toilette strength expect four to six hours and gentle projection, which makes it an easy choice for work and for daytime through the colder half of the year. It reads feminine but not at all conventionally so, and anyone bored of fruit and flowers will find it a relief. The incense is what they will remember. The German house whose name is on it has been tailoring menswear since 1924 and is run from Metzingen to this day. Perfume was never its own trade: a licence was granted in 1984 and the scents have been made that way ever since.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
Similar Notes
The Scent Vault
Join thousands earning on every order
Earn points as you shop, redeem for money off, and unlock member perks.
Find out more
The Scent Vault Gift Cards
Give the gift of choice
One card, every scent. Let them pick the fragrance that is truly them. Send it instantly by email, or schedule it for a future date with a message of your own.
Shop gift cards
