The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Harrods Gold was born from a commission that asked perfumer Julie Lerendu to capture the atmosphere of the Knightsbridge store in liquid form. The 2025 collaboration between Boadicea the Victorious and Harrods invited the perfumer to translate the sensory experience of a luxury retail landmark into something wearable. Lerendu built the fragrance around a specific tension, bright spices against deeper resins, an aromatic opening that cools into something warmer and more enveloping. The citrus and juniper create that initial lift, but as the fragrance settles, the Peru balsam, myrrh, and frankincense take over, adding smoky depth and an almost edible quality from the cocoa butter.
The ambergris is one of the most interesting materials in the composition. It adds a salty, animalic depth that most fragrances either omit or bury under sweeter notes. In Harrods Gold, it serves as a quiet anchor, the element that makes the oud and vanilla feel worn in rather than polished. The roasted tonka bean absolute adds a bittersweet dimension that prevents the base from becoming purely dessert-like. These materials work together, creating a foundation that gives the fragrance its character.
The evolution
The top notes hit first, that initial brightness from the elemi and juniper, before the warmer heart takes over. The frankincense and myrrh arrive to add a smoky, meditative quality that deepens as the cocoa butter softens everything into cream. The base notes begin their build. The oud arrives dark and resinous, followed by the vanilla and tonka bean, which sweeten the composition without overpowering it. The ambergris adds a salty, animalic depth that makes the whole thing feel worn in rather than polished. On skin, the oud and vanilla form the lasting core, while on fabric the drydown lingers, with the vanilla and tonka bean extract becoming more pronounced over time. The fragrance settles into its base gradually, revealing new dimensions as the top notes dissipate.
Cultural impact
Harrods Gold occupies a distinctive position in the niche fragrance landscape as a collaboration between Boadicea the Victorious and the Knightsbridge department store. This 2025 release takes the sensory identity of a luxury retail space as its starting point. The fragrance treats scent as a form of brand storytelling, where each material functions as part of a cohesive whole. The composition draws from the atmosphere of the store itself, translating the experience of that environment into something wearable that can be taken beyond the original setting.
