Borabora Giardini di Toscana 2023

As I write this, snow continues to accumulate on the already slick roads. Practicality has replaced fashion as I don my fuzzy socks, jeans, sweater, t-shirt and velour robe to stay warm. It is bone chillingly cold. Even the cats with their permanent fur coats are huddled by the heating vent to warm their toes.

I’m in the mood for a little escapism today. BoraBora is the perfect fragrant transporter to do just that.

She is the ultimate tropical perfume, fragrant with white florals, coconut milk and musk. It is the smell of a woman in a flowy white dress, walking barefoot on an isolated sandy beach. The sun warms her bronze skin as the breeze gently blows through her dark, tiare-adorned hair.

Yes, BoraBora is a summer perfume, but doggonit, I’m wearing it today as a defiant act against winter.

I was interested in the opening - lovely soft white florals with a tropical base. But 30-60 minutes later it had faded to straight up sunscreeny powdery coconut. I mean sure, if I hunt for the florals I can pick them up as a vague background note, like I'm smelling remnants of yesterday's perfume. But anyone else getting a whiff of you will only be thinking "your sunscreen smells nice". Pass.

I thought I'd be falling in love with this one based on the notes, but it's not something unique or something I've never smelled before. It's the lovechild of Lust for Sun and Sous L'Abricotier.

At the beginning, I'm getting a sweet, albeit powdery, abricot paired with a fresh, watery jasmine. Gives fruity floralness at the start. As it moves on, the apricot becomes more powdery and subdued, while muskiness starts to rise up paired with the sweetness of coconut. Gives beachy vibes more than tropical goodness. Drydown is pretty warm, sweet due to the vanilla and still remains powdery / musky. Unfortunately, I barely got any caramel in the drydown.

I mean, it's not bad, but it's a "lovely" more than a "like" and nowhere close to a "love". Glad I got to try it out, but it won't be going in my collection since these aren't the vibes I'm looking out for. On to the next!

Bora Bora: the pearl of the Pacific, its marvelous lagoon, considered the most beautiful in the world.
A mystical place, which leads the mind to isolate itself and enjoy the beauty of nature: who wouldn't want to be there and leave everyday problems?
“Keep calm, close your eyes, and breathe.”
Inevitable in this creation are tiare' and coconut, which give it exotic, musky and sweet accents thanks also to the other notes.
A real cuddle, being cradled in a place overflowing with beauty and calm.
“Acqua Delicious” painted by Paul Gauguin, who found his own dimension in the splendid Polynesia.

The air here doesn't just move - it carries weight. Stepping off the plane, you're hit with something that feels like a physical embrace. A declaration of presence that the locals simply call home. Wearing Borabora, the parallels are impossible to ignore.

The first hour? One word. Unapologetic.
It lands on skin already in full sun with no introduction, no apology. A loud, honeyed explosion of Tiaré and Ylang-Ylang - dense, almost oily, neon in its intensity. There's a touch of apricot sweetness that doesn't soften anything; it just adds weight. Makes the air feel heavier. It's like wearing too many leis in midday heat - beautiful and nearly overwhelming at the same time. The volume is turned up to ten from the first spray, and it stays there. Not a blind buy for the faint-hearted.

Then, slowly, the roar retreats.
The florals pull back just enough to reveal something more intimate - sun-warmed skin meeting creamy coconut milk and musk. It's that specific feeling of expensive sunscreen settling into the shoulders after hours in the water. The air softens. The scent stops performing and starts lingering. Less about being seen, more about being remembered. Radiant, close, warm. This is the part the brand promises and actually delivers.

By late afternoon, the exoticism settles into vanilla, caramel, amber, and musk. Sweet, luminous, seductive - pleasant but almost too composed after everything that came before. The night deciding not to go further. A safe landing after a theatrical journey, which is either a relief or a slight disappointment depending on what you came for.

Here's the thing, though - I don't usually reach for loud fragrances. But Borabora doesn't ask. It changes the way I exist in a space. People notice before I've said anything. The air shifts. And so do I, even when part of me resists it.
Performance is exceptional - longevity that survives the beach, the pool, and dinner after. On paper, it's a postcard. On the skin, it's an entire climate.
It's not an everyday scent. But when worn in the right mood, in the right heat, it transforms presence into something that's hard to forget - and harder to explain.
Do you ever reach for something slightly too much just to see who you become inside it?

Vibe: Tiaré and coconut milk. Midday heat with nowhere to hide.
Performance: Exceptional. This thing survives everything.
Fit: For someone unafraid of taking up space - and curious what happens when they do.

Do you ever reach for something slightly too much just to see who you become inside it?

More scent stories and visuals on Instagram - @lavendercloudsjd