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Boronia ‘Heaven Scent’
Boronia Megastigma (‘Heaven Scent’) is one of my favourite flowers. Small and unassuming, nevertheless, when it blooms it is _stunning_.
It is also, unfortunately, one of the fussiest plants to ever exist and I have never been able to keep one alive for more than two seasons. I've given up on gardening one - resorting to simply buying a small bush each spring and treating it like a slightly-longer-lasting bouquet - and went on something of a hunt to try and find the note in perfumery instead. I tried many, many fragrances that claimed its presence and walked away from all disappointed.
This fragrance, however, has the highest concentration of the note I have found in anything short of the actual raw absolute. And I can make that comparison, because I had thoroughly given up on finding this flower anywhere in scent and bought some of the raw extract direct.
The extract - and as a consequence, this fragrance - is not one to one with the scent of the flower in the air. Something about the extraction process compresses it down. But this is absolutely the closest to the extract / raw material that I've tried.
It's all there at first spray: an honeyed, rich, mead-like floral, something akin to dry hay at the edges but upfront all amber. If I could hold it there, I would, this is what I've been looking for.
As it dries down however the other notes join the spotlight. Woods, yes, tobacco, yes, labdanum, absolutely. With three strong presences the boronia fades back a little, moving to something more of a supporting role, softening the edges and rounding out the backdrop but never again taking center stage. This drydown moves it to something more of a challenge - muzzbait on fragrantica mentions a bitter "rust" impression, and the labdanum gives it a touch of something faintly animalic. But on the whole, this is rich, deep and sunwarmed, like polished wood, raisins, and tobacco baking in the heat of the day.
If the boronia held out just a little longer I'm sure it'd have a place on my shelf. As it is, I will nod to the artistry of this, but will keep to buying the raw extract instead.
It is also, unfortunately, one of the fussiest plants to ever exist and I have never been able to keep one alive for more than two seasons. I've given up on gardening one - resorting to simply buying a small bush each spring and treating it like a slightly-longer-lasting bouquet - and went on something of a hunt to try and find the note in perfumery instead. I tried many, many fragrances that claimed its presence and walked away from all disappointed.
This fragrance, however, has the highest concentration of the note I have found in anything short of the actual raw absolute. And I can make that comparison, because I had thoroughly given up on finding this flower anywhere in scent and bought some of the raw extract direct.
The extract - and as a consequence, this fragrance - is not one to one with the scent of the flower in the air. Something about the extraction process compresses it down. But this is absolutely the closest to the extract / raw material that I've tried.
It's all there at first spray: an honeyed, rich, mead-like floral, something akin to dry hay at the edges but upfront all amber. If I could hold it there, I would, this is what I've been looking for.
As it dries down however the other notes join the spotlight. Woods, yes, tobacco, yes, labdanum, absolutely. With three strong presences the boronia fades back a little, moving to something more of a supporting role, softening the edges and rounding out the backdrop but never again taking center stage. This drydown moves it to something more of a challenge - muzzbait on fragrantica mentions a bitter "rust" impression, and the labdanum gives it a touch of something faintly animalic. But on the whole, this is rich, deep and sunwarmed, like polished wood, raisins, and tobacco baking in the heat of the day.
If the boronia held out just a little longer I'm sure it'd have a place on my shelf. As it is, I will nod to the artistry of this, but will keep to buying the raw extract instead.
2 Comments
Truly beautiful
I don't wear fragrance for compliments - I wear it for me - but still, there's something to be said for the ones that garner them. For the scents that actually push people to take time out of their day to express delight, for scents that push people to outright ask "what are you wearing? That smells great!"
It's not a true marker of quality, necessarily, but it does occasionally speak to something about the fragrance.
Myrrhe Eglantine is my single most complimented fragrance, hands down. Almost every time I've worn it, someone has commented.
And, look, maybe it just works on me for some reason. Maybe that's not a common occurrence for others. But I don't think so. Because quite frankly, I agree with the compliments - this is gorgeous and I'm so, so surprised that it isn't talked about more often.
It really does have that Hermès elegance - it feels so well composed, like burying your nose into an actual, living rose, one out in the garden. It still has that transparency to it, but it's a little more full-bodied, jammy and boozy, a hint of fruit underneath. It smells real.
This is a rose without powder or vanilla or sugar. It's not childish, but neither does it feel "vintage". It feels almost plush, like velvet, but it maintains this regal distance - it never yells, never overpowers, but instead hums along politely. The Hermessence line has something of a (well-deserved, barring a few exceptions) reputation for enjoyable scents that disappear too quickly - this one however lingers, lasting a full day on skin and clothing.
It's another one that seems to work regardless of context, too - I've worn it at work, out at dinner, at home around the house, and it's never once seemed out of place. Likewise, the fragrance itself doesn't have a note out of place, everything working together and blended so well it's hard to pick one chord from another.
I've tried a lot of roses (yes, including Delina) and this one tops them all for me. I have a full bottle and it's one of the few that I'd re-buy without hesitation once I'm through.
(For those of you wondering about the comparison to Galop - especially if you don't like leather - never fear! I can't stand Galop, the leather does unspeakable things to the scent on my skin - this has the same "polished" feeling to it, and I can see why people would compare it, but I have to disagree. I had to scrub Galop off - this I spray with abandon).
It's not a true marker of quality, necessarily, but it does occasionally speak to something about the fragrance.
Myrrhe Eglantine is my single most complimented fragrance, hands down. Almost every time I've worn it, someone has commented.
And, look, maybe it just works on me for some reason. Maybe that's not a common occurrence for others. But I don't think so. Because quite frankly, I agree with the compliments - this is gorgeous and I'm so, so surprised that it isn't talked about more often.
It really does have that Hermès elegance - it feels so well composed, like burying your nose into an actual, living rose, one out in the garden. It still has that transparency to it, but it's a little more full-bodied, jammy and boozy, a hint of fruit underneath. It smells real.
This is a rose without powder or vanilla or sugar. It's not childish, but neither does it feel "vintage". It feels almost plush, like velvet, but it maintains this regal distance - it never yells, never overpowers, but instead hums along politely. The Hermessence line has something of a (well-deserved, barring a few exceptions) reputation for enjoyable scents that disappear too quickly - this one however lingers, lasting a full day on skin and clothing.
It's another one that seems to work regardless of context, too - I've worn it at work, out at dinner, at home around the house, and it's never once seemed out of place. Likewise, the fragrance itself doesn't have a note out of place, everything working together and blended so well it's hard to pick one chord from another.
I've tried a lot of roses (yes, including Delina) and this one tops them all for me. I have a full bottle and it's one of the few that I'd re-buy without hesitation once I'm through.
(For those of you wondering about the comparison to Galop - especially if you don't like leather - never fear! I can't stand Galop, the leather does unspeakable things to the scent on my skin - this has the same "polished" feeling to it, and I can see why people would compare it, but I have to disagree. I had to scrub Galop off - this I spray with abandon).
Only for those with a sweet tooth
Crystalline sugar. This is iced raspberries and rose petals paired with candy floss, a pink macaron adorned with cream and artfully arrayed pomegranate arils.
It's light, airy, and somehow "clean" despite the above - there's something a tiny bit tart about it, and to me it feels like a "dry" sugar. This isn't a jam/stewed compote, it's more 'meringue' than 'baked goods'.
If you've tried their other 'Pomegranate' body-care products (their skin care/hand creams/whatever), it's exactly the same scent as the perfume - it does give me a "high-end bathing product" vibe, but potentially only because I discovered it through their soaps first.
An easy-to-wear day scent if you're a fan of sweet floral/fruity notes.
It's light, airy, and somehow "clean" despite the above - there's something a tiny bit tart about it, and to me it feels like a "dry" sugar. This isn't a jam/stewed compote, it's more 'meringue' than 'baked goods'.
If you've tried their other 'Pomegranate' body-care products (their skin care/hand creams/whatever), it's exactly the same scent as the perfume - it does give me a "high-end bathing product" vibe, but potentially only because I discovered it through their soaps first.
An easy-to-wear day scent if you're a fan of sweet floral/fruity notes.
Self-descriptive name
The first thing to hit my nose was strawberry jam! That only lasted a moment before the woodier elements came through - there's still a rich-sugar-fruity undercurrent to this, but the top of it is all hay / tobacco / woods (which slowly become more present as time goes on).
Very "opaque" - this is in no way a transparent, minimalistic thing - but it doesn't suffocate either. The name is exactly it - what's listed is what you get.
Very "opaque" - this is in no way a transparent, minimalistic thing - but it doesn't suffocate either. The name is exactly it - what's listed is what you get.
BBQ Smoke
Smells like a cross between liquid smoke and BBQ sauce. Very strong, immediately rose to fill the space around my arm when I sprayed.
Smoky, but a honey-umami-woody underlay - this is clearing out a firepit that had some incense sticks thrown into it at some point, embers still smouldering.
It's listed as unisex but I would say this leans masculine.
Smoky, but a honey-umami-woody underlay - this is clearing out a firepit that had some incense sticks thrown into it at some point, embers still smouldering.
It's listed as unisex but I would say this leans masculine.
