Boronia by Bertrand Duchaufour for Grandiflora 2017 LAUNCH PARTY

Hi there Perfume Posse! Last week here in Sydney we had a major new release launch for the Grandiflora range: Grandiflora Boronia. The owner of Grandiflora Saskia Havekes was on site to give us a background of the business and her personal journey from flowers to fragrance.

Boronia by Bertrand Duchaufour for Grandiflora 2017

Grandiflora Boronia FragranticaFragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Resins, Cognac, Black tea, Tobacco, Suede, Caramel, Dry woods, Blackcurrant, Freesia, Hemlock, Immortelle absolute, Hay

Boozy caramel, tea leaves and sharp blackcurrant open Boronia. It is remarkably Aussie and does smell like the Boronia if you pluck a little stem and rollout between your fingers. Not a soft, easy or perfumey scent but interesting, challenging and mildly abrasive. As the fragrance progresses it glows with that unmistakable immortelle (everlasting daisy) sweetness. That combined with the blackcurrant has a slightly pissy, ultra sweet animalic-ness that could also be honey.

Further in the resins appear and smooth over the more challenging accords, bringing the whole fragrance together beautifully. They smell like myrrh, elemi and labdanum to me. Suddenly this maverick becomes fine fragrance with a jaunty Aussie wink.

By the 30 minute mark Boronia’s initial fireworks calm considerably and we are left with a linear dry down that is comfortably sweet and tobacco rich with an amorphous wood/leather. The dry down is quietly alluring and thumps out for nearly a whole day, soft yet insistent.

The bottles have changed from the gorgeously elegant 100ml glass domes to a much more prosaic 50ml black cylinder. It doesn’t look nearly so luxurious but I’m a total fan of the smaller size. I can imagine this being a solo bottle on a bureau or dressing table. It looks very minimalist and cool.

LuckyScent has $145/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $5.69/ml

Grandiflora Boronia LAUNCH PARTY

The front of Grandiflora shop is almost exactly as the storefront has been for decades.

Boronia by Bertrand Duchaufour for Grandiflora 2018 LAUNCH PARTY

Ainslie walker, perfumer and fragrance writer on left, Saskia on right.

Boronia by Bertrand Duchaufour for Grandiflora 2018 LAUNCH PARTY

Place names hand drawn by Saskia. so cool I kept mine.

Ainslie too this shot of me contemplating Boronia. I like it.

Saskia on left, Michael from Libertine Parfumerie was on hand to help with notes and story.

I’ve spoken about Grandiflora Michel before here on Perfume Posse.

Have you tried any of the Grandiflora range?
Portia xx

  • Ingeborg says:

    You look so relaxed (and stylish) in the photo, Portia! I hope you have some peaceful moments even now! What a stylish place card, a nice souvenir to take home.

    I wish I knew what Boronia as a plant is like. There’s at least one orher of these I’m afraid I would really love! (I’m saving up for some design furniture, so little room for perfume purchases before summer, can’t have it all).

  • Musette says:

    hey, gorgeous! looks like fun! LOVE your glasses, cutie! xoxo

    • Portia says:

      Musette! It was fun.
      Jin bought me these glasses. We found a style I like 5 or 6 years back in a store called Campo Marzio in Sydney. Sadly the store closed so while we were in Rome, Italy in 2016 we went to their flagship store and they’d sold out of my prescription, we were so bummed. Then last year as we were walking around Seoul in South Korea we spied a Campo Marzio store in its opening week having a sale. Jin bought every pair in my prescription and so now they’re all I wear. Isn’t he heaven?
      Portia xx

  • chez Marzipan says:

    I have never tried any of the Grandiflora range but this one sounds delectable. Love the photos too!

    • Portia says:

      Hey CM,
      I think you might like them. each one is so beautifully crafted. Boronia might title your ivories.
      Portia xx

  • SusanB says:

    Lovely setting. And I always enjoy your descriptions. Feels like I was there!

    • Portia says:

      Hi SusanB,
      They went ALL OUT with the room. It was magnificent. I did take a room pic but it was blurry and shit.
      It would have been heaven if you were there, so cool.
      Portia x

  • Kathleen says:

    Love the photos and review Portia! I don’t know this fragrance and always enjoy the introductions.

  • Queen Cupcake says:

    I like the photos, Portia, and am so happy to see your face. I love your description of the fragrance as it progresses. Don’t know if I will ever get around to trying it, but enjoyed reading about it, and especially the photos!

    • Portia says:

      Hey Queen Cupcake,
      Thanks, and I bet there’s at least one love for you in the range. They’re pretty splendid.
      Portia xx

  • Rosemary says:

    Wow, looks like an amazingly fun time, and the name card is awesome! I have not sampled any Grandiflora, but definitely want to now! 🙂

  • Tara says:

    Perhaps if we have time when I’m over, we could go here and choose a perfume for me to take home as a fragrant reminder of my trip xxx

  • Tara C says:

    I have one of the last 100 ml bottles made of Queen of the Night. I also have a large decant of the Madagascar Jasmine. Got a sample of Boronia from Luckyscent, it is very nice stuff. I really loved the old bottles.