With an outer suburb area named after it, the Boronia is an extremely desirable, but hard to cultivate horticultural plant that saw its origins from the aboriginal and dry lands of Australia. With that being said, does it come off as anyone’s surprise that the Boronia is also a symbol of privilege in fields of perfumery?
Origin
An endemic species to Australia first formally described by Linnean Society Founder co Botanist James Edward Smith in the year 1798. The name of the species pays homage to Italian naturalist co plant collector Francesco Borone (1769-1794), who assisted James during his tour of Europe in 1787. An outer suburb of Melbourne, Australia was named aptly so, as Boronias were first observed growing in that area.
Boronias generally grow in open forests or woodlands scattered across all states and mainland territories of Australia, and only rarely in rainforests or arid areas. All species require excellent drainage and part shade to grow, and even then it only has 3 to 4 weeks during the late winter as its flowering season.
Due to this, boronia has an extremely valued presence, but miniscule supply in the global market due to its prohibitive cost, along with its inherently adulterant nature (degrades in quality when mixed with others). Oddly enough, boronia is more appreciated in the flavor industry rather than perfumery due to its great synergy with berry flavors.
Scent
To prove that the boronia deserves its high valued stature in the raw market, we quote the natural Atelier perfumer co author Mandy Aftel: “As close to heaven as we are likely to get”.
As a heart note, the boronia is delectably intoxicating with its sweet, floral, and peppery scent, decorated with hints of green suaveness. In fact, boronia is one of the rare few scents in perfumery that can be its standalone fragrance.
Best Match
It is highly recommended against mixing boronia with anything else due to its inherently adulterant nature. Still, it is proven that the boronia blends well with bergamot, sandalwood, and other floral notes.
Properties
Decongestant
The boronia is generally pleasant to the nose, but its scent can in fact provide short term relief against nasal congestion.
Antibacterial & Antimicrobial
Surprisingly, boronia essential oils are potent as an antioxidant, which prevents and reverses skin damage caused by free radicals, while also useful against acne.
Mood Reliever
Boronia is inherently effective when used as a mood lifter, as boronia essential oils help with alleviating anxiety, situational depression, and irritability. On a side note, boronia essential oil is also used by some as a natural sleeping aid.
Synthetic vs Natural
Due to the hoo hahs surrounding trade secrets, perfume manufacturers are not obligated to disclose every single ingredient used in their products. Likewise, notes represent what the product should resemble in scent, not necessarily in content. Boronia, being a scarce note that is both time and labor intensive, is extremely difficult to obtain in large quantities without paying a hefty price. So whatever options involving all natural boronia on the perfume market are expected to be exorbitant prices.
Here, we present to you the S.L.A.P.- Pinpointers when it comes to identifying if a perfume containing boronia is synthetic or authentic. Do keep in mind that these pointers are applicable only when identifying for perfumes marketed as “natural”.
Smell
While there is no easy way to tell, having an experienced sense of smell is quintessential in identifying synthetics, or watered down bottles. The disparity between a pure natural extract, and the more alcoholic or artificial extracts is more than often obvious. On a side note, if a perfume is marketed as “natural”, it does not contain additives usually involved in perfume productions to prolong shelf life, thus lasts shorter, and the scent should not come off as “too intense”.
Labeling
If a perfume is marketed with “using natural ingredients”, it should always have the scientific name of the element listed, and should be traced online with ease. If the name of the ingredient is not in Latin/ is in English instead (ex: Cedarwood instead of Cedrus Dedora); this is your cue to look elsewhere. The only boronia ever involved in perfumery is boronia megastigma. If the scientific name written on the label was remotely something else, it is likely the manufacturer is trying to pass off something as natural boronia. Likewise, although a hassle, always cross check the list of ingredients contained online to tell if it contains toxic or harmful chemicals.
Authenticity
Please ensure you buy your perfume from trusted seller or fragrance house.
Price
As essential oils from natural ingredients are more labor intensive to source, it is expected for products of this nature to be extremely expensive, and this is more apparent in the case of boronia. If the disparity in ratio between the offered quantity and price is too apparent, be very wary that you may have bought a fake natural perfume. If your gut feeling or research makes it clear that the deal is too good to be true, it probably is.
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