Sanguinem Harena

Boronia Megastigma 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 it 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 - I second muzzbait's bitter "rust" impression, but while I think the boronia is enhancing it a little, it's more the labdanum that gives it just that 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. (Also, to note, there's a typo in the name of this fragrance: It's Sanguinem Harena, not Arena).

An intriguing, legitimately blood-smelling scent that captivates... There are parts that come across as rust-animalic -- if that makes any sense -- however, the background is indeed interesting and alluring. I think it's the rosewood that provides that sweetness, but what *must* be boronia provided a bitter, metallic blood not, which is where the Sanguinem part of the name must come. I really need to try this out again, as it's PURE art and incredibly structured and textured, but I fear it's not something I would personally wear...

Would love this is anyone has a bottle, esp as Goldfield and Banks Desert Rosewood and G&B Southern Bloom are my 2 favourites from the line.