Grandiflora Fragrances Queen of the Night, Boronia and Saskia

Saskia Havekes opened her first flower shop, Grandiflora, in Sydney’s Potts Point in 1995. Much like a flower her work has blossomed from being a florist, to an author and then starting award winning perfume house, Grandiflora Fragrances. Her work expands the concept of floral arrangement, as many of her olfactive creations feel like she composes with flowers, in the same way an artist works with paint or sculptural materials. There’s drama and grandeur to her compositions feeling like you’re entering an installation where the flowers act in a durational performance. Colour, form and scent crafting an experience out of nature with consideration of seasons with the flowers she selects.

 

Saskia Havekes of Grandiflora courtesy of Grandiflora Fragrances

Perfume was a perfect medium to move into to continue her art. Besides making you smell amazing, when done well perfume becomes a temporary performance that plays out on your skin through the wear, telling a story, giving emotion, tone and textures becoming a transportive temporal experience that can give you pause or a place to escape. I’ve written about Magnolia Sandrine feeling like a dream captured in a bottle that blooms like a half remembered memory and the stunning limited release Sakura Bloom Edition collaboration with Roku Gin that transports me to Japan with its subtle delicate elegance. Continuing on I chose “Three You Should Be Wearing” that take you on new journeys, giving different emotions and feelings all explored through the magic of flowers.

 

J’s image of Grandiflora Fragrances Saskia

Grandiflora Fragrances Saskia (2020) Certain florists have this sublime smell of fresh cut stems, water and an airy bouquet of aromas that can feel other worldly. Smelling Saskia, composed by Christophe Laudamiel and Ugo Charron instantly took me back to a flower shop that was attached to the Anne Blume café in Berlin. Saskia envelops you in this experience wrapping you in buttery creamy flower petals from ginger and ylang ylang, while violet leafy creates this airy green space where it feels like you’re walking through soft puddles of water. All the flowers feel fresh and perky sparkling with pink pepper as gardenia seduces you with its creamy silky slightly waxed blossoms. For me it’s stars here at the heart of Saskia, as if you have found the flower of your dreams. Swirls of abstract florals add to the intoxicating haze with mimosa teasing out a subtle sunny warmth. Soft mossy textures and subtle darker spices and greener complete this beautiful composition. It’s no wonder this won an Art and Olfaction award in 2022. Notes: Ginger, Pink Pepper, Violet Leaves, Tasmanian Myrtle, Water Hyacinth, Gardenia Petals, Flowershop Accord, Petrichor, Ylang Ylang, Tasmanian Boronia Leaves, Immortelle, Oakmoss, French Mimosa.

J ©Grandiflora Fragrances Queen of the Night

Grandiflora Fragrances Queen of the Night (Bertrand Duchaufour 2016): There’s a fresh excitement as Queen of the Night blooms on your skin, fresh citruses evolve into playful a bubble gum floral, with sweet red berries and a creamy whipped floral vanilla. Aldehydes give this expansive airy feel of freshness and anticipation as floral notes start to unfurl capturing the magic of this rare night blooming cactus. As the sweeter more bubble gum fun fades, a silky fresh white floral arrives. There’s a creaminess that is conjuring images of thick white silks, it flowers with an elegance feeling clean and fresh from lily of the valley, cyclamen and aldehydes. Queen of the Night wears with a refined elegance, with whispers of incense and woods adding a bit of mystery with a slightly darker tone. There’s still a hint of sweetness but subtle narcotic purrs of jasmine and orange blossoms have changed the tone into a more seductive one. The usual fleshiness of the white florals is carved into a sleek elegance with sandalwood and a floral vanilla capturing the rare beauty of the Queen of the Night. Bertrand Duchaufour captures a rare magic here. Notes: Green Mandarin, Clove, Bergamot, Orange Blossom, Jasmine, Pittosporum, Sandalwood, Patchouli, Musk.

J© Grandiflora Boronia

Grandiflora  Fragrances Boronia (2017 Bertrand Duchaufour): Boronia instantly captures your attention with this dark alluring scent. A deep darkly sweet heart is wrapped in a complex boozy richness; think a super smooth cognac, with caramel and tea over tones, with soft aromas from its wooden barrel ageing adding a subtle complexity. Dark green florals work as a beautiful counterpoint to Boronia’s more rich facets letting a freshness give space for the opulent notes to expand into. Boronia feels seductive as you wear it. As it dries down it’s as if the floral tobacco gets invaded in a resinous darkly rich caramel. There’s a boozy dark char as if cognac has been heated making its a rich darkness, letting the more stone fruit apricot aromas of tobacco shine through. Boronia has an alluring warmth to it, that feeling of liquor just after you swallow, it’s enhanced by soft suede and hay giving another twist of darker sensual textures. Subtle sharper green aromas are used to contrast the darkly sweet facets making them more delicious and again there’s a beautiful soft musky abstract floral haze to let you know this is Grandiflora. Boronia is one of my standouts from the line and it’s an incredibly strong line. Notes: Blue Chamomile, Cognac, Cistus labdanum, Black Tea, Boronia, Suede, Osmanthus, Driftwood, Myrrh, Caramel, Tolu balsam.

Disclosure: Grandiflora Queen of the Night, Boronia and Saskia were sent to J for review, thoughts and nose are his own.

J Wearescentient, Senior Editor, artist & olfactive writer.

J’s image of Grandiflora Saskia, Queen of the Night and Boronia

Thanks to the generosity of Grandiflora, we have one bottle of Queen of the Night, Boronia or Saskia for a registered reader in the USA, Canada, EU, UK or Australia.  You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment about J’s reviews, your choice should you win where you live. Draw closes 1/24/2025

Editor in Chief Michelyn Camen  and Saskia Havekes at Esxence 2024 photo by Amber Jobin at NH Hotel

Please see Grandiflora Fragrances stockists here. If you live in the USA, we recommend you visit Luckyscent.com, Scent Bar NYC and LA as they are currently the only USA stockists.

Grandiflora Saskia was a winner of The Art and Olfaction Award/Independent Category 2022 and was composed by Christophe Laudamiel and Ugo Charron

You can read J’s review of Sakura Bloom Edition here and Magnolia Grandiflora Sandrine here

Then please read former Managing Editor Mark Behnke’s review of Grandiflora Michel and Sandrine. Former Contributor Clayton Ilolahia’s interview with Saskia Havekes

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