If there is a perfume ingredient I am picky about it is gardenia. My grandmother’s Florida pine house was surrounded by the bushes. The blooms floated in bowls of water throughout the house. As the overhead fans stirred the humid air I was surrounded by the scent of gardenia. If there is one thing many gardenia perfumes lack for me is the significant green component of the actual gardenia. Many focus on the floral qualities. If they miss out on the underlying green it isn’t for me. Jeroboam Boha gets it right.
Francois Henin
Jeroboam is the perfume brand founded by Francois Henin and perfumer Vanina Muracciole. The idea was to create a foundational base accord of musks which they would build upon for each release. It has been a mixed bag for me with the first releases not quite coming together. That changed with Origino and Ambra. All the Jeroboam perfumes are at extrait strength. In conjunction with the musky base accord it creates an intimacy which I find appealing. In Boha it is at its best.
Vanina Muracciole
One other thing about gardenia perfumes is they are often quite dense. The power of white flowers wants to trend that way. What sets Boha apart is that Sig. ra Muracciole makes the gardenia more expansive without sacrificing presence.
The green thread is placed right from the start. Green almond, bergamot and violet leaves form a green accord of foliage and stem. Above that blooms the gardenia. Sig. ra Muracciole constructs this with jasmine and orange blossom to round things out. The top accord slides underneath the florals as they become more expansive. The gardenia becomes more effusive without becoming transparent or, alternatively, cloying. She finds a precise balance where the hidden indoles can snake out of the center right down to that musky base. It harmonizes beautifully which is further accentuated by the addition of a rich sandalwood.
Boha has 14-16 hour longevity and very little sillage. This is a skin scent.
Boha is the best of the Jeroboam perfumes to date. M. Henin and Sig. ra Muracciole have fully realized the potential of their aesthetic. Boha is the kind of gardenia perfume I am looking for.
Disclosure: This review is based on a sample I purchased.
–Mark Behnke
