Boka – Suze & Zelen – Orange Blossom & Vetiver

I’ve been wearing fragrances from the US independent brand Boka  https://bokafragrance.com/ on and off for the last six months. After researching the brand (basically reading their website), I’ve deduced they’re a one-man band. Their founder, Boris Zrnic, of Serbian heritage, named the brand after his childhood nickname. He cites nature as his primary inspiration. Indeed, nature’s influence becomes very evident as you wear his fragrances. He has two fragrances, Suze and Zelen. 

I’ll talk about my least favourite one first. Suze, pronounced SOO-zeh, translates to tears in Serbia. Despite the name, it didn’t bring tears of joy, though it didn’t bring tears of pain either. I’m somewhat ambivalent about Suze. On my skin, the white florals, particularly orange blossom, prevail. It’s honeyed, sweet, and sweaty. 

That sweaty orange blossom facet never goes away. Cassia hovers in the background, adding to the slightly animalic impression. It’s spicy and saturated. Suze isn’t a clean white floral, and even with the fresher notes, it wears quite densely. There’s a hint of Fleurs d’Oranger by Serge Lutens, but I wouldn’t say quite as sweaty as that one. It balances the tension between the fresher floral notes and the dirtier notes in a similar way, though. In the case of Lutens, it’s cumin, and for Boka, it’s cassia. As it dries down, Suze becomes very green (mint and muguet) and woody with a hint of smoky tea. It’s not airy enough for me, and certainly not something I would consider buying at this price.

If you’re really after green, go with his vetiver, Zelen. Indeed, the Serbian word “zelen” translates to “green” in English. The cleverly done opening accord pairs Mexican lime and yuzu. We often see vetiver paired with its old friend, grapefruit, but the union of lime and yuzu gives Zelen an uplifting, tart, herbal character. 

The vetiver here has a distinctly earthy, rooty, inky personality. Boka uses Haitian vetiver. The addition of cooling cardamom spice complements the vetiver beautifully. Although Zelen isn’t a sugary scent, the citric top notes and beeswax notes bring in a hint of sweetness. The transition from the vibrant top notes to the drier, woodier, cooler base smells like a shift from spring to autumn. At times, I imagine myself in a green, lush woodland area before eventually finding myself in a mistier landscape with golden, brown leaves underfoot. With those images in mind, I find Zelen to be suitable for wearing throughout the year. 

At USD 290 for 50ml, neither of these extraits is cheap, so one needs deep pockets to afford a bottle. Whether these startup-type brands without a perfumed pedigree should charge such prices is a whole other debate. For some brands, all that money goes into the bottle. And indeed, the Boka bottles, complete with marble caps, are lovely. However, to their credit, in Boka’s case, a great deal of thought and craftsmanship has gone into creating the perfumes.

Have you tried the brand? Do either of these sound like something you might enjoy?

Note: The bottle image is courtesy of Boka. All other pictures are my own. I paid for the samples.

And finally, see below – a couple of images that spring to mind when I wear these fragrances. First is Suze – dense, saturated, white, dark green. And second is Zelen – woody, green, autumnal.