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Starflower

Q: Is Starflower natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Borage seed oil is cold-pressed for cosmetic use (rich in GLA), but not for perfumery. The starflower note in fragrance is a fantasy accord reconstructed from green-cucumber synthetics..

FLOWERS / floral · fresh · green

Starflower

Category	FLOWERS
Subcategory	floral · fresh · green
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	Borago officinalis
Appearance	pale yellow oily liquid
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	Mediterranean
Pyramid	Heart

Cool, green, cucumber-fresh. Starflower (borage) oil smells of crushed cucumber peel and wet garden soil -- a vegetal freshness without any floral sweetness.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Cool, green, and cucumber-fresh. Like pulling a borage leaf from the garden and rubbing it between wet fingers -- the oil releases a clean, vegetal coolness that smells of cucumber skin and morning dew. No sweetness, no warmth. Pure cold green.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Cool, crisp, cucumber-green. Fresh and watery, like garden morning dew.

After a few hours

The cucumber fades quickly. A soft, generic green trace remains.

After a few days

Largely evaporated. Green top notes are highly volatile.

The Full Story

Starflower typically refers to borage (Borago officinalis), a herb with vivid blue, star-shaped flowers, native to the Mediterranean but naturalized across Europe. The plant is primarily cultivated for its seed oil, which is rich in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). In perfumery, the note is a fantasy accord.

The scent of fresh borage is distinctively cucumber-like. The leaves, when crushed, release a cool, green, almost melon-fresh quality that is closer to cucumber peel than to any flower. The blue flowers themselves have a fainter, sweeter scent, but it is the vegetal, cucumber character that defines borage olfactively.

Perfumers reconstruct the starflower note using green-cucumber materials: cis-3-hexenol (leaf alcohol), traces of violet leaf absolute for the green-metallic edge, and cucumber-melon molecules for the fresh, aqueous quality. The result is a cool, garden-fresh accent.

In a composition, starflower sits in the top notes. It provides an unusual green freshness -- less herbal than basil, less sharp than galbanum, cooler and more watery than most green notes.

This note in Première Peau. Nuit Elastique · Rose Monotone. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Did You Know?

Did you know?

Borage flowers are one of the few truly blue edible flowers. They taste distinctly of cucumber and are traditionally frozen into ice cubes for summer cocktails. The plant is also one of the best bee-attracting herbs -- its nickname in some regions is "bee bread."

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Borage seed oil is cold-pressed for cosmetic use (rich in GLA), but not for perfumery. The starflower note in fragrance is a fantasy accord reconstructed from green-cucumber synthetics.

Molecular Formula	Complex mixture; key fatty acid: γ-linolenic acid (C₁₈H₃₀O₂)
CAS Number	84012-16-8 (borage seed oil)
Botanical Name	Borago officinalis
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	BORAGE · STAR HERB
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Appearance	pale yellow oily liquid
Flash Point	> 200.00 °F. TCC ( > 93.33 °C. ) (est)
Specific Gravity	0.920 to 0.930 @ 25.00 °C.

In Perfumery

Top note in green, garden-fresh, and aquatic-green compositions. Functions as a cool, cucumber-like green accent. Built from cis-3-hexenol, violet leaf traces, and cucumber-melon molecules. Provides an unusual green freshness that is softer than galbanum and more watery than basil. Useful in spring and garden-themed formulas.