The story of Molinard
The story starts in Grasse in the mid nineteenth century, with a shop selling floral waters and colognes. The house gives 1849 as its founding year, though its earliest days are poorly documented. Its first flower perfumes appeared around 1860, built on rose and jasmine as well as violet and mimosa. In 1900 Molinard moved into a Grasse building whose distillery framework is credited to Gustave Eiffel. The turning point came in 1921 with Habanita. It was not meant for skin at first but for scenting cigarettes. It reached perfume counters in 1924 in a bottle designed by René Lalique. Habanita was reworked in a woodier style in 1988 and relaunched as an eau de parfum in 2012. The company is still family-run. Visitors can tour its Grasse workshops and even blend a perfume of their own.
An olfactory signature
Habanita smells of rice powder and cold blond tobacco. Geranium and ylang-ylang open the show, with a slightly green petitgrain and a resinous touch of mastic. The heart is floral but dry. Mimosa and heliotrope add an almondy powder while vetiver casts an earthy shadow. Vanilla, patchouli and moss do the rest. This is not an easy scent. It divides people, and that is exactly why it is worth knowing.
Which Molinard perfume to choose?
Our database features Molinard through Habanita in its eau de parfum version. Test it on skin rather than a blotter, because the vanilla powder shifts a lot in the first hour. It suits lovers of vintage orientals and of vanillas that are not dessert. One spray lasts the day, two will carry a winter dinner. In summer it becomes stifling. To place it, smell it next to Guerlain Shalimar, whose vanilla is smokier and more leathery.