Mimosa (original)(1900)

Continuing Molinard's soliflore tradition into the new century, this composition presents mimosa as its central note, opening on bergamot before the mimosa heart, finished with musk and woods. Mimosa, the fluffy yellow-flowered acacia that blooms across the south of France in late winter, was and remains a specialty raw material of the Grasse region, its honeyed, powdery scent difficult to capture through steam distillation and more commonly extracted via solvent absolute. Molinard's continued production of single-flower soliflores as the 20th century began reflects the house's consistent identity as a specialist in showcasing Grasse's raw materials directly, even as rival houses like Houbigant and Guerlain were moving toward more abstract, composed florals. The mimosa note itself carries strong seasonal and regional associations for French perfumery, tied closely to the Cote d'Azur's late-winter mimosa harvest and festivals that celebrate it to this day. As one of Molinard's turn-of-the-century releases, it marks a late but faithful continuation of the 19th-century soliflore format just as the wider industry was leaving it behind.