Molinard, Habanita, 89 ml. or 3 oz. Flacon, Parfum Extrait, 1921, 1940, Paris, France ..

The Maison Molinard was founded in 1849 in Grasse, Provence, in the south of France, cradle of the world's perfume industry. It has remained an entirely family-run business to this day, and is also the oldest of its kind. At that time, Molinard produced floral waters and Eaux de Cologne, which it sold in its "little shop" in the town centre. In 1891, Queen Victoria stayed at Grasse, and bought Eaux de Cologne there.

In 1900, the company moved into an old perfume factory, where the distillery structure was designed by Gustave Eiffel. Molinard is still there today. A typical Provençal showroom was set up, and its first customers were wealthy foreigners from England and Russia. They came to admire its magnificent collection of 17th and 18th century furniture, and buy Molinard eaux de Cologne together with all its floral fragrances.

1921 was a momentous year, when Molinard launched a product that is still popular today. It was the famous Habanita originally marketed as a perfume for women who smoked cigarettes - which in 1924 became "the most tenacious perfume in the world”. The nose behind this fragrance is Molinard himself.

Smoky, fruity, and floral notes rest on a base of vanillic, creamy benzoin and leather, making Habanita a complexly comforting scent of sweetness and warmth. A haze of tobacco smoke and the earthiness of leather tie together what starts out sharp (vetiver), gliding later into what one reviewer described as jammy sweetness, another reviewer likening it to a fruit compote. As the perfume dries down, it smells like the a fine sweet and fruity tobacco.

The fragrance is described as a mysterious and addictive, both classical and modern, for strong and free-spirited women.

"Launched in 1921, Habanita opens with dry, bitter green and a whisper of jammy fruits. It quickly moves into dry woods and earthy notes, and for a brief time the flowers stand out quite distinctly, each on their own, before the whole devolves into a smoky, powdery, dusky-oriental blend, heavy on the amber and leather, and only lightly sweetened by vanilla."

Susan Irvine's Perfume Guide describes Habanita as the "corrupt, sweet flesh of a sinner", and perhaps it is so. Habanita is mischievous, and sexy, certainly, but it has a kind of playfulness about it. It has a kind of youthful air that renders it somewhat less forbidding than Caron's Tabac Blond which is another fragrance developed for female smokers.

Top notes are Vetiver, Peach, Strawberry, Raspberry, and Orange Blossom
Heart notes are Rose Orientale, Ylang Ylang, Orris, Lilac, Jasmine, and Heliotrope
Base note are Leather, Amber, Galbanum, Oak Moss, Vanilla, Cedarwood, and Benzoin

Offered here is a lovely and huge 3 oz. bottle of Habanita with its original presentation box. I had to remove the cellophane to take the photos. Very little evaporation. Still sealed and never used. It is a perfume that smells wonderful! Hard to find these bigger sizes. This is a collector's dream !