Molinard, Cariño, 'Beloved', 50 ml. or 1.76 oz. Flacon, Parfum Extrait, 1930, 1940, Grasse, 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.

Cariño is a wonderful old fragrance that was discontinued in the 1940's. It was introduced around 1930 and was famously packaged and sold as a solid "Concreta" .. Molinard's pioneering line of natural flower-wax solid perfumes. But it was also presented as a parfum extrait, and is now extremely rare.

As an exact, an official breakdown of the original 1930s Molinard Cariño fragrance notes does not exist in modern perfume databases, as it was discontinued decades ago. However, we can accurately piece together its olfactory profile based on the historical context of Molinard’s patented Concreta line and the trends of the 1930s.

Because Cariño was formulated as a concreta ...a solid perfume made from natural flower waxes .. it was inherently built on a rich, sweet, and highly concentrated floral foundation. Molinard's extraction process focused heavily on the indigenous crops of Grasse, France.

The Grasse Florals are at the heart of the fragrance, and almost certainly relied on Grasse's primary exports, which included Rose .. specifically Centifolia pink rose .. Jasmine, and Mimosa.

Solid perfumes require dense base notes to bind the flower wax. These traditionally included Musk, Amber, Violet/Orris, and occasionally Vanilla or Tonka Bean to give the fragrance its signature 1930s warmth and depth.

Top notes are Orange Blossom, Neroli, and Honeysuckle
Heart notes are Rose, Jasmine, and Mimosa
Base notes are Musk, Amber, Violet, Orris, Vanilla, and Tonka Bean

Offered here is an incredibly rare bottle of this stunning fragrance. I can smell it at the neck, and it is absolutely beautiful .. floral and sweet.

The word Cariño means "affection," "care," or "darling" in English .. it’s a word for both the feeling of fondness and a sweet term of endearment like "honey" or "sweetheart" ..

Simply gorgeous. The rubber plug has broken off and descended to the bottom of the bottle, but there still remains a metallic seal that has kept the perfume fresh and has prevented evaporation .. No box ..