One more day of comfort fragrances, then we’re moving on; anyway, this is less a review than a brief news flash, and it is old news at that: Molinard Iles d’Or, as has been pointed out on several of the fragrance forums, is virtually identical to Molinard Tendre Friandise. Or at least, the version of Iles d’Or in the newish Molinard 1849 collection is; I haven’t tried any of the older versions. If I had to guess, I’d say that it probably isn’t the same stuff as the original Iles d’Or, which was released in the 1930s. This does not smell like a classic 1930s perfume. It smells like a modern candied fruity floral, and is one of very few such scents that I really like…

Read the rest of this article »

Molinard is an old Grasse perfumery established in 1849, and still family-owned. Their best known fragrance is probably Habanita, which was introduced in the early 1920s. Tendre Friandise (Sweet Candies) was released in 2003; the notes are freesia, pear, lime, mirabelle plum, jasmine, sandalwood, amber, cedar, nougat, praline, white musk and vanilla.

For the most part, I prefer my fragrances dry rather than sweet. The phrase “overly sweet” appears frequently in my own testing notes, and usually means that the fragrance was dismissed. But every so often I want a dose of candy, and when I do, I reach for this favorite from Molinard…

Read the rest of this article »