The scene: Brussels, an early evening cast in grey light. A woman walking slowly down the street. Behind a window covered with condensation she sees It. If it were a French New Wave film, the woman would have met the love of her life with whom she’d spend the next hour and a half exchanging meaningful glances and an occasional quote from a postmodern philosopher. But being my life, this is an evening when I find mimosa.
No flowers make me lose myself the way these fluffy yellow pompoms do. I’m not the only one–a heavily pregnant friend once traveled from Brooklyn all the way to Manhattan just because she heard that one florist shop on the Upper West Side might have received a shipment of mimosas. When I walk home, my arms filled with the bouquets, even the darkening light seems to radiate the same lemon yellow color.
Mimosa brings with it the smell of the Mediterranean, the salty breeze, green violet leaves, and pale honey. Within minutes of arranging the stems in water, I can smell spring throughout the whole apartment. As a note in a perfumer’s palette, mimosa is one of the most essential, even if difficult. But along with a related variety called cassie, mimosa is used in some of the most interesting compositions, allowing us to enjoy its yellow brightness even in the absence of fresh flowers.
Frédéric Malle Une Fleur de Cassie
As I mentioned in my article about mimosa and cassie, Une Fleur de Cassie is a mimosa gold standard. It uses both mimosa and cassie absolutes, and it has the plush, tactile sensation of fresh blossoms. The character, however, is much darker and warmer. While L’Artisan Mimosa Pour Moi smells the most like mimosa on a branch, Une Fleur de Cassie is a mimosa-themed fantasy, but for this all the more interesting.
Thirdman Eau Monumentale
The cologne is based on a chord of mimosa, bergamot and cumin. The idea seems unusual, but the result is harmonious and effervescent. Mimosa on the Italian Riviera, if you will.
Caron Farnesiana
There still remain villages in Provence that specialize in candied flowers and jams made from rose, jasmine, violet and other scented blossoms. In such places you can find mimosa bonbons. They look like yellow colored nonpareil balls and taste mostly of sugar. Caron Farnesiana is my idea of what candied mimosa should taste like–almond meringue and violets.
Guerlain Petit Guerlain
Here I’m talking about the 2014 Thierry Wasser version, which blends mimosa, orange blossom, honey, and licorice in a wispy and delicate perfume. Not a whiff of Johnson & Johnson powder here; French babies smell of orange flowers. Even so, I rarely wear it as perfume, using it instead to spray the bed sheets and linens.
L’Artisan Parfumeur Mimosa Pour Moi
I mention Mimosa Pour Moi because it has by now acquired the reputation of a niche classic. It’s pretty but too darn shortlasting. Instead, to satisfy my mimosa cravings I turn to Jo Malone Mimosa & Cardamom.
Jo Malone Mimosa & Cardamom Candle
Putting together mimosa and cardamom, velvety and spicy, warm and cool, was genius. Unlike most Jo Malones, the cologne lasts well on me, but equally wonderful is the candle. It creates the illusion of a house filled with mimosa bouquets.
Mimosa Cocktail
When my mom asked for mimosas at her local florist, a shop assistant looked somewhat confused and then said, pointing to a bar down the street, “Ah, orange juice and champagne? They make it next door.” I have experimented and concluded that nothing beats the original recipe from Harry’s Bar in Venice–1 part orange juice mixed with tangerine juice to 3 parts of Prosecco. Orange juice by itself is too acidic, and fine champagne isn’t improved by any additions. On the other hand, Prosecco or even Cava take well to fruity notes.
Carmen: Novel and Opera
“I will bring you cassie, if you still enjoy its perfume,” wrote Prosper Mérimée in Lettres à une inconnue (Letters to an Unknown). The Unknown, was Mademoiselle Jenny Dacquin, the daughter of a notary of Boulogne, with whom Mérimée corresponded for over forty years. And what flower should his Carmen throw to Don Jose? Une fleur de cassie.
“She put her mantilla aside, to show her shoulders and a huge bunch of cassia, which protruded from her chemise. She had a cassia flower in the corner of her mouth, too, and as she walked she swung her hips like a filly in the stud at Cordova” (“cassie” in the original French; Mérimée, Carmen, 1847, p. 31).
In Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen, the aria “La fleur que tu m’avais jetée” (The flower that you threw to me) is a passionate declaration of love and yearning. Mimosa’s cuddly softness hides a smoldering heart.
Do you have any other favorite mimosas?
Photography by Bois de Jasmin
198 Comments
Karen (A): Ahhh, something to brighten my snow-filled vision, and a bonus as Une Fleur de Cassie is one of my favorites! Will wear some today as I continue trying to shovel my car out waiting for the farmer to come and plow out our (much too long) driveway. Thank you for a taste of spring time fragrances yet to come. (and once we are out I will look for a florist who has mimosa) January 25, 2016 at 7:39am
limegreen: Good luck shoveling your way out, Karen!
Victoria — Thank you for such a lovely article to brighten up a dreary Monday.
I love Une Fleur as well — the papermill opening now smells super fragrant to me. Someday I will smell fresh mimosa blossoms and be really happy. Farnesiana is always just right when I’m in the mood, as it turns out, it must be a craving for mimosa bonbons!
Have you tried the first Diptyque Essences Insensees (the mimosa one, not the jasmine)? It is beautiful, greener than Mimosa Pour Moi, and longer lasting, especially in the solid. 🙂 January 25, 2016 at 10:05am
Karen (A): Thanks Limegreen! I will have to dig out a sample of Farnesia I got a while ago, curious how it is against UFdC (which I put on right after reading this article) January 25, 2016 at 10:37am
Victoria: I was disappointed that the real mimosa bonbons just tasted of sugar. They look very pretty, though, and I kept a box on display for a while.
I haven’t tried the Essences yet, but your description is very tempting. Anything more lasting than Mimosa Pour Moi would be perfect. January 25, 2016 at 11:42am
Victoria: Stay warm! The snow storm must have been intense. On such days something bright is a must. January 25, 2016 at 11:29am
Katherine L: Good luck Karen, I’m doing the same except my boys (the big one too) are charged with the driveway! Only ~20 inches here (the drifts were much higher). How about you?
Very timely article since I had just decided to take the plunge with Malle’s Cassie. And now Victoria you’ve intrigued me with your description of Caron Farnesiana… Maybe I’ll hold off till I’ve done my homework.. And maybe I have to sniff the Jo Malone too – though I’m not generally a fan. Agh – I thought I had it all figured out! Back to square one. 🙂 Gorgeous photos (as usual). January 25, 2016 at 4:52pm
Karen (A): Hi Katherine! Finally got around my car dug out, but driveway has to be done with a plow since it is quite long. It seems like around 24-30″ but that’s a very unofficial measurement!
Have you already bought UFdC? I will email you, as I’m happy to send you a sample. January 25, 2016 at 5:08pm
Katherine L: So sweet. I haven’t purchased it yet. But I’ll email you right now and we can chat offline. January 25, 2016 at 5:10pm
Victoria: I recommend comparing several mimosas first. Both Cassie and Farnesiana are original perfumes, but they have different characters and explore mimosa in different ways. But what a fun research this will be. January 26, 2016 at 1:27pm
Notturno7: Good luck Karen!! Hope you stay warm ? January 26, 2016 at 4:30am
Karen (A): Thanks!! Looks like we may be getting plowed out today (fingers crossed!). January 26, 2016 at 12:43pm
Nora Szekely: Hi Victoria and perfume lovers,
I just discovered Une fleur de cassie recently and bought a bottle that I enjoy immensely. Mimosa is a great component in scents delicate yet sensual. It suits the smouldering opera Carmen very well. January 25, 2016 at 7:51am
Victoria: I know that some people complained about the reformulation, but to be honest, I prefer the reformulated Une Fleur de Cassie to the original, since it seems more nuanced and layered.
Carmen also had jasmine blossoms in her hair. January 25, 2016 at 11:30am
Figuier: Thank you Victoria for making good on that promise of a mimosa feature! I have never smelled real Mimosa; the only ones I’ve seen on sale here were sadly scentless. But I love it in perfume. Une Fleur de Cassie is fabulously chic and I wear it to feel sophisticated and smart, but I’ve really fallen for Mimosa amd Cardamom. To me its v close to Earl Grey and Cucumber, but better – with the cucumbery mimosa sandwiched between cardamom and musk instead of bergamot and a rather cloying condensed-milk vanilla. Now i have to try the others on your list while i watch spring arrive early after a strange mild winter.. January 25, 2016 at 8:25am
Eric: I liked Earl Grey and Cucumber until I became anosmic to it. But I’m interested in Mimosa & Cardamom. Does it last? January 25, 2016 at 9:27am
Figuier: Eric it does last on me, substatially longer than EGC, with the mimosa tethered by musk – although I should add that perfume generally lasts well on me so I’m maybe not the best person to ask. January 25, 2016 at 9:36am
Eric: Thank you. Perfume usually lasts well on me too so I’m not sure why I stopped smelling EGC. January 25, 2016 at 9:41am
Victoria: Chiming in to say that Mimosa & Cardamom is longlasting on me, unlike most other Jo Malone colognes. January 25, 2016 at 11:38am
Victoria: I realized buying mimosas here that they don’t have much smell until you put them in water. My florist recommends hot water to make the scent bloom. I was skeptical at first, but it really does work.
Today is 13C, which doesn’t feel like winter at all. January 25, 2016 at 11:32am
Figuier: Victoria, that’s really useful info – I might buy a bunch at the market tomorrow, and see if the hot water makes a difference. It would be lovely to have the scent in flower form. January 26, 2016 at 3:19pm
Victoria: Interestingly enough, a bouquet I bought yesterday was scentless during the evening and we noticed the aroma only the next morning. January 26, 2016 at 6:06pm
Figuier: Hmm, that’s interesting… Have just bought my bouquet, will report back tomorrow ☺ January 27, 2016 at 8:36am
Victoria: Keeping fingers crossed it works! January 27, 2016 at 2:28pm
Figuier: So I’d glumly concluded that my bunch of mimosa was all but withered. Rather than fluffy pompons it’s just got tight yellow balls. But: last night as I was going to bed I changed the water one last time and noticed a gorgeous waft of cucumbery floral scent. It hasn’t much throw but it’s definitely there 🙂 January 29, 2016 at 6:14am
Victoria: Yay! It happened. 🙂
Generally, if you can buy branches with the fluffy pompoms, you’ll have a stronger scent, but I go for anything I see, and I do that hot water trick to make them open up. January 29, 2016 at 10:46am
Eric: I finally tried Une Fleur de Cassie and loved it so much I bought a bottle. I receive many compliments on it, although one colleague raised his eyebrow and said that he wouldn’t wear something called “Fleur.” His loss. January 25, 2016 at 9:22am
limegreen: Eric — LOL! Proof that some people are still susceptible to marketing and names. It’s not as if one carries around the perfume label when one wears a fragrance! What would he had said if you told him just the house name? January 25, 2016 at 10:08am
Karen (A): Lots of UFdC fans – it’s such a great perfume. January 25, 2016 at 10:38am
Victoria: It’s a small group, I think, because at the FM boutique I was told that it’s their more challenging perfume to sell. Which is why I’m always worried that they might discontinue it. Lauder better take a good care of it now that they own the line. January 25, 2016 at 11:48am
limegreen: I actually asked a Malle SA about this (will it be discontinued, etc.) and he said that Une Fleur de Cassie is a favorite of “Frederic’s” — for whatever that’s worth! January 25, 2016 at 2:58pm
Victoria: I hope then that it will be enough to keep it around. I like that they took such a chance with this challenging perfume and didn’t shy away from adding it to the collection. January 25, 2016 at 3:01pm
Surbhi: probably the only scent from FM that i don’t remember. But i read so much about it in last 3 days that i will have to try it. January 25, 2016 at 9:27pm
Karen (A): You may find it enticing – after the opening notes, it becomes very compelling. January 26, 2016 at 12:49pm
Reg: I hope to think Frederic Malle cares for his perfumes, much unlike Tom Ford. It would break my heart to see Une Fleur go. January 27, 2016 at 4:35pm
Karen (A): I can imagine that it is difficult when a fragrance (or any product) has only a small but very passionate following. For me, it is not an “easy” fragrance or one that a non-perfume person would just spritz on and go I love it! (as opposed to some of the lighter scents that are popular)
Hoping it stays in production! January 26, 2016 at 12:48pm
Victoria: I do too!
Is the snow still falling? January 26, 2016 at 1:49pm
Notturno7: Well said, Limegreen!! January 26, 2016 at 4:42am
Victoria: Definitely his loss. Gender division in perfumery is little more than marketing fiction, and if something smells good on you and to you, then it’s more important than anything else. I can just imagine how good you smell in Une Fleur de Cassie. January 25, 2016 at 11:34am
Notturno7: His loss, you said it right Eric!
His stupid comment made ME raise my eyebrow? January 26, 2016 at 4:40am
aromaology2015: Thank you for a lovely article Victoria. Like Figuier, I haven’t had the opportunity to smell the real flower yet. Have you tried the Diptyque Mimosa candle or room spray? If yes, I would love to hear if you think it is a realistic representation of the flower? January 25, 2016 at 9:28am
Victoria: I had the candle, and I really liked it, except that the throw was minimal. L’Artisan also has a mimosa candle called Mimosa Marin, but it has so little throw as to be a waste of money. The way it smells in a pot is beautiful, though. January 25, 2016 at 11:36am
Carlisle: Victoria, until now I’d always assumed that mimosa in fragrance referred to the sweetly scented flowers of the silk tree, which is also called mimosa here in the US: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albizia_julibrissin
Is there any similarity between the two scents? January 25, 2016 at 9:29am
Annie: Victoria has this helpful article:
https://boisdejasmin.com/2013/04/mimosa-cassie-and-honeyed-almonds-perfume-note.html
Wasn’t there a Jo Malone perfume called Persian Silk Blossom? January 25, 2016 at 9:39am
Victoria: They did have one cologne like that, Silk Blossom, but I don’t remember anything about it, apart from the fact that the bottle came with a huge pink tassel. 🙂 January 25, 2016 at 11:40am
Victoria: In perfumery they use a different mimosa, the yellow variety as in my photos. Albizia smells lovely, but it can’t be processed for essence (or let’s say, it hasn’t been so far). Their scents are very different. Mimosa smells cucumber and violet like, with strong honey accents, while albizia is sweet and powdery. January 25, 2016 at 11:37am
Dominique: Is mimosa the main note in ysl cinema? It’s very different from guerlain petite and fm une fleur des cassis. I thought those two contain cherry.. January 25, 2016 at 10:11am
Victoria: Yes, it is. Cinema is another great mimosa perfume, very elegant and dramatic. January 25, 2016 at 11:43am
Katy: I love YSL Cinema! It is my only mimosa fragrance and I purchased it trusting in Victoria’s excellent review. I find it quite nice to wear in warm and cold weather. January 25, 2016 at 11:17pm
Victoria: I just pulled out my bottle and put it on. Ah, so good! January 26, 2016 at 1:36pm
LaDomna: Being as I live in Finland and have never traveled much to more southern parts of the world there are a lot of florals that I know only from their use in perfume… Jasmine, tuberose, gardenia, ylang, frangipani, orange blossom… and mimosa is one of them too. I can’t even say that I’ve tried many perfumes with mimosa, right now I can only think of Noix de Tubereuse, Impossible Iris and Aftelier Honey Blossom, and they all have other strong florals in them too. So I can’t say I know it very well as a perfume note either. I’d love to get recommendations as to what mimosa fragrance a lover of sweet, dense and opulent perfumes should try. January 25, 2016 at 10:17am
Victoria: I understand what you mean. When I was growing up in Ukraine, mimosa wasn’t a rarity in season–it would be shipped from Georgia or elsewhere on the Black Sea coast, but the rest of the flowers you mentioned were new to me. Some I smelled only during my perfumery studies.
I would recommend Une Fleur de Cassie. It’s not sweet, but dense and opulent is the best way to describe it. You might like Yves Saint Laurent Cinema too. January 25, 2016 at 11:47am
Theresa: Coincidentally I put on Farnesiana this morning! I just love it. So warm and cozy! I am also enjoying my decant of Fleur de Cassie very much, but am balking at the price of a FB… January 25, 2016 at 10:54am
Victoria: It’s a good perfume for those who like abstract gourmands. It’s not obviously edible, but it definitely has a mouthwatering nuance. January 25, 2016 at 11:50am
Karen (A): Be sure to price the 10ml (travel) bottle. They are quite affordable and allow you to build up a good FM wardrobe – if there is one perfume that you really like, then you can spring for the 50ml size. January 26, 2016 at 6:29pm
Elisa: I always use prosecco or cava for mimosas! I also love them with grapefruit juice instead of orange, and if no juice is handy, a splash of Campari in prosecco is a delightful brunch drink 🙂 January 25, 2016 at 11:51am
Victoria: I need to try it with grapefruit juice now. Since many varieties of Cava and Prosecco already have a grapefruit aspect, it would be a great combination.
Have you ever tried La Bicyclette, white wine and Campari? It’s also a great blend. January 25, 2016 at 11:58am
Elisa: Oh, I didn’t know there was a name for that! Of course there is. I sort of accidentally discovered that myself this past summer but using vino verdhe — which is excellent due to the slight effervescence. January 25, 2016 at 12:01pm
Victoria: I can see how it would work well. It’s such a good cocktail for warm summer days, or days when you wish it were a warm summer day. 🙂 January 25, 2016 at 12:06pm
SilverMoon: Campari is my favourite cocktail ingredient for summer drinks but even for a great jazz bar type of drink (any time of the year). In summer, even in the day, little beats a Campari&Orange (refreshing and a cooling scent); a Negroni is great later in the evenings in any season.
I have also had delicious Campari granitas in Italy in the summer. January 25, 2016 at 1:54pm
Victoria: Italian liqueurs in general are fantastic. I love that they often have a hint of bitterness.
I would travel to Sicily just for granita alone! January 25, 2016 at 2:23pm
bregje: And once we are in Sicily we might as well have some great food too! Involtini pesce spada,arancini,cassata. January 25, 2016 at 5:38pm
Victoria: In the morning when I read this comment I wanted to reply that it’s unfair to torture me so. But this afternoon I found a new Italian grocery store/deli run by Sicilians so I’ve satisfied some of my cravings. In all the trips I’ve taken in the past few years, Sicily stood out for its amazing food. Every meal I had there was perfect–simple, fresh, delicious. January 26, 2016 at 1:31pm
bregje: Haha, lucky you!
I completely agree. January 26, 2016 at 5:35pm
Bobbie Ann: Fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice and prosecco makes the ultimate mimosa! Far superior to orange juice! Grapefruit trees are bursting with fruit here in Southern California. February has become mimosa month for us! The perfume equivalent? De Nicolai’s L’Eau Mixte! January 25, 2016 at 2:23pm
Elisa: L’Eau Mixte is one of my favorite grapefruit scents — I love that big X on the bottle. January 25, 2016 at 4:03pm
Mia: Oo, nice to know Bobbie Ann. I am eagerly waiting for Californian grapefruits to come to me to enjoy here in very Northern Europe. They are superb! January 26, 2016 at 2:42pm
bregje: I had one with champagne and apricot-juice once. That’s the way they made them in Vaison la Romaine 😉 January 25, 2016 at 5:32pm
Victoria: Now this sounds amazing! January 26, 2016 at 1:29pm
Notturno7: I love kir royal- prosecco or cava with cassis liquor, mmmmm, so good. My friend brought these little sample bottles from France, with peach, or pear,cassis liquors that one can put on champagne or prosecco or cava. Bellini -a peach liquor with bubbly and the name always cracks me up. Bellini was an opera composer and trying any of those cocktails makes me want to break into a song or start waltzing around ? January 27, 2016 at 4:57am
Michelle: I have a vintage (maybe 15 years) bottle of Mimosa Pour Moi and the longevity is outstanding! I wonder if the formula has changed? January 25, 2016 at 12:09pm
Victoria: Perhaps, that’s one of the reasons, although I always remember Mimosa Pour Moi being too fleeting on my skin. January 25, 2016 at 1:18pm
Alicia: When a child, at my grand mother’s summer home, after lunch I used to go to read under the mimosa tree in her garden, and many a time had my siesta enveloped in mimosa scent.Today, after so many years it is the fragrance of nostalgia. I recovered it for a long time in Caron Farnesiana, and although its reformulation somewhat changed it, it is still my favorite mimosa, even after trying the charming Malle’s and L’Artisan’s renditions. What I would like to have tried (and perhaps I did and my memory fails) are the mimosa bonbons. I loved candied violets, but violets are an abiding love of mine. How I wish someone resurrects Le Dix… January 25, 2016 at 12:12pm
Victoria: I can’t imagine anything more perfect than reading a book under a blooming mimosa tree. It’s always special when you can discover such moments in perfumes, and Farnesiana is certainly a marvelous example of mimosa.
I also love candied violets. Along with candied roses, they actually taste the way they smell, although I know that commercial makers add some perfume to the sugar mix. January 25, 2016 at 1:21pm
Maria B: Mimosa is my favorite floral note. I love Bulgari Pour Femme (mimosa-violet) and Farnesiana. They are two of the fragrances I wear most frequently. I also like Yves St. Laurent Cinema and Divine L’Infante. January 25, 2016 at 12:14pm
Victoria: Oh, those are great mimosa perfumes. Bulgari Pour Femme is especially interesting in the mimosa context, because it smells the way mimosa flowers feel when you touch them, soft and velvety. January 25, 2016 at 2:11pm
PrincessTonk: I love UFdC and Mimosa pour Moi, enjoy Cinema and Farnesiana and spent a joyful day in Croatia after I found a mimosa tree from which I pressed a blossom. After that, I bought Summer by Kenzo which gives a sense of that mimosa fragrance, good for summer. I also read that Winter Flowers by Kenzo was a delicious mimosa scent but I haven’t opened the “Matrioshka” coffret yet. I guess if not now, when? January 25, 2016 at 12:23pm
Victoria: Do open it! 🙂
Summer by Kenzo has a beautiful mimosa note, and although in the original version it was even more pronounced, it’s still excellent January 25, 2016 at 2:13pm
SophieC: Thank you for this lovely and uplifting article on a grey January day. For a long time Mimosa pour Moi was my main scent and even now I feel that soft almondyness is probably what I return to more in perfumes that most other smells (although iris and sandalwood and tuberose/gardenia are pretty amazing). Amusingly when going to a Burns Night party on Saturday I doused myself in it as I couldn’t think of anything else that was appealing. I shall explore some of the opthers, I have and love UFDC, and might even try a mimosa cocktail this evening. January 25, 2016 at 1:43pm
Victoria: The softness in the drydown of mimosa dominated perfumes is intriguing, so I know what you mean. I once smelled an accord of mimosa and tonka bean–just an idea that never became a finished fragrance, and I have since been searching for something similar. It makes you realize that mimosa has lots of almond facets, almost like an orgeat drink with a twist of cucumber.
I’m a big advocate for a mimosa cocktail on a weeknight, especially Monday. 🙂 January 25, 2016 at 2:21pm
SilverMoon: Thanks Victoria for the enjoyable article on mimosa. My main association with mimosa used to be Women’s Day in Italy, when little bunches of mimosa are handed out to women (by friends, colleagues, whoever). Now, it is more associated with perfume and specifically FM Une Fleur de Cassis.
I always like perfume (in a normal kind of way) until I came across the FMalle counter at Liberty’s some 7-8 years ago. My first FM was Une Fleur de Cassis (and I tested a bunch). From there, I gradually bought a few more FM in the next few years. My interest in perfumes became greater and eventually it developed into something like a hobby. So, I blame UFdC for everything related to my fascination with perfume. January 25, 2016 at 2:06pm
Victoria: It was similar when I was growing up–March 8th was associated with mimosas, but now I think of winter in Provence, since my mimosa references are all from the perfumery perspective. Or most of them. 🙂
So your Une Fleur de Cassie was that thin edge of a wedge to ease you into the perfume hobby. That’s a great story. January 25, 2016 at 2:26pm
Katherine L: Such a contrast! My memories of winter in Provence are morning sickness and the cold cold Mistral! Mimosa sounds so much better… January 25, 2016 at 6:25pm
Victoria: I was there to study perfumery, so the more negative aspects of winter receded into the background, I must say. 🙂 The cold Mistral is not romantic at all. January 26, 2016 at 1:34pm
bregje: Mistral can really ruin your holiday even in summer. believe me i know 😉 January 26, 2016 at 5:32pm
SilverMoon: Yes, it was the start of the slippery slope. Now, UFdC is not among my favourites but I certainly really like it.
Surbhi, yes, could blame FM, although now it is far beyond it. January 26, 2016 at 3:51am
Karen (A): Wonderful! So cool that UFdC was your “gateway” perfume! (only 1/2 joking, as fragrance seems to be quite addicting!) January 25, 2016 at 5:05pm
Surbhi: One more ruined by FM. 😉 January 25, 2016 at 9:36pm
Katherine L: Being one of the “ruined by FM” – I can agree wholeheartedly. January 26, 2016 at 5:43pm
Karen (A): Surbhi – if you would like a sample of UFdC, email Victoria and she can pass my email address on to you – I’m happy to mail one to you. January 26, 2016 at 6:35pm
Jeanne: One of my earliest memories of mimosa came from a book given to me by my great aunt, titled The Uninvited. It was a thriller, written in 1942 by Dorothy Macardle. The good spirit’s (the main character’s mother)appearance was always preceded by the mimosa scent she had worn. The book was so romantic, and for years after reading it, I wanted to smell mimosa. After reading your review of Une Fleur de Cassie, I bought a bottle. It smelled just the way I imagined it, way back in junior high, very rich and romantic. When I wear it now it always reminds of that book. January 25, 2016 at 2:21pm
Victoria: What a great story, Jeanne! Une Fleur de Cassie has a dark, mysterious side, but it’s also glamorous and romantic. January 25, 2016 at 2:35pm
Bobbie Ann: Anyone else mourning the loss of de Nicolai’s Mimosaïque? January 25, 2016 at 2:26pm
Victoria: I know that there are many here who really liked Mimosaïque. January 25, 2016 at 2:36pm
irem: Sigh, the mimosa again. I still remember your review of Jo Malone’s Mimosa & Cardamom and how I lamented not knowing the real flower. Well, I still haven’t met a live or cut mimosa. I guess they are not easy to come across in the US Midwest. But then I grew up in Istanbul (right where the Mediterranean and the Black Sea meet) which should be within the naturalized habitat of the mimosa. I do not recall any yellow mimosa trees in Istanbul either. I do remember many Albizia julibrissin trees (we called them the silk-thread trees), but no yellow mimosas. I only remember a saying about the mimosa tree translated (rather clumsily) as “do not touch me, I’ll break up with you”. Apparently the leaves of the live mimosa tree contract away from you when you touch them. I so want to meet a yellow mimosa.
But then, I’ve never met a mimosa in a flute that I did not like. I’ll try your suggestions of using orange & tangerine juices and also grapefruit juice. Campari and prosecco or white wine sounds very tempting too. Probably tastes like a slightly drier and more bitter Aperol spritz (Aperol + Prosecco). January 25, 2016 at 3:38pm
Saadet: Hi Irem, I also grew up in Istanbul and I have seen mimosa trees there, one of them being in my favourite park across from our condo building .. There were mimosa trees on Prince Islands too, I don’t know if they still exist. The fragrance of the blooming trees is still fresh in my memory 🙂 January 26, 2016 at 12:13pm
Victoria: I noticed it too with mimosa plants–if you touch the leaves, they will fold up.
I haven’t tried Aperol and Prosecco, so that’s another combination to explore. January 26, 2016 at 1:24pm
bregje: You haven’t tried aperol spritz?
How can that be?
My Italian friends told me they mark the seasons with spritz. The first day in spring when it’s warm enough to sit outside on a cafe-terrace you order Aperol as a sign that summer is on its way and early autumn when it starts to get colder you have the last one because winter is coming 😉
Tip:order one in Sicily overlooking the ocean with a complementary plate of anti-pasti January 26, 2016 at 5:31pm
Katherine L: Bregje – your tip sounds like absolute perfection – something I want to do at least once more in my life… It harkens me back to my one trip to Italy where I spent an afternoon under similar circumstances – only it was just south of Taranto – overlooking the Ionian sea? The experience and setting impressed me greatly. Such happy memories. January 26, 2016 at 5:54pm
bregje: Aren’t those moments wonderful? So simple and yet so perfect.
I’ve never been to Taranto but it sounds good.Luckily there are many such places in the mediterranean.The Ionian sea is beautiful(i have been to Sicily and to Greece many times so i saw it from the other side 😉 ) January 26, 2016 at 6:19pm
Katherine L: They are indeed! My heart still lurches thinking about that afternoon and the view from my Taranto hotel room overlooking the water. I’ll never forget the intensely bright and sparkling water… I’m sure it was just as moving from the other side 🙂 January 26, 2016 at 6:34pm
Victoria: It’s certainly very popular, but when I lived in Italy, I just didn’t like any cocktails, not even mimosas. I actually might have had a spritz the last time I was in Milan; I’ll have to ask my friend what it was exactly. Whatever it was, it was refreshing and delicious. January 26, 2016 at 6:19pm
bregje: how recognizable! I didn’t like anything with alcohol in it until i was about 25 years old,believe it or not. i did try to drink some before that but that was mainly because my friends liked to get drunk when going out and i felt left out so apfelkorn,pisang ambon,berry jenever were ingested but not appreciated ;). Still not,haha(disgustingly sweet) but i have acquired a taste for a good cocktail,bubbles and dry white whine.In moderate amounts.
I do love a good spritz in summer. January 27, 2016 at 12:58am
Victoria: Sweet cocktails are not something I can take. Sweet liqueurs go in the same category. The ironic thing is that I really love making them, using flowers, spices and fruit. It’s really like making a perfume formula. January 27, 2016 at 2:26pm
bregje: i don’t like sweet drinks either.
As for your love of making them:i love making pasta vongole but i’m allergic to shellfish 😉 go figure.
i just love watching the shells open and how it looks in the end.So pretty. January 28, 2016 at 7:11pm
Victoria: I agree, there is something mesmerizing about watching the shells open. January 29, 2016 at 10:45am
katherine X (was L): I think I’m a blended doppelganger of you and Victoria except not a fan of white wines (except Retsina and hot sake) and not fond of sweets except pastis. Didn’t like alcohol even a bit until my mid-late 20s. I’ January 29, 2016 at 7:13pm
Reg: Not sure how the term is used in other languages – but when you say “Mimose” in German it usually refers to an overly sensitive person or a crybaby. The name is derived from the leaves of the plant that curl up when being touched. January 27, 2016 at 4:45pm
Victoria: It’s used in Russian in a similar context. 🙂 January 29, 2016 at 10:35am
rickyrebarco: My favorite mimosa fragrance is YSL Cinema and a new love is Jo Malone’s Mimosa & Cardamom. Both remind me of spring and summer along the seashore. January 25, 2016 at 3:40pm
Victoria: I should have mentioned Cinema, because I really enjoy it, but it slipped my mind. January 26, 2016 at 1:24pm
Alicia: Victoria, your mention of several mimosa fragrances made me think of the few I know, and I recall that several years ago I was given a bottle of Guerlain Champs Elisees. In my hazy memory it smelled like a slightly fruity mimosa. I wonder…I haven’t tried YSL Cinema, but I soon shall.Thank you for your articles, Victoria. They take the mind of this boring scholar out of her library and into different, and always beautiful worlds. January 25, 2016 at 3:52pm
Victoria: Thank you very much. But of course, hardly a boring scholar! Your work sounds fascinating and creative.
Champs Elysees does smell like fruity mimosa, and I once went through a bottle of it. January 26, 2016 at 1:26pm
Cathy B.: Dame Perfumery makes a lovely mimosa fragrance along with some other really beautiful fragrances. I’m actually wearing it today as we shovel out after a large snowstorm in PA. The lovely fragrance and the bright sunshine warm my heart! January 25, 2016 at 4:22pm
Victoria: Another mimosa for the list. Thank you, Cathy. January 26, 2016 at 1:26pm
Notturno7: Beautiful article Victoria. I’ve been wearing Une Fleur de Cassie a lot last week and I love it. So good to know Cassie is kind of a mimosa as I was trying to figure that out and didn’t see it in my French dictionary and I guess they have another word for mimosa, too. Thank you for Ostara review. I made a blind purchase and can’t wait for my package to arrive. I managed to catch it while they still had a sale.
Thanks for letting us know about the sale.
You write beautifully January 25, 2016 at 5:30pm
Victoria: Thank you!
It’s not identical to mimosa, but it’s close enough, and the essence is rich and honeyed.
I very much hope that you like Ostara! January 26, 2016 at 1:29pm
Karen (A): Both Penhaligons and FM will be wondering about the crazy increase of orders for Ostara and UFdC! January 26, 2016 at 6:38pm
bregje: The internetshop where i ordered it marked Ostara as a bestseller(Penhaligon is not very well known in the Netherlands)! I thought to myself:i wonder how that came to be….?haha January 27, 2016 at 1:01am
bregje: I love mimosa! And look for it in perfumes.It’s one of the few notes i instantly recognize.
I remember visiting a friend on Terschelling last year and i kept smelling something so familiar,but i couldn’t quite identify it.You know how a word can be on the tip of your tongue but it just won’t pop up in your mind?That was what it was like.So finally i asked this friend if perhaps she was wearing apres l’ondee,but she had never even heard of this perfume.
As i left her house i looked back and i saw this huge cassie-bush growing in her garden right in front of the window 🙂 !
Another flower that really reminds me of spring is grape-hyacinth. I love the combination of the bright yellow of mimosa with the blue of those tiny hyacinths and both smell so sweet(in a very different way). I’ve found mimosa perfumes but not yet a hyacinth scent.
Still have to try Jo Malone but today i’m wearing mimosa pour moi. January 25, 2016 at 5:56pm
Andy: I haven’t found a perfect hyacinth perfume either (though I really like Serge Lutens Bas de Soie), but I just wanted to comment that I too am attracted to the scent of grape hyacinths, a scent that is one of my fondest childhood scent memories, and one I long to find captured in a perfume. January 25, 2016 at 8:01pm
bregje: So great to learn i’m not the only one looking for this scent 😉 .
And thanks for the tips. I have not tried Bas de Soie yet,so it’s on my smelling list now. January 26, 2016 at 5:21pm
Andy: I so longed to smell hyacinth any time of year that I ordered a small vial of a perfumer’s hyacinth accord from an American company called Perfumer’s Apprentice–it’s very close to the smell of a potted blue hyacinth like you’d find at a flower market, so I sniff the vial from time to time (not sure if this company has reasonable international shipping). And while it’s a divisive perfume, there is a marked hyacinth note in Penhaligon’s Bluebell too. January 27, 2016 at 11:21am
SilverMoon: Andy, I wonder if you have come across E. Coudray’s Jacinthe Rose? It is a good mix of hyacinths and fresh rose. Warning- it is a very sweet flowery perfume, also dries down to a dainty powdery smell. Quite spring-like. I only tested it (on skin and strip), but remember liking it (although not enough to consider buying it). January 27, 2016 at 4:56pm
Andy: I haven’t come across this one, no. Thanks so much for mentioning it, I love springlike florals, and a hyacinth rose combo sounds really different than anything I’ve tried. January 27, 2016 at 5:05pm
bregje: Perfumer’s Apprentice sounds like what i’m looking for!
I didn’t care for Bluebell much.On paper i thought that was it,but it wasn’t.
Acqua di Gio smells like toiletrefreshner on my skin unfortunately(it has a hyacinth-note that smells really good on one of my friends).
I do like beyond paradise but it has so many other floral notes in it.
Thanks to you,Victoria and silvermoon i have a couple of perfumes to try 😉 January 28, 2016 at 7:20pm
Karen (A): Chant D’aromes also has some hyacinth in it. Found a bottle I’d ordered last year, must have put it up for winter, but found it really refreshing. January 27, 2016 at 6:19am
Andy: I will have to look for the hyacinth next time I wear Chant D’Aromes, it’s a perfume I don’t give enough attention to, even though it’s delightful. January 27, 2016 at 11:22am
Karen (A): Looked up the notes and hyacinth isn’t one of them. Guess fresh crisp lovely floral somehow included hyacinth in my mind. It’s really a deligh, isn’t it! January 27, 2016 at 7:13pm
Victoria: I would love a grape hyacinth perfume. Or even a great hyacinth perfume. So far I’m enjoying Tom Ford Ombre de Hyacinth (sic), Jacomo Silences and Cristalle EDP. January 26, 2016 at 1:33pm
bregje: I’m familiar with Cristalle but that’s not hyacinthy enough for me.
Lovely scent otherwise but i prefer the edt.
I’m definitely going to look for the other two. January 26, 2016 at 5:24pm
Mia: I love hyacinth, too, and have not found the perfect one yet. Laroche Fidji has quite pronounced hyacinth, as well as Guerlain Chamade – but they are more like allusions to it. Let us know, bredge, Andy and Victoria, if (when?) you find The hyacinth! January 26, 2016 at 9:29pm
bregje: Totally forgot about Fidji.
I’ll let you know when i’ve found the perfect grape-hyacinth! January 28, 2016 at 7:22pm
Andy: If those earthy, green stem-like notes in the top of Ombre de Hyacinth stuck around for longer, I likely would have been tempted to get more than just a sample. But the drydown smelled too much like some of the cool, musky florals I already own, like Grey Flannel and Iris Bleu Gris. I enjoy Silences for other reasons, as I don’t get much hyacinth from the formulation I own. But Cristalle EDP I will need to revisit–my initial testing revealed only to me that I prefer the EDT, so not exactly a thorough impression. January 27, 2016 at 11:30am
Victoria: Same here. I don’like the drydown of Ombre de Hyacinth as much as the opening, since it’s just a pleasant musk, not much more. But the first couple of hours of hyacinth make it worthwhile somehow. January 27, 2016 at 2:32pm
Andy: Though I still haven’t smelled the “real deal” mimosa flowers, I come to appreciate this note more and more. I’m still working on Une Fleur de Cassie, which I’ve found most perfect on the crisp, biting cold days–with the scent, I imagine a big mimosa tree confined in a little hothouse, letting out a breath of hot air impregnated by a nearly tangible miasma of accumulated floral vapors; a nice contrast to chilliness. Mimosa & Cardamom works well for me too, and I love the way that mimosa (and the other floral notes) fuzz up the sharp woods in Grey Flannel. January 25, 2016 at 7:58pm
Michaela: I almost forgot that some mimosa enhances Grey Flannel, thank you for mentioning this one. I used to think of it as a violet perfume, I tend to simplify. It’s much more interesting than a plain violet perfume. January 26, 2016 at 3:57am
Victoria: I also forgot about mimosa in Grey Flannel, but you’re right it’s such a great addition. Have you tried Eau Monumentale already? I wonder how you’d like it. January 26, 2016 at 1:36pm
Andy: I haven’t, but it sounds fabulous! Actually, all of the Thirdman fragrances sound like my cup of tea–will have to try. January 27, 2016 at 11:17am
Victoria: The whole line is clever and interesting, and they’re actually colognes in the classical sense, but with modern variations. January 27, 2016 at 2:30pm
Tati: Thank you for the lovely article, Victoria. I never even knew what mimosa was before starting to read your blog, but when I first smelled a sample of UFdC I was hooked. Just wore it this weekend and received a ton of compliments, which surprised me because it seems a quieter scent than, say, rose.
Anyway, another mimosa-centric perfume that I’ve really started to like is Amouage Opus III. January 25, 2016 at 11:34pm
Victoria: It’s commented on a lot (positively), and like you, I always get surprised because it doesn’t strike me like a big sillage perfume. But it does leave a beautiful, not heavy, trail. January 26, 2016 at 1:38pm
ariane: Thank you so much for this article,I am a bit obsessed with mimosa at the moment,bought a bunch (the first one of the year!)the other day and it filled our living room with this wonderful fragrance-thanks for the idea with the hot water,I will certainly try it!!
I adore Une Fleur de Cassie and love Mimosa pour Moi despite its longevity issues,am debating with myself wether to finally spring for a big bottle,that hour or so is so beautiful! January 26, 2016 at 2:51am
Victoria: If you get an hour out of Mimosa Pour Moi, then it’s still better than my 15 minutes. It’s frustrating how fleeting it is on me.
Enjoy your bouquet! Once the blossoms start to shrivel, I simply remove the water and let them dry naturally. This way the bouquet doesn’t lose its color and stays as a reminder of spring for a few extra weeks. January 26, 2016 at 1:42pm
mj: Lovely article Victoria! Every time I pass by the Jo Malone Boutique in Barcelona I’m tempted to go and smell the Mimosa Cardamon scent.
I loved your reference to Carmen, although when I think Andalucia and flowers, I always think of carnations. Mimosas are more a northern Spain flower to me, they remind me of Asturias in very early spring. January 26, 2016 at 3:02am
Victoria: I agree. I also associate Carmen and Andalicia with carnations or jasmine, but cassie makes her even more intriguing. January 26, 2016 at 1:43pm
Austenfan: You know, I’ve actually never smelled real Mimosa. We have wonderful florists in the Netherlands, but probably sadly lacking in the Mimosa department. Or I need new glasses.
I love it in perfume, both in simple things like the wonderful lotion L’Occitane used to do, or the very cheap soap I bought a couple of years ago in Dieppe, to the queen of all complex Mimosa’s Une Fleur de Cassie. I’m probably one of the few people who really enjoys the Goutal Mimosa, even though it doesn’t smell very strongly of it. And I’ve yet to try L’Artisan. January 26, 2016 at 5:48am
Aurora: I like it too, Austenfan but agree with you that it’s not a typical mimosa soliflore more of an abstract flower. January 26, 2016 at 6:56am
Victoria: My friend from the Netherlands confirmed that despite her searches, she hasn’t found mimosa yet. Ours gets shipped from France or Italy.
There is nothing like the floral soaps or shower gels you can find from small shops in Provence. I’m still dreaming of an orange blossom cream my hotel in Bordeaux offered. It was made by a small local brand and not offered anywhere else. January 26, 2016 at 1:45pm
Aurora: I enjoyed your mimosa musings very much. It seems like you had a lovely evening coming back home with your arms full of flowers. It is that time of the year when little pleasures like this are so welcome to balance the bad weather and general gloominess.
You make me long to try Fleur de Cassie, one day I will make a special trip to Paris to stop at all the perfume places, usually my trips are all about friends and family. I couldn’t resist spritzing some Farnesiana and relish its dry almond goodness, it is so opulent and unlike any other perfume in my collection. I have a small bottle of Mimosa eau de toilette from a little house called Coline from Grasse, it’s very true to the flower but as often isn’t long lasting. I also enjoy Tiare Mimosa but I think in the contest the tiare wins against the more fragile yellow flower. January 26, 2016 at 5:59am
Victoria: People often smile when they see you walking with a large mimosa bouquet. It’s like a bit of the Mediterranean sun and yes, just irresistible.
I’m making note on Coline’s Mimosa, because it sounds interesting. Yves Rocher used to have a marvelous mimosa shower gel and cologne, but it’s been years since they’ve discontinued them. January 26, 2016 at 1:47pm
Hamamelis: What a lovely post. We are so lucky spring is announcing itself in the Lowlands, although winter is still close. I feel for those who are battling so much snow and cold, in the east cost US, in large parts of Asia, with Mongolia losing much of its livestock, Eastern Europe…maybe this post brings a little bit of sunshine. Mimosa is for me one of the essential messengers of spring and renewal, especially when it is in bloom against an bright blue sky. January 26, 2016 at 6:24am
Hamamelis: PS Wearing Ostara again today, love it so much, including the dry down! Another essential spring messenger, thank you for bringing it on my and many other’s perfume screen. January 26, 2016 at 2:25pm
Victoria: So happy to hear it! Enjoy it and may it make your winter months brighter. January 26, 2016 at 2:32pm
Victoria: Yes, we really are lucky so far this winter. My cousin sent me a picture of a huge mountain of snow in front of my grandmother house in Ukraine, and I posted it on my Facebook page. They’ve got completely snowed in, and so for now my grandmother is staying at home and not venturing out much. Even in the city proper the snowplows can’t clean the snow fast enough. January 26, 2016 at 2:34pm
Aurora: I forgot to say that I’m so grateful you made me discover Cinema, as you point out quite underrated. January 26, 2016 at 7:05am
Victoria: Isn’t it? I’m wearing it right now and enjoying all of it. January 26, 2016 at 2:34pm
limegreen: Been meaning to ask — is there a difference between the EDT and EDP? Which one is is the nicer mimosa? 🙂 January 26, 2016 at 3:50pm
limegreen: YSL Cinema edt or edp, that is! January 26, 2016 at 3:50pm
limegreen: eeps, never mind, just looked your Cinema review! 🙂 January 26, 2016 at 4:47pm
Briony hey: Thanks for this lovely article Victoria. You made me search out my old bottle of Mimosaique this morning and douse myself in it. I felt all happy and sunny coming to work this morning, despite the cold and wind. I also love Mimosa pour Moi but find it too fleeting. Another one I’ve enjoyed wearing lately is Divine’s L’Infante. I’m sure that’s got a wad of mimosa in it. January 26, 2016 at 8:14am
Victoria: Mimosa makes me happy in all forms. 🙂
Now I need to find my sample of Divine’s L’Infante. January 26, 2016 at 2:35pm
Austenfan: L’Infante is lovely, the sunniest, and most carefree of all the female Divines! January 26, 2016 at 3:27pm
Tourmaline: Hi Victoria,
Thank you for yet another lovely article.
It always feels very strange for me to see photos of mimosa on Bois de Jasmin, because, as you might know, the mimosa plant is related to a small tree that is native to Australia called the “golden wattle” (Acacia pycnantha), and mimosa flowers are very similar to golden wattle flowers. Golden wattle is the floral emblem of Australia, and a wattle wreath is included on the Australian Coat of Arms.
Coincidentally, your post arrived in my email inbox very early this morning on what is the 26th of January here in Oz – our national day – a public holiday known as “Australia Day”. (I should acknowledge that many people call it “Invasion Day” because it marks the anniversary of the arrival of the British in a country that was already inhabited by Aboriginal people). It has been rather grey here in Brisbane, although still very hot, because it is the middle of summer.
The Wikipedia entry on golden wattle says, “The scented flowers have been used for perfume making,” and, ‘In southern Europe, it is one of several species grown for the cut-flower trade and sold as “mimosa”.’ I wonder whether this is the case.
My father so loved (and still loves) wattle that when he had a house built on the Sunshine Coast in the late 1970s, he named it “Currong”, which is an Aboriginal word for wattle, and he planted small wattle trees around it. Unfortunately, when he sold the house about 15 years ago, the new owners covered the beautiful bricks with some type of peach-coloured stucco and altered the garden. When we visit the Sunshine Coast every few years, my dad can’t bear to drive past it. (Note that we are not Aboriginal.)
It has been many years since I smelled golden wattle, and I have never smelled mimosa, so I can’t compare the two. Perhaps you have smelled both.
I am not as yet familiar with any of the fragrances that you have listed (although I remember an earlier version of Petit Guerlain); however I have tiny bottles of Champs-Élysées and Cinéma, and I do enjoy Carmen! January 26, 2016 at 8:51am
Victoria: Your every comment is like a story in itself. Thank you so much for sharing this recollection of your house and wattle trees. From what I learned, mimosa was brought to France from Australia in the 18th century, and today there are several hundred varieties, and at least 700 of them are directly related to the Australian wattle trees. So, we might very well be smelling the same plant.
The vision of a peach colored house surrounded by a mimosa grove in full bloom is an image to add to my collection of mental vignettes. January 26, 2016 at 2:39pm
Tourmaline: Hi Victoria,
You are very kind, and thank you for that information. It is good to know that the wattle that we can smell in Australia might actually be (but is definitely related to) the mimosa of Europe.
Yes, I much preferred the lemon yellow of the wattle with the dark chocolate brown of the naked brick. I regret to add that the new owners eventually removed most of the wattle trees, along with many of dad’s other lovingly-maintained plants, in order to put in a swimming pool. I don’t blame my father for wanting to avoid driving past! January 28, 2016 at 11:19am
Victoria: I don’t blame him! It sounds like a dramatic change and it must be painful for him to see his beautiful garden destroyed. January 29, 2016 at 10:42am
maja: How could one not love mimosa? Got to love those soft, pollen-y little yellow puffs.
I am waiting for my friend’s sample of Mimosa pour Moi these days, she’s swearing by it. Also waiting for March when my mimosa and acacia trees are in bloom. I cut fresh branches every two days and enjoy them while they last. At the same time, I am not a big fan of Une Fleur – it smells so cuminy during the opening. 🙁 I should give it a couple of more tries but I have passed my sample on. Oh, well… But I do like Champs Elysees in the edt, it’s airy, yellow and classy. 🙂 January 26, 2016 at 8:54am
Victoria: Your garden sounds like my dream, Maja, with all of its mimosas, acacias, jasmines and roses.
I wonder if you’d like the new reformulation of Une Fleur de Cassie more. It’s less heavy on animalic notes now. January 26, 2016 at 2:40pm
maja: Oh, thanks, it’s much less dreamy and taken care of in reality. Besides, we moved our jasmine plant that was growing a bit too big close to the house and it died recently. 🙁 I will not forgive myself for that. January 26, 2016 at 4:03pm
Victoria: Oh no! I hope that you can get another one. January 26, 2016 at 6:11pm
Susan McCallister: I love the movie “The Uninvited!” You’ve cheered my rainy day. I’ve watched it many times and forgot about the mimosa scent always preceding the mother’s spirit.
Thanks for that memory I too love the L’Artisan Mimosa pour Moi. I bought it in a beautiful L’Artisan shop near the Louvre in Paris. The SA was so friendly and helped me with several of their fragrances that enable me to remember Paris so fondly. January 26, 2016 at 1:52pm
Victoria: I now need to find this film! Thank you, Susan and Jeanne, for an inspiration. January 26, 2016 at 2:31pm
Scented Salon: If you have a Chinese blue and white vase, those mimosas will look great trailing out of it. I saw it done that way once and it looked amazing (even though I personally do not like mimosa, flower or scent). January 26, 2016 at 2:49pm
Victoria: I wouldn’t want anything to distract me from mimosa! Not even a Chinese vase. 🙂
But of course, I can see how a combination of blue and yellow would be striking. January 26, 2016 at 2:57pm
Tulsi: My mum used to buy mimosa when I was little (in the Netherlands). It came covered in a plastic bag with instructions to put it in warm water still covered by the bag, and only to remove the bag when the flowers had opened. I can still see the bag with its green letters, I was so intrigued by it. Haven’t seen them around in a long time though! Might take a look on the market next week. January 26, 2016 at 3:08pm
Victoria: Apart from the bag, it’s similar to what my florist recommends. January 26, 2016 at 6:04pm
Austenfan: Well my cupboards bear witness to my fondness for floral, and all other locally made soaps in France. I’ve actually arranged them by scent in paper bags.
I’ve been thinking: maybe our fondness for flowers in this country is more to do with their looks, and less with their scent. Or maybe we are well pleased with what is produced locally and do not really import any flowers from abroad. January 26, 2016 at 3:31pm
Austenfan: And this was meant to end up as a reply to your reply to my first comment 🙂 January 26, 2016 at 4:53pm
Victoria: That’s true, most flowers at the florists, apart from hyacinths, daffodils and a few other things, are scentless. January 26, 2016 at 6:10pm
bregje: i wanted to say the same thing so maybe you’re on to something,austenfan!
A lot of people don’t like it when flowers smell too much.For instance i know several folks who really hate lily’s because of the smell and the scent of jasmine-plants are also not appreciated.(i can see why because both of them can have an overwhelming fragrance. especially in a small space).
i’m always a little disappointed when my roses or tulips don’t give of a scent. January 27, 2016 at 1:12am
Victoria: I love the smell of tulips, that raw potato and wet earth smell that makes me think of spring. January 27, 2016 at 2:27pm
Amalia: My heart just sank…I had two mimosa trees and loved so much, but the heavy snow some years ago in Athens, destroyed them completely. January 27, 2016 at 4:15am
Victoria: I’m very sorry to hear this, Amalia. Poor mimosas. January 27, 2016 at 2:27pm
Mariann: Not wearing any perfume at the moment because I feel a cold coming on. But I think a gentle mimosa scent might be just the thing! I love mimosas since the scent reminds me of thr Carneval in Basel. The parade participants usually throw sweets and mimosas into the crowd. January 27, 2016 at 9:07am
Victoria: The Basel Carneval sounds like a lot of fun!
Please recover quickly, Mariann. January 27, 2016 at 2:28pm
MrsDalloway: I’m wearing Une Fleur de Cassie for the first time today , having bought the travel spray yesterday. Struggling a bit with the cumin and indole but I’ll persevere! I love mimosa and mimosa type notes: the Diptyque Essences, L’Eau d’Hiver, Apres l’Ondee, Bois Farine (which I think has no mimosa but a clever illusion of it). I’m hunting down a bottle of Mimosa pour Moi too. January 28, 2016 at 6:01am
Victoria: If you can manage to make Mimosa Pour Moi last on you, I think you’ll discover it to be a lovely perfume and very true to the real flowers.
Une Fleur de Cassie softens considerably, although I admit that I don’t even detect cumin in it (not to say that it’s not there, of course, but I’m just not sensitive to it.) January 29, 2016 at 10:39am
Nancy Chan: Mimosa Pour Moi lasts much longer in warmer weather, some contact with clothes also helps the scent last longer. Thanks to your blog I have discovered Mimosa flowers and to smell the wonderful fragrance directly from the flowers. September 12, 2018 at 10:59am
Victoria: Oh, great! There is nothing quite like mimosa blossoms. September 13, 2018 at 3:47am
Nancy Chan: Sorry, please see my comments at the bottom of the page. September 13, 2018 at 4:12am
noemi: “Duende”, by Jesús del Pozo. Fresh mimosa and notes from the Spanish South. The real one, not French Orientalists’ dreams. January 30, 2016 at 9:34am
Victoria: Duende was created by a French perfumer, Olivier Cresp. It’s also a French fantasy of Spain but a delightful one. Unfortunately, it has been discontinued for reasons I can’t understand. It was one of their best perfumes. January 30, 2016 at 9:39am
noemi: You’re right, Victoria. And he is the creator of the beautiful Aire de Loewe, which was one of the most elegant perfumes in the 80’s. Sure his vision of a Spanish woman is much modern than Mérimée and Bizet! January 30, 2016 at 11:45am
Victoria: Perhaps, Cresp read Merimee, came across his mimosa reference and for that reason decided to base Duende around it. 🙂
Loewe on whole is such a great collection. Too bad their perfumes can be hard to find outside of Europe. January 30, 2016 at 12:37pm
Cath: I own FM Fleur de Cassie, it’s absolutely stunning. I share your opinion on Mimosa pour moi: so pretty, but gone in no time. I’m toying with the idea of getting that Jo Malone, I liked it a lot, but I have longevity issues with JM. One of the creamiest mimosa perfumes I have, cherish and stocked up on is Summer by Kenzo. Maybe I’ll just stick to that. January 31, 2016 at 1:31am
Victoria: Summer by Kenzo is a terrific floral–light, bright, but still with a lot of character. And the bottle is a perfect match. February 1, 2016 at 6:33am
Nick: Ah, thank you for highlighting some examples and a gold standad!
I have not realised until I read this that what I thought of as an impression of cassis flower in Une Fleur de Cassie has been my mistake of seeing it quickly as ‘Une Fleur de Cassis’! February 5, 2016 at 6:15am
Nancy Chan: My other favourite Mimosa fragrance is L’Occitane’s Fleur D’or and Acacia. It contains both mimosa and Cassie absolutes, and is a lovely soft sweet fragrance. Unfortunately, it is now discontinued along with their other fragrances from the Grasse range.
I will try Une Fleur de Cassie, as it was one of the fragrances recommended by the Frédéric Malle perfume questionnaire.
Keep up the great work, your blogs and the comments by your readers always brighten up my day and always entertaining. 😊 September 13, 2018 at 4:09am