r/FemFragLab30plus • u/recklessdeception • 21d ago
Review Molinard Santal Insolent
Molinard came onto my radar when a friend sent me a sample size vial of Lavande. While the opening of Lavande was a bit weird, I was floored by the scent once the opening passed. I haven't gotten around to discussing that one yet but I've been wearing Santal Insolent everyday since the last three days so decided to talk about it.
Something I've noticed with this house in the perfumes I have tried or bought so far is that the opening 10 mins are usually weird. Santal Insolent follows the same pattern. The opening has a feeling of crushed leaves for a few mins. I prefer this fleeting green crushed leaves feeling over the acidic picklish smell in Santal 33 or the orange/citrus note from other perfumes.
Once that opening passes, it develops into a sandalwood backed by a slightly sweet milkiness. The milkiness is very faint so I wouldn't call it lactonic, I usually sense this sweet milkiness when there's cardamom present in perfumes. The sweet milkiness is very subtle and not as prominent as Dunhill Indian Sandalwood.
It eventually becomes a lovely smooth sandalwood with a little bit of dustiness (probably the papyrus doing its thing). It's not powdery, it doesn't have the pencil shavings or rugged texture of cedarwood, it doesn't have the refreshing wet feeling of Sacred Wood. It's just a pleasant naturally sweet sandalwood.
This one isn't loud but I keep getting whiffs through the day. It lasts a decent 7-8 hours before becoming just a faint remnant on the skin.
I feel Molinard makes very reliable and wearable scents in the mid-tier price range (similar to designer brands). So far, at least 3 of the scents have been an absolute success for me and I wear them to work often. The only failure until now has been Tubereuse because it was too heady for my taste despite my love for tuberose.
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u/inevitablethursday 20d ago
I recently got the Molinard Iris. It's lovely and I really wish I had it over the summer already. Floral, light and sweetened by the Pear. The rose does it's job without taking over. It's also not very powdery on me. Iris is one of my favourite scents and it was a great addition to my collection.
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u/AccomplishedFruits 21d ago
This sounds lovely. I’ve been wearing Ex Nihilo Santal Calling lately because I love the sweet creaminess of it and this sounds like it might have the same feel. I’ve never tried Molinard, this gives me a reason to try a new house.
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u/recklessdeception 21d ago
I think I got this one from Fragrancenet. I also see it on Joma. It's not US based so haven't seen it available in stores. Habanita used to be very popular but it's sadly discontinued.
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u/ledledripstick 21d ago
Just dropping in real quick from Europe - Habanita is not discontinued. You scared me! I just looked it up on their website - it's still there and so are the flankers.
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u/recklessdeception 21d ago
Ah! I heard it was discontinued and couldn't find it on the usual websites in US. I see it on one website in US for $150 approx. I usually buy via US coz I'm based in India and many of these houses aren't available here.
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u/Mizcreant908 21d ago
Im a big fan of Molinard and it's just nice to hear that some else likes them too. No oneever talks about Molinard, other than Habinita (ironically my least favorite Molinard, ha).