The lovely Lady Jane Grey is a long-time reader of this blog and happens to be one of the few actual Perfumistas this city of Vienna seems to harbor. I met her a few times already and not only is she an elegant and beautiful lady, but she also is a very generous one.
The last time we met she presented me with a sample of Caron Farnesiana extrait directly from the urns of a Parisian Caron store.
Lady Jane Grey has an uncanny ability to clock my taste, since her previous gift of Angelique Noire was a total winner for me (and also for my dear husband, but not in a way any of us imagined!)
Farnesiana was created in 1947 by Michel Morsetti and includes notes of mimosa, sandalwood and hay according to Luckyscent and the Caron website, I found a more extensive notes list on Now Smell This: mimosa, blackcurrant, bergamot, jasmine, violet, lily of the valley, lilac, vanilla, sandalwood, opopanax, hay, and musk.
The perfume has been reformulated (what hasn’t?) and this is a review of the contemporary extrait version.
Farnesiana is a mimosa scent, and there are not many of those around. But what it is to my nose, first and foremost is not a floral, but a gourmand.
Farnesiana opens slightly harsh and sharp, but soon mellows into a sweet and golden concoction where almond and hay dominate for me. There is a slight fruitiness provided by a pretty blackcurrant note, but mostly the resinous opoponax and the intriguing floral accord of mimosa (Acacia Farnesiana: sweet mimosa) combine to evoke a delicious almond cookie smell that is strong and present, but applied judiciously it is incredibly good.
Farnesiana (I’m guessing in the extrait especially) is not something you wear without second thought. Lady Jane warned me of its possible head-ache inducing strength and I know what she means. But at the right time, the right weather (the colder the better) and the right mood there is nothing better than Farnesiana’s unique, enveloping almond-y warmth.
Farnesiana is a gourmand for grown-ups, something that is edible but not quite, that is heavy, but not oppressive and that is sweet but not too much.
Farnesiana would be an amazing perfume to wear to a grand gala, an evening at the opera or an elegant ball. In my case, a few drops give a gilded shimmer and a hint of glamour to an afternoon on the playground.
There is no place where a little golden aura is wrong, is there?
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You know, every time I see one of those urns I can’t help but think just how regal they look. I want one for my living room, perhaps filled with Pafum Sacré. It would look completely out of place but who cares?!
As for Farnesiana, it sounds intriguing to say the least. The Carons can be a bit hit or miss for me though, I’ll have to give it a whirl next time I go to the shops 😀
What an absolutely great idea! I want one with Farnesiana! 🙂
The Carons are mostly miss for me, actually (although Parfum Sacré and Nuit de Noel are beautiful), but Farnesiana is truly awesome. I can’t wait to get my greedy little hands on more…
Ask Mr O for a fountain of Farnesiana and see what he says… 😛
Patience, dahling, patience… Or should I drop it into your postbox before our meeting already 😉 – I just can’t bear to see you suffering anymore.
I will make it, lol. But thank you for your thoughtfulness. I’m looking forward to see you not only because of the Farnesiana though. 🙂
Mimosa is a scent that from the flower has so many happy summer memories attached to it, but I have yet to find a perfume that manages to capture that. Farnesiana however sounds beautiful and thanks to both you, and most of Pierre Guillaume’s work, I am beginning to develop a serious soft spot for the ‘grown-up gourmand’.
It is a wonderful category – pure indulgence. 🙂
I too have to admit that Caron perfumes at generally a miss for me. I have not found one that I want a full bottle of. I did however enjoy seeing the urns and getting the whole experience while I was in Paris. Perhaps I will have another turn in the store this summer and smell this mimosa perfume.
If you do, I’m very curious to hear your opinion, Sandra! I’m very glad I was introduced to Farnesiana.
I sooo craved for a review from you, dear B. Thank you !
Indeed, a gourmand for grown-ups.
I hope you see Farnesiana similarly. It is such a beauty and makes me at least feel as elegant as you are. 🙂
You make me blush.
Beautiful review — and the word Mimosa just makes my mouth water. I love those urns. We used to have them at Bergdorf’s, last time I was there I didn’t see them…must go back and see if they’ve moved or what.
I didn’t see them at Bergdorf’s either. 😦 But there is a Caron store on Lexington that I must visit next time I’m in NY.
I think you would enjoy Farnesiana, Lucy.
Even with my almond issues you make this sound wonderful. I wish hay, blackcurrant and opoponax were used more often. I really like Parfum Sacre but was very disappointed by Tabac Blond edt which kind of put me off. I do wonder if it’s best to stick to the extrait concentration with Caron these days.
I felt exactly the same about Tabac Blonde and felt like a philistine for not being exited. 😉
I would love to know how this works for somebody not fond of Almond!
Caron perfumes are generally a miss for me too – the “Caronade” for want of a better term can be a bit overpowering – but I am starting to appreciate more of the line, as I also am increasingly doing with Serge Lutens. I love mimosa as a note, and it is underrepresented as you say, but that stonking big picture of almond macaroons is worrying me slightly, with not being an almond lover, hehe!
That stonking big picture is probably a challenge for an almond phobe. 😉 Do you eat almonds at all? Or is it just the smell you don’t like?
I eat almonds quite happily as nuts, but don’t care for almond paste, marzipan etc. ; – )
I see. I loooove marzipan. 🙂
Dear Olfactoria, I not not familiar with Caron perfumes, but I do know mimosa trees. They grow abundantly here in South Carolina. I used to make hula dresses with their compound leaves and used the flowers for hair decorations when I was a child. After a while though, the smell of mimosa was not pleasant to me anymore, so I’m going to have to skip Farnesiana. I am interested in Lady Jane, however, since my Carolina ancestors were “Graydons”, which is just another alternative spelling.
I am sad to say I don’t know the smell of real Mimosas not very well, only from the florist, and they don’t have much of a smell there. 😦
Lady Jane Grey is not her real name, she named her avatar after the British Queen who reigned for eight days.
I really would like to try this one as I love mimosa. There is a shop in Austin carrying Caron now, but they don’t have Farnesiana. I’m gradually exploring the Caron line; I think Nuit de Noel is my only love so far but that could change.
Wonder how this compares, if at all, to YSL Cinema? Also a mimosa gourmand, but heavier on amber (and much more modern obviously).
I don’t know Cinèma very well, but to me it smells much more synthetic. Farnesiana is rich and golden, like honey (not in smell but the texture and image is fitting) whereas I see Cinèma more as an artificial sweetener. 😉
One more mimosa involving scent to put on my “to try” list in my constant search for a perfect mimosa! Thank you, Birgit!
You are very welcome. 🙂
I tried this when I was in NYC and I now regret not buying it. I try to tell myself to not buy anything that I haven’t tested…even in a store filled with gorgeous, gleaming urns.
I admire your restraint, the temptation in that shop is hard to withstand, I believe. Loved your photos of the boutique.
I have come to love most Carons, primarily through enjoying their extraits. The lighter formulations available in most of the swiss dot bottles don’t do much, I think, and too many people never get a chance to smell anything else.
Farnesiana for me is a far more beautiful and grown-up version of a fruit and hay scent I like very much from Sweet Anthem, the small perfumer, called Mary. (Sweet Anthem makes me nuts by giving all their scents completely unmemorable girl’s names, except for the ones with completely unmemorable boy’s names.) Mary is something I reach for often late in the day when I need some gentle black cherry and hay. Farnesiana is the elegant Caron version of a summer afternoon in the country; I do love it. And I would like an urn of that too!
It is sad that the Caron’s go unappreciated by many. Their new releases are not very convincing either – Roses Delires for examples.
Thanks for the Sweet Anthem tip! 🙂
I want to smell like almond cookies! I really have got to get myself to the Caron store.
You should! It’s so close to Bergdorf’s! 😉
So good to hear from you Joey! I hope all is well with you! xoxo
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