Molinard Lavande (EDT New Version)

Lavande by Molinard is not a sophisticated perfume. There's nothing there to carry you anywhere but straight into a sun-warmed lavender field. Or, like some of my cats, into the pile of sweet scented clean laundry. Still, it provides a lot of pleasure, whether you wear it on your body or use it, the way I do, to scent your sheets every day.

Lavande is mostly a clean, herbal lavender with a hint of sharp green at the top and a musky vanilla drydown. My skin amplifies the sweetness and I'm perfectly fine with it, even if it smells more like a guilty pleasure than a real perfume. Lavande is an EDT, so I'm not sure how much real raw lavender goes into each bottle, but it still feels calming and optimistic, like a young Provencal girl with pink cheeks, letting her clean laundry air in the breeze.

Lavande, like several Molinard scents, can be found criminally cheap at several online discounters. I buy it from parfum1.com, where before any coupon codes it's priced at $21.50.

Art: Scent of Lavender by Gerhard Nesvadba

Molinard Fleur de Figuier

Fleur de Figuier by Molinard might have been the greatest surprise I had at PXA 2009, the perfume expo last summer. While I definitely appreciate the classic perfumes of the house, I've never given the Les Fleurs series more thought than using Lavande as a sheet spray (highly recommended, by the way). But having the rare opportunity to see the entire line and test as many as I could, has shown me there is more to Molinard than Habanita.

I have quite a few fig scents in my collection, but Fleur de Figuier managed to surprise me with its originality. It's not a milky green fig nor is it woody or fruity. It has a lot of green in it, but it comes from bitter galbanum, which dominates the perfume beautifully. There's a hint of sweetness at the top, but it doesn't last, making the perfume a lot more interesting than you'd expect.

There's something very relaxed and easygoing in Fleur de Figuier. It's casual, but not in a "sport" way, just cool, laid back and not trying too hard. It's a happy scent for a happy place, as long as all involved really enjoy galbanum.

The US distribution of Molinard perfumes is somewhat spotty, but Fleur de Figuier, Lavande and most others can be found online for about $30. I bought my bottles from parfum1.com.

Photo of actress Peggy O'Connor (1950) from myvintagevogue.com