Îles d'Or
Molinard (1929)

Iles d'Or is the great-grandmother of modern Fruity Florals.

I was recently gifted an antique Iles d'Or parfum, in the violet brown 30ml(?) flacon. It was about 80% full before flying to me; I cannot say whether it had ever been opened and used, or simply suffered evaporation. Since it was shipped to me via air, some seepage into the wrapping occured due to the pressure changes. I was sad to lose an ml or so, but secretly ecstatic that I was able to smell this iconic beauty!

Firstly, the presentation of the peach/apricot and tropical fruit is fully intact, and breathtaking. My first thought was that the composition contained Violet, but now that I see the heart is comprised of Heliotrope, Jasmine, Freesia, & Lily of the Valley, that makes perfect sense. A few minutes in, the heart emerges as a creamy, powdery veil, with the fruits still going strong. Shortly thereafter, a Spicy Amber arises, with a sweet Cedar in the base. More creaminess from the Sandalwood, all supported by Vanilla. I don't detect an obvious Musk, but the soft, salty lilting qualities of Ambergris are present.I daresay this is a gourmand fragrance. There is green in the base, likely from the mild presence of Oakmoss and Galbanum, however, this is not a classic Chypre. Sillage is medium, and longevity excellent.

The perfection and quality of this bottle is astounding, given its age.I can only assume this was very carefully stored and possibly never opened.

*Compare to La 13th Note Femme by Absolument Parfumeur and Talisman by Balenciaga.

Molinard – Iles D'Or (1929)

Molinard opened its doors in 1849 in Grasse, the perfume capital of the world. In 1900 the house moved to a perfume distillery, where the house still exists today.

Molinard's Iles d'Or was launched in 1929 as a rich floral fragrance under the slogan "Message from Provence, a floral paradise." It was inspired by the exotic islands of Polynesia.

I am experiencing vintage parfum and this is probably the only review thus far that is not dealing with the 1993 reformulation.

This is as far removed from a “bubble gum fruity floral” as one can get on the spectrum. It would seem the reformulation was not a re-working of the original scent, but an entirely new one, with the old name plastered on to confuse and mislead the consumer, a trend that is all too common in the perfume world.

The original is deep, rich and dark. The fruity top notes seem to my nose to have faded with time. I experience a chypre-like mixture of warm (amber, vanilla, cinnamon, sandalwood, musk, ambergris) with green (galbanum, muguet) highlights.

The soft floral trio of jasmine, heliotrope and freesia provide a gentle sweetness that floats over this chypre-like base. The experience is that of a serious scent with a hint of playfulness, one to be worn by a mature woman of the late 1920s and 1930s, although it is certainly at home as a modern masculine. Very nice indeed and quite a surprise.

Top notes: Pineapple, Peach, Apricot, Citron Vert, and Freesia
Heart notes: Muguet, Jasmine, Heliotrope, Amber, Cedar, Vanilla
Base notes: Oak Moss, Galbanum, Cinnamon, Sandalwood, Musk, Ambergris

Genre: Fruity Floral

Molinard already has an uber-sweet tropical fruity floral fragrance in Nirmala, so I'm not sure why it needs Îles d'Or. As a matter of fact, Îles d'Or smells a lot like the candied fruity floral top notes of Nirmala, without the patchouli oriental foundation that aligns Nirmala so closely with Angel. As with Nirmala, I very much doubt that the contemporary Îles d'Or has anything besides its name in common with the scent of 1929. This is very much a garish contemporary bubblegum fragrance for adolescent girls, and it smells as cheap and artificial as any preposterously packaged pink celebrity scent on the market. Avoid it.

Classically constructed - beautifully done. Fruity and floral with a somewhat exotic tinge to it. The Mirabell plum note dominates to the point where I can't identify the florals in the mixture except for the freesia. I suppose that it's the freesia that creates that trace of the exotic. With the heart level, the jasmine / amber / woods march in and completely scatter the top notes. I don't often experience such a quick shift of levels – first there's a phalanx attack of the jasmine-amber very quickly followed by a filling up the empty spaces by the cedar and sandal… And I'm pretty sure I can smell the nougat from the base already in the heart level. The heart accords are as classic and long-lasting as the opening accord. The base is light and yummy – the nougat still remains from its stint in the heart level, and the vanilla and musk come on strong. Since the stronger notes are the vanilla and nougat, the base gives the impression of MId'O being a gourmand. The base is a little weak on longevity. Molinard's Iles d'Or is seems so modern in its construction; hard to believe that it was introduced in 1929. But its use of notes and accords tell me that a lot of changes have been made since 1929 to the fragrance that I am smelling. If I ignore the structure that is overtly classical, I would say that this is quite a modern fruity floral with wood. Great scent... and I usually dislike fruity fragrances.Pros: Excellent accords and performance. Seems modern.Cons: I haven't found any."

WOW, I'd never guess Iles d'Or's age! This exotic fruity gourmand could have easily been plucked off the shelf of a 2009 fragrance display! After the initial sweet and juicy burst of fruits, a slight breezy floral wafts by as she settles into a warm and wooded vanilla base. A wonderful suprise!

An exotic journey to Madagascar, exotic, fruity and gourmand. Like it very much