Une Fleur de Cassie 
Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle (2000)

To understand Une Fleur de Cassie, it's prudent to make the distinction between the two acacia species used in perfumery. First, there is Acacia decurrens var. dealbata, the mimosa tree, with its clusters of yellow inflorescences. From this tree, the absolutes and extractions for the classic mimosa note are derived. However, there is another tree in the family, Acacia farnesiana, the Sweet Acacia (also known as Vachellia farnesiana and formerly known as Mimosa farnesiana, to make matters even more confusing). This tree has bright yellow pom-poms growing individually rather than in clusters. It is from this tree that Cassie absolute is extracted, and in Dominique Ropion's composition, it is rumored that it uses one of the highest percentages of the material in a modern perfume.

Cassie absolute is one of my favorite perfume materials, mysterious, dark, complex, and quite tenacious. It displays a rich, radiant, honey-sweet, floral, powdery-spicy odor. Deep into the dry down, it mellows into a deep, balsamic, woody, violet-like note. Its arguably more unisex and "dirty" that its cousin Acacis decurens var. dealbata. It forms the crux of Caron's legendary Farnesiana, but here with Une Fleur, it is overdosed to a dramatic effect. The composition is one of myriad textures: powdery, dusty, creamy, unctuous, earthy. While the note is not listed, the cassie seems supported by narcissus, reminding me much of the curious scent of Narcissus poeticus. Pastel animalic violet and the slightest indolic jasmine are also detected, with a lingering pollen-like quality, reminding me of the thick, bright orange pollen on the anthers of a lily.

The dry down has an ever more undulating texture and becomes muskier (on the verge of dirty drawers but not full-on) and more skin-complementary. Ropion clearly was given absolute artistic license to explore a material so unabashedly and unyieldingly, and the results are both thought-provoking and sensual. I do not find it at all challenging⁠—I am smitten with it, but I would hazard a guess that this is one is not for everyone. Be that as it may, every fragrance fanatic should give it a sniff if for nothing else, reference. A compelling and brilliant composition and my favorite from the Frederic Malle house.

A cold salon at dawn in New York.
Melancholy wafts of flowers right before their wilting sets in. Used stockings thrown on a chair, a short sleep has set off their wearer. All windows are closed.
Within an hour a maid will enter the building, very softly.

If you bashed Rue de Cambon over the head, swiped all her credit cards, and forced her to live on the street for a month, she'd come back to her pied-à-terre dazed and enriched and smelling something like this.

I love this thick, densely florid, armpitty fragrance, but I have to be in my very best, most confident mood to be able to wear it for more than an hour, otherwise I am simply overpowered by UFdC's bombastic personality.

I am often not up to the task, but when I am, this is the only scent that satisfies.

An elegant, mature, totally feminine beauty, totally modern. White, silky lingerie worn all day by a woman from whom you cannot tear your gaze. Gwynneth Paltrow, Emma Thompson, and Marissa Tomei would all wear this perfectly.