Lavande Eau de Parfum (2018)
Molinard (2018)

Lavande is a splendid reworking of the structure introduced by Caron pour un Homme so many years ago.

In the Caron fragrance, lavender shared billing with vanilla and musk, creating a minimalist fougere, but Lavande departs from the fougere genre and into the space of incense-y resin. Here, that lovely doughy, dry lavender is paired with a heavy dose of dry, labdanum-accented benzoin, as though lavander was mingling with the aroma of papier d'Armenie.

It's a lovely, soft smell.

Once upon a time, I happened upon the Tom Ford counter at Neiman Marcus to be a bit nosey, if you will, and what struck my eye was a shiny new silver addition: Lavender Extreme. Well, then, when has lavender ever been really 'extreme'? I must find out... I sample it and its quite nice, a balance of lavender, florals, and tonka, sort of reminiscent of my beloved Caron Pour Un Homme without the musky dry down and a much higher ratio of lavender to the vanillic elements. I asked for a sample and was on my way, because I would never, EVER, EVER pay the exorbitant prices of Tom Ford Private Blend line.

Hell no.

Not for a nice lavender fragrance. Surely I will find something similar.

During a visit to C.O. Bigelow in NYC I happened upon the attractive violet-colored Molinard bottles and saw Lavande. There it is, almost exactly the same, perhaps just a bit more resinous, the presence of benzoin, but besides that, nearly a spitting image, at a fraction of the price. Dare I say its even better, because Extreme is a bit too extreme in its sweetness. I am happy. And I lived happily ever after...

I blind bought a bottle of Molinard Lavande after watching Sebastian Jara's video in which he compared it favorably to the much pricier Tom Ford Lavender Extreme, which retails at $320 for 50ml vs. Lavande at $65 for 75ml, so it seemed like a worthy blind buy, and with a $10 off coupon at C.O. Bigelow, I went for it and have been pleased.

It's a creamy, sweet, semi-sharp lavender-dominant fragrance with a mix of labdanum, tonka, benzoin, vanilla, and musk. It's a nod to lavender fans while not being only lavender, and as with most fragrances, I appreciate its fairly heavy-handed sweetness to make it more endearing. The resins and tonka blend effortlessly with the lavender in the dry down, where the fragrances becomes predictably more mellow than its semi-sharp opening.

The obligatory comparison to Lavender Extreme is pretty flattering for Lavande. The two fragrances are very close in terms of smell, with Lavender Extreme being a bit creamier and featuring a pseudo “Play Doh” vibe that many have mentioned, whereas Lavande has more of the resin/sharp tonka blend in the dry down. Both perform comparably well–good, but not great. Certainly with its better pricing, Lavande comes out on top in terms of value, though it's totally fair that some might prefer the smell of Lavander Extreme.

Molinard's current main collection of eau de parfum concentration purple bottles are all priced modestly, at $65 for 75ml, their collection seems interesting. I've my eye on several that I'd be inclined to blind buy at even the retail pricing, which again is unusually reasonable for what seems to be a well-liked non-designer brand.

Overall, I'm quite impressed with Lavande and look forward to smelling more of the brand. This is, as the saying goes, quite the Lavender Extreme killer, even though I certainly still love Lavender Extreme, as well.

8 out of 10