Reviews of Farnesiana (1947)
by Caron

Farnesiana is my favorite Caron fragrance, and one that I think really deserves more attention.

Though described as a mimosa soliflore, it owes as much to almond as it does to mimosa. The thick, creamy, marzipan-like almond note is accented with the tangy, fruity mimosa, and underscored with a faintly foody, vanillic base. Compared to modern gourmands this is subtle; very understated. The "fruity-floral" element is an inherent quality in mimosa rather than florals amped up with artificial fruit candy notes, as is common in the genre today.

It reminds me of a kind of apricot tart a local bakery used to sell. They were soft, almost cake-like, filled in the bottom with marzipan and in the top with apricot. Farnesiana is the fragrance equivalent of eating one of those!

The sillage is delicate, but the longevity is good ( I tried it in parfum extrait concentration ).

Highly recommended.

Delicately sweet mimosa really pampers my mood and makes me feel lying on hammock in a summer garden; lazy and pleased. After the flashing opening comes a paraffinous note which i cannot name but stays there fading even to the end. when the scent settles on skin mimosas becomes comfortably dominant. If you smell it hard, to the end of your sniff comes an almondly aroma reminds me of almond buttercakes but really when you push it. So i do not find this scent gourmand. Also the cassies around here do not smell like that either. This is a nice mimosa scent which i would like to wear. If i should compare it with Champs-Elysées (1904) by Guerlain, though being 43 years older Champs-Elysées is a much more bright sunny joyful fragrance. Mainly almond flowers opening of Champs-Elysées is cheery with rose and buddleria. Farnesia is much more melancholic with violets and musk. Both would have their own place in my wardrobe but with a much more longevity Champs-Elysées is a better buy if you have to choose a mimosa scent.

Have lately been interested in mimosa/cassie-type scents. I have recently been given Mimosa pour Moi from L'Artisan Parfumeur, and decided to buy Calèche Fleurs de Méditérranée. Both of these feature mimosa. Farnésiana mingles it with cassie (acacia flower, a related plant). Both are very green florals and seem to me to be very uplifting. The sensual aspect of perfumes is somewhat offset by the spiritual in the case of these notes, IMO.

Farnesiana is the cream of the crop in the world of mimosa soliflores. It is tastefully decadent, like a buttery almond pastry flavoured with flower essences, Farnesiana is more gourmand than floral.

Farnesiana was recreated by Michel Morsetti from Ernest Daltroff’s notes after his death in 1941. The name is taken from the Latin name for cassie, Acacia Farnesiana, as well as the garden in the Roman palace of Farnese which is the inspiration for Farnesiana. However, there is nothing Mediterranean about it, unless you recall the rich butter-soaked floor of an almond-filled baklava. The sweetness of Farnesiana, however, has none of the burning sweetness of the honey syrup of this Middle Easter pastry. It can be likened to a marzipan flavoured with floral waters, if such a thing ever existed.

In the time it was released in 1947, it was ahead of its time. Many gourmands nowadays pale in comparison to Farnesiana’s innovation and class.

Farnesiana is available directly from the Caron bouqitues in Paris and New York. I was very impressed with the excellent customer service of the Caron ladies in New York, Cathy Lily and Diane Haksa. The package arrived in a couple of days within the US to my aunt’s house, where it rested for a while until my aunt found her way to the post office (which can be easily explained by the fact that she is a busy 50+ mother of twin toddler boys). The long wait just wet my appetite and made me enjoy Farnesiana even more, when I almost forgot I ordered it. It came in the most exquisite silver coloured satin bag, fit for a queen, and accompanied by a few generous parfum extrait samples from the urn fragrances. The presentation made me think instantly of Marie Antoinette, who equally enjoyed pastries and perfumes.

Farnesiana opens with mimosa and cassie, but you know right away this is going to be a very unusual mimosa scent. The heliotrope note peak in right away, with its sweet, fluffy, powdery almondness. The heart is powdery and floral but not as indolic as Mimosaique or Une Fleur de Cassie, as the presence of jasmine is tampered by the lightness of farnesol and linalol in lily of the valley and lilac and the melancholy powder of violets. You won’t smell them on their own, but their effect is felt and adds a certain airy lightnes to what is otherwise a rich, sweet, dark composition. What’s most intriguing in Farnesiana, besides its extreme dessert-like appeal, is its ability to remain so Caronesque, despite the fact that it is dusted mostly with the bright yellow flower of mimosa, ever so light and airy on its own. The most dominant element that creates this Caronesque impression is the presence of opoponax, in addition to the darkly sweet and melancholy heliotrope. It adds a musky, resinous, animalic, daring and unusual touch which is just perfect with the other base notes (vanilla and musk being the most prominent besides the opoponax and heliotrope).

Top notes: Cassie, Mimosa, Bergamot
Heart notes:,Jasmine, Lilly of the Valley, Violet, Lilac
Base notes: Cassie, Opoponax, Vanilla, Sandalwood, Musk, Heliotrope

An olfactory delight. Very warm and comforting. My favourite Caron.

Farnesiana is an almond, fruity, floral scent that, like most of Caron's classic scents, must have been pushing the envelope when it was first marketed in 1947. The extrait parfum version, as expected, lasts a long time but oddly did not make much of an impression with me. In general, I'm not a fan of either almonds or fruity notes. Plus, it will be difficult for any other Caron urn scents to truly wow me, because both Tabac Blond and Poivre are truly ne plus ultra in my book. Nonetheless, Farnesiana, like all Caron urn scents, sports excellent
longevity if somewhat muted sillage (again, for a Caron urn scent).

Wicozani

What a beauty! This powdery mimosa-based scent is so comforting and elegant and feminine. By far, the best mimosa scent on the market. Superior to Mimosa Pour Moi and light years from Jean-Paul Guerlain's debacle Champs-Elysees, the scent dries down to the typical (superb)Caron base. This is how I imagine heaven would smell.

Given that I LOVE almond, blackcurrant, lilac, lily, mimosa and vanilla amongst all notes I expected to love this scent. when, at last, I got a chance to test it, needless to say I was
smitten. It doesn't have great sillage on my dry skin, but the opening is very special and the drydown is soft and caressing, if very much a skin scent.

I have never experienced a fragrance quite like Farnesiana before. My first impression is of almonds toasted in cinammon, which after a time warms down to a smoky, woody vanilla on the skin. Farnesiana creates an aura that is warm, comforting and unbelievably sensual. Deep but not overpowering. I agree with Vintage Vogue's review that there is something sweet and maternal about Farnesiana, but the mother we are talking about here has an exotic air about her. I am reminded of my first taste of Creme Brulee! Delightful.

Farnesiana’s opening is rather strange on my skin. It’s like someone wrapped me in marzipan and Play-Doh and then locked me in a musty basement. But after a time, the fragrance mellows and what’s left is what the Caron web site calls a maternal, sweet vapor trail. That’s accurate. The trick for this one (at least, as far as my chemistry goes) is to let it cook a while on your skin. I’ve never had opportunity to smell Luctor et Emergo by POTL, but I’ve read that it is reminiscent of Farnesiana in many ways. Maybe Farnesiana was ahead of its time. Opening notes are blackcurrant, mimosa, and almond. The almond is fairly heavy at first. The middle notes are violet, lily, and lilac; these seem to stay in the background for the most part. The base notes are quite nice and what give Farnesiana its lasting charm: vanilla, sandalwood, and musk. Farnesiana is available in pure parfum, EDT, and EDP. This review is for the pure parfum.