Une Fleur de Cassie

Malle’s vision of giving us perfumes of the past redone by today’s masters for today’s world wasn’t just a mandate, one gets the feeling it was an insatiable drive - he had to do it or he could not live. It’s therefore not a surprise how much he focused on florals at his brand’s launch and for the years to come, given that modern perfumery’s life has been dominated by florals, and he succeeded in his raison d’etre. Where he didn’t quite follow through on this vision seems to be Une Fleur de Cassie, which is in my top favorite Malle perfumes and yet also high on the list of ones I wear the least (for some reason). It is one of the most criminally under-appreciated perfumes from the brand, and I think that’s because there’s nothing modern about it. This is the big, grand, symphonic floral Malle seems to think was missing from yesteryear when big, grand, symphonic florals were the perfumes to make. It is decidedly and confidently old school. The Cassie Flower is also doing a lot more than giving us the scent from the humble sweet acacia plant. Why it is named this, I don’t quite understand, since sweet acacia is just one section of this massive symphony. One experience everyone should have at least once in their life is to sniff a proper flower bouquet built by a master florist. A master florist will build a bouquet to a precise vision: the arrangement will be visually striking, each flower placed in a precise location; the flowers are of the highest quality and chosen for their ability to contrast with each other and work in tandem to deliver an overall accord; the number of flowers of each type determined very judiciously to make sure the accord of the bouquet has the proper balance. That is Une Fleur de Cassie. Like a bouquet by a master florist, Dominique Ropion has created what might be his signature bouquet - yes, POAL lovers, I honestly think this might be the best perfume he’s done for Malle. Perhaps why it’s called Une Fleur de Cassie is to emphasize different aspects of Vachellia farnesiana via other florals. Sweet acacia is a funny little flower. Acacia bark is often used as a tannin ingredient for leather, and makes good dark inks; it’s high in protein and a great forage food; it smells honeyed, yellow floral like mimosa, and a touch balsamic. So, dear reader, the odds of me getting all of these complex notes/accords of the perfume identified, and correctly attaching them to an aspect of sweet acacia, is a daunting task very low in probability. At the top there are plenty of yellow and white florals, what seem to be acacia, mimosa, jasmine, and maybe lily or carnation. It’s heavily aldehydic, but the effervescence and sparkle is tempered by the deeper honey notes that each of the florals naturally carry in spades. An interesting note of cumin, quite mild but nonetheless still sweaty and dirty, strings from the top into the heart to link up with sweet acacia’s deeper and more animalic and musky qualities thanks to roses and violets. Finally at the base are evocations of sweet acacia’s deepest and darkest notes thanks to musks, vanilla, and the balsams of cedar and sandalwood. I said something at the beginning, symphonic, that I need to call back to. When an amazing orchestra is dialed-in and ready in a perfect venue, the bass section reverberates the walls and your seat, the middle frequencies make your flesh and bones tingle, and the treble rings in your ears into your teeth. With Une Fleur de Cassie, these orchestral sections are playing the chord of the cassie flower - yellow, honeyed, animalic, and balsamic floral - loud and clear in a sound check to make sure they don’t blow your eardrums out, but that the walls and seats still reverberate, your flesh and teeth still tingle, and your ears ring. I’ve failed you, dear reader. All of these incredible materials and notes overlap with each other so seamlessly that I’m finding it nearly impossible to detect where one begins and the other ends. But that’s the point, I think. For me to sit here, in my plush chair studying this perfume on my skin and a blotter, is reductive. Just enjoy it. The symphonic orchestra needs all of its sections. The bouquet has been put together by a master florist as a work of art, but you’re still going to give it to someone you love who doesn’t know that, who is going to give it a big sniff and maybe not recognize the mastery but will certainly recognize the exquisite beauty, and look back at you with loving and warmed eyes in thanks for giving them the experience and the thought. That’s the part that matters. For being able to dissect a sweet acacia flower, and reconstruct it in a way that gives us not only olfactory beauty but emotional beauty as well, Une Fleur de Cassie is one of if not the best in the Malle line.

Une Fleur de Cassie, composed by Dominique Ropion for Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle, and part of the original lineup since 2000. What a perfume! To me, this is a masterwork floral composition. A piece of olfactory art that needs to be studied and looked upon by all future generations of perfumers. There is so much emotion embodied in this creation. Retro, and old-world smelling. It plays on the duality of love. The maternal love, and the one of your lover. Mimosa and violet are used to suggest the first, cassie flower, jasmine, and musks for the latter. Cumin acts as a bridge, to instill the carnal embodiment, and breathe life into it. For me, these two themes are always suggested and interplay at all times. Ropion doesn't just create a perfect animalistic floral, he roots deep visceral emotions to it. The opening is an assault on one's senses. The juxtaposition of cumin, violet leaf, cassie, and musks emerges to create a salty, wet cardboard accord. Brutal right from the get-go and unlike anything else. It is curious, and so you keep on sniffing. It soon tames down to reveal the floral bouquet. Yellow strokes on an Oriental canvas. Mimosa and cassie flowers dominate the floral cortege. They are related, both in smell and appearance. But just like the maternal and your beloved, they call to different emotions of belonging. I adore the Cassie Flower absolute. It is among my favorite floral materials in perfumery. Unfortunately, there are very few compositions making use of it. And none like this one. It smells much like mimosa but everything is amplified, especially the animalistic quality. Heated love. The scent of your beloved's sweaty-salty skin. The base is infused with a generous amount of sandalwood, vanilla, and musk to complete the Oriental theme, and to provide extra warmth. A scent of deep mystery and lust. A perfume for introverted intellectuals with a dirty mind. Unfortunately, this perfume seems to generate polarizing reactions, and for reasons beyond me, it flies under the radar among others from the house. To make things worse, over the years Lauder took care to cut off some of its flair. Nonetheless, in my books, this will always be Ropion's most artistic work, his diamond in the rough for the bypassers and his most precious jewel for the true connoisseurs. IG:@memory.of.scents

This is like crawling into a hammock under some flowering trees and being breathed on by someone who's just spent the afternoon taking a really satisfying nap. It's totally uncanny and off the wall. I almost never want to wear another perfume again. EDIT: This is my favorite, I need to do a little bit better than the above... Une Fleur de Cassie is about real flowers still on the tree, and it spares no part of that experience. In real life, walking down a street lined with furiously blossoming trees can be overwhelming. Ask anyone with allergies or who has had their heart broken in the springtime. It's pervasive and over the top, and the person walking down this flowery street doesn't get to pick and choose which facet of this scent is currently blowing in their face. Flowers are sweet, but they are also about sex and death and pollen and synthesized weather systems and waste, and this is part of what they smell like. Anyone walking among a whole lot of blooming flowers must surrender fully to every part of the fragrance. UFdC is the same deal. I do not recommend spraying it if you are allergic to flowers or have just had your heart broken. The opening is a sharp, almost acrid burst of mimosa and white flowery sweetness. I do smell the wet cardboard thing, although not unpleasantly, along with some vanilla-inflected wintergreen or root-beeriness. Mostly, though, this is that walk down a springtime lane lined with heavily flowering trees. As it dries down, I smell sandalwood, and what's more I smell real mysore sandalwood, like in old bottles of Samsara. Don't ask me how that's possible; I don't know, but this is what it smells like to me. This sandalwood imparts a smooth oiliness that underscores the floral notes until it starts slowly sucking them under and into itself. What's left on the skin after a couple of hours is a wholly incorporated smooth-oily sweetness that smells unmistakably spent -- like flowers are spent after blooming, like bodies are spent after sex, like falling asleep is a surrender to a well-lived day. Obviously I love this, but I can see how it can be off putting to some. It doesn't smell like diapers or p**** to me, but it does smell like it knows its way around being embodied -- sex and decay and languor are part of its fierce beauty.

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.

First of all, like many perfumes on this site that for whatever reason someone chose to misrepresent, this perfume is a shared perfume for men and women alike according to the creator. Back about 15 years ago I bought Gal Violet soaps from the Duty Free shop at the Madrid airport and fell in love the the tart violetty sparkly andahydic scent which even their own violet perfume did not have and vowed that if I even found anything similar that would be my signature scent. Well, one sniff of Une Fleur de Cassie and it was clear I had found it. I have always been totally in love with the violet-orris ionene-irone smell but this smell is a fresher perkier and a but more tart of a scent. And it seems to have the sparkle of andehydes. To me if there were such thing as violet sweettarts this is what they would be like. From start to finish I find this perfume to be sweet in a effervescent and refreshingly clean and invigorating way. As a perfumer I know the overall effect is there as a result of mimosa, cassie, carnation, rose, sandalwood, black locust, vanilla and car rant leaves but I find they are so well blended I cannot begin to smell them apart from each other. As far as I can smell Ropion as taken total command of his raw materials and has interwoven them so tightly that from beginning until it fades away a good 6+ hours after application we smell acacia flowers and nothing else. The sillage is a good distance that most anyone in your general vicinity will smell you but it is gentle and subtle enough that it is sure to be in a pleasing and gentle way. It is a very specific smell and I feel there will be a lot of lovers and a lot of haters and not a lot of people who feel impartial. Yet, for all those around you the smell is pleasant enough that even those who don't care for it will not run for the nearest source of fresh air. So my advice is that if you like mimosa, acacia, and/or violet-orris to try a sample or even better a decant and see how you like it. Even though this is not am absolute favorite perfume and now my signature scent, I can certainly see why it is not for everybody. But for those of us who love it, it is a real masterpiece unlike any other perfume on the market, well worth the hefty price.

Une Fleur de Cassie may be one of the most underrated perfumes from Frédéric Malle. It is a wonderfully textured aldehydic floral that explores the multifaceted and rarely-used acacia flower. When I first heard of UFdC, I assumed its name referred to cassis/blackcurrant. Instead, it is this mimosa-like yellow floral note, Acacia farnesiana (thanks to @alphairone below for the name of the particular species used here) that this scent concentrates on. Enhanced (maybe predictably, but to perfection) by a sweet, powdery mimosa note, the acacia is the true star here. Alternatingly powdery, sweet, shimmering and hazy throughout, this multifaceted flower is firmly placed centre-stage throughout - given a rare chance to shine. However, UFdC is not a crowdpleaser - it is an artistic perfume that requires contemplation. UFdC's opening is akin to wet cardboard as @brokesta911 below puts it so perfectly. I was initially unsure about it until the bright-yet-uncharacteristically-soft aldehydes emerged, providing the perfect backdrop for the florals to unfurl on. Thereafter, it is all about the yellow floral accord. The acacia is soft, developing slowly to reveal its powdery, polleny sweetness. Almond-like mimosa enhances it to perfection. I am much more familiar with the scent of mimosa, but as far as I can tell here, the acacia is similar, but is more dry - almost dusty - and has a hint of green smokiness. It becomes sweeter as it develops, helped by some restrained clean, sweet jasmine and powdery rose. I get a hint of powdery iris later on. This bouquet is as hazy and dreamlike as it is unusual. To me, it is like L'Eau d'Hiver's summer counterpart. As it dries down, soft, quiet woody notes emerge, and restrained vanilla prolongs the floral sweetness. The remnants of the floral heart remain until it fades, becoming a sweet, musky skin scent. On me, sillage and longevity are moderate. Creative and intriguing, UFdC is a beautiful spring/summer floral scent. It is vintage in style, yet feels utterly original. A quiet, understated thing of beauty. L'Eau d'Eté. 4.5/5.

Fragrantica describes Cassie or mimosa, as the aroma of childhood, and a mother's embrace. It does remind me of the smell of clean skin. So there is this intimate facet that's nice. The name Cassie is another name for mimosa; I was confusing it with the cassis note here, which is the black current leaves. The mimosa is naturally sweet, the cassis is green. The cassie flower, are the blossoms of a thorny shrub that grows mostly in warmer climate zones. So living in the North East, I have never seen them in the wild. This is very calming floral, that's not very girly. I'm a guy who can't wear many unisex florals, and some florals for men, such as "Lyric Man" are too feminine for me. The mimosa here is an almondy, child-like, soft, cucumber-ish floral. The jasmine discreetly brightens it up, a touch of rose and aldehydes freshen it up. And I love the cassis that is amazingly green and earthly. There is something dewy or watery about it, reminding me of violets. Its so beautiful and natural smelling. The Jasmine/ mimosa accord is stunning. Its is so beautifully floral, jasmine, yet it's so green and natural, feeling totally gender neutral. This fragrance is the most that way, than any fragrance I have tried: being mostly floral, yet gender neutral at the same time This is a winner! This is a beautiful uplifting green floral. It is very Diptyquey; If you like the natural, earthy Diptyque fragrances, this is along those lines. I do get the indolic jasmine that gives it a bright floral, somewhat feminine touch, but the mimosa brings it down to an earthy plane. All in all, its very much to my liking. Im enjoying it on a warmer Winter day, allthough its best in Springtime I think. This is marketed for woman only, while Frederic Malle Lys Mediterrenee is marketed as unisex? Lys Med. is much more girly, but the marketing is trying to draw in some guys; While Fleur Cassie is much more gender neutral, but is wanting not to loose woman buyers by marketing it, for woman only. That's the house strategy on it, I think. Rating: 9/10 God bless. John 3:16

Dominique Ropion is a unique perfumist which I love because I really enjoyed it all works for Malle, nobody is currently working floral fragrances with the skill with which he does, from his brutal and hyper realistic Carnal Flowers to the offender "New Romantic "Fleur de Cassie sexy tremendously. It seems confusing, but in French literature of the eighteenth and nineteenth century cassia flower with mimosa was confused, so in this paper, is still maintained that sought confusion of old and queen of this floral bouquet is the yellow and fragrant flower mimosa Australian, as does the French writer Merimee to describing Carmen of which soon would become famous opera. The aroma of this cuddly feel powerful, bright and warm as the winter sun, golden like gold, sensual lips as Carmen. Ropion mimosa retains all its facets more features: honeyed and very dusty, colored by flowers like rose, jasmine, and a spicy note provided by the carnation, all topped off by the note of all of Cassie or yellow flower cassia, leaving impacting timidly like a forbidden glimpse and carnal love. The striking woody drydown is soft sandalwood becomes rubbery and animal to dramatize and emphasize the carnal, the sexual passion of Carmen that primarily feels free from bondage and possessive touch. Fleur de Cassie is a scent that is contracted to himself in search of freedom, transgressive because it is a different, unique aroma, where the root is taken from fragrances of the past but with a very avant-garde results. The duration is very good with a moderate but fairly accurate projection, with excellent qualities in terms of essences. The fragrance is the closest thing to wearing a couture dress, is a compact set, studied as a colossal work of engineering, very glamorous without being pretentious, is refined elegance, and though you do not like floral fragrances, not I do, because I love them, you have to surrender to works of art so compelling and unique as this Fleur de Cassie. Rating: 9.7

Paris in the 1930s. Springtime, retro luxury. It’s almost tragic how little this fragrance sells, a fact proven by how easily vintage bottles can still be found in nearly every perfumery that carries Frederic Malle. Just a few words on the difference between the vintage and the current version. The vintage is undeniably superior. The key distinction lies in the opening: in the vintage, you immediately sense my favorite aspect of the fragrance an uncompromising, indolic animalic note in full force. The newer version opens much drier, with that animalic facet significantly toned down. An attempt was clearly made to recreate its impression using alternative molecules, but it ultimately fails. From the drydown onward, the two versions are essentially identical. However, my favorite part is precisely that opening, the one the vintage possesses and the new version lacks. After the initial phase, the scent transforms into a powdery, yellow-floral composition: dry, soapy, immensely rich and impeccably rounded. A sophisticated powdery veil follows, leaving an almost physical aftertaste in the throat, as if the senses are experiencing it on a deeper, more visceral level. This is, without question, my no.1 Frederic Malle fragrance. Anyone who already owns perfumes from this house and decides to purchase this one should consider it the crown jewel of their collection, at least, that was the case for me. Frederic Malle is an institution when it comes to floral perfumery, and this fragrance represents the very pinnacle of that identity. It is the brand’s calling card, a perfect example of what Frederic Malle truly stands for. My surroundings have never been particularly fond of this perfume, but that has never concerned me. This is not a fragrance meant to please others, it is worn purely for personal enjoyment. I believe that many are not worthy of it, and that many simply do not understand it.

(UPDATE: I have 2 different samples of this and neither smell even remotely the same. My review was based on a sample from The Perfumed Court. The official Malle 5 ml sample smells very peculiar and nothing like what I described in my review. I am wondering if they put the wrong fragrance in my vial from the PC or if the Malle sample is bad. I wish I knew what it was because I like it a lot more than the real Cassie. :( Makes you wonder how many unfair reviews are out there based on bad samples.) If someone blind folded me and had me sniff the opening then asked me who I thought made it, my immediate thought would be Chanel...but a Chanel I had never smelled before. It is like a Chanel with a TINY splash of very diluted Joy. The little twang that you smell in Joy that makes it a little dirty smelling (but in a good way). It settles down into a much gentler fragrance, a much softer, cleaner somewhat sweet floral. To me, it is basically like two completely different perfumes with two totally different feels. A beautiful fragrance that reminds me SO much of something that I just can not place. This is an old school retro smell but not in an outdated way. It is a reflection of past "big" fragrances without smelling just like them. A softer version. It reminds me of something a child would dab on when her mom wasn't looking. It has a very "adult" vibe to it. I think this is a very elegant fragrance that would reflect refined taste. This is definitely a "dress" scent to me. And I mean an actual dress, not "dressy". Something you would smell on someone in a more formal setting. I like this very much and I can see where it would be a love for some. It is a beautiful mixed floral.

It should be noted, that I tested a very minute amount from a sample vial. I imagine that a full spray would be much stronger, so I can't accurately comment about projection. I should also note that I tested this on one arm, and at the same time Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur on the other. It was actually a nice combination. MR had more projection considerably, but I also used more from the MR tester. That said, this is gentle, innocent, soft, and joyful. As odd as this may sound, it smells like a clean, powdered child in the sun. It evokes feelings of peace and serenity; as if everything will be alright in the world. Yet, it is also intriguing and sexy in a subtle, confident, and very classy way. It is not overt, and although it smells like child-like, I feel this would be more appropriate on a woman over 25. As it opens, aldehydes intertwine with a very realistic and heart-stopping mimosa that really makes me swoon. At the moment the mimosa note wins over the aldehydes, I wish I had more lung capacity to breath in this heavenly scent. Beyond the aldehydes, which are not even listed as a note, and the mimosa, I can detect a bit of creamy sandalwood and vanilla, a touch of cassis. Perhaps a hint of jasmine. I have tested hundreds of perfumes, due to an insatiable desire to want to smell EVERYTHING. I enjoy variety, and I haven't reached for the same perfume bottle from one day to the next in over five years. That said, I love Une Fleur de Cassie so much that it has SIGNATURE potential! I could imagine wearing it for any occasion, all seasons, day or night. To sum it up, this is magical.

Une Fleur de Cassie is a golden cloud of mimosa, light as air but thick with pollen, as if the whole tree shook itself awake in the morning sun. Fluffy, powdery, but not in the irritating antihistamine-requiring way—this is the kind of powder that lingers in the air, that clings to skin like the softest dusting of yellow petals, non-allergenic but nose-tickling. It’s of a mellowed sweetness, but not of yellowed syrupiness. Like traces of honey trapped in warm wood, hazy and of soft mood. I'm starting to rhyme—very indicative that Cassie is giving me a good time. For those worried about cat-pee nuances, I will admit that cassis at the start is rather prominent, a fleeting bite of something dark and tart, but it doesn’t stay on the forefront for long, perhaps fortunately. It fades into the background soon enough and remains pretty invisible for the rest of the scent, mimosa taking over completely—airy at first, like the wind carrying its nature-embedded scent through an open window, then denser, richer, with a quiet hum of sandalwood underneath. The rose is barely there, just a few crushed petals pressed between the pages of an old book, more memory than flower. Less like walking through a garden peppered with the yellow floral, more like finishing your makeup in the middle of a forest, brushing on loose powder as the scent of warm, sunlit wood curls around you. It also shouldn’t be edible, but somehow, it kind of is. A terribly lovely scent, stunningly suitable for all events.

As soon as I put Une Fleur de Cassie on I knew - this is it, I have finally found F. Malle perfume for myself, but only until I experienced drydown I was totally and utterly in love. Today I wear a different perfume, but I cannot think of anything else but Une Fleur de Cassie, so it must be love. The smell of yesterday remained all over my son's T-shirt and it's been calling me across the room the whole day today, magically, as if it's Sauron and I am Frodo, the poor ring bearer, trying to resist the calling... only the calling is beautiful, not dreadful :D Another interesting thing is that I cannot bring myself to over-analyze this fragrance. I can only say it smells as retro as something a grandma could wear (violet, carnation), but at the same time it is daring (cumin, cassis), it is passionate (cassie, black locust, jasmine), full of emotions (rose) and warmth (sandalwood, vanilla, musk). It is dirty, spoiled, compromised, it is pure, innocent, sweet, it's womanly and childlike. It is a wild, complex fragrance with the most touching, angelic drydown and the amplitude and the range of emotions it is capable of stirring is simply amazing... After initial blast the sillage is moderate on my skin, but longevity is great; it wraps around me like a gentle, warm hug. I don't ever want to be without it (OMG I really sound crazed and in love LOL). *Thanks to a lovely fellow Fragrantican for this fantastic olfactory opportunity.*

Dominique Ropion is a genius of a perfumer. He is also a sorcerer. Une Fleur de Cassie could have been formulated during a full moon on the midnight hour. In a hidden back room of an apothecary in the Dark Ages. Its ingredients forbidden, sourced from the deepest recess of a forest where even the brave dare not tread. Amongst them, black locust, which if it were the insect rather than the flower, I'd actually be more inclined to believe to be true. Enigmatic and cyptic, this is a floral that's more pollen than flower, herbal without the presence of herbs and has a strange bitterness that you don't just smell but taste - permeating beyond the nasal cavity into the mouth and coating the tongue. All is not as it seems. And yet..it's so utterly bewitching. Like the car crash you just can't avert your gaze from, this will have you inhaling deeply again and again, intoxicated by something that doesn't feel quite right, but powerless to stop. It will confuse, frustrate, lurk in the shadows and do its utmost to resist revealing its secrets. But it will also ensnare and beguile you. Un Fleur de Cassie is a mirage in the Malle line, the outlier, the one you perpetually overlook at the perfume counter for no discernible reason, the one you never get round to testing from your various sample vials. Once you do, however, you'll never forget it. I don't want a bottle; I need a bottle.

Wow! I am speechless. This might just become my favorite Frederic Malle. This one is so unique, weird and lovely at the same time. Hard to describe. Many people say this one is funky, animalic, and indolic. I just don't get that. To me, it opens up really harsh. For the first 5 minutes or so smells really chaotic, salty, bitter, dry, wet cardboard. Insane! However, after it settles down it becomes the most beautiful floral I've ever smelled. A huge floral bouquet with mimosa and acacia in the lead, laying on a bed of vanilla, musk, and sandalwood. I would say it is a floral oriental. The acacia gives it a very interesting twist. It has a unique pasty, musty, waxy, buttery accord. It's also powdery, sweet, reminds me of pollen and honey. At times it has a bit of saltyness to it. It makes me think about many things. It makes me picture spending the day in our school art class studio, with the canvas and the oil paint smell, the window open and the breeze of spring coming in the room. It makes me think about the salty-sweaty skin of a beautiful woman smelling of mimosa. Overall it is a gorgeous and unique composition. It is a very personal scent. It performs really well for what it wants to showcase. Stays really nice around yourself with an elegant sillage and great longevity. Never expected this one to be such a beautiful surprise.

I am a huge Frederic Malle fan, and all my top three FM perfumes are Dominique Ropion creations (Carnal Flower, Une Fleur de Cassie, Geranium pour Monsieur). Une Fleur de Cassie is my favorite fragrance of my entire collection. I ́ve been hesitating to write a review on it for that reason, I can ́t possibly do it justice with my petty little words. Still going to try though, so here we go. It ́s breathtakingly beautiful. The first times I tried Une Fleur de Cassie, I was put off by the aldehydes in the opening. But this one you have to give time, after the opening stage Une Fleur de Cassie reveals the secret that lies beneath. Perfection! Thick, yellow, floral, sensual. Not going to go into detail on the notes as other reviewers do that better than me. Besides, I don ́t think it ́s important in this case, it ́s all about the creation as a whole. It ́s like a summers evening after a hot day, like a bumblebee full of sticky, yellow pollen. It ́s like standing in the golden sunlight in a forest glade, peering into the dark green shadows of the forest. Skin and fur. Melancholic and warm. Intimate and comforting. I ́m just going to stop now, this review is not getting any better.. Une Fleur de Cassie is a HUGE love for me, but it ́s not a safe blind buy, and it ́s not for everyone. If you try it, remember to give it time.

This is a clean, soft skin scent, totally adorable and easy to wear, but everyone is different. Let me say for a start that sprayed is different than dabbed (i dabbed mine). And on skin you get totally different reaction than on cardboard. On cardboard it a bit *nasty*. I get some chemical note, like rubber, but it must be the aldheides. But not unpleasant. On the skin, I smell a lot of violet, although its not listed, and I immediately thought "this is next of kin to Dans tes Bras" (another Malle that I adore). But then it evolves. I get a LOT of iris in its rooty, earthy tone, the same Iris you get in Iris Pallida or Après l'Ondée. But Cassie is mainly powdery, to my nose. Again, on a cardboard the jasmine emerges, but I do not find it too indolic, it is pleasant. On my skin, jasmine does not develop (and it is a note that I adore, and I'd love to smell it). The drydown is soft, powdery, resinous, warm. The iris is not so cold anymore. No detection of sweet mimosa (too sickly for me), or probably it is a mimosa not interpreted the usual way ! But I do smell sweet lilac (again not listed but it could be a different rendering of the mimosa). To me this is a fantastic scent; abolutely soft and not overpowering. Lasting power is not more than one hour, alas.

MASTERPIECE! If you love Mimosa flowers and aldehydes, you HAVE TO try this one. It is marketed as a woman's perfume, but I am a (daring) dandy man and I love it. Initially I was confused by the name and thought of the also yellow flowering Cassia plant, but it is an abstract perfumery creation of the flower of Cassis, the black currant plant. Correct me if I am wrong, but I cannot imagine the Cassis flower (that are rather unspectacular doldrums of mini greenish/ white flowers on the bush). The berry fruits as we know however have very potent olfactory qualities and so do have the leaves. (The fruits have tons of vitamin C by the way. More than any other European fruit, I believe). Locust and Mimosa form the powdery and powerful top of the bouquet but you can also make out a lovely soft rose and a very faint jasmine. The soapiness, triggered by aldehydes and perhaps the dry sandalwood note, perfectly juxtapose and balance the initial sweetness. A joyful, enticing pleasure to wear this time of year in early spring if you want something strong, yet sharp and unusual. Try also AMOUAGE "Library Collecton OPUS III" which is a similar direction yet much sweeter and wetter and warm-woodier. Cannot rate this highly enough! 10/10

First off, thank you @alphairone (see below) for explaining some of the different facets of mimosa scent. I love your reviews in general, and how you specifically explained that Une Fleur de Cassie uses the Sweet Acacia in this composition. Mimosa is one of my favorite florals, in all its different distillations, origins and forms. Une Fleur de Cassie is comfort in a bottle. Une Fleur de Cassie opens fresh and with an animalic undertone. It’s not off putting, but there’s a nice dose of skank. I wanted to point this out as I didn’t pick up as much of this “dirty underwear” smell in the dry down as alphairone did directly below my review. This all mellows within the first hour to something softer and rounder... fuller if that makes sense. Sweet, pretty and powdery. Performance was respectable, lasting several hours while lightly projecting. I’m at the end of a sampling binge, trying to get through another dozen or so scents in two days. I liked this one so much that I decided to wear it for the remaining day. I’ll binge my way through the rest after I’ve had time to luxuriate in this scent for as long as possible. I don’t say masterpiece often but that’s exactly how I feel about this perfume.

Creamy, animalic, dirty and musky mimosa with Cassie, sandalwood and a bit of vanilla. As Ropion said: "Cassie is like mimosa but stronger and more mysterious." The smell of this fragrance is dirty and mysterious. That's true. Une Fleur De Cassie is one of the fragrances with the highest percentage of Cassie absolute in it. According to Ropion, it is very difficult to work with Cassie and he has reached maximum for this piece of art. I have to say that this is one of the most challenging perfumes from the entire FM line to accept and love, but when you "click" - that's it! Definitely not a fragrance for compliments, this is a masterpiece that you wear for yourself. Several years ago they have stopped Une Fleur De Cassie production for a moment. Frederic and Ropion were not satisfied with the current quality of Cassie Absolute on the market. So there is no need to worry about the year of production, each bottle is of pure quality. I'm glad that current quality of Cassie is good and that this fragrance is not discontinued. I've managed to get the Vintage version, but the new one is almost equally good - don't worry about it. New formulation: 81% Vintage version: 84.5%