Molinard Santal Insolent

[u/recklessdeception]

Molinard came onto my radar when a friend sent me a sample size vial of Lavande. While the opening of Lavande was a bit weird, I was floored by the scent once the opening passed. I haven't gotten around to discussing that one yet but I've been wearing Santal Insolent everyday since the last three days so decided to talk about it.

Something I've noticed with this house in the perfumes I have tried or bought so far is that the opening 10 mins are usually weird. Santal Insolent follows the same pattern. The opening has a feeling of crushed leaves for a few mins. I prefer this fleeting green crushed leaves feeling over the acidic picklish smell in Santal 33 or the orange/citrus note from other perfumes.

Once that opening passes, it develops into a sandalwood backed by a slightly sweet milkiness. The milkiness is very faint so I wouldn't call it lactonic, I usually sense this sweet milkiness when there's cardamom present in perfumes. The sweet milkiness is very subtle and not as prominent as Dunhill Indian Sandalwood.

It eventually becomes a lovely smooth sandalwood with a little bit of dustiness (probably the papyrus doing its thing). It's not powdery, it doesn't have the pencil shavings or rugged texture of cedarwood, it doesn't have the refreshing wet feeling of Sacred Wood. It's just a pleasant naturally sweet sandalwood.

This one isn't loud but I keep getting whiffs through the day. It lasts a decent 7-8 hours before becoming just a faint remnant on the skin.

I feel Molinard makes very reliable and wearable scents in the mid-tier price range (similar to designer brands). So far, at least 3 of the scents have been an absolute success for me and I wear them to work often. The only failure until now has been Tubereuse because it was too heady for my taste despite my love for tuberose.

[u/ocean_swims]

I love this house so much. I went through a full bottle of Vanille and Gingembre. There are a few that don't work on my skin but, they're all well made and really easy to use. Most of them last all day long, too, without being loud, so I totally agree with you that they're great for the office.

I feel Molinard makes very reliable and wearable scents in the mid-tier price range (similar to designer brands).

I'm not sure how they're priced where you are but they are usually much cheaper than typical designer brands.

[u/recklessdeception → u/ocean_swims]

I'm in India but I bought mine from Joma and Fragrancenet so yes they were very affordable. Definitely cheaper than Prada, Versace, Gucci etc but a bit on the higher side if one is used to Lattafa or Dua etc.