A perfume formula originating in 1921 and still in production and demand. It has of course been adapted to modern tastes and industry rules.
It still features the materials and design that made it famous: a drop of French rose, a pinch of geranium, mixed with oakmoss and wrapped in smooth sandalwood. It’s an elegant sugar free rose perfume with musky, bitter woody background.
style.
Molinard has also developed several versions of this iconic blend: Habanita Edition Exclusive (less rose more amber), Habanita L'Esprit (a fresh floral with mimosa layered over the rose) and Habanita La Cologne (a crisp cologne with most focus on oakmoss and vetiver).
All about this fragrance
Vibe check
This is a fragrance for close quarters and self-possessed presence: a room where conversation is measured, the light is low, and the air carries a faint trace of powder, moss and polished wood. It reads as composed rather than loud, with a vintage edge that feels deliberate and assured.
How to wear
Best worn in cooler weather or in air-conditioned spaces, where its mossy woods and rose can stay crisp rather than heavy. A light application is enough; the scent has presence and a lingering, slightly bitter trail that sits close to the skin before opening into a smoother sandalwood finish.
Who it’s for
For wearers who like classic perfumery with a dry, woody backbone and a touch of old-world drama. It suits people drawn to mossy orientals, restrained florals and scents with character, structure and a vintage signature rather than bright modern freshness.
Release year
1921
The nose
Henri Bénard. A chemist and perfumer from Grasse, Bénard is associated with one of the great early-20th-century pivots in modern perfumery: giving a feminine fragrance a darker, more structured oriental profile. Habanita is the work most closely tied to his name, and it remains his best-known creation. His style here is notable for contrast rather than prettiness: floral notes are used sparingly, then grounded in moss, woods and a smoky, almost leathery illusion. That tension between polish and bite is what made Habanita feel modern in 1921 and still distinctive today.
Collaborators
Molinard’s creative and technical teams helped carry Habanita through successive reformulations and formats, preserving its signature structure while adapting it to changing regulations and tastes. The house itself appears as an active collaborator in the fragrance’s long life, maintaining the original idea across editions rather than treating it as a static archive piece.
Molinard’s story
Molinard is a historic Grasse house built on artisanal French perfumery, family continuity and a taste for invention. Its identity balances craftsmanship with bold olfactory ideas, often favoring distinctive structures and memorable materials over easy prettiness. Habanita is one of the clearest expressions of that spirit: elegant, unconventional and built to last.
Habanita’s concept
Habanita began in the Roaring Twenties as a perfume sachet for women’s cigarettes, then became a liquid fragrance in 1924. Its concept was tied to emancipation and modern femininity, but the scent itself contains no tobacco; the smoky effect comes from a complex blend of florals, vetiver, woods and sweet accents. Over time it became one of Molinard’s defining icons.
Extra info
Habanita was first launched as perfumed sachets before becoming a liquid perfume, and it is widely associated with the first feminine oriental structure to use vetiver. The fragrance also inspired several flankers, including Habanita L'Esprit and Habanita La Cologne, each reworking the original idea in a different direction.
A perfume formula originating in 1921 and still in production and demand. It has of course been adapted to modern tastes and industry rules.
It still features the materials and design that made it famous: a drop of French rose, a pinch of geranium, mixed with oakmoss and wrapped in smooth sandalwood. It’s an elegant sugar free rose perfume with musky, bitter woody background.
style.
Molinard has also developed several versions of this iconic blend: Habanita Edition Exclusive (less rose more amber), Habanita L'Esprit (a fresh floral with mimosa layered over the rose) and Habanita La Cologne (a crisp cologne with most focus on oakmoss and vetiver).
All about this fragrance
Vibe check
This is a fragrance for close quarters and self-possessed presence: a room where conversation is measured, the light is low, and the air carries a faint trace of powder, moss and polished wood. It reads as composed rather than loud, with a vintage edge that feels deliberate and assured.
How to wear
Best worn in cooler weather or in air-conditioned spaces, where its mossy woods and rose can stay crisp rather than heavy. A light application is enough; the scent has presence and a lingering, slightly bitter trail that sits close to the skin before opening into a smoother sandalwood finish.
Who it’s for
For wearers who like classic perfumery with a dry, woody backbone and a touch of old-world drama. It suits people drawn to mossy orientals, restrained florals and scents with character, structure and a vintage signature rather than bright modern freshness.
Release year
1921
The nose
Henri Bénard. A chemist and perfumer from Grasse, Bénard is associated with one of the great early-20th-century pivots in modern perfumery: giving a feminine fragrance a darker, more structured oriental profile. Habanita is the work most closely tied to his name, and it remains his best-known creation. His style here is notable for contrast rather than prettiness: floral notes are used sparingly, then grounded in moss, woods and a smoky, almost leathery illusion. That tension between polish and bite is what made Habanita feel modern in 1921 and still distinctive today.
Collaborators
Molinard’s creative and technical teams helped carry Habanita through successive reformulations and formats, preserving its signature structure while adapting it to changing regulations and tastes. The house itself appears as an active collaborator in the fragrance’s long life, maintaining the original idea across editions rather than treating it as a static archive piece.
Molinard’s story
Molinard is a historic Grasse house built on artisanal French perfumery, family continuity and a taste for invention. Its identity balances craftsmanship with bold olfactory ideas, often favoring distinctive structures and memorable materials over easy prettiness. Habanita is one of the clearest expressions of that spirit: elegant, unconventional and built to last.
Habanita’s concept
Habanita began in the Roaring Twenties as a perfume sachet for women’s cigarettes, then became a liquid fragrance in 1924. Its concept was tied to emancipation and modern femininity, but the scent itself contains no tobacco; the smoky effect comes from a complex blend of florals, vetiver, woods and sweet accents. Over time it became one of Molinard’s defining icons.
Extra info
Habanita was first launched as perfumed sachets before becoming a liquid perfume, and it is widely associated with the first feminine oriental structure to use vetiver. The fragrance also inspired several flankers, including Habanita L'Esprit and Habanita La Cologne, each reworking the original idea in a different direction.