# Molinard — Habanita L'Esprit > Habanita L'Esprit is a 2013 flanker from the Grasse house Molinard - a deliberately lighter, cleaner, musk-forward reinterpretation of Molinard's legendary 1921 Habanita, "the most tenacious perfume i ## Essence Habanita L'Esprit is a 2013 flanker from the Grasse house Molinard - a deliberately lighter, cleaner, musk-forward reinterpretation of Molinard's legendary 1921 Habanita, "the most tenacious perfume in the world." Where the original is a dark, powdery, tobacco-evoking oriental-chypre leather, L'Esprit keeps a powdery-floral thread of Habanita DNA but rebuilds it around a soft, modern white musk - so much so that its single most-discussed feature is how strongly it resembles Narciso Rodriguez For Her. It is, in effect, Habanita reimagined for people who find the original too heavy. ## Scent Profile Per the notes, it opens with lemon, nutmeg and French labdanum (rockrose/cistus) - a brief bright-but-warm, lightly spiced top. The heart is the powdery-floral core: heliotrope, mimosa, jasmine and rose, which reviewers describe as soft, powdery and a touch resinous, with mimosa and heliotrope giving an almondy-powdery sweetness. The base - musk, benzoin, patchouli, vetiver - is dominated by a clean white musk that most reviewers agree is the defining accord. The Cafleurebon review summarizes it as "a cross between an oriental fragrance and a modern, musky-chypry one" that is "warm, but less powerful than Habanita." One precise reviewers logged "a soft floral bouquet dominated by the mimosa, which sits atop a musky amber base." Mimosa here contributes its honey-powder facet to the soft floral haze. It is largely linear: a powdery floral-musk that settles quickly and stays. ## Performance Performance reports are genuinely split, which is worth flagging. Some reviewers find it loud and tenacious - "extremely loud, staying power is excellent," "8h+ great sillage," "lasts significantly long." Others find it weak: an Amazon reviewer complained "it doesn't hold at all, gone within an hour." A careful reviewers split the difference: "Moderate initial projection fades over 2-3hr, longevity 6-8hr before it becomes difficult to notice (though it sticks around for 12hr+ if I really strain myself)," and noted it lasts longer on clothes. The honest read: a generally well-lasting but body-chemistry-dependent musky EDP with moderate projection - more intimate-warm than a beast, despite a few "loud" reports. ## Wearing Context Best positioned as a spring/summer and daytime-to-evening soft musky floral - reviewers call it "perfect for spring and summer," and its clean musk and powdery softness make it office-safe and comforting rather than provocative. wearer reports skews to "compliment-getter" and "sensual but discreet." It reads feminine with a vintage-powdery twist. Because it's softer and cleaner than the original Habanita, it avoids the original's polarizing heaviness, making it more broadly wearable but also less distinctive. Practical reading plus wearer reports both support warm-weather, everyday-elegant use. ## Comparisons & DNA The dominant, almost inescapable comparison is Narciso Rodriguez For Her (EDP/EDT) - both the 2003 musk-and-patchouli "skin scent" template. Multiple reviewers across public listings independently flag it: "smells very similar to Narciso R. Eau de Parfum," "too similar to Narciso Rodriguez EDP and EDT to even consider buying it," and it's frequently recommended in Narciso-dupe threads ("very soft and lovely, reminds me a bit of Narciso Rodriguez For Her"). One nuanced reviewer called it a "chameleon, imagine a hybrid of Her EdP and Shalimar EdP," lacking the incense/leather but sharing Shalimar's powdery-resinous drydown. ## Reception Polarization runs along two axes. First, the Narciso resemblance: detractors see it as derivative ("a Molinard for Narciso lovers," meant as a knock), defenders see depth and a vintage soul. Second, the relationship to the original Habanita: vintage-Habanita devotees were wary of any flanker, while many concede L'Esprit "did everything right" for what it is - Cafleurebon's reviewer opened skeptical ("a sigh") and ended won over: "Bravo to the creative team." Common praise: soft, powdery, sensual, compliment-getting, beautiful Lalique-friezed white bottle. Common criticism: derivative, and "not much in common with the big dark sister." Mixed enough that even an enthusiast advised: "I definitely suggest you try it before you commit." wearers-only in coverage (no major review), but Cafleurebon (major) provides a substantive positive critic take. ## Versions & Reformulation L'Esprit is itself a flanker in the broader Habanita line, which is essential context. The original Habanita (1921) began as a product to scent cigarettes - sachets and a glass-rod liquid to "perfume the smoke" - and became a worn perfume by 1924; it was reformulated in 1988, and a new reformulated Eau de Parfum followed in 2012. Habanita L'Esprit launched May 2013 as a distinct lighter interpretation in an opaque-white Lalique-frieze bottle, offered as EDP in 30ml and 75ml. ## Acquisition Notes No Documented counterfeit prevalence or batch-code decoding guidance was found specific to L'Esprit; Molinard is a smaller heritage house and the flanker is not a high counterfeit target. ## Notable Facts & Lore - The lore is inherited from Habanita itself - one of perfumery's foundational "tobacco" scents that contains no tobacco, born to let 1920s flappers smoke elegantly. - Molinard, founded in Grasse in 1849 by Hyacinthe Molinard, is family-run and in 1900 acquired its perfume factory whose structure was designed by Gustave Eiffel; the Habanita bottle carries a Rene Lalique frieze. - L'Esprit's own backstory is the explicit duality concept from Molinard's director quoted above. - No celebrity tie-in or controversy beyond the persistent "is it just a Narciso clone?" debate.