In this guide I have listed the various perfumes presented by Molinard of Grasse France, from 1900-2000, including information about Molinard's greatest creation....

Concreta, the original solid perfume.

Brief History:

In 1849, a chemist named Molinard Jeune concocted excellent perfumed waters in the secrecy of his laboratory which he then sold from a small boutique in the center of town. The reputation of Molinard's perfumes grew and became established with the creation in 1921 of Habanita, a perfume that to the day remains a great classic.

CONCRETA: 

"The genuine wax of the flowers, used directly as a perfume, Just a touch behind the ear, in the hair, on the eyebrows, on the linings of your coat, quite enough to be perfumed.", states a vintage Concreta advertisement.  In 1925, Molinard created the first solid perfumes, called concreta. These solids were the genuine wax from the flowers. This alcohol free formula, is a very guarded secret and has even been patented by Molinard. It is more concentrated than any other perfume, and will last a lot longer as well. Even vintage concreta still retains a strong scent.

These vintage pieces are presented in little bakelite balls, berets, dice and in flowerpot shaped containers. A very rare set of concreta is the "Les Diamants de la Couronne", this set had five cubes of white bakelite which was swirled with red, green, orange, blue or black, they were housed in an oval box.

The tops of concreta pots are handpainted, usually with flowers or figures. The labels on the base tell you which perfume is inside. The oldest concreta are the ones that have the ball shaped lids, the later ones are flowerpot  or dice shaped. In the 1940s, all three shapes were offered in an advertisement. Concreta was also available in wooden dice containers, called Le Poker, probably around the 1940s onward.

Concreta make awesome little collectibles as each one is one of a kind, you might find a tropical scene,Spanish ladies, castle, Flapper girl smoking, flowers,butterflies, or any other motifs on the little pots. Some sellers on ebay even sell little display stands for solid perfumes.In addition to the concreta pots, there are plenty of Molinard Concreta advertisements out there to add to your collection too!

Vintage Bakelite Concreta set

Vintage Bakelite Concreta flowerpots

Vintage Wooden "Le Poker" Concreta

Vintage Bakelite beret Concreta pot

Molinard's Concreta is still being produced today and sells for $65 retail, comes housed in a beautiful goldtone compact and beautifully packaged, they come in some old favorites as well as newer scents:

• Ecoute Moi
• Habanita
• Iles d'Or
• Gardenia
• Vanille
• Verveine
• Nirmala
• Un Air de Molinard
• M de Molinard

The vintage Concreta that you will come across came in many scents including:

• Mimosa
• Iles d'Or
• Chypre
• Jasmin
• Ambre
• Calendal
• Heliotrope
• Rose
• Parfums de Parfums
• Gardenia
• Carino
• Muguet
• Orval
• Tout les Alpes
• Pois de Senteur
• Oeillet
• Tout le Provence
• Baiser du Faune
• Madrigal
• Sketch
• Xmas Bells
• Habanita
• Violette

Prices for Concreta on ebay vary:

• For single concretas they usually sell in the $10-35 range.
• For sets of three they usually sell within the $35-$75 range.
• For sets of  six to eight, they sell around $75-$100.
• For sets with more than eight concreta, expect to pay over $100-$200.

Many of Molinard's perfume bottles were manufactured by Lalique and this was prominantly displayed in advertisements of the day.

Sometimes you will find labels that  have the full name Molinard Jeune. The perfumes of Molinard, beginning with the newest:

• (2000) Un Air d'Habanita  
• (2000) Vanille Ambre  
• (1999) Basilic Fleur d'Oranger
• (1999) Bulles de Fraicheur
• (1999) Camarel Pain d'Epice  
• (1999) Chocolat Menthe  
• (1999)  Fleur de Figuier
• (1999) Orange Cafe
• (1999) Pomme Cannelle  
• (1999) Rose Santal  
• (1998) Vanille Fleurie  
• (1998) Vanille Fraicheur
• (1998) Vanille Fruitee
• (1998) Vanille Marine  
• (1998) Vanille Patchouli  
• (1997) Ecoute-Moi  
• (1996) Lavande (new)  
• (1996) Molinard I
• (1996) Molinard Homme II 
• (1996) Molinard Homme III
• (1996) Vaniteck 
• (1995) Bois Precieux 
• (1995) Musc
• (1994) Jasmin  
• (1994) Mimosa  
• (1994) Miss Habanita/Miss Molinard  
• (1994) Muguet
• (1994) Rose  
• (1994) Violette  
• (1993) Ambre
• (1993) Citron Vert 
• (1993) Clementine 
• (1993) Mure  
• (1993) Orange-Cannelle  
• (1993) Patchouli  
• (1993) Vanille  
• (1992) Eau Fraiche  
• (1989) Teck  
• (1987) Campus
• (1984) Vetyver  
• (1979) Les Iscles d'Or  
• (1979) Molinard de Molinard  
• (1977) Rafale  
• (1959) Sketch
• (1955) Nirmala 
• (1951) 55 
• (1950) Lutchou
• (1949) Eau France  
• (1948) Verveine 
• (1948) Toute la Provence
• (1948) Fleurettes (reintroduced)
• (1946) Orval
• (1938) Soir D'Italie
• (1937) Bacchantes
• (1936) Violette du Roi
• (1935) Madrigal
• (1935) Fleurettes
• (1930) 1811 
• (1929) Calendal  
• (1929) Iles d'Or  
• (1928) Les Parfum de Parfums (Molinard Jeune)
• (1928) Le Baisier du Faune  
• (1926) Xmas Bells  
• (1925) Lavande (original)
• (1925) Concreta
• (1924) Le Parisien 
• (1924) Pao-Lou
• (1923) Oeillet Malmaison (Molinard Jeune)
• (1923) Figurines et Guirlandes 
• (1923) Le Mimosa
• (1922) Acacia
• (1921) Habanita 
• (1920) Aromates de Provence
• (1919) Ambre
• (1919) Chypre
• (1917) La Rose
• (1917) Les Violettes
• (1908) Fleurettes (Molinard Jeune)
• (1900) Orval 
• Astoria

I have a perfume identification & appraisal service here on ebay. Any questions? Please contact me through my Me page on ebay. Please see my site at www .freewebs. com/cleopatrasboudoir 

 I have written over 200+ guides on vintage perfumes, feel free to check them out too. 

I am always looking to add pictures of vintage perfumes to my guides, if you have a picture you would like to see included here, please contact me, credit will be given to the user ID for any picture submitted.

Some pictures on this guide provided by the following ebay sellers:

• selling-all-my-perfumes

and  the following websites:

• Robert Eisenstadt's website
• Hearts Delight on Ruby Lane
• parfumdepub.net
• Four Seasons Products

Please take a moment to check out their current listings/websites!