Perfumes Like Rosendo Mateu Nº 5 Floral

In 1912, Houbigant's perfumer Robert Bienaimé picked up the ball from Paul Parquet (who earlier invented the whole fougere category while working for Houbigant at the end of the 18th century) and introduced Quelques Fleurs, one of Houbigant’s all-time great fragrances and the first multi-floral bouquet ever created.

The current owners of Houbigant take the heritage and history of the house very seriously and try to adapt the famous formulas from the 18th and 19th centuries to the 21st century's tastes and technologies while keeping the character and old-school flair as close as possible to the originals.

You might have read about Quelques Fleurs in books on perfume and the guides on the greatest perfumes of all time.

The current reincarnation is an adaptation of the original formula to modern times taste and it benefits from modern advances in perfume making.

Meet the 21st century Quelques Fleurs, a gorgeous romantic floral with a big history and an infinite number of floral facets.

Olive fruit absolute is an unusual material for an amber perfume, and a surprisingly appealing one. It gives a salty, animalic nuance to this sheer blend of cypress and sandalwood, rubbing up nicely against the cinnamon character of Tasmanian mountain pepper.

Santal takes its inspiration from a Sandalwood fragrance originally created in the 1800s which has then been given a distinctive contemporary edge.

“Hey Bitch! You smell fucking good.” In Perfume World, that’s what we call a result. Hey Bitch! raises eyebrows with its dissonance between buttery, blowsy orange blossom and tough, bitter leather. Tangy rhubarb at the top snaps its fingers in your face, before dissolving into a blur of suedey iris and milky sandalwood. The dance between bitter and sweet keeps you on your toes throughout, conjuring hints of…what? Photocopier ink? Coffee? For sure it conjures ambered black leather, Bitch!

From the ethereal perspective of the exquisitely adorned hummingbird, the world is an endless kaleidoscope of colourful, fragrant blooms offering up their tempting delights. An insatiable desire for sweetness propels the hummingbird as it floats from flower to flower, sampling the nectar with a gentle touch of its delicate tongue. Retreating to its lichen and moss-lined nest, it settles into the cozy cocoon and dreams of sweet ambrosia.

Hummingbird mingles light floral tones with delectable fruity nectars to create a harmonious balance. This diaphanous scent alights upon you in a pastel bouquet of honeysuckle, mimosa, lilac and peonies, with just the lightest dusting of natural sugars found in pear, cherry and honey. A finishing dollop of velvety whipped cream melds the tantalizing notes, completing this irresistible and opulent perfume.

Perfumer: Shelley Waddington

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The Sniff on Hummingbird:

"[it] settles beautifully and as it warms more floral notes develop. There was a strong lilac and something that reminds me of Viburnum – a sweet, almost jasmine-like smell."

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Matilde Bonaparte, niece of Napoleon I, was known for her breasts (“le plus beau décolleté”) and her talent as a painter. She also hosted a celebrated 19th-century Parisian salon attended by the greatest artists and writers of her time. This namesake perfume is an olfactory salon of provocative white florals (ylang-ylang, narcissus, jasmine) given tropical succulence with passion fruit and papaya. Mathilde’s heady brightness is softened by iris and sandalwood.

Seminalis is our first stimulus in a fragrance bottle.
An aromatic aldehyde which helps sperm to locate the ovum, biological proof of olfactive attraction.
Life initiated by smell.

The fusion of the Taj Mahal's cold marble and its surrounding garden. Marbre Rouge brings the flowers inside the palace walls.  Initially spicy, the fragrance warms up around cardamom before revealing its ylang-ylang heart. The amber notes of benzoin and Tolu balsam leave intensely sensual scents on the skin.

Perfumer: Sidonie Lancesseur

"This is Molinard’s 2023 re-issue of their iconic amber fragrance. This new format includes 90ml spray bottle and a 7.5ml roll-on.

Ambre Lumiere is retro amber with a hint of a patisserie counter deliciousness. This curious nuance comes from tolu which brings it's unique roast coffee aroma to the composition. This is combined with a special variety of chocolaty patchouli, sweet vanillic benzoin and creamy honeyed ylang-ylang."

As the sun sinks over the dense tropical forest, civets emerge warily from the thickets. Under a carpet of narcotic flower blossoms, a smattering of coffee berries peppers the ground. The moist air is heavy with mossy aromas that penetrate every crevice, but the musky scent of the civets dominates; their marked territory daring one to enter at one’s own risk.

Civet pays homage to the age-old ingredient, civet, as well as chypre perfumes of bygone days – perfumes that refused to be intimidated by raw, alluring, animalistic musks. Civet is a moody and complex brew entwined in mystery. It opens with a spicy floral accord, threaded through with dark coffee tones. Slowly it prowls forward, unraveling base notes of leather, moss and vanilla that combines with distinctive civet musk to create a bewildering, sophisticated scent with the promise of a sultry nighttime rendezvous.

Perfumer: Shelley Waddington