Mimosa. Acacia. Cassie. All names for the same plant, with those fabulous yellow pom-pom flowers which look delicate, but fill a room with their dreamy sweetness in minutes. The bark, roots and resin are all still used to create incense for rituals, in Nepal, India and China (including Tibet – and acacia/mimosa’s used in mainstream perfumery, too: the scent has a warm, honey, iris-like, powdery airiness, which enriches the complexity of fragrances. Mimosa has a long tradition in perfumery: it was first used in making incense, and symbolised resurrection and immortality: Egyptian mythology linked the acacia tree with the tree of life, described in the Myth of Osiris and Isis. (Aromatherapeutically, mimosa is said to have properties that help to relieve stress and depression, FYI.)
Mimosas are pod-bearing shrubs and trees now native mostly to Australia and the Pacific, though they put on a pretty spectacular show around the heartland of perfumery in Grasse, too, in the south of France . For centuries, aside from perfumery, the mimosa tree has been used for many different purposes from medicinal to ornamental. The seeds and fruit are edible and used in many cuisines and soft drinks, the bark produces a gum that is used as a stabiliser (gum Arabic) and in the production for printing and ink; and the timber is used in furniture making.
An all-round useful ingredient, and a dreamily-scented one at that.
Smell mimosa in:
Annick Goutal le Mimosa
Bulgari Pour Femme
Caron Farnesiana
Chanel Coco
DKNY Energising for Women
Fragonard Mimosa
Frédéric Malle Une Fleur de Cassie
Guerlain Après L’Ondée
Gucci Alchemist’s Garden Winter Spring
Jo Malone London Mimosa & Cardamom
L’Artisan Parfumeur Mimosa Pour Moi
L’Artisan Parfumeur Mon Numéro 1
Miller Harris Couer de Fleur
Philospohy Baby Grace
Prada Infusion de Mimosa
Versace Yellow Diamond
Vince Camuto Divina
