The mimosa originally traveled to France from its home in Australia, an English colony at the time, to embellish the winter gardens of Lord Brougham and his friends. Planted first in their exotic gardens, the gardeners of the time were delighted at how easily this wild mimosa adapted to its new environment. Specimens of mimosa and eucalyptus made their way from Australia via ship thanks to the efforts of English botanists collecting cuttings of newly discovered plants.At the end of the century, mimosa flowers were harvested to be added to bouquets sold to travelers and shipped to selected florists in Paris. At first, the cut mimosa blossoms didn't last long until Louis Camette invented a process called "forcage" which is still used today. Around this time, the perfumers of Grasse became aware of this new regional flower and began to process the blooms to extract their oils for use in perfume.

The mimosa is a member of the legume family with a pod similar to peas and lentils. There are three major species of mimosa, those with long leaves, those with round bluish leaves, and those with the typical jagged leaves. Although, more than one hundred varieties grows on the Côte d'Azur, the most common ones are the Acacia dealbata - a tree with delicate foliage and clusters of ball-shaped fragrant yellow flowers, the Floribunda or mimosa 4 season - it's an all terrain plant that is used in most graft, the Longifolia, the Cultriformis, and the Motteana. The name mimosa originally came from the Latin word mimus (pantomime in the process of contracting), corresponding to the behavior of its leaves that contract when touched. The mimosa is also the symbol of security and of certitude since ancient times. More than one hundred varieties of mimosa grew in the surroundings of Grasse. Its wood is known for its ability to withstand rot. Its seeds germinate easily, requiring only heat and space. Contrary to the rest of nature's creations, it will grow in ashes. As such, it symbolized that death is not destruction, but rather a metamorphosis. Its bright golden yellow is synonymous with light.

The mimosa softens and ties the different notes of a perfume together. Its characteristics are green, floral, and sweet. In 1947, Farnesiana de Caron created the first great perfume with the principal note of mimosa. Byzantine de Rochas and Amarige de Givenchy also have mimosa as a primary component of its fragrances. Today, when the weather conditions are favorable, Grasse and its surrounding harvests treats approximately 150 to 200 tons of wild mimosa per year. The harvest occurs once a year in February (the winter in France and the summer in its country of origin, Australia), and as the mimosa is very sensitive to weather variation, a cold winter can mean the destruction of the entire production. Up to 0.8% of concrete can be extracted from the original product via solvent, which correspond to 8 kilograms of absolute per ton from the small branches and the flowers treated. The concrete is then washed out of its wax (75%) with alcohol to finally obtain the absolute (up to 2 kilograms per ton treated). The Absolute of Mimosa of Grasse has a market value of nearly 6000 FF (US$ 1000) per kilogram.