The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Felino arrived in 2020 as part of Carner Barcelona's Bestial Collection. The name alone, felino, Spanish for feline, carries weight. The official brand note describes it plainly: the lion becomes the expression of entrepreneurial accomplishment. Soft yet spicy notes of nutmeg and hazelnut blend with a heart of jasmine and black leather. A small nuance of resinous sweetness of vanilla gives a slight crystallized taste and a dramatic overdose of myrrh rounds up the opulent and memorable perfume. The Barcelona Modernism inspiration runs through the composition's opulence, wealth, power, the kind of confidence that doesn't need to explain itself. Rodrigo Flores-Roux built something that earns its boldness rather than demanding attention with volume.
The note structure is unusual, leather-dominant heart over a base built from animalic and resinous materials rather than the more common amber or woody foundation. Hazelnut and absinthe together create a bitter-green medicinal quality in the top notes that's rarely executed this cleanly. The base, myrrh absolute, civet, opoponax absolute, and styrax, doesn't hedge. It's resinous, animalic, and uncompromising. Most modern fragrances soften their animalic notes into submission. Felino doesn't. The vanilla is there, but it's Comorian vanilla, which carries a resinous, slightly smoky quality rather than the dessert sweetness the word usually implies. That's the tell: even the sweet note has teeth.
The evolution
The opening hits hard. Absinthe cuts through hazelnut, bitter, green, almost medicinal. The bergamot leaf is there too, adding a citrusy green edge that lifts the bitterness without softening it. Within an hour, the leather arrives. Black leather, bold, unapologetic. The florals build underneath: night-blooming jasmine and Madagascan ylang-ylang emerge as the leather settles, adding warmth and a hint of the exotic. The drydown is where this lives longest. Civet, myrrh, opoponax, vanilla, and styrax layer into something resinous and animalic. The vanilla threads through, sweet but not sugary. On fabric, the myrrh lingers for hours. On skin, the civet announces itself, that feral undercurrent some find magnetic, others find confrontational. Either way, it doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is.
Cultural impact
Felino launched in 2020 as part of Carner Barcelona's Bestial Collection, a name that signals intent. The civet and leather animalic-leathery combination is rare in modern perfumery, where most houses soften or bury those notes. It attracts people who value distinctiveness over mass-appeal safety. Felino holds its own in a niche landscape where the question is always: does it smell like something, or does it smell like itself?
The House
Carner BarcelonaCarner Barcelona is a family-founded niche fragrance house established in Barcelona by siblings Sara and Joaquim Carner in 2010. Drawing from their heritage as descendants of a long line of leather craftsmen, the brand creates scents that capture the Mediterranean spirit and cosmopolitan energy of their Catalan home. The house operates from its Barcelona base, producing gender-inclusive perfumes that blend Spanish influences with contemporary international perfumery techniques. Sara Carner, who pursued an American MBA, channels her childhood fascination with nature and empty perfume bottles into a globally recognized niche brand. Each fragrance references specific locations, memories, or sensory experiences rooted in the Mediterranean region, from the coastal neighborhoods to the historic districts of Barcelona.
The Creator
Rodrigo Flores-RouxFlores-Roux gravitates toward bold, characterful compositions with strong sillage and distinct personalities. He excels at balancing opulent florals against warm woods and resins, and has a particular gift for citrus and neroli interpretations that feel neither precious nor fl…
