Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

Maison Francis Kurkdjian - Oud Silk Mood EDP Oud Silk Mood (“Mood”) is a 2018 launch from Maison Francis Kurkdjian (“MFK”).   It was a fragrance I was anxious to try since oud can often be a challenging note for many people.   In the traditional use of oud in fragrance, the note is often paired with rose.   We see such a pairing in Mood but we also see much more which takes the oud to a place that becomes more wearable for a larger audience. This is not your traditionalist’s take on oud.   Instead, oud is met here with delicate floral accompaniments and becomes an approachable note that retains its inherent sensual nature.   Mood opens with a lush floral bouquet that is decidedly rose-intense.   The rose is rich, deep, and elegant.   There is a lightness from a soft bergamot and chamomile that elevates the rose with an airiness and smoothness.   The notes are blended with an oud that is present, yet still in the background, and have a fe...

Olibere Parfums - L`Etoile Noire Launched in 2016, L’Etoile Noire (“Noire”) is a study of light and dark; the opposites that we each carry with us.   The notes classify this as an oriental fragrance, however, in my opinion, it is also very much a woody one. Noire opens on me with a contrast.   On the one hand I get an intense bergamot and sharp lemon and on the other I get an achingly intense peppery spice.   There is a heavy smokiness from the gaiac.   As Noire continues to wear I get more and more tones of wood.   I do not identify the wood as specifically being oud, as iterated in the Notes of this fragrance, but rather a general deep, dark woody accord.   At roughly 3 – 4 hours into wear, Noire takes on a powdery aspect.   There is still an echo of citrus, moderate spice, woods, and smoke but in comes a softened rose and what seems like patchouli.   There is a dried tobacco leaf as well as a very soft dried rose petal. In the...

DUA Fragrances - Wood & Cognac Wood and Cognac.   The two words together bring to mind a pensive gentleman in his study.   The image is old world.   It’s an image of cultured elegance. With Wood & Cognac, DUA Fragrances brings us a refined woody fragrance.   The opening is a complex, deep, boozy wood.   As you breathe in, the wood panels of the study come alive.   There is a light, green rose that drifts through the composition intricately mingled with the wood and cognac.   As this fragrance wears, it takes on additional complexity; a touch of dark cocoa, a warm creamy sandalwood – all the while the boozy wood remains in the forefront.   The perfumer gives us additional notes to create interest and complexity with this fragrance, but at no point do they surpass the boozy woody notes.   Wood & Cognac is about its namesake throughout the wear.   Wood & Cognac wears on me for roughly 11 hours with heavy moving...

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Paris - Oud Cashmere Mood Extrait de Parfum It’s no surprise that Oud Cashmere Mood (“Oud”) is an oriental fragrance based on its notes.  Oud is often one of those notes that people find challenging or love.  My curiosity got the better of me with respect to this 2013 fragrance and I wanted to see how oud was taken to a “cashmere mood”. On initial spray, Oud provides an intense, dry, benzoin-tinged oud.  The oud does not feel “barnyard” but is instead clean.  The initial impact to my olfactory senses had me wondering whether I had over-sprayed at a simple 2 sprays per wrist.  There is a deep, rich smokiness to the notes that rise up.  After the first impressions of Oud have surrounded you, about 30 minutes in, the boldness softens.  It is at this point that the fragrance takes on its complexity. When I think of cashmere, I think of a soft and comforting tactile experience.  It’s a sensory experience that one w...

Memo Paris - Luxor Oud Ah, what can I say about the very first oud that stole my heart?  Luxor Oud is considered an oriental but, as I’m not one for industry labels, I consider it a fruity floral oud.  Luxor Oud is supposed to take the wearer on a journey to Luxor and for me it does just that.  Of course, sadly not having been to Luxor yet, I can only imagine in my mind’s eye what it must be like.  The opening of this fragrance, with its bright mandarin and subtle berry gives me the feeling of the warmth of the desert sun.  There is a reverence to this fragrance carried by a delicately sweetened rose; like temple flowers.  There is a royalty to the fragrance brought to us through notes of patchouli and oud.  The marriage of rose and oud is as old as the ancient civilization it honors.  The often harshness of oud has been tempered with tonka bean.  A slight resinous ambery spice wafts through the base courtesy of the styrax. Luxor...

Dua Fragrances: Honey Havane Honey Havane was a blind buy for me.  I was intrigued by the notes in this oriental vanilla scent.  Honey Havane opens with an absolutely beautiful, rich vanilla honey.  The honey is sweet but not overly sweet.  To my nose, it’s the cleanest and loveliest honey I’ve smelled in a fragrance.  If Winnie the Pooh were here there’d be no keeping this one safe! The gourmand honey gains a complexity by the addition of tobacco leaf.  The tobacco is present just enough that you know it’s there but not so much that you feel this fragrance is “about” tobacco.  The tobacco is a lovely green tobacco.  The base of this fragrance is comprised of a woody-musky-amber.  These notes also light and clean.  During the drydown, the spices, oud, musk and amber become more noticeable but the honey never disappears – it simply becomes lighter.  I get about 7 hours of wear from Honey Havane with a moderate projection whi...