Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

DedCool – Madonna (Lilly) Madonna (Lilly) (“Madonna”) is one of the new releases in the DedCool Series 2.   She wears on me as a woody spicy fragrance. Madonna opens with a spicy burst of black pepper coupled with hints of citrus.   There is an interesting warmth and freshness to the opening.   About 15 minutes into wear, the black pepper recedes slightly and the fragrance takes on a creamy quality.   Roughly 2 hours into wear, I begin to get notes of a delicately resinous amber and woody notes.   Madonna is distinctly interesting at this point in wear.   She is warm without being too spicy, she is comforting while being complex. Madonna’s drydown brings further complexity.   A light white floral perhaps? A new rush of creamy citrus? A delicate spiced wood?   Yes on all accounts.   Yet even with the development of each note, the fragrance retains on course with an even balance. Madonna wears on me with moderate projectio...

DedCool – Ivy Blanc EDP Ivy Blanc (“Ivy”) is a new release from DedCool and is part of the Series 2 Collection.   On me, it wears like a woody spicy fragrance. When Ivy first opens, I get a brief, bright, leaf-like note.   Very soon after, I get a stunning pink pepper that is tempered by a smooth and rich sandalwood.   There is a cedar-like woodiness to the accord. At about the one hour mark, I get a warm, slightly resinous amber and a hay-like note.   The amber seems to float with a white smoky incense.   The fragrance does not turn dark but instead, remains cozy and comfortable with a note of bergamot that elevates the fragrance without transforming it into a floral. There is a warmth and depth to Ivy that takes me to the woods in the very best way.   The scent reminds me of Fall without having the traditional pumpkin or Fall-spice notes.   Ivy Blanc wears on me with soft projection for roughly 8 hours. Notes: Top: Pink Pepp...

Nest Fragrances – Cocoa Woods EDP Cocoa Woods is a new release (2018) from Nest.   It is a woody spicy fragrance with hints of being a gourmand.   The best way for me to describe Cocoa Woods is as an analogous tale.   The images of the story of Little Red Riding Hood immediately came to my mind as I was wear-testing this fragrance. As Cocoa Woods opens, we have Little Red Riding Hood on her way to visit Grandma.   She is carrying a basket full of luscious goodies.   The goodies are all, still warm, rich cocoa cookies.   The smell of the Dutch bittersweet cocoa fills the air as she walks on. As Little Red Riding Hood continues on her way, she passes some lovely white flowers springing up along the path.   She stops and gets a quick whiff of the flowers (which have a creamy, lightly spiced coconut tinge to them).   Little Red cannot pause too long as the scrumptious smell of her cookies has beckoned a wolf from deep inside the forest. ...

Kilian – Boys EDP Kilian just released their new collection My Kind of Love.   The collection consists of four fragrances.   Boys, is a spicy woody fragrance from the collection.   The collection has a slightly different audience than I feel had been the brand’s main target.   While I feel that the brand’s packaging has always been interesting and “on theme”, with My Kind of Love, the bottles and advertising feel more millennial or Gen Z to me than prior collections. With this collection, Kilian Hennessy says, "I wanted this collection to have the multi-layered notes and accords that I’m known for, but built around a key ingredient that’s unusual, surprising, and instantly recognizable."   For Boys, the key note is cola which Kilian recreates with notes of nutmeg, cinnamon, and lime.   It is this cola note that is instantly recognizable on first spray. While Boys opens with a fresh, sparkling cola note, that note quickly takes on a citric twis...

Parfums de Marly - Herod Herod is the 7 th fragrance from Parfums de Marly.   It is a complex woody spicy offering. The fragrance opens with a breathtaking spicy tobacco leaf.   The opening spice reads more of an exotic light cinnamon on me and the tobacco leaf is beautiful and crisp.   There is a sophisticated warmth to the initial presentation.   As Herod wears, a peppery note comes forward.   The note adds more spice to the fragrance but does not become overwhelming.   A soft woodiness also becomes present.   At this point in wear, about two hours, the wood is indistinguishable as a specific note.   Trails of smoky vanilla are also making themselves known.   It is the addition of incense that lends the smokiness to the vanilla both making the vanilla not take on a gourmand feel and also adding depth and mystery to the overall scent. At roughly four hours into wear, I get more of a defined cedar note.   The smoky van...

Diptyque - Tam Dao EDP Tam Dao is an older floral woody musk offering from Diptyque.  Before I begin my review, I do want to share that this fragrance wears more like a slightly spicy, creamy, woody fragrance on me. In the opening, Tam Dao exudes a creamy, slightly spicy woody feel.  I get a deep cedar lightened by a creamy sandalwood.  The cedar and sandalwood are both moderate in intensity.  There is a slight spice that lays against a lush cypress.  Said to evoke “memories of Asia”, you can clearly sense the jungle vibe to the notes. As the fragrance continues to develop, a resinous amber in softer tones comes forward as does a clean, light, warm musk.  These notes add a feel of sunny warmth shining into the density of the jungle growth.  Finally, in the drydown, rosewood intensifies the woodiness of the fragrance.  There is an earthiness to the rosewood and subtle hints of floral (not distinguishable as a specific floral note). ...

House of Matriarch - Sacre Noir Sacre Noir is the second collaboration between perfumer Christi Meshell and Joseph Sagona, my dear friend and fellow fragrance blogger.  (Sacre Noir comes on the heels of their previous collaboration, The Longing.  You can read my review of The Longing at: http://bit.ly/2k9H4im ).  I was anxious to try this fragrance as I knew, based on pre-release information, that this fragrance would contain many unique notes and was curious to see how the perfumer would create this Winter tribute to The Holly King.  Ms. Meshell has the rare talent of being able to blend complex, multiple, and unique notes seamlessly so I was extremely hopeful I would enjoy the result.  Sacre Noir opens with a chilly walk into the forest in the heart of Winter.  It is here in the first moments of wear that the perfumer is hinting at where our journey will be taking us.  There is a slightly sweetened citrus laying at the base of snowy evergree...

Gallivant Perfumes – Berlin (Blogger’s Note – Please see my review of Gallivant Brooklyn for brand background and concept.) Having enjoyed the sites in Brooklyn, NY courtesy of Gallivant, I have headed out to JFK airport to catch a flight.  I am stamping my passport this morning to travel overseas to Berlin.  I was curious to see what this urban landscape had to offer me.  Berlin is a woody spicy fragrance with citrus notes.  Yes, citrus.  The fragrance actually opens with a bright and sunny citrus filled with Clementine and lemon with touches of grapefruit.  The opening is gorgeous but I admit I didn’t understand it until I did a little digging about the city.  How lovely that the city has multiple lakeside vacation destination spots (obviously convenient for locals) for Summer swimming!  (*Note the Telegraph did a fantastic article on these spots back on July 13, 2015.)  In its opening Berlin captures the lighthearted, carefree s...

Eris Parfums - Mx. Earlier this year, Eris Parfums released the fragrance Mx., a woody spicy offering.  I was fortunate enough to have Nir Guy of Perfumology (King of Prussia, PA) send me a sample of this gem.  Can you tell where this review is headed?  Here’s another clue – I ordered a full bottle the day after I first tested it. The creative and intellectual concept behind this fragrance is the interplay between traditionally feminine and masculine notes (although it should be noted this juice contains no florals) in celebration of  “gender neutral” in the fragrance community.  If you’re a member of any fragrance group, I’m sure you’ve seen over and over the comment that scent is and should be genderless.  The global trend to more acceptance of gender-neutrality is something the fragrance community has embraced for some time.  As further evidence of this stance, this juice is simply titled Mx.; the accepted gender neutral title. Mx. open...

January Scent Project – Vaporocindro The notion that art imitates life is as old as Aristotle (the notion of an inherent memetic nature) and yet it has been conversely proffered that life imitates art.  With Vaporocindro, I would argue that that the perfumer, John Biebel (an artist himself) has managed to demonstrate that both art and life are inextricably bound together. Vaporocindro opens with a gorgeous, airy lilac laid over a fresh green leaf.  I sense much of the same soaring upward green that he gave us in his juice Eiderantler.  There is a crispness to the lilac/green that I can only assume comes from the apple; although the apple is not detectable as an individual note to my nose.  There is a delicately handed hint of turmeric and black pepper spice that serves to warm the juice without becoming overbearing; though you know you smell spices.  With the opening, I get the beginning hints of a warm, rich, old mahogany with teases with a touch of leathe...

Jo Malone London - English Oak & Hazelnut I’ve been testing this fragrance for the past 2 days.  I want to extend my thanks to Dean Farris, Beauty Product Specialist/Jo Malone London, from Neiman Marcus for his gracious offer to send me the sample. When I first heard about this fragrance, all of the buzz was about the three primary notes: hazelnut, cedar, and oak.  Based on that, I anticipated this fragrance to have a warm nutty hazelnut top, a rich cedar middle, and a woody base.  I was wrong. English Oak & Hazelnut opens with a bright green hazelnut paired with vetiver.  There is a crisp, slight grassiness to it with a touch of lemon earthiness.  Vetiver is one of my favorite notes in fragrance so its early appearance was a pleasant surprise to me.  About 30 minutes into wear, the elemi adds a touch more lemon and a peppery spice.  An hour and a half into wear I get a touch of green and a stunning roasted oak.  The oak is ri...

Berdous: Arz-el-rab Arz-el-rab is classified as a woody spicy fragrance on Fragrantica. It is by far my favorite Berdoues of the coffret thus far. It is a glorious ode to cedar laid down in fragrance (without making you smell like an old wardrobe!). On initial spray I get a stunning, smooth cedar laced with a citrusy ginger; the cedar and ginger share the spotlight. As the juice wear, the ginger loses some of it's citrus slant and picks up more of a spicy vibe. The iris is mild in this fragrance and does not have the sometimes lipstick or powder components that sometimes iris carries in fragrance. The iris in Arz-el-rab is more of a soft, sweet violet note. There is slightly more projection in this fragrance than the others I've reviewed. "Arz El-Rab are the legendary cedar forests of Mount Lebanon described as the "forest of God". Ginger from China, iris from Morocco, and Virginian cedar offer the best of their personalities for a deep, intense impression....