Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

House of Matriarch – Ambre Vie Ambre Vie is an oriental amber-based offering from the House of Matriarch.  Initially created in 2012, vintage bottles will begin shipping on February 20, 2018.  Before I get into the nuts and bolts of this review, I want to touch briefly on my thoughts about the perfumer, Christi Meshell and her approach to perfumery in general.  Meshell is one of those perfumers that in my opinion has a unique knack of taking multiple, complex notes and seamlessly blending them into a fragrance where the sum is even greater than all the multiple parts.  In the instance of Ambre Vie, it is said that, “More than one hundred different aromatics comprise this silky amber perfume.”  Often combining certain notes and certainly in the numerical quantity Meshell does them in can go terribly, horribly wrong.  I don’t know what her secret is, magic perhaps, but experiencing her fragrances is truly a joy. On me, Ambre Vie feels like a flor...

DKNY - Nectar Love EDP Nectar Love (“Nectar”) was released by DKNY in 2017.  Fragrantica classified it as an oriental floral but to me, it’s more of a fruity floral on wear. Nectar opens with a bright and sunny freesia-mandarin burst.  The freesia smells clean and bright and blossoming.  The mandarin is sweet and juicy.  There is a delicate sweetness of honeycomb.  As you breathe in, you sense the sun’s rays beaming down and warming the fruity floral. With its development, Nectar adds a light note of jasmine coupled with lily of the valley.  The lily comes slightly more forward than the jasmine.  The fruit accord is built upon by a ripened, also juicy, plum note.  As Nectar begins to dry down, the fruity florals are joined by a touch vanilla.  The honey seems to come slightly more forward and the fruity notes recede.  The sweetness is tempered a bit by a light woody note and a hint of musk.  Nectar wears on me wit...

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...

Solstice Scents - Cocoa Absolute Mea culpa.  I’ve had my sample of this fragrance for some time but have just gotten around to test it.  Sadly, I think it’s no longer available from the brand.  I considered not doing a review but decided to do a quick one in case the brand brings it back (and I hope they will). This is a fairly easy fragrance to do a quick take on as it is a singular note scent.  In many cases, brands will introduce a fragrance which they will call “chocolate” or “cocoa” and somehow it seems to go wrong; often that chocolate note can read as plastic-like on the skin.  This is not the case with Cocoa Absolute.  It is pure unadulterated goodness.  On initial sniff, I get a cocoa powder layered hot chocolate.  It is the divine scent of a lovely hot chocolate warming the soul on a cold Winter’s day.  The powdery cocoa seems to fade and the scent becomes and wears as a delicious rich, chocolate.  There is a gentl...

Kiss My Sass - Sucre Noir For my blog, I like to test and review fragrances from every place in the fragrance world: Mainstream, Indie, Niche, High End/Luxury – there are a number of descriptives and many fragrances cross between categories.  Recently there’s been some discussion in the fragcomm about what each group of fragrance is defined as.  For me, while there is some relevance as to where a particular fragrance may fit, at the end of the day my personal feeling is that fragrance is for everyone.  There is a price point and a creative philosophy behind fragrances that everyone can find their own happy place with.  Sucre Noir is an offering from an Indie brand, Kiss My Sass, out of Pennsylvania.  I purchased this fragrance, along with a cosmetic order, because I was curious as to how the brand approached scent.  Often, Indie brands offer unique variations of fragrance that you simply do not see replicated in the Mainstream. Sucre Noir wears...

Il Profvmo - Chocolat EDP Chocolat is an oriental vanilla fragrance and (spoilers), while the name of the fragrance is Chocolat, it has no semblance of a gourmand or a strong chocolate note(s) on me. This perfume wears in a fairly linear way on me with the exception of the drydown.  I get a soft, lightly spiced, slightly fruity, floral blend with a vanilla base.  The tangerine melds with the plum in this fragrance so as not to become citric yet it does impart a warmth when combined with the nutmeg.  There is a creamy quality to the fragrance which tends to lean more strongly floral than fruity or vanilla on me.  Jasmine and rose are tinged with the fruits and there is a somewhat biting acid that is tempered by an overlay of powder.  A dry chocolate-cocoa appears for me as the scent begins to dry down.  In the drydown the fragrance becomes softer and more powdery. Notes:  tangerine, galbanum, nutmeg, sandalwood, plum, jasmine, rose, cacao, ...

Juliette Has A Gun - Anyway EDP I often research fragrances on both the House website and on Fragrantica before writing a review.  Like with reading any review, doing so gives me a chance to consider what the brand may be trying to accomplish with the fragrance and also to which category Fragrantica classifies it.  I then compare any brand stated purpose of a fragrance with whether or not I feel the fragrance achieves the goal.  I also consider whether or not I feel a fragrance wears on me as the type of fragrance Fragrantica has it classified as. In investigating Anyway, Fragrantica has the fragrance classified as a floral woody musk.  The brand, however, has designated Anyway as a floral citrus.  So, and spoilers here, I am inclined to agree with the brand classification based on the overall wear of Anyway on my skin.  I would note here that both the brand site and Fragrantica state that 15 notes comprise this fragrance; neither list all 15....

Mugler - Alien EDP Coming a lucky 13 years after the release of Angel, Thierry Mugler released the oriental woody, Alien (2005).  Alien for me is one of those fragrances I thought I had tried but never did.  So, being the fraghead that I am (also not sure I really like that term), I decided to rectify my omission. Alien is a fairly linear fragrance on me but in no way does that diminish its beauty.  It’s simplistic composition of jasmine, woody notes, and white amber belies the complexity of its wear.  The notes, each handled with skillful artistry, seem to swirl and dance with each other creating a spellbinding scent.  The jasmine is a gorgeous, bright, fresh, blooming floral which has enough restraint that it never becomes overpowering.  There is a soft sweetness to the floral without becoming cloying.  Woody notes blend seamlessly with the warmth of white amber creating both a heart and base that embraces and enraptures. Alien is not a ...

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). ...

Burberry - My Burberry Black EDT My Burberry Black (“Black”) is an oriental floral fragrance from Burberry.  If you’ve tried the original My Burberry, you will find echoes of it in Black.  Black seems to take the original and add more depth and warmth to it. Black opens with a ripened, somewhat sweet, dripping peach nectar and a tempered jasmine.  A resinous and warm amber wraps around the peachy floral giving the fragrance that familiar oriental vibe.  After about an hour into wear, the candied roses begin to blend into the scent.  The rose isn’t a fresh blooming rose but instead almost an essence of rose.  It’s as if a delicate aura of rose floats softly into Black.  Patchouli begins to appear at about the 2 ½ to 3 hour mark.  While it is a clean patchouli, the addition of the note seems to add almost a boozy quality to the fragrance.  Black does not go off the rails though and, while each note is identifiable, they blend seamlessl...