Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

Ellis Brooklyn – Fawn EDP With Memorial Day being the “unofficial start of Summer” yet the weather having been persistent rain, I was craving a Summer scent.   Based on its notes, Fawn fit the bill. Fawn opens with a sunny, bright, citrus floral tempered with a creamy, milky note.   The effect is reminiscent of warm Summer days, sitting by the ocean, eating a Creamsicle.   There is sweetness to the accord but it is a delicate sweetness.   The initial wear of Fawn is full of joyful childhood memories. As Fawn wears, notes of rose, magnolia, and lily of the valley enter.   The rose is slightly jammy and soft.   The magnolia is lush and blooming.   The lily of the valley is fresh and somewhat green.   These florals add complexity to the fragrance and enrich the opening floral notes into a bouquet.   As Fawn begins her dry down a white musk is present along with a semi-sweet powdery vanilla.   The fragrance is now laying close to the skin and bears an flirtatious intimacy to

Mirus Fine Fragrance - Ceremony Parfum Extrait If you love oud, or just want to try a good oud-based fragrance, Ceremony is a great place to start.   Nominated for an Art & Olfaction Award in the Artisan category (2017), this woody aromatic hits all the right notes (pun intended).   Oud can be a challenging note for Westerners but I find the blending of notes in this scent to be divine. When Ceremony opens there is no doubt you are going to be experiencing an oud fragrance.   The oud is deep and rich.   There is almost a plushness to it.   It is soon joined by a refreshing light fruity magnolia.   The magnolia adds a clean, lightness to the otherwise very heavy wood note.   As the fragrance wears, swirls of dripping tobacco add complexity.   The tobacco is much like a dried leaf tobacco and there is an air of sweetness to it. At roughly four hours of wear, the complexity of Ceremony is advanced with a soft jasmine that gently wafts in.     The jasmine is handled with

KKW Fragrance - Crystal Gardenia Crystal Gardenia (“Crystal”) is a floral woody musk fragrance released last year (2017).   After having purchased the newest scent, KKW Body, I was curious to track back and try some of the other brand fragrances (see Writer’s Note below review).   Unlike the controversial bottle of KKW Body, Crystal’s bottle is, well, shaped like a crystal.   The bottle is well made and quite heavy.   It is somewhat difficult to store due to the size. Crystal opens with a sparkling, sweet, bright, juicy pear.   There is a joyous effervescence to the opening that is soon joined by the other notes in this fragrance.   Not long after the first whiff, the pear is joined by the trio of white florals which help comprise Crystal.   After its namesake, Crystal’s most prominent floral is gardenia.   The gardenia is clean and heady.   The tuberose is treated well and does not take on the often “screechiness” that tuberose can in fragrance.   It blends well with

Arno Soreal Paris Solinotes - Vanille EDP Vanille is an aromatic fragrance created with the purpose of wearing on its own or layered with other Solinotes (or other brand) fragrances to create your own personal combination. Vanille wears in a linear way from beginning to end.   The blend of notes creates a delicious soft, sweet, bakery-like vanilla scent.   There is a tempting sweetness to this vanilla that any gourmand-lover should appreciate.   There is at one time a light powdery feel to the vanilla and at the same time a creaminess.   Vanille feels very much like a hug or snuggle of vanilla.   Vanille wears on me for roughly 5 hours with moderate moving to soft projection. Notes: Vanilla, White Flowers, Tonka Bean, White spices Ingredients:   Alcohol Denat , Aqua , Parfum , Octocrylene, Homosalate, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Tocopherol, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Citronellol, Eugenol, Geraniol,

Twisted Wonderland Perfumery - Never Sleep Again (Perfume Oil) Never Sleep Again (“Never Sleep”) is the second Twisted Wonderland fragrances I’ve tested.   (You can read my review of What’s In The Hookah here: https://binxcat4ever.blogspot.com/2018/05/twisted-wonderland-perfumery-whats-in.html ).   Never Sleep is very different from What’s In The Hookah but no less enjoyable. I selected Never Sleep to test based on the notes.   Oh, I a am a fan off coffee in fragrance!   Combined with the touch of vanilla and dark chocolate, Never Sleep is a gourmand lover’s delight.   While Never Sleep is a “what you see is what you get” scent, the lack of development is not a flaw.   From the initial whiff, I get a gorgeous, lush coffee.   It is a dark roast and freshly ground.   The bit of vanilla adds just the right amount of light sweetness.   The dark chocolate compliments the coffee and vanilla in an almost bakery frosting kind of way.   It’s almost as if you’ve taken the very best tir

Nest Fragrances - Wisteria Blue Launched this year (2018), Wisteria Blue (“Wisteria”) is a new offering from Nest Fragrances.   The fragrance is a floral aquatic and was inspired by the Founder and CEO’s (Laura Slatkin) appreciation for the wisteria trees she saw growing up in the south and was recently reminded up during a historic homes tour in Charleston, SC.   On me, this fragrance is all about the lightness and beauty of wisteria.   It is not a fragrance that has much development on wear, although at times a note does come forward for a bit and then recede.   Instead, it is more like an experience of being the delicate, draping wisteria blooms. There is a gentle light airiness to this fragrance.   The wisteria comes across as being very real.   The jasmine and rose float along with the wisteria creating a sense of Southern comfort.   The aquatic notes add a fluidity to the fragrance and, in that place and time, seem to add a lazy drawl.     You could easily be sittin

Imaginary Authors - Slow Explosions As many of you know, Imaginary Authors is known for stories and fragrance that go hand in hand.   Slow Explosions (“Explosions”) is an oriental fragrance released in 2016 that tells the story of a life reimagined.   (See brand story below review.) Explosions opens with that quintessential saffron note; it is an edgy, raw, and rubbery.   A ccompanying the saffron is an equally bold leather.   The leather and saffron seem to combine to give the essence of an oud or woody note.   There is nothing “slow” about the opening of Explosions.   After the initial notes make their appearance in the opening, they are closely followed by a hint of apple.   The apple is juicy, tart, and sweet but somehow seemingly just beyond reach.   As Explosions wears I get a light, warm rose that seems to waft across the fragrance.   It is here in the wear that the fragrance takes on a mesmerizing smokiness from the benzoin.   The leather, smoke, light fruity flor

Alexandria Fragrances - Sweet Revenge Launched in 2017, Sweet Revenge (“Revenge”) wears on me as an oriental woody vanilla.   The name of the fragrance seems appropriate.   While the notes are filled with ones typical of an angelic, sweet gourmand, there is a spicy woodiness to the wear that shows a slightly devilish side. Revenge opens with a spicy vanilla.   The vanilla is not overly sweet or cloying on me.   In the beginning of wear Alexandria adds a lot of depth to the traditional vanilla-based fragrance with woodsy notes.   The first hour of wear is a rich, warm, spiced vanilla wood journey.   As Revenge continues to wear, the fragrance takes on a slight feel of pipe tobacco on me.   I get a deeper, creamier spiced vanilla and a burnt sugar much like the top of a creme brulee.   It is a lightly powdered white chocolate which softens and adds creaminess to the fragrance but does not overly sweeten it. Revenge dries down to an exquisite softly projecting skin scent

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 drydown, Noire softens, the spice cool

Kiss My Sass Cosmetics – Rainforest Fairies (perfume oil) In the March 2018 release of Rainforest Fairies (“Rainforest”), Kiss My Sass gives us a vision of the fairy world secreted deep inside a rainforest.   Rainforest opens with a tart and juicy blackberry paired with a lightly dirty patchouli.   There is an immediate sense of deep, dark, rich depth and lushness.   You can feel the loam under your feet while all around you, life springs in abundance.   Entering into the mix come moss and fern.   They add a further damp greenness to the woody points in the fragrance.   The wet notes do not hold Rainforest down; they are coupled with a lightly sweet and creamy vanilla which serves to add an ethereal quality.   There is a play between extremes and yet the duality of the fragrance does not inhibit its beauty.   In the drydown, whispers of jasmine appear as each of the other notes soften into the background. Rainforest wears on me for roughly 9 hours with soft projection

Acqua di Parma - Colonia Pura Launched in 2017, Colognia Pura (“Pura”) is a floral woody musk.   Pura opens with what I consider to be the classic bergamot – orange opening we get from many of the brand’s fragrances.   The citrus is bright and crisp.   The opening riff does not linger long before it is joined by an almost barbershop detergent soapiness and a sharp coriander.   I get a sense of aldehydes although there are none listed in the notes. As Pura wears, the often heady jasmine sambac and narcissus appear.   Instead of their typical bold entry, they seem softened and somewhat green.   The soapiness continues with a bit of a metallic turn to the composition.   Rounding out Pura is a light woody musk with only background hints of patchouli.   These notes warm the fragrance and carry it through the dry down. Pura wears on me with moderate projection for roughly 8 hours. Notes: bergamot, orange, jasmine sambac, narcissus, coriander, patchouli, cedar, white mus

Parfums de Marly – Pegasus Following the tradition of naming their fragrances after winning thoroughbred horses, Pegasus (launched in 2011) is named after a winning 18 th century stallion.   You may also be familiar with the name Pegasus as the mythological God of all horses.   Pegasus is an oriental fougere.   The fragrance opens with a slightly sweet bergamot and heliotrope blend.   While these notes would tend to lead someone to believe this is a sweeter floral, it is not.   Within fifteen minutes, I get a large dose of bitter almond and cumin.   The bitter almond and cumin add a very spicy, somewhat hot and sweaty feel to the opening.   There is a sharpness to the bitter almond.   Yet even with the addition of these notes, the scent retains a moderate powdery feel to it. As Pegasus wears, I get the fougere traditional lavender.   The note is clear and classic to the genre.   There is just a light touch of jasmine that seems to lurk in the background – never quite com

KKW Fragrance - KKW Body I’ve never really thought of myself as a rebel.   Sure, I’m a think-outside-the-box kind of girl but a rebel?   Not so much.   Still, I found myself feeling quite the rebel when I decided to purchase KKW Body (“KKW”).   Oh the bottle (cast as a miniature of Kim Kardashian West’s naked torso) created quite the stir in Fragcomm.   There were comparisons to the iconic Gaultier bottles although the KKW version is far more detailed.   And of course there were the expected comments about the Kardashians in general.   Sigh.   I don’t take well to bias, name calling, and other sorts of snobbery.   It was then I knew that the fragrance NEEDED a fair review in Fragcomm. So what about the fragrance?   It is not a beachy, tropical scent like many releases are this time of year.   Instead, on me, I find it to be a fruity floral musk.   KKW opens with a burst of bright, juicy, fresh picked fruits.   I get a lush, dripping peach accompanied by a delicate bergamot.

Twisted Wonderland Perfumery - What’s In The Hookah I enjoy supporting Indie and Niche brands of fragrance.   When I first heard about Twisted Wonderland Perfumery I felt an immediate connection to the brand name.   For me, and many others, fragrance is a means of expression.   It’s a way to express a moment, a mood, a personality.   It’s a way to transport yourself to a different place and time.   The brand name alone speaks to the child in us – full of excitement and wonder.   I took the advantage of placing an order for several samples.   What’s In The Hookah (“Hookah”) is the first I’ll be reviewing. Tobacco is a favorite note of mine and Hookah is all about the tobacco.   The fragrance opens with a glorious woody pipe tobacco.   It is so deep and full of life you can almost feel it swirling around you.   If you love the smell of pipe tobacco, this is one you will want to keep inhaling…slowly and deliberately.   As Hookah wears, I get a juicy, semi-sweet raspberry plump o

Comme des Garcons - 2 Man EDP 2 Man is a woody chypre that launched in 2004 by Comme des Garcons.   The House site simply says, “A worker, a man who loves his work.” The fragrance opens with an aldehyde-laden incense doused church-like feel.   There is a rolling spiced fruit.   As the fragrance wears, I get a soft iris covered in hay.   The fragrance itself is by no means soft, however.   The incense and smoky tones continue throughout.   The notes are joined by a freshly polished mahogany and rich, rough leather.   The fragrance is deep, comforting, heady, and decidedly masculine (assuming you assign gender to fragrance).   As 2 Man dries down, the woody note also dries and the incense takes on more of a soapy tone. 2 Man wears on me for roughly 9 hours with moderate projection. Notes:   aldehydes, nutmeg, caraway, kumquat, mint, iris, vetiver, saffron, leather, incense, mahogany Perfumer: Mark Buxton