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 feeling of a gentle caress. As Mood w

Jo Loves – Pomelo Pomelo is a citrus fragrance from Jo Loves that is much more than simply citrus and is the perfumer’s signature scent.   The fragrance has the “Jo Malone” touch all over it and, if you’re a fan of or familiar with her scents, you’ll understand that nuance she has as a perfumer.   For those not familiar, the best way I can describe it is that she has a certain knack for taking a primary note or notes and blending them with other notes in such a way that the “star” note is front and center and then transforms into more than the sum of the parts. With Pomelo the opening is zesty, effervescent, and fresh.   I get a burst of citric pomelo at first whiff.   This is a fresh from the orchard grapefruit zing.   Within about fifteen minutes, the almost pure citrus begins its transformation.   I get hints of a full-bodied rose just behind and beginning to soften and round the opening.   It feels very similar to an old masters painting of a bowl of fruit with a rose bou

Lilee Fragrance Studio – Haiku 575 EDP Soft citric tea blend Fragrant Japanese garden Meditative thoughts Haiku 575 is another fragrance in the line of releases for the new brand, Lilee Fragrance Studio.    Haiku wears on me with soft moving to skin scent projection for roughly 6 – 7 hours. Notes: green tea, citrus, rice, floral notes, earthy notes *Search my blog by brand name to find my other reviews!

Lilee Fragrance Studio – Iris Nights EDP I want to share with you some fragrances from the brand new fragrance brand – Lilee Fragrance Studio.   The brand was started by a Facebook friend of mine, Robert Hunt, who I met through an online fragrance group.   Iris Nights (“Iris”) is the first fragrance I’ll be reviewing.   With Iris Nights, the brand introduces the fragrance by setting the scene: “The vision is of a woman of quiet sophistication sitting by the warmth of the fire, sipping fine cognac with aromatic scent of a floral bouquet by her side.”   Iris opens with a soft citrus white floral.   The citrus is present enough to add brightness and elevation to the floral without becoming “fruity” in any way.   The opening floral accord is reminiscent of a bouquet of fresh picked white flowers from the garden.   They are clean and light with just a hint of green freshness.   As Iris wear, I get a soft, powdery iris that comes forward.   The iris has that classic soft dampness t

Commodity – Nectar Nectar is a release from Commodity in their White Collection.   The fragrance wears on me as a fresh fruity floral/aromatic fruity. When I received my sample of Nectar, I wasn’t sure what to expect.   Nectar may be used to describe things in different contexts.   With Commodity’s Nectar, I find the name both describes the nectar of a juicy fruit as well as the nectar found in floral blossoms. Nectar opens as a bright citrus with touches of neroli.   There is a sunny brightness to the opening and I find that the pomelo and tangerine are evenly balanced.   As Nectar wears, I get a bitter neroli that adds the “flavor” of what feels like a citrus rind.     There is a light honeysuckle that adds a touch of sweetness and lends itself to brighten, almost adding a sunny disposition, to the fragrance.   At roughly 2 hours into wear, there is a background of cedarwood.   The cedar is distant and faint.   More prominent is the musk and hay-like vetiver.   The

Montale - Vanilla Cake EDP Vanilla Cake was launched by Montale in 2018.   It is classified as an oriental vanilla but it's more clearly a gourmand. So, lets’ start out this week on a sweet note with a little silliness.   Let’s talk about cake.   Vanilla cake.   Deep, rich, buttery yellow cake.   It’s quite possible you’re 5 again and at a birthday party.   Oh and there’s that cake.   The cake has just been baked and frosted.   Cake!   You get that strong whiff of vanilla batter that just risen into the most delectable, moist cake there is.   And frosting.   Frosting whipped and piled high full of decadent vanilla goodness.   Sure, there is a slight creamy almond and a soft twist of caramel, perhaps served on the side as garnish, but this is all about the cake.   Did I mention there’s cake?! Vanilla Cake wears on me for about 9 hours with soft projection. Notes: Almond powder, butter cream, milky mousse, caramel, yogurt cake, meringue, vanilla

Maria Christofilis - Fleur 09 It really isn’t a big stretch of the imagination to know that Fleur 09 (“Fleur”) is a floral.   What does, however, strike at the imagination is how this fragrance came to be and how and why it was released in 2014. If you’ve followed my fragrance blog, you know that I adore it when a fragrance tells a story.   With Fleur, the story is more about the fragrance’s genesis than the fragrance wear.   As the story goes, this fragrance was first created by master perfumer Rodrigo Flores-Roux of the Swiss fragrance house Givaudan as a personal gift to Maria Christofilis.   Can you imagine such a gift!   Anyway, the story continues that Christofilis quickly fell in love with the fragrance and “the more she realized it was a treasure to be shared”.   Her generosity is our benefit. Fleur is a glorious symphony of white florals with just a touch of vanilla bean absolute and benzoin tears extract to round out the composition with a light vanilla base tha

Kilian - Moonlight in Heaven Moonlight In Heaven (“Moonlight”) is described as an aromatic although in my opinion it has strong similarities with fruity florals.   It was released in 2016.   What is moonlight in heaven?   I ask as the answer to this question would be different for different people and, being the backdrop for this fragrance story, the answers bear relevance to the wearer’s expectations.   Of course here we know the fragrance inspiration since the brand tells us: “A dazzling beam of pearlized light dances on the oceans belly, witnessed by two lovers who watch from a balcony draped in floating white opaque gauze that seems alive, responding to a warm wind that blows. The lovers, high above the world to almost touch the stars, with full hearts and bodies light as air.”   This would not be my answer to the question but then, the fragrance is not my story to tell. So before we even begin our wear, we know that this fragrance will hint of ocean and warmth and per