Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

House of Matriarch – Woo Released in 2012, Woo is an oriental floral fragrance from the House of Matriarch. Woo opens with a floral-suede accord.   There is a salty marine vibe to the opening without actually being salty.   For me, it’s as if the essence of beachy skin has been captured and layered in with tropical flowers.   About an hour into wear, the initial notes settle a bit and a leafy, dried tobacco joins in.   There is a semi-sweet and smoky earthiness.   That nudges the scent into a dirty-sexy place.   A touch of vanilla bean seems to help round out and soften the tobacco and suede without coming near to being cloying. Woo wears on me with moderate projection for roughly 10 hours. Featured notes: exotic floral notes, sea notes, tobacco, leather, vanilla, ambergris Perfumer: Christi Meshell CRUELTY FREE VEGAN Photo Credit: House of Matriarch

Diptyque - Do Son EDT Do Son is a floral fragrance released by Diptyque in 2005.   For me, this fragrance is all about the tuberose. Do Son opens with a tempered tuberose.   Where the flower can often be loud and screechy, Do Son restrains it and it blossoms as a bright joyful slightly creamy note.   As Do Son wears, I get the addition of the other florals – most prominently rose and orange flower.   The rose and orange flower compliment the tuberose and add to its bouquet.   there is a “wetness” to the fragrance that feels almost tangible.   I also get a tiny bit of greenness and a floral echo that reads on me as a light jasmine.   Toward the very end of wear, I get hints of musk.   Combined with the florals, the musk adds more of a humid, tropical climate feel to the drydown. Do Son wears on me with soft projection for roughly 6 hours. Notes: Top: Tuberose Middle: Orange Tree Leaves, Roses, Benzoin and Iris Base: White Musk Perfumer: Fabrice Pellegrin

Montale Parfums Paris - Intense Tiare EDP Intense Tiare (“Tiare”) is an oriental floral fragrance that was released by Montale in 2005.   The fragrance celebrates the tiare flower; a member of the gardenia family. With Tiare, I don’t get a lot of development.   On me it’s one of those “what you smell is what you get” fragrances.   And what I get it a deep dive into a tropical vacation.   This one is truly intense.   It’s as if every note has been concentrated and then reflected back.   I get a lush, sweet, intense coconut paired with an equally intense blooming jasmine.   The pairing prevents Tiare from moving to gourmand territory.   The ylang-ylang and rose are present but in the background.   Vanilla adds interest to the fragrance.   The vanilla is more of a dry essence than a sweet note.   There is a creaminess to the scent as well.   The creamy element seems to add to the feeling of depth and the headiness overall.   Intense Tiare wears on me with heavy moving to mod

Kilian – Princess EDP Princess is a new release from Kilian and a part of the My Kind of Love Collection.  It is an oriental vanilla with a very familiar feel. As I noted in my review of Boys, this collection seems to be aimed at millennials or Gen Z.   The tagline for the fragrance, “I DON'T NEED A PRINCE BY MY SIDE TO BE A PRINCESS.” speaks to a defiance and a self-assurance of what Kilian sees as a “fierce female”.   Even in the brand’s description of this fragrance as being a “gourmand with a kick”, it’s easy to see the kind of vibe the brand was going for. So, getting back to my initial comment regarding familiarity – There’s a fairly linear wear with this fragrance on me.   It has reminiscences of Pink Sugar without being as boldly sweet.   It’s powdery sweet and initially smells exactly like a marshmallow.   It’s as if you’ve bought a bag to roast at a campfire and have just opened the bag; you get that powdery whiff that floats up into the air and into your

Karl Lagerfeld - Fleur de Mûrier EDP Fleur de Mûrier (“Fleur”) is the newest release from Lagerfeld in the Parfums Matières Collection.   It is a floriental and its release was accompanied by a fragrance for men, Bois de Yuzu.   I note here that when I received my fragrance, it was accompanied by GWP items from the new Karl Lagerfeld x Kaia Collection (shown in the pictures below). Fleur opens with fresh berry fruity notes.   I get both red currant and raspberry with the raspberry being slightly more prominent.   The fruit lingers for about 20 minutes with rich and delectable clarity and light sweetness before they are joined by florals. The use of mulberry flower and violet leaves is an interesting and more modern take on the floriental in my opinion.   This is not yesterday’s fragrance.   Instead, it captures the heart of a floriental while at the same time being fresh and enticing.   There is the same kind of provocative feel that you would expect from this genre.

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 Pepper, Sandalwood Middle: Oakmoss,

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.   Little Red senses the wolf is cre

Kenzo – Kenzo World EDP Released in 2016, Kenzo World (“World”) is a floral fragrance.   According to the brand art-directors, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, the collection “alludes to the force oft eh third eye and to spiritual protection from above”.   I find that you can really see that statement in play in the fragrance’s advertisement video (see link below). World opens with a semi-sweet fruity floral note.   The note is on the strong side and has a biting pineapple nectar quality to it.   The intensity of the initial opening pulls back a bit after roughly 30 minutes.   In pulling back, the fragrance takes on a soapy quality which is as a result of the Ambroxan. Ambroxen is one of those fragrance components that people with love or hate; much like notes of oud or rose.   In World, the Ambroxen is omnipresent.   While it serves to underscore the floral notes, it also adds a synthetic quality to the fragrance. In World, the peony and jasmine are both emboldened at r

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 twist on me.   It is bo