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 fe...

DUA Fragrances - Wood & Cognac Wood and Cognac.   The two words together bring to mind a pensive gentleman in his study.   The image is old world.   It’s an image of cultured elegance. With Wood & Cognac, DUA Fragrances brings us a refined woody fragrance.   The opening is a complex, deep, boozy wood.   As you breathe in, the wood panels of the study come alive.   There is a light, green rose that drifts through the composition intricately mingled with the wood and cognac.   As this fragrance wears, it takes on additional complexity; a touch of dark cocoa, a warm creamy sandalwood – all the while the boozy wood remains in the forefront.   The perfumer gives us additional notes to create interest and complexity with this fragrance, but at no point do they surpass the boozy woody notes.   Wood & Cognac is about its namesake throughout the wear.   Wood & Cognac wears on me for roughly 11 hours with heavy moving...

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...

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...

Solstice Scents - Black Forest Perfume Oil Black Forest opens as the absolutely most delectable black forest cake.  I get a rich, deep, chocolate, and luscious cherries.  The scent is so true to life I can almost taste the sticky sweetness of the cherries oozing down the side of my slice of cake.  And, just as I am about to raid the fridge looking for something I’m sure I won’t find, the fragrance begins to change. The gourmand notes begin to fade (although never completely) and a deep woody tobacco begins to rise.  From the edges of the bakery shop I am taken to Baden-Wurttemberg and somewhere within the Black Forest.  I am high in the mountains and surrounded by a dense stand of trees and lush vegetation.  After another hour or so, the deep rich wood note begins to dry as if the seasons had begun to change.  The hay absolute coupled with the remaining tobacco afford the scent an almost Fall-like quality.  For the remaining wear, th...

House of Matriarch: The Longing ( Christi Meshell  and  Joseph Sagona ) Anyone who knows me, even in passing, knows I am rarely at a loss for words. I have always had the good fortune of being able to muster up words for any situation whether it be personal or professional; in fact, I have been a sort of a wordsmith for most of my professional life. So finding myself in this situation, well, you will have to bear with me as a stumble reaching for just the right phrases. How can I accurately describe this fragrance which for me evokes a reaction; one that became part of the human condition thousands of years ago? In the beginning of recorded time and even before, humans sought answers for things they didn’t understand. They created rituals and symbols and later organized religions. We sought to define what was holy, what was sacred. And with the notion of that which was sacred came a counterpoint of that which was profane. Neither the brand description “The Longing is an...