Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

Dame Perfumery - Cassis, Rose & Sandalwood Woman EDT Today’s review is about Dame Perfumery’s Cassis, Rose & Sandalwood (Cassis).  I’ve been testing this fragrance for three days since it contains a note, rose, that I’m not typically a fan of.  Before I begin my review, I would also like to thank the perfumer, Jeffrey Dame, for his quick response to my notes question.  I had reached out to the brand since the featured notes did not seem to align with either the notes I was perceiving or the notes as I’ve seen listed elsewhere. The fragrance itself seems on the surface that it might simply be a juice of cassis, rose, and sandalwood.  The brand site states, “Three elements neatly balanced for simple, clean and pure beauty.  A bright top note, a pretty floral heart and a warm sensual dry down, matched together and blended to perfection.”  So while the trio may be the stars of this fragrance, in actuality it is more complex. Cassis ope...

Dame Perfumery - Earth Mother Earth Mother.  The name conjures images in my mind that brings one back to the heyday of Haight-Ashbury.  It summons images of being one with Nature and yet being a force on its own.  In these respects, Earth Mother from Dame Perfumery lives up to the images. Earth Mother to me is all about the patchouli.  Sure enough we get the other notes but they all weave themselves around the star – patchouli.  The juice opens with a lemony, slightly herbal, caramel melting over a bold patchouli.  About an hour into wear notes of jasmine and lily bloom in quiet symphony with the earthy sweetness.  The florals bring a sensuality to the fragrance.   Creamy vanilla, resinous amber, and earthy musk round out the scent.  The patchouli wears throughout the journey.  There is a gentleness to the handling of these notes and I am forced to feel as if it’s the warm embrace of Earth itself.  Earth Mother wea...

Dame Perfumery - Citrus Man Cologne Citrus Man Cologne (“Citrus”) is, well, a citrus.  I couldn’t resist the obvious but really, it’s so much more. And while we’re dispensing with the “obvious”, while this is marketed as a fragrance for men, this can easily be worn by anyone. Citrus opens with…wait for it…citrus notes.  A bright, sparkling lemon-lime and grapefruit let you know this is going to be a cologne with a freshness.  Within about fifteen minutes, a gorgeous blossoming jasmine joins the citrus notes.  There is a lightness to the jasmine.  About another fifteen to thirty minutes into wear, Citrus is joined by a creamy woody musk.  If you’re familiar with the perfumer’s other fragrance, New Musk Man, this has the same musk vibe to it.  It’s not the musk of the 80s but instead a reinvented and more wearable reincarnation.  Citrus wears as a clean citrus creamy woody musk on me for roughly 5 – 6 hours with light projection. No...

Dame Perfumery - Dark Horse Have you ever sampled a fragrance and thought to yourself, “What in the world has taken me so long to try this, it’s fantastic?”  Well, that was literally my very first thought the moment I got my first whiff of Dark Horse.  Webster’s Dictionary define dark horse as “a usually little known contender (such as a racehorse) that makes an unexpectedly good showing”.  In the case of this fragrance, the name fits perfectly for me. Dark Horse is a floral woody musk, which for me tends to be a category of fragrance I tend to enjoy.  It opens with a cinnamon spiced bergamot with a light lemon twist.  The spice is tempered so it brings out the very best in the other two notes; the bergamot is the more predominant.  In the development of this juice the floral notes are enhanced with jasmine, carnation, and rose.  The jasmine seems to take a front seat for me with the carnation and rose being more subtle.  A gorgeous clove...

Dame Perfumery: SOLIFLORE Honeysuckle Remember when you were a kid and you'd go outside with your friends on a pretty Spring day? The sun was shining, the breeze was light, and the honeysuckle was in bloom. You and your friends would gather the honeysuckle blossoms so you could get the sweet nectar inside. That is Soliflore Honeysuckle. "A true floral, alive and in full bloom. Lifting off into the breeze, floating through the air; adrift in a garden of earthly delight. Pure perfume too perfect for this world." CRUELTY FREE

Dame Perfumery New Musk Man. I would agree with the card that came with my sample, this is "clean, subtle, and interesting". But unlike the card, I am unable to remain "calm, cool, and collected" about this juice. Jeffrey Dame , with this fragrance, you have created the single best musk fragrance I have ever had the opportunity to wear. If I had the means to arrange to order this by the gallon, I would. New Musk Man is not yesterday's musk that you may remember from your high school days; albeit maybe with some fond memories. This is a modern musk. The precise addition of the other accords elevates this beyond a simple musk scent. I get each of the notes together in a delicate balance while all the while knowing that a gorgeous musk is the star. This is a musk you want to keep sniffing; it's warm, it's soft, it's elegant. "A blend of lemon, plum, lily of the valley, jasmine, rose, vanilla, sandalwood, musk; but mostly musk." ...

Dame Perfumery: Monsoon I've often used the quote, "I'm not a girl, I'm a storm with skin" but tonight the quote is coming to life. Monsoon is a glorious homage to the monsoon season. At first you can feel the tension in the air as the storms begin to mount; the fragrance captures that quality of dampness you can feel in the air. Next I get the smell of the iris flower and orris root with just the slightest hint of jasmine. I get the smell of a soaked creosote bush - that lovely blooming desert yellow bud - along with a soft natural cedar. Monsoon is clearly an artist's interpretation of the rains in the desert Southwest. And tonight, I am the storm. "A blend of iris flower, orris root, jasmine, water lily, lily of the valley, creosote and cedar wood. For a woman or a man." CRUELTY FREE

Dame Perfumery: Chocolate Perfume Oil  I received my order after a long day of work and an even longer stress-filled week. When I opened the box I discovered some lovely extras. I had wanted to try the Chocolate Cologne but the sample size was temporarily out of stock when I placed my order so I was overjoyed to discover the Chocolate Oil inside. Of course, I immediately put some on. Ahhhhhhhhhhh - pure chocolate heaven. That blissful smell. If any of you in the US live close enough to have been to the Hershey Factory - you know that delicious chocolate aroma that wafts in. The chocolate factories have nothing on the Dame Chocolate Oil. Here's a warning for you though Mr. Dame - you may wish to hide your formula, I think there may be some Oompa Loompa's coming for it! "The perfumery formula used to make the Chocolate Perfume Oil is exactly the same ingredient recipe as the formula used for the Chocolate-Man-Cologne. The difference is that the Chocolate-Man-Cologne i...

Dame Perfumery: Black Flower Mexican Vanilla I wasn't going to write a review for this one after seeing how many of you already own and love it. And then it occurred to me, that would be very much like tasting a fine wine and not remarking "oh this is good" simply because everyone already knows. Black Flower Mexican Vanilla is, in my opinion, the conversion vanilla. What I mean is that many shy away from vanilla fragrances fearing they will pull too gourmand or sweet (and they don't care for that). This is the vanilla fragrance that might just convert those that are normally disinclined to try a fragrance with vanilla. Black Flower is a cozy, warm vanilla filled with sultry spice and deep layered florals. It's the feel of your favorite ultra soft sweater on a chilly day, a snuggle by the fireside...the pure simplicity of the sense it relates belies it's complexity. "A blend of vanilla absolute with touches of lemon, grapefruit, caramel, nutmeg, ga...