Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

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...

DUA Fragrances - 44 Shades of Vanilla DUA is a California-based fragrance company that creates both “inspired” and original fragrances.   I realize there are many people that don’t support “inspired” fragrances, however, here in the U.S. they are legal and I personally believe they can be affordable alternatives for many people – as I always say: Fragrance (and makeup) should be for everyone.   That said, 44 Shades of Vanilla (“44 Shades”) is one of DUA’s inspired fragrances.   The inspiration for 44 Shades is Le Labo’s Vanilla 44.   I have not yet sampled the Le Labo and my review will simply be based on 44 Shades as it stands as its own fragrance. 44 Shades is a woody aromatic.   It opens with a beautiful woody vanilla tinged with just a tiny bit of citrus.   There is an intense woody warmth to the notes.   It’s as if you’ve been able to reach inside the very heart of the wood, place a vanilla pod there, and breathe in deeply.   As...

Dua Fragrances - Taboo Taboo is an original creation from Dua Fragrances.  It’s classified as an oriental gourmand.  Taboo was a blind buy for me.  Admittedly, I was drawn in by not only multiple fragrance notes that tend to be in my “loves” but also the awesome label design for the bottle.  Taboo is not shy.  It opens with a gorgeous clean patchouli and moody incense tempered with a semi-sweet white chocolate.  It’s bold but not offensive.  As the fragrance develops I get a spicy soft leather sprinkled with a light cocoa.  Neither the patchouli nor the incense have disappeared and these notes, along with the suede leather, prevent the juice from becoming full on gourmand.  There’s just enough sweetness to this to give it interest without becoming cloying.  The notes are gently cradled in a creamy vanilla and amber light musk base.  The base notes give the already intriguing scent a feel of intimacy.  For me, it become...

Dua Fragrances - Desert Reflection This juice is inspired by Amouage Reflection Man.  As such, it is a woody floral musk.  I ordered a sample of this as I was curious as to the treatment of the florals against the wood notes. Desert Reflection opens with a clean, almost high end hotel, soapy floral.  I get the jasmine and neroli in abundance with the rosemary and rose de mai notes being more subtle.  There is a slight, delicate sweetness to the floral which does not seem to pull overly feminine.  The development of this fragrance brings in a well-rounded woody base where the cedar is of moderate prominence and a clean patchouli adds a slight earthiness to the woody note.  Sandalwood lends a creaminess to the scent which smooths and brings together the florals and woods. Desert Reflection wears with an understated refinement for roughly 8 hours on me with moderate projection. NOTES: Rosemary, Rose de Mai, Jasmine, Neroli, Patchouli, Sand...

Dua Fragrances - Casino Royale Casino Royale is a fragrance inspired by Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540.  It is a citrus aromatic.  As I haven’t had the pleasure of testing Baccarat Rouge 540, I’m reviewing Casino Royale on its own merits. This fragrance opens with a somewhat floral citrus (orange).  The orange in this is more like a mandarin orange scent in that it has a light sweetness and brightness to it.  The orange remains as the primary note for the first hour or so of wear.  As the fragrance begins to develop, I get a little more floral (from the cyclamen) and a beautiful light amber over a subtle wood.  At first the wood is indistinguishable as being cedar but as the scent continues to develop, the cedar note comes more into its own.  The dry down to Casino Royale adds a refined touch to this fragrance.  It’s warm without being spicy, it’s soft without being too subtle, it has a point of view without being overbearing...

Dua Fragrances - Queen of Spades In 1834 Alexander Pushkin published his short story Queen of Spades (Pikovaya Dama).  Over the years, the story has been adapted multiple times - into stories, film, and an opera (Tchaikovsky).  Essentially the story revolves around a Countess, who after incurring a large gambling debt, learned a secret to winning at cards by playing three specific cards just once during the game.  This story is told to a Russian army officer who, because of his greed, is led to court the Countess’s charge to gain the secret.  The story is rife with themes of power, avarice, and the supernatural.  As you can imagine, the Queen of Spades in story and in scent is not shy.  Instead, she is powerful and in control, even after death.  Mahsam Raza’s interpretation brings us the Countess in all her complexity.  This fragrance opens with a powerful and bold citric floral aldehyde blend.  The opening is bright and clean with a...

Dua Fragrances - Delectable Temptation It’s Fall.  You’ve gone for a weekend away in Vermont.  The sun begins to rise as you head down for breakfast in that lovely B&B you’re staying at.  The proprietor brings you a cup of steaming hot coffee…and fresh pancakes.  Warm, fluffy, steaming pancakes topped with decadent, plump, juicy blueberries and that perfect dollop of fresh, creamy whipped cream.  You take a sip of your coffee and you reach for that beautiful golden amber elixir of maple syrup.  As you pour some over your pancakes, the heat of your food carries the maple scent upward…you breathe it in deeply.  You begin to eat your breakfast and start taking in more of your surroundings.  You notice the delicate scent of the honey jar sitting on the shelf adjacent to you.  The proprietor tells you that the cedar table you’re sitting at has been in her family for generations. You realize you’ve just had the perfect start to a perfect day...

Dua Fragrances: Honey Havane Honey Havane was a blind buy for me.  I was intrigued by the notes in this oriental vanilla scent.  Honey Havane opens with an absolutely beautiful, rich vanilla honey.  The honey is sweet but not overly sweet.  To my nose, it’s the cleanest and loveliest honey I’ve smelled in a fragrance.  If Winnie the Pooh were here there’d be no keeping this one safe! The gourmand honey gains a complexity by the addition of tobacco leaf.  The tobacco is present just enough that you know it’s there but not so much that you feel this fragrance is “about” tobacco.  The tobacco is a lovely green tobacco.  The base of this fragrance is comprised of a woody-musky-amber.  These notes also light and clean.  During the drydown, the spices, oud, musk and amber become more noticeable but the honey never disappears – it simply becomes lighter.  I get about 7 hours of wear from Honey Havane with a moderate projection whi...

Dua Fragrances: Vetivero Vetivero is a fragrance inspired by Roja Parfums Vetiver Extrait.  It is also a chypre.  Anyone who knows me or has read my fragrance reviews knows I am not generally a chypre fan.  And, while it may not be popular to say in the fragrance community, I am also not a huge Roja fan (personally liking roughly 50% of his fragrances, although respecting the artistry in all).  Vetivero opens with a gorgeous bergamot-lemon.  I’ve hyphenated here as the notes are equally and beautifully balanced.  This is not that icky citrus vibe you get from some other juices – you know, the ones that smell like Lemon Pledge!  No this is a gorgeous, effervescent, fresh note.   I get a light and subtle jasmine.  The rose is subtle as well.  These notes rest ever so delicately on a beautiful base of vetiver and wood.  The spices in this round the base but it’s really the vetiver and woods that sing.  Vetiver Exr...

Dua Fragrances: Caribbean Waters. This citrus aromatic was created by  Mahsam Raza . Ok, I did a quick spritz of this when I got home since a fellow fragrance lover reminded me I had forgotten to try this when it arrived. There are many out there that compare this to the Creed juice, but as I haven't smelled the "original" I can't offer a comparison. What I can say, is that on first spray, my brain went into a random reshuffle of "it puts the lime in the coconut"! This juice is pure Summer to me. It's tropical and beachy and fresh. It's all the best notes of a frozen fruity drink. Now all I need is a "tall ship and a star to steer her by"! "The fragrance features bergamot, lime, mandarin orange, coconut, sugar cane and white rum."