Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

Parfums de Marly - Herod Herod is the 7 th fragrance from Parfums de Marly.   It is a complex woody spicy offering. The fragrance opens with a breathtaking spicy tobacco leaf.   The opening spice reads more of an exotic light cinnamon on me and the tobacco leaf is beautiful and crisp.   There is a sophisticated warmth to the initial presentation.   As Herod wears, a peppery note comes forward.   The note adds more spice to the fragrance but does not become overwhelming.   A soft woodiness also becomes present.   At this point in wear, about two hours, the wood is indistinguishable as a specific note.   Trails of smoky vanilla are also making themselves known.   It is the addition of incense that lends the smokiness to the vanilla both making the vanilla not take on a gourmand feel and also adding depth and mystery to the overall scent. At roughly four hours into wear, I get more of a defined cedar note.   The smoky van...

House of Matriarch – Ambre Vie Ambre Vie is an oriental amber-based offering from the House of Matriarch.  Initially created in 2012, vintage bottles will begin shipping on February 20, 2018.  Before I get into the nuts and bolts of this review, I want to touch briefly on my thoughts about the perfumer, Christi Meshell and her approach to perfumery in general.  Meshell is one of those perfumers that in my opinion has a unique knack of taking multiple, complex notes and seamlessly blending them into a fragrance where the sum is even greater than all the multiple parts.  In the instance of Ambre Vie, it is said that, “More than one hundred different aromatics comprise this silky amber perfume.”  Often combining certain notes and certainly in the numerical quantity Meshell does them in can go terribly, horribly wrong.  I don’t know what her secret is, magic perhaps, but experiencing her fragrances is truly a joy. On me, Ambre Vie feels like a flor...

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...

Houbigant Parfums Paris - Cologne Intense “The transportative Cologne Intense fragrance honors the alluring originator composed in 1709 by Jean Marie Farina, an impeccable Italian perfumer who'd settled in Cologne and founded a proprietary perfume factory the same year. Named in veneration of his western German city of adoption, his aqua mirabilis masterpiece became an international paragon coveted by titled European nobility, royals and courtesans. The "Water of Cologne" was ferried into France's regal courts by Louis XV's royal French soldiers and officers stationed in Cologne during the Seven Years' War.” Cologne Intense is labeled as a citrus aromatic.  As such, I was expecting a traditional citrus aromatic.  The opening is supposed to be “Evocative of a clean, fresh, sunny spring morning after a passing shower”.  I did not find this to be true.  Instead, while I do detect notes of bergamot, neroli, and petigrain, these notes do not appear until l...

Christian Louboutin  - Trouble in Heaven Parfum Louboutin’s foray into the perfume world includes a trilogy of scents intended to reflect varied aspects of a woman’s personality.  Trouble in Heaven (“Trouble”), one of those fragrances, is an oriental floral. Trouble opens with an intense aquatic bergamot.  We get the aquatic feel due to the use of the synthetic, cascalone.  The initial spray is incredibly strong to my nose.  For me, Trouble does not have a traditional fragrance development after the initial note.  Instead, I get the entry of the florals – rose and iris – with the iris being more predominant through the fragrance wear.  The “base” notes also come in within the first fifteen minutes.  I get a rich, resinous amber touched with a clean patchouli and tonka bean.  In this fragrance, the tonka bean seems to lean heavily almond.  There is little to no change for me in note perception during the remainder of the wear....

En Voyage Perfumes - Figa The perfumer, Shelley Waddington, was offering a giveaway of samples of her fragrances (by contest) in one of my fragrance groups.  While I was not fortunate enough to have won the giveaway, Ms. Waddington was kind and generous enough to extend a prize to some that had not won; in her Portland based saying to “put a bird on it”.  The charming phrase, which being an East Coaster I had never heard before, refers to a little addition; the cherry on top if you will.  In this case my “cherry” was a sample of her fragrance Figa.  While I’ve seen this fragrance classified as an oriental floral it does in many respects defy the nomenclature.  The genesis of this scent and its purpose are based in the history and magic of talismans.  In her words, “Figa Eau de Parfum is the fragrance equivalent of the powerful Figa amulet. It celebrates strength, power, vision and success.”  And really, who couldn’t use a little more of that?!...

Viktor & Rolf - Magic Sage Spell Tonight I am testing Magic Sage Spell by Viktor&Rolf.  I want to extend my thanks to Kenisha Mason of Saks Fifth Avenue for the sample. When I thought of sage, my mind instantly went to Thanksgiving and preparing my turkey dinner; particularly the stuffing.  Sage is not something I would have sought out in a fragrance so the fact that Marie Salamagne decided to not only use sage but make it the focus of a fragrance is, in my opinion, creative at the least.  This juice opens with a bold sage paired with a subtle mint.  The two taken together create an aromatic that is a piece of both but unlike either.  The sage retains its herbal quality but is lifted to a new freshness.  There is a strong green quality to the opening.  There is the slightest hint of grapefruit about fifteen minutes in that lends a tartness and brightness.  Pink pepper brings in a bit of spice.  The pepper is not detectabl...

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...

Gallagher Fragrances:  Carpe Cafe I've been so busy with work, I apologize that I don't have time to do review(s) of these justice. I wanted to post something though so a few quick thoughts. Carpe Cafe - Opening for me was like having a latte in the woods. Absolutely as if I had a creamy coffee. I could smell the cypress and fir. The vanilla faded on me and the scent wore on me as a light coffee over an ambery labdanum. The myrrh and sandalwood were softer and in the background. This lasted on me for 8 hours before I could no longer smell it. Top Notes: Colombian Coffee, French Vanilla Middle Notes: Cypress, Fir Needle Bottom Notes: Amber, Labdanum, Myrrh, Sandalwood