Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

Guerlain - Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune (“Pamplelune”) is a citrus fragrance released by Guerlain in 1999.   The Collection, Aqua Allegoria, created the eau fraiche genre in fragrance. Pamplelune opens with an intense grapefruit and lemon accord that is bright and tart.   There is a distinct sunny freshness to it.   Soon after, the citrus is joined by a background of bergamot which, while rounding the tartness somewhat, does more by way of adding a fullness to the scent. As Pamlelune wears, I get a deep berry coming through.   I cannot readily identify this note as blackcurrent but it is clearly a berry.   There is a heavy bitterness that begins to come to light.   The fruity notes are tempered by a smooth sandalwood and vanilla that come through at roughly the two and a half hour mark.   The vanilla does not overly sweeten the fragrance.   In the drydown, Pamplelune is joined by patchouli.   The patch...

Berdous - Péng Lái EDP Péng Lái (“Peng”) is an oriental floral fragrance from Berdous.   The fragrance also has hallmarks of being a lightly spicy fruity floral.   The inspiration behind Peng is one of Chinese legend.   It is said that, “The tale of Peng Lai, tells of the island of longevity where the Goddess of Flowers, He Xiangu, sojourned. This grand cru invites you to daydream, clear your mind, and recharge your batteries at the heart of the Middle Kingdom as you admire the singular beauty of this region of the world.” Peng opens with a soft osmanthus and bergamot blended with an equally light, bright citrus.   The notes project with a delicate intimacy.   There is also a gentle sweetness.   Very quickly, I get a juicy peach and a somewhat jammy rose.   Neither of these two notes take this fragrance to a place where it becomes cloying.   At roughly the one hour mark, benzoin adds it’s usual tones and the fragrance begins to round...

Kilian - Moonlight in Heaven Moonlight In Heaven (“Moonlight”) is described as an aromatic although in my opinion it has strong similarities with fruity florals.   It was released in 2016.   What is moonlight in heaven?   I ask as the answer to this question would be different for different people and, being the backdrop for this fragrance story, the answers bear relevance to the wearer’s expectations.   Of course here we know the fragrance inspiration since the brand tells us: “A dazzling beam of pearlized light dances on the oceans belly, witnessed by two lovers who watch from a balcony draped in floating white opaque gauze that seems alive, responding to a warm wind that blows. The lovers, high above the world to almost touch the stars, with full hearts and bodies light as air.”   This would not be my answer to the question but then, the fragrance is not my story to tell. So before we even begin our wear, we know that this fragrance will hint of ...

Olibere Parfums - L`Etoile Noire Launched in 2016, L’Etoile Noire (“Noire”) is a study of light and dark; the opposites that we each carry with us.   The notes classify this as an oriental fragrance, however, in my opinion, it is also very much a woody one. Noire opens on me with a contrast.   On the one hand I get an intense bergamot and sharp lemon and on the other I get an achingly intense peppery spice.   There is a heavy smokiness from the gaiac.   As Noire continues to wear I get more and more tones of wood.   I do not identify the wood as specifically being oud, as iterated in the Notes of this fragrance, but rather a general deep, dark woody accord.   At roughly 3 – 4 hours into wear, Noire takes on a powdery aspect.   There is still an echo of citrus, moderate spice, woods, and smoke but in comes a softened rose and what seems like patchouli.   There is a dried tobacco leaf as well as a very soft dried rose petal. In the...

M. Micallef - The Art Collection Vanille:  Vanille Marine In 2012, M. Micallef launched the special edition – The Art Collection Vanille.  The collection is comprised of 4 fragrances each pairing sweet vanilla with another specific note.  Vanille Marine (“Vanille”) pairs vanilla with the aquatic fragrance family and creates an aromatic aquatic that shows the “watery” side of vanilla. Vanille opens with fresh, minerally, fruity floral notes paired with a delicately sweet vanilla.  The fruits are bright and sunny in feel.  The often sharp lemon is tempered with a rich juicy blackberry.  The white flowers are sweetened with a slightly boozy vanilla.  The white florals and vanilla are more present than the fruits.  There is a creaminess to the opening that exists despite the light airiness.  As Vanille wears, there is a beachy feel to the notes.  You can almost feel the salty ocean breeze and the sun shining down.  Ther...

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...

Gallivant Perfumes – Berlin (Blogger’s Note – Please see my review of Gallivant Brooklyn for brand background and concept.) Having enjoyed the sites in Brooklyn, NY courtesy of Gallivant, I have headed out to JFK airport to catch a flight.  I am stamping my passport this morning to travel overseas to Berlin.  I was curious to see what this urban landscape had to offer me.  Berlin is a woody spicy fragrance with citrus notes.  Yes, citrus.  The fragrance actually opens with a bright and sunny citrus filled with Clementine and lemon with touches of grapefruit.  The opening is gorgeous but I admit I didn’t understand it until I did a little digging about the city.  How lovely that the city has multiple lakeside vacation destination spots (obviously convenient for locals) for Summer swimming!  (*Note the Telegraph did a fantastic article on these spots back on July 13, 2015.)  In its opening Berlin captures the lighthearted, carefree s...

Gallivant Perfumes - Brooklyn When a London indie fragrance house names itself after the verb used for roaming around, traveling or “moving around for pleasure” (Merriam Webster’s Dictionary) you know you’re in for a different fragrance experience.  Gallivant has created a line of unisex EDPs each showcasing their interpretation of a different urban destination.  I am fortunate enough to have received samples of their fragrances from Nir Guy of Perfumology (King of Prussia, PA) and will be reviewing them for you.  Today, I start with Brooklyn. Ok, to be fair, I decided that Brooklyn would be my first voyage with this house since it’s my city of birth.  My family moved from the city when I was just a very young child yet in my mind’s eye, I still have an image of the city I still identify so closely with.  At first I found it surprising that Brooklyn is a citrus scent.  Typically we don’t often associate the city with warm climate fruit.  Still...

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...

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...

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...

Mugler - Alien Eau Sublime Some of the Mugler fragrances seem to be quite polarizing in the fragrance community at large.  It seems that many have very strong opinions one way or another about each release, myself included.  When I had the opportunity to try this new Alien flanker, I was cautiously optimistic. Eau Sublime (“Sublime”) takes the classic Alien jasmine jammy heaviness and lightens it with solar notes.  The perfumer has significantly softened the opening with this flanker.  Sublime opens as a light, fresh, lemony citrus touched with a soft jasmine and tiare flower.  There is a bright airiness to Sublime that is not present in the original.  As the juice wears, the heliotrope lends a floral vanilla powderiness to the fruity floral.  The heliotrope adds a slight sweetness without coming near the sweetness of Eau Sucree. The drydown mimics the base notes of the original giving us the cashmeran wood and amber.  The florals are...

Creed – Viking Before I start my review, I’d like to extend my thanks to Jennifer Villalba from the Creed Boutique in New York for a sample of this fragrance.  If you’re looking for any Creed products, she was absolutely lovely to work with. I wasn’t sure what to expect with Creed’s newest release, Viking, which is described by the brand as, “a fiery men’s fragrance that bottles the fearless spirit of boundless exploration for the modern man who goes against the grain”.  Viking opens on me with a strong blast of bergamot and a somewhat sharp lemon that seems to appear and disappear throughout the opening.  Despite the fresh brightness of the bergamot and lemon, the opening is also decidedly masculine with a spicy dark feel.  As Viking begins to develop, the citrus begins to fade and the pink peppercorn and rose become much more prominent.  The rose feels very much like a burnt rose and retains that heady spiciness we started to sense in the opening....

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...

Giorgio Armani: Acqua Di Gioia Jasmine Don't you just love it when a blind buy goes right?! I had seen this juice while browsing the Armani website. Like many of you, I hadn't realized that Armani did a Acqua Di Gioia version in jasmine. From what I understand, this one had been released, sold out, and then brought back "by popular demand". Who knew? Ok, well obviously someone did! So when Armani recently ran their 20% off promo, I thought it would be a great time to blind buy this. Frankly I wanted the small bottle but it was unavailable. I was quite nervous waiting for the shipment as blind buying the largest size of a juice can be terrifying! Clearly, my concern was unwarranted. Wow, this is a serious jasmine floral aquatic bomb! Jasmine isn't floral aquatic in the strictest sense of the definition though. It comes on more as a fruity floral and the aquatic nature is felt through the lightness and flow of the scent. It comes on like a powerhouse of fresh...

DedCool: 04 Another great juice from DedCool tonight. 04 begins with bold citrus and pepper notes. Both the citrus and pepper are strong. The citrus mellows within 20 minutes into a gorgeous figgy citrus with a mild pepper twist. The sandalwood and patchouli add a creamy and earthy muskiness. "Notes: Top: Fig, Pepper. Middle: Orange, Lemon. Bottom: Sandalwood, Patchouli UNISEX - VEGAN - CRUELTY FREE - NATURAL"

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: 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...

Besame Cosmetics 1910. "Art Nouveau, Belle Epoque, Klimt, 1910s Floriental".  I purchased the discovery set from Besame during a promotion. I already had 1930 (so I won't be re-reviewing it). 1910 is the first I'm testing out of the ones new to me. With 1910, Besame has created a period accurate fragrance. This is a classic floriental with the orange flower, ylang-ylang, jasmine, and peony being the most prominent to my nose. The lemon was present but only in the introduction. The base is nicely rounded with a nubuck and civet made slightly softer and creamier by the addition of the vanilla and sandalwood. Neither the vanilla or sandalwood seem to "speak" out on their own but instead simply change the character of the other two base notes. Top notes: lemon, orange-flower, ylang-ylang Heart notes: tuberose, saffron, jasmine, peony Base notes: nubuck, vanilla, civet, sandalwood