Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

Kensington Apothecary – Capri 1966 EDP Kensington Apothecary has been on my radar for a while now.   As a beauty blogger, I became aware of the brand some time ago through their skincare line.   I was impressed by the founder’s use of natural ingredients and their commitment to community.   When they made the decision to launch their first fragrance collection, Expatica Scent Collection, I was immediately interested.   I was fortunate enough to be able to obtain a sample of one of the three releases, Capri 1966 (“Capri”).   Capri has been described by the perfumer as a “tomboy floral”.    Of course, many of us in the fragrance community no longer consider fragrance male or female, however, there can be made some distinction in notes of scents which were traditionally identified as owning to male or female. If you’ve followed my fragrance blog, you already know that I personally love a scent that tells a story.   In the case of Capri, the...

Kilian – Boys EDP Kilian just released their new collection My Kind of Love.   The collection consists of four fragrances.   Boys, is a spicy woody fragrance from the collection.   The collection has a slightly different audience than I feel had been the brand’s main target.   While I feel that the brand’s packaging has always been interesting and “on theme”, with My Kind of Love, the bottles and advertising feel more millennial or Gen Z to me than prior collections. With this collection, Kilian Hennessy says, "I wanted this collection to have the multi-layered notes and accords that I’m known for, but built around a key ingredient that’s unusual, surprising, and instantly recognizable."   For Boys, the key note is cola which Kilian recreates with notes of nutmeg, cinnamon, and lime.   It is this cola note that is instantly recognizable on first spray. While Boys opens with a fresh, sparkling cola note, that note quickly takes on a citric twis...

Comme des Garcons - 2 Man EDP 2 Man is a woody chypre that launched in 2004 by Comme des Garcons.   The House site simply says, “A worker, a man who loves his work.” The fragrance opens with an aldehyde-laden incense doused church-like feel.   There is a rolling spiced fruit.   As the fragrance wears, I get a soft iris covered in hay.   The fragrance itself is by no means soft, however.   The incense and smoky tones continue throughout.   The notes are joined by a freshly polished mahogany and rich, rough leather.   The fragrance is deep, comforting, heady, and decidedly masculine (assuming you assign gender to fragrance).   As 2 Man dries down, the woody note also dries and the incense takes on more of a soapy tone. 2 Man wears on me for roughly 9 hours with moderate projection. Notes:   aldehydes, nutmeg, caraway, kumquat, mint, iris, vetiver, saffron, leather, incense, mahogany Perfumer: Mark Buxton

Il Profvmo - Chocolat EDP Chocolat is an oriental vanilla fragrance and (spoilers), while the name of the fragrance is Chocolat, it has no semblance of a gourmand or a strong chocolate note(s) on me. This perfume wears in a fairly linear way on me with the exception of the drydown.  I get a soft, lightly spiced, slightly fruity, floral blend with a vanilla base.  The tangerine melds with the plum in this fragrance so as not to become citric yet it does impart a warmth when combined with the nutmeg.  There is a creamy quality to the fragrance which tends to lean more strongly floral than fruity or vanilla on me.  Jasmine and rose are tinged with the fruits and there is a somewhat biting acid that is tempered by an overlay of powder.  A dry chocolate-cocoa appears for me as the scent begins to dry down.  In the drydown the fragrance becomes softer and more powdery. Notes:  tangerine, galbanum, nutmeg, sandalwood, plum, jasmine, rose, cacao, ...

Molinard - Les Amoureux Peynet Les Amoureux Peynet (“Les Amoureux”) is a citrus aromatic that was created as a tribute to the illustrator of Les Amoureux.  Les Amoureux opens with a bold citrus accord.  The notes are lean decidedly orange; very much like a freshly grated orange rind.  There is a very subtle hint of the grapefruit.  Overall the opening is crisp, fresh, and juicy.  After roughly thirty minutes, the citrus softens somewhat and in comes a lovely blend of Fall-like spices.  I clearly get the ginger and nutmeg.  The blend of the spices with the citrus reminds me of the very best of Fall.  Les Amoureux begins to transform with a touch of cleanness to the zest at roughly 2 hours.  As the fragrance begins its drydown, the spices mellow and the citrus becomes wrapped in a light-hearted dry woody amber musk base.  Les Amoureux wears on me for roughly 5-6 hours with moderate projection. Notes: bergamot orange, mand...

Acqua di Parma - Colonia Mirra Eau de Cologne Concentrée Colonia Mirra is a dark oriental woody twist on the original Colonia.  Despite the opening with the same notes as Colonia – citruses and orange blossom – Colonia Mirra soon takes a turn to the dark and mysterious side. The spicy note of nutmeg and aromatic resinous amber and myrhh bring a deep warmth to the juice.  The spice is moderate and the amber and myrhh are intense.  There is a balsamic almost incense-like nature to the notes as they are blended. A  woody frankincense deepens the fragrance even further while an earthy patchouli winds itself around the notes.  Wearing Colonia Mirra felt very much like walking through a dark foggy wood at night.  The fragrance feels complex and sophisticated yet almost magical. Colonia Mirra wears on me for roughly 10 hours with moderate projection. Notes: citrus, orange blossom, nutmeg, myrrh, patchouli, frankincense, amber

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: 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...

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...