Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

DedCool – Madonna (Lilly) Madonna (Lilly) (“Madonna”) is one of the new releases in the DedCool Series 2.   She wears on me as a woody spicy fragrance. Madonna opens with a spicy burst of black pepper coupled with hints of citrus.   There is an interesting warmth and freshness to the opening.   About 15 minutes into wear, the black pepper recedes slightly and the fragrance takes on a creamy quality.   Roughly 2 hours into wear, I begin to get notes of a delicately resinous amber and woody notes.   Madonna is distinctly interesting at this point in wear.   She is warm without being too spicy, she is comforting while being complex. Madonna’s drydown brings further complexity.   A light white floral perhaps? A new rush of creamy citrus? A delicate spiced wood?   Yes on all accounts.   Yet even with the development of each note, the fragrance retains on course with an even balance. Madonna wears on me with moderate projectio...

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...

Jo Loves – Pomelo Pomelo is a citrus fragrance from Jo Loves that is much more than simply citrus and is the perfumer’s signature scent.   The fragrance has the “Jo Malone” touch all over it and, if you’re a fan of or familiar with her scents, you’ll understand that nuance she has as a perfumer.   For those not familiar, the best way I can describe it is that she has a certain knack for taking a primary note or notes and blending them with other notes in such a way that the “star” note is front and center and then transforms into more than the sum of the parts. With Pomelo the opening is zesty, effervescent, and fresh.   I get a burst of citric pomelo at first whiff.   This is a fresh from the orchard grapefruit zing.   Within about fifteen minutes, the almost pure citrus begins its transformation.   I get hints of a full-bodied rose just behind and beginning to soften and round the opening.   It feels very similar to an old masters painting ...

Lilee Fragrance Studio – Haiku 575 EDP Soft citric tea blend Fragrant Japanese garden Meditative thoughts Haiku 575 is another fragrance in the line of releases for the new brand, Lilee Fragrance Studio.    Haiku wears on me with soft moving to skin scent projection for roughly 6 – 7 hours. Notes: green tea, citrus, rice, floral notes, earthy notes *Search my blog by brand name to find my other reviews!

Lilee Fragrance Studio – Iris Nights EDP I want to share with you some fragrances from the brand new fragrance brand – Lilee Fragrance Studio.   The brand was started by a Facebook friend of mine, Robert Hunt, who I met through an online fragrance group.   Iris Nights (“Iris”) is the first fragrance I’ll be reviewing.   With Iris Nights, the brand introduces the fragrance by setting the scene: “The vision is of a woman of quiet sophistication sitting by the warmth of the fire, sipping fine cognac with aromatic scent of a floral bouquet by her side.”   Iris opens with a soft citrus white floral.   The citrus is present enough to add brightness and elevation to the floral without becoming “fruity” in any way.   The opening floral accord is reminiscent of a bouquet of fresh picked white flowers from the garden.   They are clean and light with just a hint of green freshness.   As Iris wear, I get a soft, powdery iris that comes forward. ...

Perfumology – Grange Grange is the follow-up fragrance to Perfumology’s first release, Blyss.   Grange is not a flanker to Blyss, which was created as a love letter to the creator’s wife, but instead embodies something entirely different; that of fragrance as memory. This citrus wood scent is named and inspired by childhood near the Grange Estate.   (You can read more about the Estate here:   http://bit.ly/2F8EX8R ).   The Estate sits on a hillside just above Cobbs Creek in Havertown, Pennsylvania.   It is here that the childhood memories were first created. Grange opens with a zesty lime and juicy orange.   These notes are almost effervescent.   There is a sense of movement that I get from the sparkling quality.   The opening seems to emulate the trickling of the water in Cobb’s Creek over the creek bed on it’s way to pass through the Heinz National Wildlife       Refuge to it’s destination in the Delaware River Water...

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 - 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...

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

L’Artisan Parfumeur - Nuit de Tubereuse Tuberose is a favorite note of mine.  So, when I realized that somehow I hadn’t sampled L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Nuit de Tubereuse, I immediately sought to rectify it.  I realize that for many tuberose can be a challenging note.  Often tuberose ends up being a loud, screechy sort of note in a fragrance which can be off-putting.  So how did the perfumer do in this fragrance? Well for me, Nuit de Tubereuse opens with a note of a strong, somewhat soapy (in a good way) tuberose.  The tuberose is fresh and there is a “green” quality to it as well as a slight spiciness.  At first, I cannot pick out the spices in this as individual notes but instead I sense it more as an overall warmth.  At about an hour and a half into wear, the black pepper note becomes more apparent and, while the green, soapy tuberose has not faded, I also begin to get additional floral notes and musk.  Like with the spices, I don’t detec...

Hermes - Eau d’Orange Verte “Eau d’Orange Verte is the scent of the Little Prince in all of us.” (Jean-Claude Ellena)  I just don’t know.  I feel like the Little Prince would probably go with a different fragrance.  I’ll let you know what I think and then you can decide. Eau d’Orange Verte opens with a beautiful, fresh, juicy orange.  The orange feels quite green on me and does not pull overly sweet.  The note is realistic; as if you are smelling an orange while standing in a grove.  Within about 45 minutes, the singular orange note has faded and in its place arrives a general citrus note.  It is quite possibly the combination of the mandarin and Amalfi lemon with the mint and cassis but frankly, none of the notes are individually identifiable on me.  As this fragrance begins to drydown, it becomes softened and a very, very clean patchouli and oakmoss are identifiable.  Eau d’Orange is a pleasant light, fresh citrus fragrance....

Jo Loves - Red Truffle 21 A Fragrance Paintbrush Anyone who knows me personally knows one thing for certain and that is – I love amusing things.  So when Jo Malone (as Jo Loves) came out with a fragrance paintbrush, there was no doubt I HAD to try it.  The fragrance itself, Red Truffle 21, is not new; only the delivery format. So just a quick review about Red Truffle 21 for those not familiar.  The original juice was released 2 years ago (2015) and it is categorized as an aromatic spicy.  The fragrance opens with a fairly intense green and earthy vibe.  I get a good dose of pine (as in pine needles and not the bark or sap) accompanied by the earthy tuber note.  I really took a chance on this as fig is a bit of a hit or miss note for me.  In the case of Red Truffle 21, the fig note is present but I don’t find it to be difficult.  What Jo Loves has done with the fig is used a green fig and not a fully ripe fig note.  This makes all the...

Gallagher Fragrances: Bergamot Silk. Bergamot Silk is the 4th in the Gallagher Fragrance Silk Series that I'm testing. Bergamot Silk opens with a blast of citrus. The bergamot is a bright and sparkling note that holds it's own for about an hour on me before the white amber musk and woody notes make an entrance. Like with the others I've tested in this series, Bergamot Silk balances the featured note with a nice base blend making this an easy option for layering. The freshness of the main accord also makes this more flexible with respect to seasonal options. "The Silk Series is made up of ten fragrances with one “featured note” in addition to a blend of woody base notes. Each featured note is the main focus of the fragrance and the woody notes serve as a graceful, yet bold dry-down. The ten featured notes within The Silk Series are Bergamot, Black Currant, Jasmine, Lavender, Mandarin, Orange Blossom, Sandalwood, Tobacco, Tulip, and Vanilla. Simplicity is the beauty...

Berdous: Scorza di Sicilia Scorza di Sicilia is classified by Fragrantica as a woody aromatic. If the classification were by note prominence, in my opinion this is more of an aromatic woody. This is a fairly linear fragrance to my nose that is mostly about the citrus (lemon) note. The fragrance opens with a lemony note touched with bergamot for balance. The wear is pretty even with the cedar remaining in the background. I found this surprising as cedar is often a bold note in fragrance. This is not the case with Scorza di Sicilia. In this juice, the cedar and vetiver simply add character. The cedar brings a subtle touch of wood while the vetiver adds it's classic green earthiness but in a light way. Like with the cedar, the use of vetiver is not done in such a way to add the sharpness that often comes along with the note. There is limited projection with this fragrance and it is easily "safe" for all environments. "Scorza di Sicilia generously surrenders a blend...