Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

Dreaming Tree Soapworks – Wonderland Aromatic Elixer Wonderland Aromatic Elixer (“Wonderland”) is a perfume oil created by Dreaming Tree Soapworks that will make the wearer feel like they’ve discovered Alice’s Wonderland.   A sweet fruity floral, this elixir harkens to the imagination of childhood. Wonderland opens, and wears, as a playful sweet raspberry violet.   It is clean and lighthearted.   It very much reminds me of being a young child venturing into a sweet shop with the great big apothecary jars filled with candies.   There is a slight tartness to the black raspberry which brings to mind the variety and rainbow of colors in the sweet shop.   The violet in Wonderland is reminiscent of candied violets often found on high end baked goods. Wonderland has a wear time on me of roughly 6 – 7 hours and has a soft to skin scent projection. Notes: black raspberry, spun sugar, violets Perfumer: Meghan Young Vegan, Gluten Free, Dye Free, P...

Giorgio Armani – Sì Passione EDP Sì Passione (“Passione”) is a 2017 flanker release from Giorgio Armani.   To be honest, I almost did not try this fragrance as I am admittedly not a fan of the original.   Still, the fact that this is a floral fruity fragrance convinced me otherwise. Passione opens with a bright, sparkling pear that is slightly spiced by pink pepper.   I get the original version’s blackcurrent underpinnings.   It is a familiar berry, yet different.   There is an assertiveness to the opening that belies its fruity floral nomenclature.   Abut an hour into wear, I get a rose and jasmine bouquet.   The rose is a fresh blossoming note with no jammy-ness.   The jasmine is clean and clear without feeling overdone.   The addition of heliotrope at this point in development was an inspired choice.   While I get the typical powdery hints common with the note, I get more of a comforting almond-vanilla.   The counte...

Gallagher Fragrances – Fineapple EDP Fineapple is a brand new release (August 2018) from Gallagher Fragrances.   As soon as it became available, I knew I wanted to order a sample.   The fruity floral notes sounded interesting to me and I wanted to see if the perfumer had come up with a fragrance that was different from “that well known one” (read Creed here). Fineapple opens with an absolutely lush pineapple and green apple note.   The pineapple is most prominent, as expected, and it is so juicy you almost feel the cut pineapple dripping its juices!   The green apple adds just enough tartness to prevent this accord from going too sweet.   Still, for me, it is reminiscent of a Summer drink.   Just behind the pineapple and green apple, I get a lovely soft magnolia.   The image in my head is now that of laying on a beach chair somewhere tropical as the bartender, flower in her hair, brings me a drink to sip. After about an hour and a half, s...

Mugler - Aura Mugler EDP Aura Mugler (“Aura”) is an oriental green aromatic with hallmarks of a fruity floral fragrance.   Released in the United States this past Winter, the brand states it is intended to make the wearer “reconnect with (your) inner nature and to unleash all (your) femininity and (your) aura.”   Based on the description, I anticipated an assertive feminine fragrance. Aura opens with an intensely bitter and sour vegetal note.   The bitterness intertwines with a floral that reads on me as orange blossom.   This duel accord floats on my skin for about an hour before the bitterness subsides and the fragrance takes on a softer edge. As Aura wears, I get a complex smokiness and a sweetness that peeks through.   Again, the contrast of the notes is intriguing.   There is a slight medicinal quality that comes through at about the two hour mark.   Typically, a medicinal note is unpleasant to me but in this fragrance, I don’t f...

Commodity – Nectar Nectar is a release from Commodity in their White Collection.   The fragrance wears on me as a fresh fruity floral/aromatic fruity. When I received my sample of Nectar, I wasn’t sure what to expect.   Nectar may be used to describe things in different contexts.   With Commodity’s Nectar, I find the name both describes the nectar of a juicy fruit as well as the nectar found in floral blossoms. Nectar opens as a bright citrus with touches of neroli.   There is a sunny brightness to the opening and I find that the pomelo and tangerine are evenly balanced.   As Nectar wears, I get a bitter neroli that adds the “flavor” of what feels like a citrus rind.     There is a light honeysuckle that adds a touch of sweetness and lends itself to brighten, almost adding a sunny disposition, to the fragrance.   At roughly 2 hours into wear, there is a background of cedarwood.   The cedar is distant and faint.   More p...

KKW Fragrance - KKW Body I’ve never really thought of myself as a rebel.   Sure, I’m a think-outside-the-box kind of girl but a rebel?   Not so much.   Still, I found myself feeling quite the rebel when I decided to purchase KKW Body (“KKW”).   Oh the bottle (cast as a miniature of Kim Kardashian West’s naked torso) created quite the stir in Fragcomm.   There were comparisons to the iconic Gaultier bottles although the KKW version is far more detailed.   And of course there were the expected comments about the Kardashians in general.   Sigh.   I don’t take well to bias, name calling, and other sorts of snobbery.   It was then I knew that the fragrance NEEDED a fair review in Fragcomm. So what about the fragrance?   It is not a beachy, tropical scent like many releases are this time of year.   Instead, on me, I find it to be a fruity floral musk.   KKW opens with a burst of bright, juicy, fresh picked fruits.   I...

Jo Malone London - English Pear & Freesia With hints of Spring finally coming to the East Coast, it seemed fitting to test and review this Jo Malone from 2010.   English Pear & Freesia (“English Pear”) is a chypre fruity fragrance that, while initially released in the Fall, has many of the hallmarks of Spring to me. English Pear opens with a beautiful juicy, ripened pear.   There is a crispness to the note that reads very much like biting into a pear just picked from the orchard.   And, not to dwell too much on this opening, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that I find this singular pear note to be one of the most authentic representations of pear in fragrance. After the very first whiff of pear, in comes a honey sweet quince, a beautiful white freesia, and a lush wild rose.   The florals blending with the fruits is quite heady but also lovely.   At roughly two hours into wear, the florals seem to recede slightly and coming forward I get a sof...

Parfums de Marly Paris - Meliora Meliora, launched in 2013, is said to be a floral green fragrance, however on me it wears as a fresh fruity floral.  On initial sniff, I get a lusciously juicy fruit blend.  The blend is filled with crushed red berry and black current that drips with fruity sweetness.  Just when I begin to think this fragrance will be simply a fruit-filled one, in comes a floral blend. At that fifteen minute mark when the florals mix with the fruits, the florals lift up the fruits from being a fruity simple syrup type accord.  While I’m aware that several florals comprise the notes, I cannot readily identify one over another in Meliora.  Is this rose?  Is it lily?  I can’t really say.  It feels more like quickly sniffing a bouquet at a flower stand in the city; you know you’ve smelled flowers but the smell was not singular.  Thirty minutes into wear the fruity floral takes on a creaminess.  As the fruits ...

DKNY - Nectar Love EDP Nectar Love (“Nectar”) was released by DKNY in 2017.  Fragrantica classified it as an oriental floral but to me, it’s more of a fruity floral on wear. Nectar opens with a bright and sunny freesia-mandarin burst.  The freesia smells clean and bright and blossoming.  The mandarin is sweet and juicy.  There is a delicate sweetness of honeycomb.  As you breathe in, you sense the sun’s rays beaming down and warming the fruity floral. With its development, Nectar adds a light note of jasmine coupled with lily of the valley.  The lily comes slightly more forward than the jasmine.  The fruit accord is built upon by a ripened, also juicy, plum note.  As Nectar begins to dry down, the fruity florals are joined by a touch vanilla.  The honey seems to come slightly more forward and the fruity notes recede.  The sweetness is tempered a bit by a light woody note and a hint of musk.  Nectar wears on me wit...

Gallivant Perfumes - Tel Aviv Winter has finally made itself known here on the East Coast in the U.S.  Today we had our first light snowfall.  Something about the grey skies and falling snow made me crave testing this fragrance today.  Gallivant’s Tel Aviv is a fruity floral and it seemed like it would fit the bill for brightening this first dark Winter’s day. Tel Aviv opens fresh and sunny with notes of light and slightly sweet Clementine, bergamot, and blackcurrent bud.  The blackcurrant bud adds a tinge of greenness to the opening.  About thirty minutes into wear. I begin to get a rush of florals.  There is a medium intensity blooming jasmine and a soft rose that float over a bright freesia.  I get an intense ylang-ylang and a creamy sandalwood that create an almost narcotic and sensual drape blending seamlessly with the jasmine, rose, and freesia.  The juice seems to create the illusion of all the best of a sunny day.  Base notes...

Hermes - Un Jardin Sur Le Nil  It’s been a fairly dreary Fall here on the East Coast.  When I looked out this morning and saw it was yet another foggy and rainy day, I decided to reach for the Hermes Un Jardin Sur Le Nil (“Sur Le Nil”) for a little bright fruity floral lift. Sur Le Nil is described by Hermes as “an impressionistic stroll through the island-gardens on the Nile at Aswan”.  While classified as a fruity floral, Sur Le Nil defies the constraints of the category and is much more.  In its opening, I get a verdant green mango and lotus flower.  The mango note is stronger than the lotus and adds a fresh greenness to the opening; although each note lasts through the entire wear of the fragrance.  An earthy and nutty calamus is added to the green fruity floral opening and makes the juice feels very garden-like.  There is a lush vegetal feel to the fragrance at this point without it being specifically identifiable as a specific vegetable ...

Ex Nihilo - Fleur Narcotique EDP Fleur Narcotique (“Fleur”) is a fruity floral.  It bursts open with juicy notes of litchi and peach and a blossoming bergamot and a bold jasmine.  The florals are quite intense.  The fruity notes serve to create florals that feel much like candied flowers on a beautifully decorated cake.  The twist is decidedly sweet.  As Fleur wears, a rich peony and delicate orange blossom appear.  The peony is strong while the orange blossom is mild.  Woody and moss notes both ground and lift the peony – orange blossom blend.  I get the feel of both earth and sky.  A delicate musk rounds out the fragrance. Fleur wears on me as a sweet, fruity, strong peony and white floral for roughly 9 – 10 hours with heavy to moderate projection. Notes: bergamot, litchi, peach, jasmine, peony, orange blossom, woody notes, moss, musk Created by Quentin Bisch Cruelty Free

Creed - White Amber (Les Royales Exclusives Collection) One of the first pieces of “real” jewelry I owned was an amber necklace bought for me by my parents when I was a teenager.  I remember being fascinating by the stone which seemed to glow from within.  When I began actively buying fragrance, I was drawn to scents with amber in the notes.  So began what has been a lifelong love of amber.  When Creed released White Amber, I knew it was a fragrance I had to try. With White Amber, Creed elevates amber by alternately combing the resinous note with fruits and florals.  It is interesting to note here that Creed classifies this fragrance as a fruity floral.  White Amber opens with a delicately sweetened, lightly fruited amber.  The fruit is akin to a mixed fruit salad and is not citric.  The amber is rich, warm, and somewhat woody. As White Amber develops, light white florals punctuated by a stunning jasmine appear.  The addition of ...

Acqua di Parma - Peonia Nobile Peonia Nobile (“Peonia”) is characterized as a floral.  Right off the bat, I want to say that to my nose this fragrance wears more as a fruity floral on my skin.  That said, Peonia opens with a fresh, tart, rose-tinged peony dipped in a succulent sweet raspberry.  Acqua di Parma characterizes the opening as one with a vibrant black pepper accent with soft raspberry; on me it’s quite the opposite.  The initial few hours of wear feel decidedly “pink” and luminous.  There is an authenticity to the raspberry note; there are no artificial leanings at all.  While certainly I get nuances of black pepper, the opening is all about the decadently rich fruity floral. This juice wears as the same fruity floral for roughly 3 hours when I begin to get a boost of brightness from the geranium.  The geranium, and in fact the heart of this juice, seems quite short-lived as by the 4 hour mark, the moodier base notes seem to ris...

Vince Camuto - Ciao I received a sample of Ciao in the Macy’s Beauty Box that I subscribe to.  Touted as a “fruity, floral, oriental” that is supposed to be an “enchanting scent of an unforgettable woman”, I was happy to test it. Ciao should have opened with mandarin, grapefruit, and strawberry but instead all I get is fresh, ripe, sweet strawberry.  The strawberry is lovely of course but I was disappointed to not detect any mandarin or grapefruit.  As the juice develops on my skin, I do get a hint of a bright blackberry.  The blackberry is rich and adds a little fruity complexity to the strawberry that has not faded.  I don’t get a specific floral note per se, what I do get is a blend of florals where the honeysuckle and passion flower seem to perhaps be the strongest notes.  The drydown begins fairly quickly with Ciao and the liqueur and sandalwood seem to be the notes that appear.    Ciao is a bright and pleasant fragrance that see...