Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

Kyse Perfumes: Bonbons À La Vanille Bonbons À La Vanille (“Bonbons”) is a new release from Kyse Perfumes.   On me, it wears as an oriental vanilla (gourmand) fragrance.   It is important to stop here to note that this fragrance was created for the perfumer’s friend at his request for a “grown up vanilla candy”.     I find this quite lovely.   Bonbons opens as a delectable, sweet, pure vanilla.   There is an eloquent finish on the vanilla that prevents it from becoming a mass market teen-type vanilla.   In Bonbons, Peru Balsam adds a slightly earthiness to the vanilla as I reach roughly 2 hours into wear.   Into the drydown, I get a slight spice – cinnamon possibly but not quite distinct.   There is a soft, light, white muskiness in the drydown as well which adds a comforting feel; much like a warm blanket in the Winter. Bonbons wears on me with soft projection for roughly 7 – 8 hours. Notes: Tahitian vanilla beans, Peru b...

Nest Fragrances – Cocoa Woods EDP Cocoa Woods is a new release (2018) from Nest.   It is a woody spicy fragrance with hints of being a gourmand.   The best way for me to describe Cocoa Woods is as an analogous tale.   The images of the story of Little Red Riding Hood immediately came to my mind as I was wear-testing this fragrance. As Cocoa Woods opens, we have Little Red Riding Hood on her way to visit Grandma.   She is carrying a basket full of luscious goodies.   The goodies are all, still warm, rich cocoa cookies.   The smell of the Dutch bittersweet cocoa fills the air as she walks on. As Little Red Riding Hood continues on her way, she passes some lovely white flowers springing up along the path.   She stops and gets a quick whiff of the flowers (which have a creamy, lightly spiced coconut tinge to them).   Little Red cannot pause too long as the scrumptious smell of her cookies has beckoned a wolf from deep inside the forest. ...

Montale - Vanilla Cake EDP Vanilla Cake was launched by Montale in 2018.   It is classified as an oriental vanilla but it's more clearly a gourmand. So, lets’ start out this week on a sweet note with a little silliness.   Let’s talk about cake.   Vanilla cake.   Deep, rich, buttery yellow cake.   It’s quite possible you’re 5 again and at a birthday party.   Oh and there’s that cake.   The cake has just been baked and frosted.   Cake!   You get that strong whiff of vanilla batter that just risen into the most delectable, moist cake there is.   And frosting.   Frosting whipped and piled high full of decadent vanilla goodness.   Sure, there is a slight creamy almond and a soft twist of caramel, perhaps served on the side as garnish, but this is all about the cake.   Did I mention there’s cake?! Vanilla Cake wears on me for about 9 hours with soft projection. Notes: Almond powder, butter cream, milky mousse, ...

Kiss My Sass Cosmetics – Decadence Decadence is a fun to wear, cozy, sexy, and…well…decadent fragrance from the Indie brand Kiss My Sass.   The brand does some really stellar cosmetics and their fragrance line is equally respectable.   I ordered Decadence along with a cosmetics order as the notes sounded appealing.   Decadence opens with a rich dark chocolate coffee note.   The note is deep, dense, and luscious as if you had gone to a coffee roaster and had your cup of comfort made to order.   About an hour into wear, the dark chocolate recedes and in come an old school patchouli and musk tipped with vanilla bean and white chocolate.   The notes twirl in a hypnotic dance that it reminiscent of the best of the 60s; it’s gourmand meets Haight Ashbury.   There is sweetness balanced with an earthy, edgy, sensual, somewhat animalistic feel.   The fragrance wears in this hedonistic and sensual way through the remaining wear.   Decaden...

Alexandria Fragrances - Cacao Dreams I was fortunate enough to win a giveaway from this fragrance brand.   In my package, the perfumer also included samples.   Cacao Dreams was one of the samples. Aptly named, Cacao Dreams is the stuff gourmand chocolate dreams are made of.     An original creation by the brand, Cacao Dreams is a fairly linear fragrance that celebrates the best that is chocolate.   You’ve heard me say it before, chocolate can often go very wrong in a fragrance.   If mixed incorrectly, it can pull almost like plastic.   If overdone (in my opinion) it can become cloying.    Neither is the case with Cacao Dreams. The fragrance opens as something akin to a vanilla cocoa powder blend.   It has elements similar to a delicious hot chocolate but without quite becoming sticky and dense like a hot chocolate.   The notes seem to float in a delicate chocolate waft.   If you’ve ever been to the Hershey Chocola...

Juliette Has a Gun - Sunny Side Up Sunny Side Up (“Sunny”) is a floral woody musk offering from the think-outside-the-box brand Juliette Has a Gun.   Released in 2017, the perfumer, Romano Ricci seeks to emulate the warmth and effect of midday sun against the skin. Typically, I’m a Fall/Winter person.   I adore the changing of the leaves in the Fall and Winter’s peaceful silence.   Somehow today as an icy blanket covered my corner of the world, I was looking for something to break from the chill.   As life is full of ironies, I thought the choice of a “sunny” fragrance would provide a little fragrance humor as well as a respite from the grasp of the cold. Sunny opens with a creamy accord of a floral sandalwood.   The sandalwood is prominent and lush; almost milky.   About an hour into wear I begin to get a semi-sweet coconut vanilla.   The vanilla prevents the coconut from becoming a “suntan lotion” note; instead, the fragrance shifts int...

Mancera Paris - Choco Violette EDP Choco Violette (“CV”) is an oriental vanilla offering released in 2016 from Montale.  With its wear on me, it easily slips into the gourmand category. CV opens with a puff of cocoa powder and candy.  The cocoa powder is rich and intense and I can almost feel it on my tongue.  It’s very much as if you’ve opened a jar of a gourmet powder to create a luscious hot cocoa.  The candy note is very reminiscent of a candy necklace or parma violet candies so popular in the UK. After the first initial opening impressions, the cocoa powder note seems to fade back.  In comes an equally delicious orange-bergamot blend.  The floral is stronger than the citrus; which lays back and seems to simply add more sweetness to the perfume.  Underneath this note, I get a hint of hazelnut.  The buttery nut note adds richness to the fragrance.  About an hour and a half into wear, I get a creamy vanilla.  Again, the va...

Solstice Scents - Cocoa Absolute Mea culpa.  I’ve had my sample of this fragrance for some time but have just gotten around to test it.  Sadly, I think it’s no longer available from the brand.  I considered not doing a review but decided to do a quick one in case the brand brings it back (and I hope they will). This is a fairly easy fragrance to do a quick take on as it is a singular note scent.  In many cases, brands will introduce a fragrance which they will call “chocolate” or “cocoa” and somehow it seems to go wrong; often that chocolate note can read as plastic-like on the skin.  This is not the case with Cocoa Absolute.  It is pure unadulterated goodness.  On initial sniff, I get a cocoa powder layered hot chocolate.  It is the divine scent of a lovely hot chocolate warming the soul on a cold Winter’s day.  The powdery cocoa seems to fade and the scent becomes and wears as a delicious rich, chocolate.  There is a gentl...

Solstice Scents - Violet Mallow (Perfume Oil) Some time ago, I was lucky enough to have some friends in the UK send me several rolls of Parma Violet candies.  Being in the US, I was enthralled and intrigued by the notion of the little violet confections that I’d never seen on this side of the pond.  The fond memories of those candies, made me want to try the Solstice Scents gourmand rift on violet – Violet Mallow. Violet Mallow opens with a bold, powdery (Parma candy-like) violet note layered on top of a sweet, puffy marshmallow.  The sweetness of the marshmallow tames the boldness of the violet and creates a delectable, almost creamy violet note.  About 2 hours into wear, the violet softens.  Vanilla bean and musk begin to appear.  The vanilla and musk are mild but present enough that you know they’re there.  Through the course of the 7 hour wear, the violet remains present throughout.  The moderate projection softens to a light one and ...

Atelier Cologne - Café Tuberosa Cologne Absolue Pure Perfume I was anxious to try this newest release from Atelier Cologne.  I’d like to thank Evan Simpkins from the Atelier Boutique in Brooklyn, NY for providing me with a sample to enjoy. Café Tuberosa opens on me with a strong chocolate-tinged coffee and a light tuberose.  It’s heady and lovely at the same time.  The intensity of the coffee begins to fade 20 minutes into wear; although remains present.  There is an echo of a gently spiced floral that begins to emerge.  At this point, I get the feeling of sitting outside at a lovely café on a Spring day, sipping a latte, indulging in a chocolate croissant, while the breeze carries the aromas of my delectable treats and the flowers around me.  As this juice begins its drydown, I get the slight sweetness of the vanilla and the warmth of the musks.  The light cocoa, floral, and slight spiciness remain throughout my wear. Café Tuberosa follow...

Solstice Scents - Owl Creek Aleworks Perfume Oil It’s a bit of a cool and overcast day today and I’m testing another “fall” vibe fragrance – Owl Creek Aleworks.  This scent opens with a caramel-laden toasted hazelnut.  The scent is sweet and rich.  About 30 minutes in, I begin to get a creamy coconut.  The coconut is not a tropical feel one but instead the kind of coconut note you get when baking with coconut and condensed milk.  There is a pumpkin pie spice note to the fragrance that really begins to bloom about an hour into wear.  At the two hour mark, the hazelnut seems to fade and the remaining wear (and drydown) is a Fall gourmand delight of sweet toffee topped with a pumpkin-spiced coconut cream.  I get 4 hours of wear with this fragrance with a moderate projection. Notes:  Sticky English Toffee Pudding, Blackburn's Parlor Vanilla Ice Cream, Caramel, Toasted Coconut & Hazelnut, Sugared Pumpkin Cream Stout.  

Solstice Scents – Kitchen I love Fall.  It’s my favorite time of year.  Of course, along with Fall comes those traditional scents that we associate with the season.  Kitchen does a superb job of fitting the bill for replicating those wonderful olfactory joys. As with the previous Solstice Scents I’ve sampled, Kitchen is another “what you smell is what you get” fragrance.  And with the others from this brand, that’s a good thing.  Aptly named, Kitchen gives you the wonderful smells of a kitchen in Autumn.  You get pumpkin spice and vanilla sugar cookies.  You get spice breads sitting on a cooling rack as a cool breeze blows through your curtains.  You get sticky sweet (but not sickening sweet) danish sitting on a plate on the table with luscious caramel slowly dripping down the sides from the remaining heat in the dough. Kitchen is a opus of everything wonderful about Fall baking.  And if you close your eyes and sniff deeply, you ...

Solstice Scents - Jack & The Devil EDP Jack & The Devil is described as an amber/tobacco/earthy/spicy on the Solstice Scents website.  It’s much more than that.  This is my first purchase from the company and they’re off to a great start. This fragrance opens with THE scent of Fall – pumpkin spice.  In a single inhale, you get the perfect replication of pumpkin spice.  The note is bolstered by vanilla which adds a touch of sweetness.  I get a beautiful tobacco (yes tobacco can read as beautiful) just behind the pumpkin spice accord.  Oakmoss, amber, and a clean patchouli help to round out this fragrance and give it body.  There is a decadent richness to this scent.  The drydown is absolutely stunning as the beautiful spice is retained and the oakmoss comes a bit more to the forefront. I applied this scent at 3 pm in an afternoon and was still able to smell it, ever so lightly, the next morning.  Notes: Vanilla, tobacco,...

I Profumi di Firenze - Vaniglia del Madagascar Vaniglia del Madagascar is an oriental vanilla.  The site I purchased this from says it is a "must for vanilla lovers".  So when I had the opportunity to pick up a small bottle at 20% off, I thought why not. Vaniglia del Madagascar is a gorgeous sweet, cre amy vanilla over a very delicate and subtle lily of the valley. The sweetness is not overly sweet (so not even remotely in the ballpark of a scent like Mugler Angel Eau Sucree).  Vanilla takes the spotlight with this and it has a genuine vanilla vibe instead of a synthetic one like you get with some vanilla fragrances.  This is a soft, sweet, and delicious smelling scent that holds tightly to the skin.  It's so lovely you simply want to smell it all day (which is not too much of a problem with a 6-7 hour wear time.)  “ A must have” - I couldn't agree more! Notes: Vanilla Orchid and Vanilla Bean from Madagascar

Dua Fragrances - Delectable Temptation It’s Fall.  You’ve gone for a weekend away in Vermont.  The sun begins to rise as you head down for breakfast in that lovely B&B you’re staying at.  The proprietor brings you a cup of steaming hot coffee…and fresh pancakes.  Warm, fluffy, steaming pancakes topped with decadent, plump, juicy blueberries and that perfect dollop of fresh, creamy whipped cream.  You take a sip of your coffee and you reach for that beautiful golden amber elixir of maple syrup.  As you pour some over your pancakes, the heat of your food carries the maple scent upward…you breathe it in deeply.  You begin to eat your breakfast and start taking in more of your surroundings.  You notice the delicate scent of the honey jar sitting on the shelf adjacent to you.  The proprietor tells you that the cedar table you’re sitting at has been in her family for generations. You realize you’ve just had the perfect start to a perfect day...

4160 Tuesdays - Silk, Lace & Chocolate Fragrantica describes this juice as an oriental and maybe it is.  I feel that all formal categories aside, this is best described simply as a gourmand.  I’ve had an opportunity to see other reviews of this fragrance and am reminded as to how fragrance is often a very personal and unique journey – one nose is not always the same as another. For me, Silk, Lace & Chocolate opens with an effervescent, almost carbonated but in a good way, note of light strawberry and chocolate.  The chocolate is not a candy bar chocolate to me but rather one like an old fashioned chocolate soda (more cocoa) with a lightly boozy edge.  At first I was baffled as to why some reviewers stated they felt this was a woodsy scent.  This scent does not wear like a woody scent at all on me.  I feel that what some may be smelling is the way the bergamot note blends in.  While bergamot is often used for its fruity sweet component,...