Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle - Musc Ravageur Parfum Spray Frederic Malle’s Musc Ravageur (“Musc”) is one of those fragrances I thought I had tried but had not.   For the life of me, I can’t explain why I missed this!   Released in 2000, it is an oriental (amber oriental) fragrance.   On me, Musc opens with a complex, spicy, slightly sweet, dirty patchouli.   It is heady and intoxicating.   There are dripping notes of amber; rich and syrupy.   A light floral peeks out from the background as a creamy vanilla clove seems to melt effortlessly into the accord. As Musc wears, its raw sensual aspects continue to delight.   The musk in the fragrance joins with the patchouli and creates a carnal sensory explosion.   There is an animalic fearlessness to Musc’s wear.   The drydown of Musc is warm and comforting.   Woody notes slide into Musc with a touch of darkness.   To the end, Musc continues to come to life with an irre...

Kiss My Sass - Sucre Noir For my blog, I like to test and review fragrances from every place in the fragrance world: Mainstream, Indie, Niche, High End/Luxury – there are a number of descriptives and many fragrances cross between categories.  Recently there’s been some discussion in the fragcomm about what each group of fragrance is defined as.  For me, while there is some relevance as to where a particular fragrance may fit, at the end of the day my personal feeling is that fragrance is for everyone.  There is a price point and a creative philosophy behind fragrances that everyone can find their own happy place with.  Sucre Noir is an offering from an Indie brand, Kiss My Sass, out of Pennsylvania.  I purchased this fragrance, along with a cosmetic order, because I was curious as to how the brand approached scent.  Often, Indie brands offer unique variations of fragrance that you simply do not see replicated in the Mainstream. Sucre Noir wears...

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...

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...

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...

Besame Cosmetics -  Decades of Fragrance: 1930 I purchased this as a blind buy with a Besame Cosmetics order.  I liked the sound of the notes and the rollerball (only way available) was cheap enough it was worth the risk.  This was a stellar purchase!  It's an amazing replica of a vintage 1930s scent.   1930 opens with spicy fruity notes; the mandarin, cinnamon, and clarysage play well together with the mandarin and cinnamon being the most prominent of the three.  You can quickly smell the wafts of tobacco which is more of a cigarette tobacco than say a green tobacco, a pipe tobacco, or a cigar tobacco.  The florals are quite light in this juice with the lavender staying pretty much in the background.  1930 is rounded out with a slightly sweet woody musk.  The vanilla is not present as an independent note but instead give a gentle sweetness to the cedar and musk.  The totality of the notes and their presentation takes the wearer...

Memo Paris - Luxor Oud Ah, what can I say about the very first oud that stole my heart?  Luxor Oud is considered an oriental but, as I’m not one for industry labels, I consider it a fruity floral oud.  Luxor Oud is supposed to take the wearer on a journey to Luxor and for me it does just that.  Of course, sadly not having been to Luxor yet, I can only imagine in my mind’s eye what it must be like.  The opening of this fragrance, with its bright mandarin and subtle berry gives me the feeling of the warmth of the desert sun.  There is a reverence to this fragrance carried by a delicately sweetened rose; like temple flowers.  There is a royalty to the fragrance brought to us through notes of patchouli and oud.  The marriage of rose and oud is as old as the ancient civilization it honors.  The often harshness of oud has been tempered with tonka bean.  A slight resinous ambery spice wafts through the base courtesy of the styrax. Luxor...

Amouroud - Dark Orchid Orchid is one of my absolute favorite notes; while my scent preferences may wax and wane, my love for orchid never goes away. Amouroud's iteration of orchid does not disappoint.  Dark Orchid is a breathtaking and sexy fragrance.  Tonight I am a secret rendezvous in a magical forest. The air is heady with the scent of blooming orchids, gardenia, and citrus set against the depth of the woods around me. There is a whisper of a breeze  that carries the strange and hypnotizing aroma of patchouli, sandalwood, and incense. The moon above casts a silvery glow amongst the trees as my heart races awaiting his first embrace. Top notes: Mandarin, Citrus accord, Black gardenia, Sicilian bergamot Heart notes: Jasmine de Grasse, Ylang ylang, Lotus wood, Black orchid Base notes: Indonesian Patchouli, Mysore Sandalwood, Incense accord, Vanilla

Parfums de Marly: Sedbury Have you ever been excited about receiving unknown samples with your fragrance purchase? And have you ever looked at one of those "mystery" samples and turned into a toddler inside your head? Ok, so yes, I'm admitting it. That's exactly what happened when I realized I received this sample . I'm talking full bore toddler. Whining inside my head - "But I hate chypre florals"... Now rolling on the floor and thrashing about..."Lavender? No, no, no, no, no!" Sigh. But being the good open minded sport that I am (LOL), I decided to give Sedbury a try anyway. (I want to note here that Sedbury is named after the eighteenth century thoroughbred horse of the same name. Sedbury was said to have been, "described as a horse of exquisite beauty, fine shape and form, Sedbury was said to be the best of his size in his day." I admit to find it a little baffling that a fragrance described as being "a decidedly floral,...