Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

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...

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...

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...

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...

Fragonard: Belle de Nuit. I received a sample of this oriental floral with an order I placed with Beautyhabit. I wasn't sure I was even going to test the sample as I had read many comparing it to J'adore (which, sorry if you love it, I don't care for). While this fragrance has a respectable list of florals, I don't get any of them as singular notes. Rather, I get a blend of florals that is light and quite lovely. I get the plum as a prominent note mixed with the floral. The plum is deep, rich, and semi-sweet. The florals and plum lay on a bed of a silky smooth woody-musk. Neither the wood nor the musk are strong; they are simply present enough that you know they're there. Belle de Nuit wears with only a mild projection; like an intimate fragrance. There is a gorgeous drydown that feels like a reminiscence of a field of flowers at dusk. "An original, deep rich harmony of flowers and fruit on a warm velvety bottom note of musk. A precious magical fragrance....