Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

Kensington Apothecary – Capri 1966 EDP Kensington Apothecary has been on my radar for a while now.   As a beauty blogger, I became aware of the brand some time ago through their skincare line.   I was impressed by the founder’s use of natural ingredients and their commitment to community.   When they made the decision to launch their first fragrance collection, Expatica Scent Collection, I was immediately interested.   I was fortunate enough to be able to obtain a sample of one of the three releases, Capri 1966 (“Capri”).   Capri has been described by the perfumer as a “tomboy floral”.    Of course, many of us in the fragrance community no longer consider fragrance male or female, however, there can be made some distinction in notes of scents which were traditionally identified as owning to male or female. If you’ve followed my fragrance blog, you already know that I personally love a scent that tells a story.   In the case of Capri, the...

House of Matriarch - Coco Blanc I was gifted a sample of this oriental vanilla fragrance from a very good friend of mine.   I had been interested in testing it for some time and had simply not gotten around to it.   Sometimes, you need that little push from a friend!   In this case, I’m so happy I got that push. While on the surface, the main notes in this fragrance read as gourmand, let me stop you there – this fragrance does not wear as a traditional sweet gourmand.   Instead, like all of the House of Matriarch fragrances I’ve had the chance to try, this one is intensely complex.   Coco Blanc opens on me as a creamy white chocolate, chai spiced, walk in the woods.   There is almost a warm floral quality to it.   The fragrance does not feel weighted down but instead has a lightness to it.   Hints of coconut peek through enveloped in an accord that reads on me as a smoky leather.   I get a lightly resinous warmth.   Coming ...

House of Matriarch – Ambre Vie Ambre Vie is an oriental amber-based offering from the House of Matriarch.  Initially created in 2012, vintage bottles will begin shipping on February 20, 2018.  Before I get into the nuts and bolts of this review, I want to touch briefly on my thoughts about the perfumer, Christi Meshell and her approach to perfumery in general.  Meshell is one of those perfumers that in my opinion has a unique knack of taking multiple, complex notes and seamlessly blending them into a fragrance where the sum is even greater than all the multiple parts.  In the instance of Ambre Vie, it is said that, “More than one hundred different aromatics comprise this silky amber perfume.”  Often combining certain notes and certainly in the numerical quantity Meshell does them in can go terribly, horribly wrong.  I don’t know what her secret is, magic perhaps, but experiencing her fragrances is truly a joy. On me, Ambre Vie feels like a flor...