Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

Charlotte Tilbury – Scent of a Dream Perfume Scent of a Dream (“Dream”) is a chypre floral fragrance released by the iconic Charlotte Tilbury brand in 2016.   The fragrance launched with the face of the equally iconic Kate Moss.   The scent is comprised of notes of scented oils from the Ibiza markets, where Tilbury hails from. So, confession - I would not have bought this fragrance.   Dream contains the hallmark notes of rose, jasmine, patchouli, and bergamot which are often components of a chypre floral. Chypre Florals are one of my least favorite categories of fragrance, so while I am a fan of the cosmetic line, I most likely would have skipped on the fragrance.   Fortunately for me, during the recent Black Friday sales, Charlotte Tilbury included this fragrance as a GWP.   I am so pleased she did. Dream opens as a bright, somewhat spicy, fruity note.   The fruit notes are balanced but on me, the peach speaks the loudest.   There is a s...

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...

By Kilian - Vodka on the Rocks EDP Vodka on the Rocks (“Vodka”) was released By Kilian in 2014.   The fragrance is an interesting aromatic with strong earthy underpinnings. The opening of Vodka is surprisingly much like the initial pour of vodka into a glass of ice.   Through the use of aldehydes, which typically are not a favorite of mine, Kilian manages to replicate the essence of that singular moment.   There is a slight spiciness to the opening with coriander being more prominent than cardamom, but overall the clear alcohol accord comes through. As Vodka wears, I get the bitter rhubarb and rose.   The two are well paired and with the help of Lily of the Valley, a citric floral emerges.   At the same time, I begin to get smoky leathery notes.   On me, the base notes are just smoky enough that I get a vibe of a white incense.   Vodka on the Rocks wears on me for roughly 9 hours with moderate projection. Notes: cardmom, coriande...

Diptyque - Do Son EDT Do Son is a floral fragrance released by Diptyque in 2005.   For me, this fragrance is all about the tuberose. Do Son opens with a tempered tuberose.   Where the flower can often be loud and screechy, Do Son restrains it and it blossoms as a bright joyful slightly creamy note.   As Do Son wears, I get the addition of the other florals – most prominently rose and orange flower.   The rose and orange flower compliment the tuberose and add to its bouquet.   there is a “wetness” to the fragrance that feels almost tangible.   I also get a tiny bit of greenness and a floral echo that reads on me as a light jasmine.   Toward the very end of wear, I get hints of musk.   Combined with the florals, the musk adds more of a humid, tropical climate feel to the drydown. Do Son wears on me with soft projection for roughly 6 hours. Notes: Top: Tuberose Middle: Orange Tree Leaves, Roses, Benzoin and Iris Base: White Mu...

Montale Parfums Paris - Intense Tiare EDP Intense Tiare (“Tiare”) is an oriental floral fragrance that was released by Montale in 2005.   The fragrance celebrates the tiare flower; a member of the gardenia family. With Tiare, I don’t get a lot of development.   On me it’s one of those “what you smell is what you get” fragrances.   And what I get it a deep dive into a tropical vacation.   This one is truly intense.   It’s as if every note has been concentrated and then reflected back.   I get a lush, sweet, intense coconut paired with an equally intense blooming jasmine.   The pairing prevents Tiare from moving to gourmand territory.   The ylang-ylang and rose are present but in the background.   Vanilla adds interest to the fragrance.   The vanilla is more of a dry essence than a sweet note.   There is a creaminess to the scent as well.   The creamy element seems to add to the feeling of depth and the headiness overal...

Berdous - Péng Lái EDP Péng Lái (“Peng”) is an oriental floral fragrance from Berdous.   The fragrance also has hallmarks of being a lightly spicy fruity floral.   The inspiration behind Peng is one of Chinese legend.   It is said that, “The tale of Peng Lai, tells of the island of longevity where the Goddess of Flowers, He Xiangu, sojourned. This grand cru invites you to daydream, clear your mind, and recharge your batteries at the heart of the Middle Kingdom as you admire the singular beauty of this region of the world.” Peng opens with a soft osmanthus and bergamot blended with an equally light, bright citrus.   The notes project with a delicate intimacy.   There is also a gentle sweetness.   Very quickly, I get a juicy peach and a somewhat jammy rose.   Neither of these two notes take this fragrance to a place where it becomes cloying.   At roughly the one hour mark, benzoin adds it’s usual tones and the fragrance begins to round...

Jo Loves – Pomelo Pomelo is a citrus fragrance from Jo Loves that is much more than simply citrus and is the perfumer’s signature scent.   The fragrance has the “Jo Malone” touch all over it and, if you’re a fan of or familiar with her scents, you’ll understand that nuance she has as a perfumer.   For those not familiar, the best way I can describe it is that she has a certain knack for taking a primary note or notes and blending them with other notes in such a way that the “star” note is front and center and then transforms into more than the sum of the parts. With Pomelo the opening is zesty, effervescent, and fresh.   I get a burst of citric pomelo at first whiff.   This is a fresh from the orchard grapefruit zing.   Within about fifteen minutes, the almost pure citrus begins its transformation.   I get hints of a full-bodied rose just behind and beginning to soften and round the opening.   It feels very similar to an old masters painting ...

Montale Parfums Paris - Intense Café EDP Intense Café is an oriental vanilla fragrance that released in 2013.   A number of my friends in the fragrance community have spoken highly of this fragrance and, being a coffee fiend (both the note and the beverage) I wanted to try it.   I ordered a sample from Luckyscent and… I don’t even know where to begin with this.   It’s rare that I draw a complete blank when writing a review.   I should say here that I tested this fragrance for four days in a row.   And I am lost.   What I mean here is that I was anticipating a glorious coffee fragrance.   What I experienced on each of my trials was not a coffee fragrance in any way. When I take in the very opening of Intense Café, I get a strong, bitter, somewhat spicy or medicinal floral.   It is not identifiable as a specific flower.   The floral intensity softens after about an hour and in comes a rose.   The rose is mixed with a resinous...

Creed - Spring Flower I’m heading back to 1996 for this floral fruity fragrance.   Creed’s Spring Flower is said to be a “flirtatious and feminine timeless classic”.   It is said it was designed as a signature scent for Audrey Hepburn; although I have not been able to verify this claim. I’m a big Hepburn fan so sampling what might have been one of her signature scents was on my “to do” list.   I also enjoy a good fruity floral.   I’ve worn this fragrance for several days and I must say, that on me, the wear seems to change – sometimes I feel the fruity notes are more prominent, while other times the florals seem to take hold. While certainly Spring Flower follows a traditional fragrance pyramid, other than in the dry down, the wear for me remains quite constant from the first spray.   I get a variety of fresh fruits mixed together in all wearings.   No single fruit stands out on its own.   It kind of becomes a blend most similar to a frui...

Olibere Parfums - L`Etoile Noire Launched in 2016, L’Etoile Noire (“Noire”) is a study of light and dark; the opposites that we each carry with us.   The notes classify this as an oriental fragrance, however, in my opinion, it is also very much a woody one. Noire opens on me with a contrast.   On the one hand I get an intense bergamot and sharp lemon and on the other I get an achingly intense peppery spice.   There is a heavy smokiness from the gaiac.   As Noire continues to wear I get more and more tones of wood.   I do not identify the wood as specifically being oud, as iterated in the Notes of this fragrance, but rather a general deep, dark woody accord.   At roughly 3 – 4 hours into wear, Noire takes on a powdery aspect.   There is still an echo of citrus, moderate spice, woods, and smoke but in comes a softened rose and what seems like patchouli.   There is a dried tobacco leaf as well as a very soft dried rose petal. In the...

Apothescary Scents - Annabel Lee Perfume Oil As a fragrance blogger with the curiosity of a cat, I’m always searching for the new and unusual.   I stumbled across this brand while shopping for completely unrelated items.   “What is this?!”   A fragrance brand I had not yet heard of with fragrances that spoke to my love of Poe and other literary greats?   I browsed through the offerings and selected two to try in order to satiate my curiosity and perhaps discover a new love.   Annabel Lee is the first of the two I will be reviewing. Being familiar with, and loving, Annabel Lee by Poe (copied below), I had a preconceived idea about this fragrance before I tested it.   I wanted and expected it to transport me into the poem itself.   Spoilers – Annabel Lee did not disappoint. This fragrance opens with an air of mystery.   There is a mossy green base blurred with a rolling fog of salt air and driftwood.   You get an immediate sense o...

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 ...

Il Profvmo - Chocolat EDP Chocolat is an oriental vanilla fragrance and (spoilers), while the name of the fragrance is Chocolat, it has no semblance of a gourmand or a strong chocolate note(s) on me. This perfume wears in a fairly linear way on me with the exception of the drydown.  I get a soft, lightly spiced, slightly fruity, floral blend with a vanilla base.  The tangerine melds with the plum in this fragrance so as not to become citric yet it does impart a warmth when combined with the nutmeg.  There is a creamy quality to the fragrance which tends to lean more strongly floral than fruity or vanilla on me.  Jasmine and rose are tinged with the fruits and there is a somewhat biting acid that is tempered by an overlay of powder.  A dry chocolate-cocoa appears for me as the scent begins to dry down.  In the drydown the fragrance becomes softer and more powdery. Notes:  tangerine, galbanum, nutmeg, sandalwood, plum, jasmine, rose, cacao, ...

Diptyque - Tam Dao EDP Tam Dao is an older floral woody musk offering from Diptyque.  Before I begin my review, I do want to share that this fragrance wears more like a slightly spicy, creamy, woody fragrance on me. In the opening, Tam Dao exudes a creamy, slightly spicy woody feel.  I get a deep cedar lightened by a creamy sandalwood.  The cedar and sandalwood are both moderate in intensity.  There is a slight spice that lays against a lush cypress.  Said to evoke “memories of Asia”, you can clearly sense the jungle vibe to the notes. As the fragrance continues to develop, a resinous amber in softer tones comes forward as does a clean, light, warm musk.  These notes add a feel of sunny warmth shining into the density of the jungle growth.  Finally, in the drydown, rosewood intensifies the woodiness of the fragrance.  There is an earthiness to the rosewood and subtle hints of floral (not distinguishable as a specific floral note). ...

Dame Perfumery - Cassis, Rose & Sandalwood Woman EDT Today’s review is about Dame Perfumery’s Cassis, Rose & Sandalwood (Cassis).  I’ve been testing this fragrance for three days since it contains a note, rose, that I’m not typically a fan of.  Before I begin my review, I would also like to thank the perfumer, Jeffrey Dame, for his quick response to my notes question.  I had reached out to the brand since the featured notes did not seem to align with either the notes I was perceiving or the notes as I’ve seen listed elsewhere. The fragrance itself seems on the surface that it might simply be a juice of cassis, rose, and sandalwood.  The brand site states, “Three elements neatly balanced for simple, clean and pure beauty.  A bright top note, a pretty floral heart and a warm sensual dry down, matched together and blended to perfection.”  So while the trio may be the stars of this fragrance, in actuality it is more complex. Cassis ope...

Dame Perfumery - Dark Horse Have you ever sampled a fragrance and thought to yourself, “What in the world has taken me so long to try this, it’s fantastic?”  Well, that was literally my very first thought the moment I got my first whiff of Dark Horse.  Webster’s Dictionary define dark horse as “a usually little known contender (such as a racehorse) that makes an unexpectedly good showing”.  In the case of this fragrance, the name fits perfectly for me. Dark Horse is a floral woody musk, which for me tends to be a category of fragrance I tend to enjoy.  It opens with a cinnamon spiced bergamot with a light lemon twist.  The spice is tempered so it brings out the very best in the other two notes; the bergamot is the more predominant.  In the development of this juice the floral notes are enhanced with jasmine, carnation, and rose.  The jasmine seems to take a front seat for me with the carnation and rose being more subtle.  A gorgeous clove...

Christian Louboutin  - Trouble in Heaven Parfum Louboutin’s foray into the perfume world includes a trilogy of scents intended to reflect varied aspects of a woman’s personality.  Trouble in Heaven (“Trouble”), one of those fragrances, is an oriental floral. Trouble opens with an intense aquatic bergamot.  We get the aquatic feel due to the use of the synthetic, cascalone.  The initial spray is incredibly strong to my nose.  For me, Trouble does not have a traditional fragrance development after the initial note.  Instead, I get the entry of the florals – rose and iris – with the iris being more predominant through the fragrance wear.  The “base” notes also come in within the first fifteen minutes.  I get a rich, resinous amber touched with a clean patchouli and tonka bean.  In this fragrance, the tonka bean seems to lean heavily almond.  There is little to no change for me in note perception during the remainder of the wear....

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...

Creed – Viking Before I start my review, I’d like to extend my thanks to Jennifer Villalba from the Creed Boutique in New York for a sample of this fragrance.  If you’re looking for any Creed products, she was absolutely lovely to work with. I wasn’t sure what to expect with Creed’s newest release, Viking, which is described by the brand as, “a fiery men’s fragrance that bottles the fearless spirit of boundless exploration for the modern man who goes against the grain”.  Viking opens on me with a strong blast of bergamot and a somewhat sharp lemon that seems to appear and disappear throughout the opening.  Despite the fresh brightness of the bergamot and lemon, the opening is also decidedly masculine with a spicy dark feel.  As Viking begins to develop, the citrus begins to fade and the pink peppercorn and rose become much more prominent.  The rose feels very much like a burnt rose and retains that heady spiciness we started to sense in the opening....