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...

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...

Kilian - Moonlight in Heaven Moonlight In Heaven (“Moonlight”) is described as an aromatic although in my opinion it has strong similarities with fruity florals.   It was released in 2016.   What is moonlight in heaven?   I ask as the answer to this question would be different for different people and, being the backdrop for this fragrance story, the answers bear relevance to the wearer’s expectations.   Of course here we know the fragrance inspiration since the brand tells us: “A dazzling beam of pearlized light dances on the oceans belly, witnessed by two lovers who watch from a balcony draped in floating white opaque gauze that seems alive, responding to a warm wind that blows. The lovers, high above the world to almost touch the stars, with full hearts and bodies light as air.”   This would not be my answer to the question but then, the fragrance is not my story to tell. So before we even begin our wear, we know that this fragrance will hint of ...

Juicy Couture - Majestic Woods EDP Majestic Woods (“Woods”) is an oriental woody fragrance released in 2017.   It’s Juicy Couture’s spin on niche oriental woody fragrance and is very different from the classic Juicy scent profiles. Woods opens with an intense woody note that seems to take on elements of an oud-like replica.   There is a moderate patchouli that adds an earthy element and a lightly sweetened praline.   The praline both intensifies the wood theme and adds a slightly sweet caramelized note.   Tonka bean seems to lay in the background adding some warmth and shy vanilla spice to the accord. As Woods wears, some of the initial intensity of the woody – patchouli opening seems to soften.   A lightly syrupy note enters and the wood note becomes somewhat more complex.   There is a somewhat synthetic, but not unpleasant, feel to the fragrance at this point in wear.   Woods takes on a brief pipe tobacco tone and remains a warm, lightl...

Arno Soreal Paris Solinotes - Vanille EDP Vanille is an aromatic fragrance created with the purpose of wearing on its own or layered with other Solinotes (or other brand) fragrances to create your own personal combination. Vanille wears in a linear way from beginning to end.   The blend of notes creates a delicious soft, sweet, bakery-like vanilla scent.   There is a tempting sweetness to this vanilla that any gourmand-lover should appreciate.   There is at one time a light powdery feel to the vanilla and at the same time a creaminess.   Vanille feels very much like a hug or snuggle of vanilla.   Vanille wears on me for roughly 5 hours with moderate moving to soft projection. Notes: Vanilla, White Flowers, Tonka Bean, White spices Ingredients:   Alcohol Denat , Aqua , Parfum , Octocrylene, Homosalate, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Tocopherol, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Ci...

DUA Fragrances - Wood & Cognac Wood and Cognac.   The two words together bring to mind a pensive gentleman in his study.   The image is old world.   It’s an image of cultured elegance. With Wood & Cognac, DUA Fragrances brings us a refined woody fragrance.   The opening is a complex, deep, boozy wood.   As you breathe in, the wood panels of the study come alive.   There is a light, green rose that drifts through the composition intricately mingled with the wood and cognac.   As this fragrance wears, it takes on additional complexity; a touch of dark cocoa, a warm creamy sandalwood – all the while the boozy wood remains in the forefront.   The perfumer gives us additional notes to create interest and complexity with this fragrance, but at no point do they surpass the boozy woody notes.   Wood & Cognac is about its namesake throughout the wear.   Wood & Cognac wears on me for roughly 11 hours with heavy moving...

Lubin - Epidor EDP Epidor, an oriental floral, is the first fragrance I’ve tried from Lubin.  The House of Lubin was established back in 1798 and as such, is one of France’s oldest luxury brands.  Fun fact - During the reign of the last king of France, Lubin obtained the title of Official Perfumer to the French Royal Court.  In 1998, the House was revitalized and now is based in the middle of Paris.  With that said, I had high expectations for Epidor.  And – spoilers – I was not disappointed. Epidor opens with a gorgeous musk-laced violet.  The violet is only lightly powdery (in a good way) courtesy of a rich plum that gives it depth.  About an hour into wear, a soft orange blossom melds with a delicate jasmine joining the musk.  The restraint of the perfumer with the jasmine makes the note feel soft.  It feels very much like an innocent romance.  The creamy, slightly woody base has a gentle hay feel and notes of vanilla and alm...

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....

Tom Ford - Oud Wood EDP I received a sample of this Tom Ford oriental woody with an order from Saks Fifth Avenue.  I was very curious to try this as I am a fan of some of Tom Ford’s fragrances and wanted to see what he had done with oud as it’s often a challenging note for many.  My curiosity was further piqued after seeing a number of fairly negative reviews of this juice. Oud Wood opens with a slightly spicy rosewood note.  The rosewood is rich and inviting and the spice feels very much like a cardamom black pepper blend (although the note should be Chinese pepper).  About 30 minutes into wear, the wood note begins to take on a light smokiness.  An hour into wear I get touches of a creamy vetiver which serves to brighten the feel of the fragrance yet not so much so that it leaves the realm of the woody.  At the 2 hour point, notes of tonka and amber reaffirm the original warmth of the fragrance.  The drydown is a sum of the parts being a war...

Vartan Perfumes - Carnelian I have a love-hate relationship with cinnamon.  Cinnamon is one of those spices that for me can easily be overdone.  This is far from the case with Carnelian.  The scent opens with just enough spice to warm up the tobacco and vetiver.  The carnation adds a slight floral note that adds interest as the fragrance develops on the skin.  I can smell the amber and vanilla adding depth and a slightly sweet effect on my skin but again, just enough to make it interesting, warm, and enticing.  I get bits of each note over the course of wear but in general the notes seem to radiate with harmony.  Carnelian has the coziness of a warm sweater in Winter with a subtle sexiness hinting of more interesting Winter nights.  This is a lovely fragrance that seems to strike all the right notes. I get 8 hours of wear with Carnelian with a moderate sillage. Top notes are black pepper and cinnamon; middle notes are white tobacco, v...

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...

Dame Perfumery: Black Flower Mexican Vanilla I wasn't going to write a review for this one after seeing how many of you already own and love it. And then it occurred to me, that would be very much like tasting a fine wine and not remarking "oh this is good" simply because everyone already knows. Black Flower Mexican Vanilla is, in my opinion, the conversion vanilla. What I mean is that many shy away from vanilla fragrances fearing they will pull too gourmand or sweet (and they don't care for that). This is the vanilla fragrance that might just convert those that are normally disinclined to try a fragrance with vanilla. Black Flower is a cozy, warm vanilla filled with sultry spice and deep layered florals. It's the feel of your favorite ultra soft sweater on a chilly day, a snuggle by the fireside...the pure simplicity of the sense it relates belies it's complexity. "A blend of vanilla absolute with touches of lemon, grapefruit, caramel, nutmeg, ga...

Berdous: Selva Do Brazil "Petitgrain from Paraguay, tonka bean from Brazil, and gaiac wood from Argentina combine to create Selva Do Brazil, a scent reminiscent of the sap in the heart of the rainforest’s trees. Fragrantica classifies this as an oriental woody scent. While the notes taken as such would place Selva Do Brazil into that category, I don't get what I would consider an oriental woody juice. Petitgrain, which should really smell more like a sharp and woody citrus, smells more like neroli in this juice. It's a sweet and slightly honeyed opening without being cloying. Both the tonka bean and the guaiac wood add more to the honey-tinged sweetness. There is an accord of vanilla that runs through the fragrance from the tonka bean. The guaiac adds just the slightest hint of smokiness to the base without being outright smoky. Selvo Do Brazil is another light scent from Berdoues. It has minimal projection. (As I have absolutely no clue what sap in the middle of a ra...