Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

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....

Jason Wu - Jason Wu EDP New to the fragrance scene, designer Jason Wu, has recently released his first fragrance of the same name.  I’ve long been a fan of Jason Wu’s designs and so his foray into the world of fragrance was of interest to me.  This new fragrance is classified by Fragrantica as a floral and by the designer as a “fresh floral woody”.    Jason Wu (“Wu” for the remainder of my review) opens with a strong, fresh, somewhat aquatic, floral; specifically jasmine.  The jasmine used in this fragrance is jasminum sambac, often referred to as Arabian jasmine, which is a species of jasmine native to South and Southeast Asia.  This particular species is known for its unique sweetness and intensity.  These qualities are present in Wu.  So with the opening of jasmine we have a lovely delicate and non-cloying sweetness.  I feel the slight aquatic nature of the opening is due in large part to the fig note.  The note does not spec...

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...

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...

4160 Tuesdays - Eau My Soul Eau My Soul (“EMS” for the rest of my review) is an oriental woody fragrance created as a bespoke juice for the Facebook group Eau My Soul stemming from the creative idea of one of the group Admins and Founder Christi Long.  The members collaboratively voted on desired notes to use and Sarah McCartney, the perfumer, took it from there.  EMS opens with a bold note of cognac.  In this instance, the cognac doesn’t have an overly boozy quality but retains many of the complexities of a fine cognac: slightly herbal, slightly floral, slightly fruity, and slightly leather-like.  Like cognac the note is instantly warm and inviting.  There is also a cool incense note.  The incense plays well off of the cognac and acts to begin to elevate and add to the complexity of the fragrance.   There is a feel of a slightly honeyed, but not overly sweet, amber adding a richness and underscoring the warmth and coziness of the juice....

Jo Malone London - English Oak & Redcurrant English Oak & Redcurrant (referred to as “Redcurrant” for the rest of my review) is my second review of the English Oak release from Jo Malone.  Whereas English Oak & Hazelnut is a woody spicy fragrance, Redcurrant is meant to transform the roasted oak into a floral fruity one. Redcurrant opens with a bright, tart redcurrant and mandarin note.  The note is reminiscent of a sunrise in that if the scent were color, it would be bright yellow and orange.  Within about 15 minutes the fruit notes are joined by rose.  The rose is a freshly picked, slightly sprinkled with dew rose scent.  The rose pairs nicely with the fruit which has already begun to soften.  There is a light dusting of musk which begins to create additional depth to this fragrance.  The musk is present enough to hold back the rose from overtaking the fragrance.  There is a slight spiciness to the fragrance at about an hour...

En Voyage Perfumes - Figa The perfumer, Shelley Waddington, was offering a giveaway of samples of her fragrances (by contest) in one of my fragrance groups.  While I was not fortunate enough to have won the giveaway, Ms. Waddington was kind and generous enough to extend a prize to some that had not won; in her Portland based saying to “put a bird on it”.  The charming phrase, which being an East Coaster I had never heard before, refers to a little addition; the cherry on top if you will.  In this case my “cherry” was a sample of her fragrance Figa.  While I’ve seen this fragrance classified as an oriental floral it does in many respects defy the nomenclature.  The genesis of this scent and its purpose are based in the history and magic of talismans.  In her words, “Figa Eau de Parfum is the fragrance equivalent of the powerful Figa amulet. It celebrates strength, power, vision and success.”  And really, who couldn’t use a little more of that?!...

Solstice Scents - Black Forest Perfume Oil Black Forest opens as the absolutely most delectable black forest cake.  I get a rich, deep, chocolate, and luscious cherries.  The scent is so true to life I can almost taste the sticky sweetness of the cherries oozing down the side of my slice of cake.  And, just as I am about to raid the fridge looking for something I’m sure I won’t find, the fragrance begins to change. The gourmand notes begin to fade (although never completely) and a deep woody tobacco begins to rise.  From the edges of the bakery shop I am taken to Baden-Wurttemberg and somewhere within the Black Forest.  I am high in the mountains and surrounded by a dense stand of trees and lush vegetation.  After another hour or so, the deep rich wood note begins to dry as if the seasons had begun to change.  The hay absolute coupled with the remaining tobacco afford the scent an almost Fall-like quality.  For the remaining wear, th...

Jo Malone London - English Oak & Hazelnut I’ve been testing this fragrance for the past 2 days.  I want to extend my thanks to Dean Farris, Beauty Product Specialist/Jo Malone London, from Neiman Marcus for his gracious offer to send me the sample. When I first heard about this fragrance, all of the buzz was about the three primary notes: hazelnut, cedar, and oak.  Based on that, I anticipated this fragrance to have a warm nutty hazelnut top, a rich cedar middle, and a woody base.  I was wrong. English Oak & Hazelnut opens with a bright green hazelnut paired with vetiver.  There is a crisp, slight grassiness to it with a touch of lemon earthiness.  Vetiver is one of my favorite notes in fragrance so its early appearance was a pleasant surprise to me.  About 30 minutes into wear, the elemi adds a touch more lemon and a peppery spice.  An hour and a half into wear I get a touch of green and a stunning roasted oak.  The oak is ri...

Solstice Scents - Violet Mallow (Perfume Oil) Some time ago, I was lucky enough to have some friends in the UK send me several rolls of Parma Violet candies.  Being in the US, I was enthralled and intrigued by the notion of the little violet confections that I’d never seen on this side of the pond.  The fond memories of those candies, made me want to try the Solstice Scents gourmand rift on violet – Violet Mallow. Violet Mallow opens with a bold, powdery (Parma candy-like) violet note layered on top of a sweet, puffy marshmallow.  The sweetness of the marshmallow tames the boldness of the violet and creates a delectable, almost creamy violet note.  About 2 hours into wear, the violet softens.  Vanilla bean and musk begin to appear.  The vanilla and musk are mild but present enough that you know they’re there.  Through the course of the 7 hour wear, the violet remains present throughout.  The moderate projection softens to a light one and ...