Binxcat's Purrfect Fragrance

Derek Lam 10 Crosby - Rain Day "A rainy day on Crosby Street. The confidence to find something beautiful and meaningful during a Rain Day.  An enchanting balance of tropical vetiver Haiti and citrusy neroli Tunisia creates a surprisingly fresh scent." (Derek Lam 10 Crosby)  What is a rain day and how does a perfumer capture that essence in a fragrance?  I’ve been to New York but have not been to Crosby Street yet I know what a rain day is.  I’m also one that enjoys a good downpour; and the joy that can sometimes occur after having been caught in that torrent of rain.  Rain Day wears on me as a fairly linear fragrance.  There’s a fresh somewhat citrusy greenness to the floral (neroli) which has a damp quality to it.  It feels very much like the green smell of Spring.  Rain Day feels clean and aquatic.  There is a subtle underlying woodiness to the fragrance as well.  The woody note does not “bring the dewy green floral down”...

Frederic Malle – Superstitious Superstitious is a contemporary take on the floral aldehyde from Frederic Malle.  Unlike other floral aldehydes with a rose note, the rose in Superstitious is not jammy at all.   It opens with a strong blossoming rose and a soapy aldehyde note.  There is a cleanness to the notes.  In it’s opening, it is a floral aldehyde lovers dream.  About 30 minutes into wear I get an extremely bold jasmine.  The jasmine is strong yet blends seamlessly with the rose.  The aldehydes begin to soften.  Another 30 minutes in and a spicy and juicy peach appear.  There is an effervescence in the way the spiced peach enters the juice.  A subtle resinous amber, as well as the continuing aldehydes, prevent Superstitious from going the way of a fruity floral. Roughly 2 hours into wear, the rose softens and the spiced peach jasmine aldehyde is cradled by a woody vetiver.  The juiciness of the notes begins to ...

Eris Parfums - Mx. Earlier this year, Eris Parfums released the fragrance Mx., a woody spicy offering.  I was fortunate enough to have Nir Guy of Perfumology (King of Prussia, PA) send me a sample of this gem.  Can you tell where this review is headed?  Here’s another clue – I ordered a full bottle the day after I first tested it. The creative and intellectual concept behind this fragrance is the interplay between traditionally feminine and masculine notes (although it should be noted this juice contains no florals) in celebration of  “gender neutral” in the fragrance community.  If you’re a member of any fragrance group, I’m sure you’ve seen over and over the comment that scent is and should be genderless.  The global trend to more acceptance of gender-neutrality is something the fragrance community has embraced for some time.  As further evidence of this stance, this juice is simply titled Mx.; the accepted gender neutral title. Mx. open...

Dame Perfumery - Earth Mother Earth Mother.  The name conjures images in my mind that brings one back to the heyday of Haight-Ashbury.  It summons images of being one with Nature and yet being a force on its own.  In these respects, Earth Mother from Dame Perfumery lives up to the images. Earth Mother to me is all about the patchouli.  Sure enough we get the other notes but they all weave themselves around the star – patchouli.  The juice opens with a lemony, slightly herbal, caramel melting over a bold patchouli.  About an hour into wear notes of jasmine and lily bloom in quiet symphony with the earthy sweetness.  The florals bring a sensuality to the fragrance.   Creamy vanilla, resinous amber, and earthy musk round out the scent.  The patchouli wears throughout the journey.  There is a gentleness to the handling of these notes and I am forced to feel as if it’s the warm embrace of Earth itself.  Earth Mother wea...

Agonist Parfums - Onyx Pearl Onyx Pearl (“Onyx”) is a new oriental woody offering from the Swedish niche perfume house Agonist Parfums.  With Onyx, the brand intends to create a blur of boundaries between male and female and create a “seductive and enchanting” juice suitable for everyone. The fragrance opens with a bold floral oud tinged with a suede-like leather.  The leather and later heliotrope and sandalwood cool the somewhat spicy opening.  There is a clean, almost powdery, feel to the first 2 hours of wear.  At the end of the first couple of hours, in comes a complex patchouli and a resinous amber.  The drydown begins for me at roughly 3 – 4 hours into wear and a light cedar balances the juice.  For me, the cedar re-emphasizes the oud in Onyx.  There is a barely perceptible musk in the drydown, however, the usual intensity of musk is overshadowed by the woody notes. Onyx wears for me for roughly 8 – 9 hours with moderate projection. ...

Ellis Brooklyn - Sci Fi EDP I received a sample of Sci Fi with a cosmetics order I placed.  Being a sci fi geek, I was immediately curious because of the name.  Little did I know what this fragrance had in store for me! Sci Fi is an interesting twist on what we know as vanilla-based scents.  The fragrance begins with a clearly citrus opening filled with bergamot and bitter orange.  The citrus lays superimposed on the vanilla which I find runs through the entire wear of the juice.  About an hour into wear and just when you’re feeling like you have a citric vanilla – bam – in comes a refreshing, slightly sweet and somewhat herbal green tea and a gorgeous freesia.  The citrus moves to the back and you have a transformed scent.  A clean, somewhat green, lightly floral, lightly vanilla rises from the skin.  When Sci Fi begins the drydown cashmere woods add a warmer, deeper base. Sci Fi feels very much like a fantasy voyage; taking the wear...

Diptyque - Essences Insensees Rose de Mai EDP Diptyque’s floral offering in the Essences Insensees Collection, Rose de Mai (“Rose”), is perfumer Fabrice Pellegrin’s homage to the iconic flower of Grasse.  While the fragrance contains notes other than Rose de Mai, it is the rose that shines through. There is a linear wear to Rose.  On first spray, the wearer is transported to a field of blossoming roses.  There is a touch of sweetness courtesy of the beeswax.  The fragrance is warmed by the spicy balsamic ambery addition of tolu balsam.  I find the tolu balsam adds an intensity that could be interpreted as smoky although I find it to be more resinous.  Rose is not shy; she shines bright and warm like the fields of flowers she emulates.  Rose wears on me with little to no change for roughly 6 hours with moderate projection. Notes - Beeswax, tolu balsam, rose de mai Perfumer - Fabrice Pellegrin

Dame Perfumery - Citrus Man Cologne Citrus Man Cologne (“Citrus”) is, well, a citrus.  I couldn’t resist the obvious but really, it’s so much more. And while we’re dispensing with the “obvious”, while this is marketed as a fragrance for men, this can easily be worn by anyone. Citrus opens with…wait for it…citrus notes.  A bright, sparkling lemon-lime and grapefruit let you know this is going to be a cologne with a freshness.  Within about fifteen minutes, a gorgeous blossoming jasmine joins the citrus notes.  There is a lightness to the jasmine.  About another fifteen to thirty minutes into wear, Citrus is joined by a creamy woody musk.  If you’re familiar with the perfumer’s other fragrance, New Musk Man, this has the same musk vibe to it.  It’s not the musk of the 80s but instead a reinvented and more wearable reincarnation.  Citrus wears as a clean citrus creamy woody musk on me for roughly 5 – 6 hours with light projection. No...

Prada - Les Infusions de Prada Amande Les Infusions de Prada Amande (“Amande”) is an oriental vanilla offering from the Prada Infusion Collection.  (Note – For me, Amande wears as more of an oriental until the drydown.)  It is a heightened take on the contrasting sweet and bitter in bitter almond oil. Amande opens with a sharp, cool amaretto note.  I get the layered bitter almond balanced against the light bergamot.  After about fifteen minutes, the juice takes on a powdery feel as the heliotrope comes into play.  The powder feels more like a bittersweet almond powder than a baby powder.  About an hour or two into wear I begin to get the spicier note from the anise while the tonka reinforces the duality of the scent.  In the drydown, Amande becomes an almost creamy fragrance with a lovely light musk base.  The drydown feels much more complex than the opening. Amande wear on me for roughly 7 hours with moderate projection. Notes: b...

Commodity Fragrances – Rain EDP I ordered a sample of Commodity Rain (“Rain”) during a period of weather here where the rain seemed to be non-stop.  I was curious as to how close this floral aquatic could actually get to telling the story of  “a walk in the rain, cleansing, refreshing, as escape to a clean slate in life”.  It should be noted that Rain was a part of the brand’s White Collection which is comprised of scents that are lighter and intended to be worn alone or layered. Rain does, in fact, tell a straightforward story with its notes.  It’s clean, fresh, floral, green, and aquatic.  There is a lightness to the green, moist, opening as it’s layered with a fresh lushness of the florals.  After an initial burst that’s fairly citric and lemony, the Springtime florals appear with a blossoming greenness.  On my skin, the jasmine and lotus blossom are the most prominent of the floral notes although the bergamot and freesia are detectable....