Tag Archives: Puredistance

Finally Puredistance M

Perfume review, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume March 3, 2015 Comments: 14

I say finally because I’ve been in love with this perfume ever since I first smelled it. and I first smelled it when it came out. 🙂

The Puredistance people are a lovely bunch and I am always happy to receive their new releases – albeit this is far from a new release (it’s just that I am slow when it comes to writing).puredist m

Anyone who has smelled this will probably say it is hard to describe this perfume. I mean, you can actually smell all the notes but hell, that doesn’t come close to describing what it smells like in real life.

To my mind, it’s a perfume that share a genetic code with Shalimar. Where Shalimar is its female predecessor from a distant past, this is a perfume that has all the perfect bone structure of his famous ancestor, only it’s not a female descendant, it’s a really great looking male one. You see, it’s the bone structure he inherited, it didn’t come with the accumulated wealth and modern education. And he smells like all of it.

I can’t help it. In that first instant I smell Puredistance M, I smell the lemons and the underlying warmth of spices and vanilla and I instantly think, oh, Shalimar. That said, this doesn’t smell anything like Shalimar, it’s only the initial blast and just so you know, the lemony-spicy notes smell like candy a bit and give me the idea that our rich guy has a prankster side to him.

I can completely understand the smoky part of this picture

I can completely understand the smoky part of this picture

There is a slight sharpness to this initial blast and I blame it all on the rose (and when I say blame I actually mean thank).

This is just such a wonderfully full perfume that makes you want to burrow your nose into whatever part of the body it’s on and stay there. At least it does when it’s dabbed on.

Anyway, the leather makes its presence known quite quickly and it has that lovely irisy feel to it (that’s how I differentiate leather). Supple and smooth and oh so seductive. (honestly, men should not be aware this perfume exists)

The official notes are: Bergamot, Lemon, Rose, Jasmine, Cinnamon, Patchouli, Mosses, Cistus, Vetiver, Patchouli, Vanilla, Leather, Musk

What I smelled before I saw the notes is leather, spices, flowers, patchouli, woody notes, sandalwood (missed the mark with that one) and vanilla as that is what always comes with Shalimar associations. The thing is, I should have recognized cistus, I love that smell and once I saw the notes I could smell it (as well as vetiver – shame on me for missing that!).

If it hasn’t been obvious, I am a huge Puredistance fangirl. 🙂 And even though I love the their feminine perfumes, I have no problem wearing this. Well, that’s an understatement. I love wearing this.

Sylvaine Delacourte and Jan E. Vos in Zagreb

Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume June 21, 2014 Comments: 7

Yes, you read that right! 🙂

There was a great perfumista event today in Zagreb, organized by Juraj of the Bleauog.

I don’t want to sound dismissive of Juraj’s part of the event (but I know him and talked perfume with him before). He talked about perfume history and changes that happened in how perfumes used to smell and how they smell now but for me the highlight of the event was hearing Mr. Vos’ talk about how Puredistance came to life and how synchronicity has played an enormous role there (synchronicity being something many perfumistas believe in) and then Mme Delacourte, as the last guest/speaker.

Before that, we heard an interesting theory by Zoran Kurelić who argued that Luca Turin’sDSC_0348 Guide was a decisive moment in perfume history and changed, in a good way, the perception and ability of people to discuss perfume more easily and using a common ground. Whether you agree with what Luca thinks about a certain perfume or you don’t, The Guide is something all of us have read. (somehow Tanya’s name got forgotten in all that) 😉

Mr. Vos says for himself that he is a doer and someone who loves beauty. It was fun listening to him talk about how Puredistance came to life and how he built it with the idea of long term luxury however long it takes as they don’t advertise but they have certainly built a great relationship with bloggers.

Listening to Sylvaine Delacourte was definitely a treat. 🙂 It is obvious she loves what she does and does it with passion. She certainly made me wish I had a job at Guerlain. Somewhere where I could work close to her. 😉

Her favorite perfume is L’Heure Bleu and she’s been loyal to it all her life (well ever since she discovered it). Closely followed by Cuir Beluga which is a perfume she made with her preferences in mind.DSC_0349

My knowledge of the perfume world seems to be limited as I wasn’t aware of the fact that L’Art et Matiere line was her brainchild. And if I ever win the lottery, I’ll go see her for a bespoke perfume (which I’ll then have 2l of and my own private formula).

I loved how everyone today, while answering questions, said that they don’t believe in masculine or feminine definition of perfumes as they are meant to evoke emotion. So whatever works for you, is meant to be enjoyed.

Unfortunately, all my hopes were dashed in the end when I asked Mme Delacourte if there is a chance of Guerlinade ever getting re-released. You can guess the answer to that. 😉

2013. The year that was

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume December 31, 2013 Comments: 24

I have no better words to describe it. It was, it’s over now.

I look back on it and all I can think is, thankfully, it’s over. Nothing bad happened to me but it still felt like a bad year, full of bad news (both domestic and international), lethargy, indifference, deaths – generally, a year that didn’t display human kind at its best (an understatement) and did display it at some of its worst.

I always feel guilty for thinking like this, I feel I am being ungrateful. Compared to most of the world, I lead a life of plenty. And realistically speaking, it’s true. I lack for nothing, quite the contrary, I have a great family, a nice job, a good education, great circle of friends. I live in a beautiful country. I travel. I can buy perfumes and books. I am also healthy and hopefully will remain so.

So why feel like my year was one I just went through? Because it was. It mostly feels like a year where I went through all the motions of my everyday life when actually it felt more like hibernation with some small sparks of life.

But I want to focus on all the positive things this year brought me (because it feels like the hibernation period might be over) and one should always bring in the new year on a positive note. 🙂

 

PERFUME

This year has brought me some true treasures. 🙂black smoke

I discovered Cuirelle by a lucky chance and fell in love completely.

Suzanne opened my eyes to what incredibly happy perfume 24, Faubourg is.

I listened to Maurice Roucel give a talk on perfumes and met some new perfume friends.

And then the new Puredistance Black came out. And speaking of black, it really has become my favorite color to wear.

 

 

BOOKS

I discovered I am hooked to post-apocalyptic novels of any and every caliber – YA, horror, zombie, romance – you name it, I’ll probably enjoy it. I do wonder about what that says about me because I’m scared of the actual possibility (some of them sound too realistic). Am I preparing for the possibility?!passage

I haven’t read World War Z but I did see the movie and loved it. I’m guessing the book is better. When someone asks me what I want for birthday, that will be on my list (although I can already see the eye-rolling accompanying my wish for more books). 😀

I also think I will never reach my annual goal of 100 books. Last year I came closest, but this year, I think it’s the worst so far. Maybe I should sign up for the 50 books a year challenge, I would be able to finish that one. 😉

 

THE REST

The highlights of my year have been the trips to Vienna and Rome. In Vienna I finally got to meet the lovely Birgit and her boys, with an additional surprise of meeting Sandra and her son as well.

Rome was a trip we planned while in Paris in 2012. I cannot say how happy I am that I got to meet with Suzanne, Mark and Asali in Rome again. I thought there wasn’t a city in the world that could remove Paris from the top of my list of places I would love to live, but there’s Rome. I love that city and I hope to visit it again soon.

View from the park above Spanish steps

View from the park above Spanish steps

It might seem like I had a very active year, what with finishing 4 half-marathons in 3 different countries, but that was an uphill fight all the time, as all I wanted to do was stay home and read, and not go out and run. Still, you can’t tell that from the races, so at least it looked good on the outside. 😉

IMG_2034

See how tired I was?!

But I took time off for the last two months as I needed to replenish my physical and psychological energy levels. I actually feel better now.

So, without further ado,

Wishing you all a successful, fulfilling New Year full of happiness, laughter and joy!

*off to toast to that with a glass of champagne*

Champagne_glass_flower_stem_shape

Black is my new favorite color

Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume November 13, 2013 Comments: 17

And not only because I have a new perfume love called Black. 😉

This is more of a side note, but after years of trying to fix my wardrobe so it’s not dark and colorless, and now after actually succeeding, I again feel the need to wear black specifically. Other dark colors are as good as bold colors, but it’s black I crave and black I feel good in.black pure

Back to Black. 😉

As with most Puredistance perfumes, (in the beginning) no one actually knows what are the notes. Except the perfumer of course (Antoine Lie – I had  already joked on account of his last name but decided it might be inappropriate).

Anyway, what I wanted to say is, we all depend on our noses. And in order for other noses not to influence what mine smells, I was very good in avoiding all the reviews so far. Now I’ll be able to go and read what other people smelled.

So what do I smell?

It starts feeling masculine (which I love!), I would call it fougere-like with lavender + something else reminding me a bit of HdP Veni with the warmth and cardamom and dryness. There is some kind of a herb that makes it smell a bit medicinal but there are definitely more spices wafting around a boozy note I imagine rum should smell like.

It is a lightly boozy, woody, ambery concoction where you can tell that the base holds more of the lovely, oozy notes – you know, dark, mysterious and thick (like patchouli, camphor?, and I would say oud).

You can see here the smoke you smell

You can see here the smoke you smell

Because there is a smokiness appearing after the initial blast passes.

And then tobacco hits you. 🙂 You better be prepared because it’s not for the faint of stomach. OK, so I’m being overly dramatic, but I did smell it on a day my stomach was feeling queasy and I can tell you, tobacco is not good for your stomach.

Now that you know what richness of notes this perfume is, I can tell you, it’s a pleasure wearing it. It comes close to its name. It fits with the image of an athletic man wearing a black sweater that flatters his figure. And makes you look repeatedly.

I just hope when I wear Black, the black sweater will flatter my figure too. 😉

My sample was provided by Puredistance.

And now I’m no longer sure what my favorite Puredistance is. I love I, Opardu and Antonia, but M and Black make me swoon.

Finding beauty, Puredistance Opardu

World of Perfume November 1, 2012 Comments: 11

It always takes me a while before I can try and organize my thought on any of the Puredistance perfumes. I believe one of the reasons lie in the fact that their perfumes really reflect the elegance the company tries to instill in them and that is something it is hard to smell these days generally and the other is I lack words to describe them precisely because of reason number one. I haven’t smelled that many elegant perfumes that my perfume vocabulary can describe them adequately.

I will try though. 🙂

The first thing that comes to my mind when I smell it, is that it has the usual Ms. Buzantian touch – it is at the same time elegant, and mellow. Which is strange when I consider the fact that I also feel its beginning being slightly brash (in a good way to get you noticed) due to what I consider a clean nettle feeling which is at the same time sharpish, I would say thanks to carnation.

What I love about Puredistance perfumes is that they make me forget they are mostly about flowers, I am not one to usually fall for flowers, but when A. Buzantian does her thing, I don’t realize it is flowers I smell – I smell the elegance of a well-mannered lady that knows her presence will be noted when she walks into a room but she’ll ignore it as she knows that whoever comes close will be seduced by her perfume even before she does it (and she is the kind of lady who will).

I see the notes say there are powdery notes in this perfume, so I’m guessing they are responsible for the clean and mellow feeling I get from the beginning to the end of this perfume, although lessening after a while.

I would never go so far and say I smell the notes listed as the flowers I smell in this perfume lean to white but their beauty is hidden behind green foliage that tries to hide them but fails miserably. You cannot hide the beauty of these flowers as their smell leads you straight through the foliage to their place of hiding.

Notes revealed so far: carnation, tuberose absolute, purple lilac, jasmine absolute and gardenia with a background evoking the gentleness of romance through soft powdery notes.

 

What Puredistance site says on the perfume:

“OPARDU has an instant hypnotizing effect that revives memories of love, romance and seduction. Be prepared for a perfume that will bring you back to the velvety nightlife of Paris in earlier days.”

Now that I’ve been thouroughly seduced by Ms. Buzantian’s flowers, I cannot help but wonder what she would come up with when creating an oriental perfume. She would probably make me fall to my knees. 😉

 

Pic taken from http://www.puredistance.com/

My sample was sent by Puredistance for review.

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