The Scented Hound

Perfume blog with abbreviated perfume reviews & fragrance reviews.

Category Archives: Puredistance


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New Release: Puredistance M V2Q

WHAT I SMELL:   M V2Q explodes on the skin with a dry and smooth lavender and an electric pink peppercorn.  In all, it’s a surprisingly big opening.  In quick manner the perfume dries and powders and seemingly expands.  As it does, the perfume starts reaching to the depths with a warmed cinnamon tinged leather and begins to move to the more creamy with the addition of a beautiful jasmine sambac.  I was a little worried from the start because the perfume was so dry that when I smelled it literally constricted my nostrils, but my worries dissipated with the growing creaminess and the beautiful floral heart.  At this stage, the perfume is warm and inviting and increasingly sensual.  The perfume seems to infuse itself into ones’ skin as one making it more of an essence than a layer of fragrance.  As the perfume continues to develop, the cream begins to subside making way for a sharper mix of patchouli and tonka.  Here M V2Q seems to flex its muscle with a nicely masculine beefiness that is not shy in the least.  But once again the perfume seems to roll on out to the smooth and creamy as it settles from the more provocative to the more sublime.  M V2Q is a handsome devil of a perfume.

From the Puredistance website:

M V2Q is utterly smooth and refined. Welcome to a world of soft leather charm. This perfume is comfortable, powerful and bright at the same time. And true to the carefully curated collection of Puredistance, M V2Q is an extrait with excellent projection and longevity.

Top Notes: Orange blossom, Pink peppercorn, Lavender essence 

Middle Notes: Cinnamon, Cypriol, Pine tar, Jasmine Sambac

Base Notes: Patchouli, Vanilla, Labdanum, Tonka, Cedarwood

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  Daniel Craig as 007.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE M V2Q:  confident, smooth, intriguing

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT M V2Q:  The Plum Girl, Parfumistans blogg, CaFleureBon

BOTTOM LINE:  Puredistance has discontinued their masculine masterpiece M and replaced it in their collection with M V2Q due to the unavailability of some of the ingredients based on new IFRA regulations.  Instead of trying to re-create the magic of M, they decided to work with perfumer Antoine Lie to bring new life to the perfume by modernizing it but within the same vein as the original.  M was inspired by the iconic James Bond 007…M V2Q is inspired by the latest Bond, Daniel Craig.  And it completely works.  For you lovers of the original M, there will be no worries moving to M V2Q.

  • Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Leather
  • Nose:  Antoine Lie
  • Classification: Leans masculine
  • Expense: Starting at 175 Euros for 17ml parfum extrait (28% perfume oil).

 


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New Release: Puredistance No. 12

WHAT I SMELL:  No. 12 opens with a soft, buttery bergamot that’s infused with citrus and lightly sweetened florals that go on smooth as silk.  From first spritz the perfume is elegance personified as there’s nothing sharp as the now lightly warmed florals seem to infuse into your being as if the perfume isn’t just resting on your skin, but becomes part of it.  The ylang-ylang is front and center initially, but hints of rose peek through every now and then.  After some time, the perfume withdraws a bit, making it rather quiet as a slightly metallic rose makes its way in replacing the ylang-ylang as the center of attention.  The perfume still retains its buttery and silky finish as it starts to become warmer and grows in projection.  After some more time, the butter makes way for the powder which makes the florals all that more feminine.  Continuing on, No. 12 deepens and warms with a lightly weighted mix of amber and softened sandalwood.   Overall the perfume is seamless in its development and its infusion of ingredients.  As such, I’m not sure I’m giving it justice with my description.  So in the end, the best way to describe No. 12 is to envision a beauty descending slowly down a grand staircase at the start of the magnificent ball.  You can’t help but turn your head and take in the radiant grace and warmth of her spirit.  Let the festivities begin! 

From the Puredistance website:

A grand perfume that wraps around you like a cashmere veil… A perfume like no other, in many ways timeless and hard to describe with words. No.12 perfectly embodies the DNA of Puredistance: timelessly beautiful, elegant and very distinctive in character

Top Notes: Bergamot oil, Mandarin oil, Cardamom oil, Coriander oil, Ylang Ylang oil, Narcissus abs

Middle Notes: Jasmin abs, Rose oil, Geranium oil, Lily of the Valley, Orange Blossom, Osmanthus abs, Orris Butter, Heliotrope, Hedione HC

Base Notes: Vetyver, Sandalwood oil, Patchouli oil, Oak moss, Tonka, Ambrette note, Ambroxan, Vanilla, Musks.

Lady in waiting of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (wife on Nicholas I) by Gavril Yakovlev, 1850′s.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  Royal blue.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE No. 12:  grand, graceful, classic, warm, inviting, rapturous…ok, so that’s more than three words, but I probably could add another 20 and in the end it wraps up to just one word…gorgeous.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT No. 12:  The Plum Girl, PerfuManiac, CaFleureBon

BOTTOM LINE:  No. 12 is the last entry into the Puredistance Magnificent XII collection of perfumes.  And what a way to seal off an already amazing set of fragrances.  With No. 12, perfumer Nathalie Feisthauer has created a classic that harkens back to the day when perfumes were created that were simple in their beauty while also being fantastically grand.  I have always stated that White was my favorite perfume in the Puredistance collection, but I am thinking that No. 12 may have just changed my mind.  No worries though as I can love them both!

  • Bone Rating: 5 out of possible 5 bones
  • Nose: Nathalie Feisthauer
  • Classification:  Leans feminine
  • Expense: Starting at 175 Euros for 17ml parfum extrait (25% perfume oil).


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Puredistance Rubikona

WHAT I SMELL:   Rubikona seems to glide on the skin with a warm, mysterious mandarin and a rather buttery grapefruit which is quickly met with the most creamy layer of florals that seems to pour out from an ancient vessel.  Intermixed, the florals seem to weave in and out, highlighted between a muted combination of rose and ylang-ylang.  The creaminess is incredibly unique and it makes you wish you could bathe in its silky beauty.  As the perfume continues to develop, a thin veneer of cloves begins to hover below the florals.  The cloves add just the right amount of mystery as the perfume begins to warm the creamy florals while it greets the addition of an unsweetened vanilla and tart patchouli.  Even though the perfume moves to this new stage in development, it continues to retain it’s creaminess as the perfume really begins to radiate.  Here, Rubikona will put anyone under her spell who falls in her wake as the perfume swirls and dives as it comes off of the skin.  As the perfume continues to develop, the creaminess begins to dissipate and the woody and slightly soured patchouli begins to intensify.  In the end, Rubikona radiates a soft, yet powerful aura of exotic mystery.  Rubikona is boldly beautiful and quietly commanding.

From the Puredistance website:

RU BI KO NA … Four distinct sounds that together form their own small symphony. Much like a perfectly cut RUBY that fascinates by the various shades of red and intensities of light. Puredistance Rubikona is a deep, warming perfume with a gracious, warm heart – safely embedded in deep blue satin. Elegance in every vein, in line with the sophisticated character of Puredistance. Rubikona is ‘Chic Inside Out’.

Top Notes – Grapefruit, Bergamot, Mandarin.

Circe, The Temptress – Charles Hermans

Middle Notes – Rose, Iris, Ylang, Clove, Orange blossom, Creamy notes.

Base Notes – Patchouli, Cedarwood, Vanilla, Solar notes, Musk.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  The red temptress.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE RUBIKONA:  creamy, exotic, enticing

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT RUBIKONA:  PerfumManiac, The Fragrant Journey, CaFleureBon

BOTTOM LINE:  Rubikona is an exotic beauty with a creamy heart that is beyond gorgeous.  I would say that the perfume is not oriented to being an everyday perfume, but instead should be released to entice during those evenings on the town…or maybe just when you’re trying to weave a spell on that special someone in your life.  

  • Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Oriental 
  • Nose:  Cecile Zarokian
  • Classification: Unisex
  • Expense: Starting at 175 Euros for 17ml parfum extrait (28% perfume oil).