The Scented Hound

Perfume blog with abbreviated perfume reviews & fragrance reviews.


13 Comments

The Random 10: Mary Gooding, Puredistance Perfumes

Mary Dance PhotoPositive energy and attitude can’t be fabricated. And passion about one’s job is hard to feign…you either have it or you don’t.  The people at Puredistance, the luxury perfume brand based out of the Netherlands are passionate about what they do and it shows.  And leading the way for Puredistance’s communication and direct sales is the energetic  Mary Gooding.  But passion about perfume wasn’t always Mary’s path in vocation.  As it turns out, it was love that brought her to Puredistance.

Originally from Rochester, NY, Mary’s background was in teaching math and science to high school students.  But her boyfriend’s studies took them overseas to the Netherlands and it’s there that she serendipitously happened upon Puredistance.  After meeting Puredistance founder, Jan Ewoud as well as the small Puredistance family, the connection with Jan and the team “just clicked.” Before she knew it in the fall of  2014 Mary found herself at Pitti Fragranze representing the Puredistance line.

Within the role of direct sales, Mary’s position has a focus on the U.S. market as well as for providing personal service to customers of the web store.  She applies what she calls Puredistance’s DNA for maintaining honest and good old fashion customer service to her work…something that falls in line closely with her own personal values.

Puredistance OparduThey say that everything happens for a reason and Mary’s relocation to the Netherlands no doubt was meant to be, as becoming a member of the Puredistance family is the perfect fit.  And besides, since moving overseas her boyfriend is now her partner in life.  In fact, they just spent their first anniversary celebrating on the Greek Isles.

If you’re familiar with the Puredistance line of perfumes, you know that their approach is to develop and create perfumes that are synonymous with elegance and refinement using only the upmost in quality ingredients.  Mary’s approach to providing such incredible service is continued testament to the brand’s commitment to providing only the best.

Let’s see what Mary’s Random 10 has to reveal about this customer service and sales professional extraordinaire!

  1. My signature scent is… Puredistance Antonia, a highly original green floral created for us by Annie Buzantian in New York.
  2. I would like to be remembered as … genuine, caring and fun-loving.
  3. I typically wear one/many fragrances throughout the day… only one, usually my signature scent. I like to stay true to one perfume to enjoy the full experience of development throughout the entire day.
  4. If I could pass one piece of wisdom to the younger generation it would be… from Confucius, to “choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” I can say from experience it’s true!
  5. A guilty pleasure of mine is … Belgian Chocolates, I love Guylian Sea Shells Perles d’Océan.
  6. One fragrance that I thought I wouldn’t like, but turned out that I love is… Puredistance M. I thought M would be too spicy for me, but when I tried it I was blown away by the sophistication, now I love it.
  7. My favorite movie of all time is… the Notebook, yes I’m a romantic…
  8. The way I prefer to apply my fragrance is to… the pulse points: the wrists and neck. Also since I have long hair, I apply my perfume to the back of my neck.
  9. My parents always taught me to… be safe and have fun in everything I do!
  10. The one thing that I could never live without would be… my husband and partner in life Manolis, my parents Karen and Steve, sister Rose, and all my family and friends all over the world.

Thanks to Mary for participating in The Scented Hound’s Random 10.  Later this year, look for the newest perfume in the Puredistance line, Sheiduna, created by perfumer Cecile Zarokian.  I had a chance to get a sneak peak a few months back and it’s a stunner!

Oh…one last thing I forgot to mention, Mary is also a competitive ballroom dancer!  Dancing and perfume sounds like a wonderful combination doesn’t it?!

For more information on all the incredible Puredistance Perfumes, check out their website at www.puredistance.com!


18 Comments

Antonia by Puredistance

pd-antonia-175WHAT I SMELL:  Antonia opens with an absolutely heady and exhilarating rush of full floral lushness with the beautiful ylang-ylang front and center.  The perfume is luxuriant and rather waxy and it sits on the deepest powdered galbanum that seems to push the florals off of the skin.  Antonio makes my head swim with its feminine power.  There is nothing demure about this lady; but don’t get me wrong she is a lady in every sense of the word.  The perfume transforms, but not dramatically or with any sharp or sudden turns or edges, instead, she slowly moves from the brightest and dryest green to more of a warm and lightly soapy symphony of florals.  Antonia is a ravishing beauty from the very beginning when the rush of the green florals radiate from the first spritz and continues for hours to come.  When you wear this perfume, you are in Antonia’s world and it’s as beautiful of a world as you’ll ever experience.

From the Puredistance website:

Created by Master Perfumer Annie Buzantian in New York, Puredistance ANTONIA is a highly original green floral with a great lushness and warmth of heart, but at the same time pillowy and gentle as can be. Key in the creation of ANTONIA is the image of a strong, positive, but at the same time gentle woman.

The perfume is neither modern, nor old-fashioned. Puredistance ANTONIA is a timeless perfume with a feel of innocence, yet feminine and confident. She grabs you with gentleness and faithfully stays with you, tenacious,  but never overwhelming.

Ingredients: Jasmine, Rose Essence, Ylang Ylang, Orris, Ivy green, Galbanum, Vanilla and Vetiver. 

Ziegfiled Girl 1920s

Ziegfiled Girl – 1920s

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  All woman; all-powerful in her beauty and sexuality.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE ANTONIA:  magnificent, heady, voluminous

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT ANTONIA: Olfactoria’s Travels, Undina’s Looking Glass, Kafkaesque

BOTTOM LINE: Puredistance is turning out to at the top of the list of my favorite perfume houses.  Their perfumes are works of art in that they are exquisitely refined and of the highest quality.  Where other perfumes develop with harsh twist and turns, their perfumes transform and reveal the loveliest of secrets with a whisper.  Puredistance wants to ensure their perfumes are perfection, and because of this new introductions to the line are far and few between.  But when they do release a new perfume, its pure magic as evident with their latest release, White.

  • Bone Rating:  5 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent:  Floral
  • Nose: Annie Buzantian
  • Classification: Feminine
  • Expense: $160 for 17 ml parfum extrait or $270 for 60 ml.  Note that Puredistance has some fantastic promotions on their website!


24 Comments

New Release: Puredistance WHITE

PuredistanceWHITE

WHAT I SMELL:  WHITE opens with this incredibly warm and sensuous soft bergamot.  The opening is absolutely dreamy, serene and incredibly subdued.  There’s a floral component, but it’s really hard to distinguish as the perfume is more of a glow than a singular note.  WHITE is everything that perfume should be.  It wraps you into its spell with a sheer and hazy trail of stately beauty.  The perfume is slow to develop, but instead, reveals ethereal nuances, the first of which is a radiating veil of a sheer rose over this exquisite woody vetiver.  After quite some time, WHITE starts to intensify in its projection, but all the while continuing to maintain a force field of warm and rapturous beauty.  To my surprise, the perfume stays in this exquisite state for a long time, only revealing the most spectacular smooth and creamy sandalwood.  In WHITE, there are no harsh edges, just a melding of the finest ingredients.  Words escape me.

From the Puredistance website:

The main idea behind the creation of Puredistance WHITE Perfume has been to create a perfume so beautiful and positive that it gives the wearer an instant flow of happiness. We asked Master Perfumer Antoine Lie (who also created Puredistance BLACK for us) to create a white and golden dream; an intimate escape from harsh reality. It took Antoine Lie one year to complete the magic formula, using the best and most expensive ingredients in the world. The result is a one-of-a-kind perfume made to enhance your mood through intense, but comforting beauty – if you like it, a warm and natural happiness will be yours!

Ingredients: Rose de Mai from France, Tonka bean absolute from Venezuela, Orris absolute from Italy, Sandalwood from Mysore, Bergamot from Italy, Musk, Vetyver from Haiti and Patchouli from Indonesia.

knonklijkpaleisbrussel

The Royal Palace of Brussels

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The most beautiful chandelier; full of light, beauty and magnificence.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE WHITE:  luxurious, captivating, cultured

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT WHITE: Chemist in the Bottle, CaFleureBon, Bonkers About Perfume

BOTTOM LINE:  Puredistance is known for their thoughtful and elegant creations.  WHITE is perfumery at its best and is easily my favorite from the line.  That’s quite the statement because all of their perfumes are incredible in their own right. My suggestion:  If you want to live the perfume dream, WHITE is the perfect place to start.  C’est magnifique!

  • Bone Rating: 5 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Floral
  • Nose:  Antoine Lie
  • Classification: Leans feminine
  • Expense: Launching April 20th.  $170 for 17 ml parfum extrait.

Sample courtesy of Puredistance Perfumes.