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).
PARADIS PROVENCE – WHAT I SMELL: Paradis Provence opens with a sparkling, yet slightly salty thyme and lavender along with what I found to be just a hint of sweet caramel. Almost right from first spritz, the perfume seems to lift off the skin as if it’s ascending towards the sky. With this airy quality, it’s as if it’s a sheet that has been hanging on the clothesline, soaked in the sun and infused with the herbaceous thyme and lavender from nearby fields. In the most quiet of ways, there’s an orange blossom note that rests within the perfume which helps to temper the stronger aspects of the lavender, making its’ persona softer, while still buzzing with energy Additionally, the perfume also has an interesting textured quality to it, as if it has been painted on with a soft and powdered dry brush. Overall, Paradis Provence has a very calming presence (as I write this, I’m sitting in the dark without electricity as a tropical storm charges through…thanks to Paradis Provence, no worries). Paradis Provence doesn’t change much beyond this point which is a good thing as the perfume rests in this powdery herbal and lightly woody heaven that is quiet, intimate and grounded in positive energy.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Inner peace.
IRIS LUMIÈRE – WHAT I SMELL: Iris Lumière graces the skin with a soft, cottony muguet tinged with the slightest of moistened leaves and tempered galbanum. The perfume is tender and quiet; as if you laid your head on an exquisite pillow which is cool to the skin and surrounded by soft and lilting violet and muguet caressing your head with lullaby whispers. There’s a light earthiness that rests under the tender florals and a dry wood that keeps the perfume just out of the clouds. The opening of the perfume lasts a very long time and the development moves oh so slowly which is just as well as the innocent florals are in a place that begs not to be left. When Iris Lumière decides to walk along the garden path, the green begins to grow and the lightest wisp of frankincense lifts gracefully with each quiet step along the way. Here, Iris Lumière moves from the delicate innocence of the muguet and to a more mature orris root and it begins to warm ever so slightly as it begins to pulsate off of the skin in a lightly woody timbre.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Self assurance.
WHAT I SMELL: Chypre Chrysantheme opens with a citrus blend that ebbs and tides off of the skin with the lemon verbena becoming more prominent as the florals dance in the background. The soft and lively florals are indistinguishable at this point as they continue to whirl over a lightly powdered oakmoss. However, it’s not too long before a rose begins to bloom. It’s slightly metallic and it demands attention. What’s really interesting is that at this point the various components in the perfume bounce in a kinetic energy as if the fragrance had been bottled before it had a chance to settle. And that just makes the perfume that more interesting and exciting as you just don’t know what to expect next. As the perfume continues to develop, a base layer that is thickened with beeswax appears and it seems to be infused with just the slightest of of smoke and honey. Here the perfume begins to settle and the kinetic energy makes way for a smooth wave of florals. And when I say wave, it does feel as if they glide in over the beeswax in waves. The chrysanthemum absolute at this point is front and center and it’s beyond gorgeous. But in all, the florals are warm and thickened with just the right amount of muted sweetness. After quite some time, the sweetness begins to settle into a deepened state and a spiced note attaches itself to the florals making the perfume a bit more mysterious. And it’s here where the perfume rests; soft, but not quiet with just the right amount of mystery for the perfect state of grace.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The mystery of the chrysanthemum.
The Scented Hound 