Puredistance I Perfume – Perfume Review

Puredistance I is a perfume built around exclusivity. 

Now, before y’all start sighing and rolling your eyes, Puredistance I does have those elements if you get the really spiffy Swarovski crystal bottle for a couple thousand euro, but if you just want the perfume, you can get the refill at a still-expensive price, 165 euros for 17.5 ml, but it’s 32% perfume oil, so that makes it comparable to about any parfum/extrait price.  The mind will justify anything, right?  But will it if Puredistance I isn’t that beautiful?

I waded through all the hype and marketing, which is beautifully presented, btw, so you don’t have to, and what we get is:  Puredistance I was created by Annie Buzantian of Firmenich.  She had created the perfume for herself initially and called it her personal masterpiece. When she heard about the Puredistance concept, she felt her perfume was a perfect fit for them.  From their website, it “is intriguingly complex. The perfume´s rich and sophisticated tones are a discreet statement of elegance. The perfume opens as top note with a fresh, ozone-tangerine blossom blend with a hint of cassis, complemented with neroli bigarade and crisp watery nuances. The heart of the fragrance warms to a sophisticated, modern blend of magnolia, rose wardia and jasmine; parmenthia & natural mimosa, before finally settling softly into the rich classical notes of sweet amber, vetiver and white musk.”

After reading through all the marketing materials, you really, really want to hate Puredistance I or at least make fun of it …  but I just can’t.  It’s stunning and beautiful – lush and rich without falling into the uber-rich notes that scream “expensive!” like the older Amouages and Hermes 24, Faubourg.  There’s some greenness on the open that seems to weave allthe way through the scent. It morphs into a gorgeous white floral, but like something fresh from the garden, not heavy or indolic at all.  It almost has a little bit of a Shalini feel to it,  though not with the emphasis on the orange blossom – the emphasis here is on the magnolia and mimosa.  It has a great sillage that’s enchanting as you walk through the room.  Put together perfectly, and it holds up through the drydown, changing slightly in its angle on the notes, but never getting muddy or less crystal clear than it is at the beginning.  The base notes become more prominent in the long drydown, but the floral heart stays with it to the glorious end.  I needz this. If they had not made the refill available, I’d be all curses now, but happily this still falls in the high end of perfume pricing, but not out of line.

Available from their website for 165 euro for the 17.5 ml refill of Puredistance I.