Puredistance Gold (Photo/Digital Effects: Despina Veneti)©
Few natural elements, or colors, have captured human imagination like gold has – or carry such diverse symbolism. On the most apparent level, gold represents wealth, luxury, extravagance, grandeur. Malleable yet durable, gold’s untarnished beauty and timeless appeal are further associated with commitment, compassion, courage, virtue, passion, wisdom, quality and magic, as well as solar energy, divine love and eternity. Gold shines and dazzles, glistens and fascinates – but has no smell; its fantastic ability, however, to generate mental images and emotions fills any concept of a “golden fragrance” with great creative potential.
Clockwise: Master Perfumer Antoine Lie of ALOE, Jan Ewoud Vos of Puredistance & “The Golden Mondriaan” (Photos courtesy of Puredistance/Collage by Despina Veneti)©
Following Black and White, the Dutch-based Perfume House of Puredistance has recently released its olfactory interpretation of Gold, completing a trilogy of fragrances that showcase the brand’s signature colors. With his own “Golden Mondriaan” artwork (a palette of different golden shades harmoniously arranged in a well-balanced pattern) as visual stimulus, Puredistance founder and creative director, Jan Ewoud Vos, entrusted the scent’s composition to independent – as of last year – Master Perfumer Antoine Lie of ALOE/Antoine Lie Olfactive Experience. Having already created four Puredistance fragrances (including the aforementioned Black and White), the talented perfumer (known for several exciting, sometimes downright challenging, creations for Houses like État Libre d’Orange, Comme des Garçons and Eris Parfums) proves once more that he can perfectly adapt to any project or style. His Puredistance Gold is a spicy/balsamic oriental of supreme quality and vintage flair, emanating opulence that goes hand-in-hand with immaculate taste.
Model wearing Celanese jersey with gold gloves and jewelry by Horst P. Horst (Vogue, 1940)©, Anjelica Huston wearing “The Jealous Husband Necklace” created by Alexander Calder c. 1940 (Photo by Evelyn Hofer, 1976/Evelyn Hofer Estate, N.Y. Calder Foundation & N.Y. Metropolitan Museum of Art)©, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt, 1907 (Neue Gallery N.Y.)©
As someone who’s been working, almost daily, with photos for many years now, I often get immediate flashes of visual associations whenever I smell a perfume. Puredistance Gold’s overwhelming beauty and highly synaesthetic character amplified this effect to the maximum, filling my mind with a wide array of images right after applying it on my skin: its timeless elegance reminded me of a Horst fashion photo of a woman in a fluid white dress, fully accesorized in gold; its intricate structure brought to mind the stunning sculpted jewelry of Alexander Calder; while the luminous, arresting beauty of the composition made me think of the spectacular paintings of Klimt’s “Golden Phase”.
Pablo Picasso drawing with golden light (Photo: Gjon Mili for LIFE Magazine, 1949/Getty Images)©
Puredistance Gold opens like a festive pomander, with clove-studded sweet citruses (bergamot, mandarin) resting on a bed of cinnamon sticks, further spiced up by pink pepper. This spice extravaganza is brilliantly balanced by the grounding herbal character of rosemary, just before the luscious Indian jasmine blooms into the fragrance’s heart: intoxicating, creamy, vibrating with the energy of the spices. The synergy of pink peppercorns and geranium creates an illusion of rosiness, boosting the floral heart, just in time for the emerging cornucopia of balms and resins. Labdanum, styrax, benzoin and myrrh define the composition’s warm, sumptuous oriental character, while Indonesian patchouli and Haitian vetiver enrich the base with their green, aromatic earthiness. Comforting vanilla and tonka bean complete the complex, sensuous amber base, with the finishing touch of animalic castoreum. At 36% parfum concentration, Puredistance Gold has a long, deeply gratifying spicy/resinous drydown reminiscent of the original YSL Opium. The quality of every natural ingredient (all supplied from L’Atelier Français Des Matières) is clearly exceptional, but it’s Monsieur Lie’s masterful handling of them that makes the fragrance truly memorable: considering the plethora of powerful individual notes, Puredistance Gold retains an admirable softness, as well as a distinctive aura of nobility.
Elizabeth Taylor in “Cleopatra” (1963, 20th Century Fox)©, Marilyn Monroe by Gene Kornman (1953, 20th Century Fox)©, Grace Kelly in “To Catch A Thief” (1955, Paramount Studios)©
Profoundly sensuous without being explicitly erotic, Puredistance Gold is a grand oriental with a gentle disposition, glowing energy, and an air of restrained voluptuousness; it takes its time stimulating the senses, caressing and enveloping the wearer with a slow-burning sensuality that aims for deep satisfaction, rather than a quick thrill. Having fully experienced its 14-hour, luxurious cycle on my skin, vivid cinematic memories finally come to mind: Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra entering Rome in her extravagant Golden Phoenix ensemble; the iconic promotional photo of Marilyn Monroe in the body-clinging, curve-hugging golden lamé gown from “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”; and Grace Kelly in a magnificent gold ball gown during the climactic ending of Hitchcock’s “To Catch A Thief”…
Notes: Green Mandarin, Bergamot, Pink Peppercorn, Rosemary, Clove Buds; Jasmine, Cistus, Geranium, Cinnamon Bark; Styrax, Benzoin, Myrrh, Patchouli, Vanilla Green Beans, Tonka Bean, Castoreum, Vetiver.
Disclaimer: This review was based on the 17.5 ml purse spray presentation provided by Puredistance – my thanks. The opinions are my own.
– Despina Veneti, Senior Editor and Brand Ambassador (Paris)
Puredistance Gold 100ml & 17.5 ml presentations (Photo courtesy of Puredistance)©
Thanks to the generosity of Puredistance, and with their approval, we have a draw of 7.5 ml from our 17.5 ml luxurious travel spray of Puredistance Gold for one registered reader in the USA or EU. You must register here or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you enjoyed most about Despina’s review, if you have a favourite Puredistance fragrance, and where you live. Draw closes 2/20/20.
Be sure to read about Jan Ewoud Vos and his philosophy as a creative director here.
Follow us on Instagram: @cafleurebon @despinavnt @puredistancemasterperfumes @antoinelieolfactiveexperience
This is our Privacy and Draw Rules Policy.
You can order samples at Luckyscent.com here and Jovoy Paris here
There is no spilled perfume.