Niche Perfumery
by Bella van der Weerd
Repost from Fragrantica.com – View full original article on Fragrantica.com
Puredistance founder Jan Ewoud Vos wanted to create one of the most exclusive Perfume Houses in the world with his brand, established in 2007, one that offers only Pure Perfume Extraits. The Puredistance team puts all their passion and energy into the making of one exquisite Master Perfume at a time. “Not just another perfume, but a Perfume with a soul and a signature,” explains the brand director.
In September 2021, the latest opus of the Dutch brand was presented to the public, No.12, accompanied by the following story.
“The story of Puredistance started in 2002 with the concept of Puredistance I – the signature scent of Annie Buzantian. And with the upcoming launch of No. 12 – almost 20 years later – we have come full circle. A circle filled with many beautiful stories. The story of No.12 is one of them. In 2018, on the 5th of June, I received an email from Lana in Zagreb. She is a dear friend and represents Puredistance in the Balkans. She told me the well-known Parisian perfumer Nathalie Feisthauer would like to create a perfume for Puredistance.
The next day I called Nathalie and asked her to come over to our headquarters in Groningen for a first meeting. July 9, Nathalie stepped off the train in Groningen, and I drove her to our old ‘church’ in the heart of the city. She was welcomed by our team, and in the afternoon, we sat around the table smelling 11 different scents Nathalie had made. While smelling the first one – labeled ‘Gold Taffeta’ and described as a “sophisticated and rich Chypre note” – Nele and I instantly looked at each other, and our eyes exchanged the same message: “I LOVE THIS PERFUME!” Although the 10 remaining fragrances were also given our full attention, it was Taffeta that left an indelible emotion. August 12, I wrote to Nathalie, “From all the perfumes you have shown us, Taffeta left an emotional imprint on my scent memory that is lasting. I cannot forget it. So we tried it again and again and found it to be equally beautiful as the first time. To me, it is 100% Puredistance. Long-lasting, rich, different, stylish, special, and full of character. But it is NOT GOLD to me (at that time, we were still looking for a perfumer who could create Puredistance GOLD for us). Therefore I propose to you to forget about Puredistance GOLD and use Taffeta for the last Puredistance Perfume in our collection of 12. The name will be Puredistance No.12.”
Jan Ewoud’s idea was to complete his brand’s collection that started with Puredistance I in 2007, which was the signature scent of perfumer Annie Buzantian. No.12 was to represent more or less the signature scent, or dream scent, of Nathalie Feisthauer. She had told Puredistance she had been envisioning this fragrance very clearly in her mind and then, after a long time, matched this dream one-to-one to reality. Jan Ewoud thought this was a beautiful story to tell and in line with the brand’s first perfume. He felt his brand had come full circle.
So he decided to frame the Puredistance collection by naming it the MAGNIFICENT XII COLLECTION. “That’s how Taffeta became Puredistance No.12. A perfume Nathalie had dreamed of for many years, and with the creation of No.12 this dream has come true. A grand perfume that wraps around you like a cashmere veil, leaving a feminine, mysterious trail. A perfume like no other, in many ways timeless and hard to describe with words. I feel that Nathalie has perfectly captured the universal harmony, the timelessness, and the magic of the concept of ’12’ in her creation.” Jan Ewoud nicknamed No.12 ‘Beauty in Blue.’
PUREDISTANCE NO.12 NOTES
Top: Bergamot oil, Mandarin oil, Cardamom oil, Coriander oil, Ylang Ylang oil, Narcissus abs
Heart: Jasmin abs, Rose oil, Geranium oil, Lily of the Valley, Orange Blossom, Osmanthus abs, Orris butter, Heliotrope, Hedione HC
Base: Vetyver, Sandalwood oil, Patchouli oil, Oakmoss, Tonka, Ambrette note, Ambroxan, Vanilla, Musks.
Nathalie Feisthauer is an independent perfumer with a long and rich experience in creating perfumes. She was trained at the prestigious Givaudan Roure Perfumery School in Grasse. Nathalie began her career in New York in the 90s, opening the door of Estée Lauder for Givaudan, as well as working with the famous perfume consultant Ann Gottlieb. In 2015, she decided to go independent and created LAB scent. She lives and works in the heart of Montmartre in Paris.
With the defining of Puredistance’s complete collection under the name of the MAGNIFICENT XII COLLECTION, Puredistance came up with their unique solution for the problem of too many different perfumes and too much stock. “The MAGNIFICENT XII COLLECTION will be our main perfume collection. This collection will always include a selection of 12 perfumes. No more, no less. Every one or two years, one perfume from this collection will be replaced by a new creation. Future displays and presentations will always consist of 12 perfumes only. The perfumes we replace will become part of the PRIVATE COLLECTION, available for those who know about it and only sold on request. These perfumes will not be actively displayed or promoted anymore. This is our elegant and simple contribution to help to solve the global problem of overproduction and choice overload. A solution completely in line with our motto: ‘Less is More.’
Like all Puredistance Perfume Extraits, No.12 will be available in 3 different sizes: a 17.5 ml Perfume spray, a 60 ml Perfume flacon, and a 100 ml Perfume flacon with a chic leather case. Find No.12 in the brand’s E-shop where it is offered in 17.5ml Extrait (175 EUR), 60ml Extrait (295 EUR), 100ml Extrait (490 EUR), and the Swarovski pure crystal and 24-carat gold edition of 17.5ml Extrait (1890 EUR).
More about the brand Puredistance on Fragrantica:
Sandrina’s love for the 2015 edition White
