What Men Should Smell Like

Puredistance- Exploring the Collection

What Men Should Smell Like — Tue, 14 May 2013 05:03:54 +0000

This month Puredistance invited me to discover their collection of perfumes, which launched in 2008. Whilst a trip to the Netherlands, where the brand is based, was not possible at this point in time; through the magic of the Internet and international courier services, this reconnaissance was possible.

The brand:

I first discovered Puredistance perfumes in 2011. As a perfume collector, I am always on the look out for new perfumes that speak from a point of difference. Before knowing about the brand’s story, smelling M, I knew I had uncovered something special. It is that immediate sensation you get from smelling something exceptional for the very first time that drives a collector like myself to explore and discover new olfactory experiences, whether they are bottled or simply in nature. This month I rediscovered M as well as three other perfumes that make up the Puredistance line.

The story begins with Puredistance’s creator, Mr Jan Ewoud Vos. It is a cosmopolitan brand with a main office and design centre in the Netherlands. Mr Vos engages perfumers in New York and London, namely Annie Buzantian from Firmenich and Roja Dove, Professeur de Parfums to create perfumes for his brand.

Puredistance is founded on a deep ... Read More »

Puredistance – M

What Men Should Smell Like — Sun, 12 May 2013 21:53:01 +0000

It must be increasingly hard for perfume brands to make their products stand out in a rapidly expanding market. Even niche perfumery is now subject to a high and frequent number of new product launches every month. Fragrances of the World reported 307 new masculine perfumes were launched in 2012. This compares to just 130 in 2002 and 35 in 1992. So for the consumer, finding diamonds among the coal is the reality of perfume shopping in 2013.

The first time I smelled M by Puredistance, it stood out as something unique and I was immediately a fan. Whether it is the intensity with which this extrait de parfum vibrates on skin, the skill in which the fragrance is constructed, or the beautiful way M captures elements of the past whilst still presenting an olfactory idea that is so relevant for today, it is one of my favourite perfumes in this genre of dry woods.

Puredistance describe M as an oriental, leather chypre. The visionary behind M is Professeur de Parfums, Roja Dove. And like one of the author’s books, M is a textbook lesson in the history of perfume. Elements of M raise thoughts of the past, of works by the ... Read More »

Amouage – Lyric Man

What Men Should Smell Like — Sun, 05 May 2013 08:20:25 +0000

If ever there were a flower that symbolized perfume it would be the rose. It continually crosses the boundaries of time as well as culture and today, almost every modern perfume contains at least one aspect of this complex flower that contains more than 300 odorous components. Ancient Egyptians consider the rose to be sacred to the goddess Isis and in the classical world the rose is connected to the goddess of love, Aphrodite or Venus. In medieval Christianity the flower’s five petals symbolize the five wounds of Christ and later becomes associated with the Virgin Mary. Towards the end of the medieval period the rose is already being cultivated for its scent in the Middle East.

As early as the 10th century roses flourish under Persian rule, particularly in the city of Shiraz. During the 15th century Ottoman merchants trade rose through the Balkans and a newly formed town in Bulgaria that would later become known as Kazanlik, literally Turkish for ‘the place of stills.’ These stills are responsible for producing fine rose oil, known as Rose Otto. The essential oil is distilled from the flowers and has a different odour compared with the absolute created by solvent extraction or ... Read More »

L’Artisan Parfumeur – Caligna

What Men Should Smell Like — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 09:38:39 +0000

After traversing the world in search of unique scented stories, L’Artisan Parfumeur’s latest travel story is set closer to the house’s headquarters in Paris. For 2013, Caligna journeys south to the French Mediterranean and the township of Grasse. Nestled on the hills overlooking the Mediterranean coast, the small town has been referred to as the ‘balcony of the Cote d’Azur’ and many consider it to be the birthplace of the French perfume industry, which fully emerged in the 17th century. This is the setting that inspires Caligna, a truly Mediterranean scent.

Last year L’Artisan Parfumeur released a new line, La Collection de Grasse. This new line includes candles inspired by Grasse’s seasonal landscapes and leather gloves perfumed with the house’s popular Mure et Musc fragrance. Perfumed gloves are significant to Grasse because the town’s expertise for perfuming leather was the flint that ignited a burgeoning perfume industry in the 17th century.

Caligna is the work of a relatively young perfumer from the Firmenich stable, Dora Baghriche-Arnaud. The perfumer was raised on the Cote d’Azur so no doubt; this was a project close her heart. To find an olfactory language to describe the hills surrounding Grasse she uses a variety of raw materials ... Read More »

Byredo – Gypsy Water

What Men Should Smell Like — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:02:25 +0000

Gypsy Water is the third Byredo fragrance (with Fantastic Man and Bal d’Afrique) I have added to my collection. It is a relatively recent purchase after I converted credit card reward points into department store gift vouchers. The irony of receiving vouchers to buy more perfume from a credit card most likely used to purchase perfume amuses me; do I really need another perfume? Of course I do!

The offer at Myer’s Mecca Cosmetica concession store is diverse and includes Frederic Malle, Le Labo, Serge Lutens and Diptyque. I knew I would have no problem finding something to exchange for vouchers here. I narrowed my selection down to two lines, Maison Francis Kurkdjian and Byredo. I love Kurkdjian’s APOM Femme; an exotic burst of orange flowers wrapped in oriental notes. I’d also been looking for an excuse to buy a Byredo leather travel case, which would of course require a fragrance to go inside. I decided on Byredo over APOM Femme however I am fairly confident this will be added to my perfume collection in the near future. Indolic orange flower scents make me go weak at the knees.

As my nose made its way through each of the fragrances at Mecca, ... Read More »

The Dinner Party- with Carlos Huber, Jill Timms and Frances Peterson

What Men Should Smell Like — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 10:36:45 +0000

On the evening following Peony Haute Parfumerie’s launch of Arquiste Parfumeur I was invited to a dinner with Carlos Huber, the creator of Arquiste and Jill Timms, the owner of Peony Haute Parfumerie. Our host was Frances Peterson, the distributor of Arquiste here in Australia and New Zealand. Seated at a table scattered with picked gardenias in St Kilda’s chic Café di Stasio I was enjoying the diversity of the company I was sharing. We all came from very different backgrounds; we are all on different paths, each of us representing different elements of the perfume industry; the blogger, the retail entrepreneur, the distributor and the brand owner. Frances had offered me some time with Carlos at the bar to conduct an interview but I could see the conversation created by all four of us together was rich and well worth documenting. Putting the list of questions I had prepared for Carlos in my notepad aside I asked the table if they approved of me putting my recording device on the table and we continue our conversation over dessert.

Below is an edit of that conversation, which I hope translates well for you the reader, coming into our discussion towards the ... Read More »

Photo Album: Arquiste Parfumeur Launch, Peony Haute Parfumerie- Melbourne

What Men Should Smell Like — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 00:18:57 +0000

Event: Arquiste Parfumeur Launch, with special guest Carlos Huber

Venue: Peony Haute Parfumerie, 107 Auburn Road, Hawthorn

Date: April 11, 2013

Thursday was an evening of fragrance and exquisite company. Lovers of fine perfume and Peony Haute Perfumerie came together to celebrate the launch of Arquiste Parfumeur, a fragrance line created by New York based architect and fragrance designer, Carlos Huber. After writing about the each of the fragrances in the collection, I had the pleasure of meeting Carlos in person; he had travelled from New York to follow the launch of his collection in Auckland (World Beauty), Sydney (Becker Minty) and Melbourne (Peony Haute Parfumerie). At the event’s conclusion, Carlos treated remaining guests to a very personal discussion on each of the seven Arquiste fragrances, sharing his own journey, working with perfumers Rodrigo Flores-Roux, Yann Vasnier and perfume evaluator, Sophie Bensamou, which lead to the creation of Arquiste in 2011.

Click to view slideshow.

Day 7: Boutonniere No. 7

What Men Should Smell Like — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:47:22 +0000

Gardenia is a scented flower that holds great mystery. Its petals are among the few nature has provided, which do not allow their odour to be extracted by methods used for flowers such as jasmine and tuberose. Essentially the flower must be reorchestrated by a perfumer, which allows a great deal of subjectivity and requires careful analysis and artistic creativity.

Arquiste’s gardenia is purposely masculine; the preliminary inspiration came from a gardenia boutonniere perfumer Rodrigo Flores-Roux made for his Arquiste colleagues as an accessory they would wear to a black-tie gala event in 2011. The brand’s founder, Carlos Huber was captivated by the flower’s scent and began researching the history of the masculine boutonniere. His research led him to the Belle Epoque. Men would attend the opera wearing a boutonniere, a fragile picked flower attached to the buttonhole of a formal suit. The captivating odour of gardenia made it a popular choice amongst men of this era as the perfumed flower gave off a social ambiance, capturing the attention of the fairer sex.

After his preliminary research and a year of development, Boutonniere No. 7 is the seventh fragrance created by Arquiste, following the initial six, launched in 2011. Carlos Huber takes ... Read More »

Day 6: Aleksandr by Arquiste

What Men Should Smell Like — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:45:34 +0000

Aleksandr is a story of Russia’s most revered poet and founder of modern Russian literature, Alexander Pushkin who died from a gunshot wound in 1837, near St Petersburg. The poet was notoriously sensitive about his honour and fought numerous duels in order to protect it. His success in these duels came to an end in 1837 when the poet was mortally wounded by a bullet from the firearm of a French royalist officer serving in St Petersburg. The duel was fought over Pushkin’s distain for the young Frenchman who had been pursuing his wife Natalya Pushkina, a woman of great beauty.

The fragrance, created by Yann Vasnier, takes its wearer on a journey through Pushkin’s last moments. Arquiste imagines the poet wearing a toilette water steeped in neroli and violet. He dons a heavy fur and polished leather boots, striding off through a forest of fir trees to a clearing bathed in amber light; his fate awaiting him.

Aleksandr is a dandified leather perfume with a gallant aura. The neroli and violet leaf notes have a vintage-like quality, making a big impression when the fragrance is first released from the botte. An ‘iced vodka’ accord gives Aleksandr a steely impression of cold ... Read More »

Day 5: Anima Dulcis by Arquiste

What Men Should Smell Like — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:24:30 +0000

Over the past week as I have been exploring Arquiste, one thing I have come to appreciate about the collection is the clever marriage between tradition and modernity. For Anima Dulcis, Arquiste’s founder, Carlos Huber, calls upon the vast skill of both Yann Vasnier and Rodrigo Flores-Roux to challenge the popular gourmand theme and find an unchartered expression.

Although cocoa notes have been used in perfumery before, Anima Dulcis tells a culinary tale that is uniquely Mexican. And the olfactory backdrop in which the narrative is presented is done in a sophisticated way, meaning there is no risk of feeling like a Cadbury chocolate bar after a few sprays, which is the sentiment some other cocoa laced fragrances fall victim to. On a backdrop of an oriental chypre, Anima Dulcis is as innovative as the story that inspired its creation. The year is 1695 in Mexico City and nuns of the Royal Convent of Jesus Maria are preparing a baroque recipe of spiced cocoa. Today mole is prepared with ground cocoa, at least two varieties of chilli pepper and dried spices such as cumin, cinnamon, cloves and nuts or seeds such as sesame. The spicy chocolate sauce is commonly served with ... Read More »