PUREDISTANCE
Gold (No. 10)
2019
PERFUMER
Antoine Lie
bergamot
green mandarin
pink pepper
clove
rosemary
cinnamon absolute
cistus absolute
jasminum absolute
geranium
myrrh
styrax
castoreum absolute
benzoin
green vanilla
vetiver
patchouli
tonka bean absolute
‘After BLACK and WHITE, Antoine Lie created GOLD to finish a trilogy showcasing the 3 signature Puredistance colours using high quality ingredients. The visual inspiration for GOLD has been the ‘Metallized Mondriaan’. Chic shades of gold – varying in intensity and warmth – are harmoniously laid out in a well balanced pattern. Pure quality and class.’ – PureDistance
Antoine Lie has to be my favorite perfumer based on everything that I’ve smelled in 2023. And PureDistance one of the highest quality brands that I’ve been testing. So, I had to check out Gold (no. 10).
Gold is a unique smelling fragrance to me. Warm spicy, with mandarin. I get a hit of cinnamon and clove, but also an almost boozy quality.
It’s rather sweet, with the tonka and resins from the base notes creeping up immediately. The texture is also instantly super balmy and resinous.vThis reminds me a bit of a brighter and more fun take on Gallivant Istanbul, which is one of my favorite, soft resinous scents. However, Gold remains remarkably citrussy and much fresher.
There is a facet in Gold that make it a. more complex and unique, but arguably b. less mass appealing and cozy. There’s a modest, but permanent animalic tinge that can make it a bit edgy to some wearers.
As mentioned, on the surface there’s brightness. It’s quite acidic with its citrus top and that’s persistent for as far as citrus goes. I find this acidity perhaps the most interwoven with the animalics (civet-esque).
Underneath there’s still a dose of that resinous sweetness; almost going in a Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur-like custard, bit it’s more texture than sweetness as the overall profile didn’t grow as sweet as I would’ve expected after the opening. If anything I get more patchouli in the base.
Quite an interesting release.
