By Kilian - Good Girl Gone Bad

Picture: Lü Ji, Birds in Osmanthus and Chrysanthemum,
13th century, Palace Museum, Beijing

Testing the next installment of the In the garden of Good and Evil subline of By Kilian, Good Girl Gone Bad. This almost natural smelling fruity-floral frag is created by Alberto Morillas. The spirit of the fragrance is described as "A woman who is game for anything in the world of love, of desire, of naughtiness"

Starts with fruity-flowery notes, osmanthus  contrubutes with the fruity-floral notes but there is also something similar to a mellow, yellow melon in the opening. Soon a tame tubereuse, some white flowers off-setted by a crisp but smooth narcissusnote appears. A very light creamy touch also appears in the middlenotes. There also some very light traces of cardamom (I think). Cardamom seems to be a it-note by now, Histoires de Parfums cardamomtrio Veni, Vidi, Vici is another example of this trend. The fruity-floral blend continues in the same style, supported by a conventional ambery-woody base.

To me there is nothing "Gone Bad" or naughty with this nice & fresh, totally officefriendly fragrance that could be worn in any season. There is more body to it than the initial perfume of the subline, In the City of Sin, but despite this, I percieve Good Girl Gone Bad as thin and uninteresting (I wonder if this depends on compliance with the new EU-regulations/IFRA selfregulations), but smelling nice. To me also GGGB just as ItCoS doesn't lend any remaining impression. On the other hand, Mr Parfumista think GGGB smells very good, "clean and wellblended not as the strange old-ladys scents you're insist to wear".To summon it all up: A nice smelling, easy to wear perfume that couldn't offend anybody. Taking the pricerange of By Kilian into account (if not buying the refills), I rather go for something mainstream, for example the Versace Vanitas Edt or Vanitas Edp if I wan't something in this uplifting, easy to wear style. The two latter also have a fuller body and are not fleeting.

Rating: 3+

Notes: Jasmine, osmanthus, may rose, tuberose, narcissus, amber, cedar

Puredistance - I

Picture: Puredistance I, elegant, white soft flowers.
Puredistance (c), all rights reserved.

The first feminine fragrance, properly named I, from Puredistance, is like a summery of the spirit of the fragrances of the house. Puredistance, with long time experienced perfumer Annie Buzantian as housenose (for the femine offerings anymay), is creating timeless elegant, chic and versatile fragrances which in the same time also feels contemprary. I is said to has first beeing created by the perfumer as a personal fragrance for herself and that it remains as one of her own favourites.

I opends up with watery, almost ozonic, mostly white blossom notes. Mr Parfumista says he is getting the olfactory image of a softer, smoother and much more elegant L’Eau d’Issey by Issey Miyake. Probably this is airy, and elegant fresh as the sea aura that surrounds the tamed and polite white blossoms that creates this impression.

As the development of I continues the blend gets light, fluffy, creamy and smells almost as a really exclusive sunscreen. The creamy white and also yellow flowers are fleeting soft and seemless within each other in the Annie Buzantian typical smooth and delicate way in handling flowers. In this stage Puredistance I reminds me of an elegant and smooth variation of Flora Bella from Lalique. Flora Bella also has this warm, almost tropical flowery quality with the clear air from the sea as a refreshing element. But I is rounder, gentler and much more elegant than the flamboyant Flora Bella. In the basenotes I gets less creamy even if some remians and the flowers appears somehow more distinctive, supported by a well balanced white musk combined with the fresh eartyness of vetiver and a hint of ambery depth. Overall there is something in the aura, texture and radiance of I that reminds me of a flowery counterpart to the beautiful airy, sealike, woody Bois Naufragé by Parfumerie Générale. I feels like the image of a beach on a tropical island with almost snowwhite sand on a sunny day with a totally clear, blue sky. Or the image of an elegant lady dressed in white.

I is a very feminine fragrance that adds pleasure and luxury to everyday. In the same time it is easy to wear and adds comfort and security to the wearer without beeing aggressive as a one of the “powerperfumes”. I have to admit hat it has taken some time for me to “get” I, 1,5 years to be exact (review in swedish from spring 2011 here). Not pleasing directly is often a sign of a complicated quality fragrance with many facets and the following indivdual interpretations of the scent. Even if, or probably because, I is not grundbreaking in style it’s a contemporary classic (despite the slight aquatic vibes that could be associated with the 1990s) that could easily qualify as a signature fragrance for a wearer that perfers a limited numbers of perfumes in her wardrobe. I is suitable for office, receptions but also an example of the perfect bridal perfume. A very versatile fragrance!

As all Puredistance fragrances, I is a perfume extrait and as such offer a discrete but definitly detectable sillage. A discreete trail is, under the right conditions, appearing after the wearer of I has left the room and when smelling this, one wonders from where this beautiful scent comes. The longevity is very good, about 24 h.

Rating: 5

Notes: Tangerine blossom, cassis, neroli bigarade, watery nuances,  

magnolia, rose, jasmine, parmenthia, mimosa, amber, vetiver, white musk.