Puredistance M, the original, was the third perfume introduced by the Dutch luxury line Puredistance, way back in 2010, and their first fragrance specifically marketed to men. Founder Jan Ewoud Vos is big on supplying his perfumers with story boards that capture his vision for the new scents, then letting them run with it, and granting access to the finest of ingredients with no limitations. Vos's vision for M was the James Bond image and the Aston Martin automobile Bond was famed for driving, especially its plush leather seats. The first M created by Roja Dove was a big success, but in late 2021 Roja Perfumes notified Puredistance they would no longer be able to supply the formula for M due to IFRA regulations. It would have to be reformulated.
Vos took the somewhat gutsy route of deciding not to imitate the original formula, but to come up with a new scent, similar in nature but modernized and more emotive yet still powerful for today's man. To do this he turned to a perfumer he trusts and has used several times to bring his creations to life, French perfumer Antoine Lie. I must admit that when I first smelled the new scent, I was a bit startled at how very different it was!
To explain, the first M, at least to me, seemed to be modeled after Sean Connery, all debonair style and sartorial elegance. The scent was definitely refined, and to me, the leather note spoke of a comfy wingback in a library of a stately home, where Bond would relax with a cigar after returning from an adventure. It had leather, but also a warm cozy spiciness.
The new M V2Q really captures the Daniel Craig version of Bond. When I first spray it on, it immediately conjures feelings of intrigue and a little danger. These are notes that I don't commonly smell, and there is an edginess to the scent. Yes, it is a modernized version of a leather scent, but it also captures a bit of Craig's Bond character's ability to outmaneuver and surprise his enemies. Because I don't know where this scent is going!
From the Puredistnace.com website.
If I list the notes for you, here goes: orange blossom, pink pepper, lavender, jasmine sambac, cypriol, pine tar, cinnamon, tonka, cedar, patchouli, vanilla, and labdanum; I promise you, there is no way you will guess what this smells like from these notes. The florals are not very visible to me. I definitely smell the cypriol and pine tar. I think these may be the notes that give me that "off balanced" feeling, but I like it! The leather note is green, and I would guess that the jasmine sambac, which can smell quite green, may have been craftily used by the perfumer here to enhance that effect. Also, the molecule used to give that leather note has a green element. This note reminds me of another favorite and high-end perfume, Dusita Le Sillage Blanc. In both, the green is bitter, a little pungent, and a bit dangerous!
The longer the scent is on my skin, the softer and more plush the leather note beomes. However, this is not a strong leather scent, but to me is more of an interpretation of leather. The green woodiness with subtle spice is equally important in this scent. Like all Puredistance perfumes, it has a high concentration of oils and it wears on the skin literally for hours and hours! I would say the longer you wear it the more beautiful it becomes.
Just like Daniel Craig was a very different James Bond than we'd seen before, M V2Q is a very different fragrance from M. I think Antoine Lie did an excellent job of capturing the excitement, danger, and more worldly aspects of this Bond interpretation in the new scent.
M V2Q was introduced in September 2022. Thank you to Puredistance for providing me with a sample, and my opinions are my own. Apologies for the long absence here. I had two daughters marry in 2022, so family life took precedence, but I'm happy to be back!
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