Puredistance have a solid, well regarded collection of perfumes and it’s always a nice surprise when they announce the arrival of a new edition to the fold.  Last year’s White was one of my favourites of 2015 and now we have Sheiduna, the first oriental addition to their fragrance library.

Puredistance works with top notch perfumers and in this case, they’ve chosen star of the moment, Cécile Zarokian. This year alone she has signed a number of perfumes for Uermi, MDCI and the Jacques Fath collection for starters. I’m a fan as she has made one of my favourite fragrances, the swirling, magical Tango from Masque Milano and for that alone I’m eternally grateful. Apparently Jan Ewoud Vos (Puredistance founder) and Zarokian had an interesting working relationship and communicated by postcard that adds an old school quirk to the creative process.

I was introduced to the perfume at Pitti Fragranze in September where photos were taken of people smelling Sheiduna for the first time. The featured photo illustrates a variety of expressions and yes there’s a small shot of me in there too.

Sheiduna  Extrait de Parfum :  Puredistance : Nose : Cécile Zarokian : 2016 : Category : Oriental :  Notes : Lemon, tangerine, blackcurrant, aldehydes, Bulgarian rose essence, geranium, clove, vetiver, patchouli, ambergris, tonka, incense, myrrh, vanilla pods, musks, labdanum, amberXtreme and ambroxan

A spiciness pricks the opening but quickly makes way for a juicy serve of tangerine, light but not fresh. It has more of a warming effect for me. The perfume sweetens with the rose, geranium and vanilla growing in volume. The texture of the perfume is further amplified as all of the good stuff is unleashed. Tonka and incense enter and at the same time the scent now takes on a billowing feel. It has an exotic feel but not too much so, it definitely skews European with a touch of that Parisian elegance we occasionally aspire to, at least for a moment. It feels fluffy to me and eventually Sheiduna dries down to a light, powdery amber. Initially I thought it was similar to White and it does share the fluffy, pillowy feel however White has a clean, brightness that is not apparent in Sheiduna. This new fragrance is heavier and feels more sensual, with a rhapsodic quality. I think of White and Sheiduna as the day and night in a perfumed story. As with all Puredstance perfumes it’s an extrait de parfum with fantastic longevity.

The marketing story riffs on sand dunes and deserts. For me however when I first wore Sheiduna I imagined a woman in a negligee sitting in her room, maybe about to make some mischief. The alluring Elizabeth Taylor in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof along with the handsome Paul Newman immediately came to mind in that languid Southern heat.  There’s a defiant, pillowy, plumped up feel to Sheiduna that feels all high gloss yet comforting at the same time. We’re talking a bit of old school glamour here, it’s sensual but not in an obvious way.

The Low Down : An oriental perfume that smoothly unfolds in scented billowing ripples to create a sensual, wearable experience with a bit of old school glamour thrown in for good measure. 

Read more about Sheiduna on : The Scented Hound, Bonkers About Perfume and Parfumistans Blog

For where to purchase : Please see the Puredistance website for further details. The suggested retail price is 175 Euro for 17.5ml, 295 Euro for 60ml and 490 Euro for 100ml. 

Notes : Images : All from Puredistance except for Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman from Pinterest.

Disclaimer : Sample gratefully received from Puredistance at Pitti Fragranze. Opinions my own.