Top Notes 
Tonka bean
Bergamot
Sicilian lemon
Heart Notes 
Jasmine
Ylang-ylang
Base Notes 
White musk
Talcum
08/22/2014
Apicius
224 Reviews
Apicius
Helpful Review
2
Barbershop from a Distance
"Morph innovates and transforms everything there was in the past." - If I understand their statement correctly, we can expect modern interpretations of styles in perfumery that were popular some decades ago.
My first acqaintance with this brand matches with such a concept, it is a contemporary interpretation of a barbershop cologne.
Pure Soul starts with a very nice aldehydic note - reminiscent of the hairspray that lingered in the barber shops of our childhood. I like this note, and I like that it is the defining elemment of this perfume. Although strong in the head notes it reaches down to the base, and so we can enjoy it a long time.
Then come the flowers - basically a rosy note, and it fits in well. After two or three hours, the base is reached which means that Pure Soul becomes a bit powdery. A dark, herbal-like note that has accompanied the aldehydic tone fades away, and the fragrance melts into oriental creaminess.
Well done at first sight, but a romantic look at the past may not work out as long as this past is not completely gone. And it isn't in case of Pure Soul!
Pure Soul has to be compared with the still available Royal Copenhagen from 1970. Both fragrances share the same sort of aldehydes up to a point where they can be regarded as fragrance twins.
Whereas the Danish predecessor incorporates the whole complexness of scent that sophisticated perfumes used to have in that past, Pure Soul follows the contemporary puristic style. The flowery part of the heart is basically a rosy note for depth and beauty. As a contrast to it, there is a leaner and darker note which could be called herbaceous. It balances the flowery part very well.
The base note is a bit disappointing: the faint whiff of powdery musk with a slight creamy- vanillic touch cannot stand up against the robust head and heart. So, let's call it an Eau de Toilette.
Not too bad so far but one thing destroys it all: the use of a certain presumably synthetic ingredient for the rosy smell. I think it is the same stuff that was used in Cartier's gent's cologne Déclaration d'un Soir. It has a monstrous longevity of its own as soon as it gets into contact with clothes or other textiles. Fortunately, I did not test Pure Soul at home, and also my clothes are washable. No perfume should have such an effect. I urgently recommend to take the necessary precautions if you come across Pure Soul.
So, what about a blind buy of Royal Copenhagen instead? Unlike Pure Soul, also the price tag is from the past!
My first acqaintance with this brand matches with such a concept, it is a contemporary interpretation of a barbershop cologne.
Pure Soul starts with a very nice aldehydic note - reminiscent of the hairspray that lingered in the barber shops of our childhood. I like this note, and I like that it is the defining elemment of this perfume. Although strong in the head notes it reaches down to the base, and so we can enjoy it a long time.
Then come the flowers - basically a rosy note, and it fits in well. After two or three hours, the base is reached which means that Pure Soul becomes a bit powdery. A dark, herbal-like note that has accompanied the aldehydic tone fades away, and the fragrance melts into oriental creaminess.
Well done at first sight, but a romantic look at the past may not work out as long as this past is not completely gone. And it isn't in case of Pure Soul!
Pure Soul has to be compared with the still available Royal Copenhagen from 1970. Both fragrances share the same sort of aldehydes up to a point where they can be regarded as fragrance twins.
Whereas the Danish predecessor incorporates the whole complexness of scent that sophisticated perfumes used to have in that past, Pure Soul follows the contemporary puristic style. The flowery part of the heart is basically a rosy note for depth and beauty. As a contrast to it, there is a leaner and darker note which could be called herbaceous. It balances the flowery part very well.
The base note is a bit disappointing: the faint whiff of powdery musk with a slight creamy- vanillic touch cannot stand up against the robust head and heart. So, let's call it an Eau de Toilette.
Not too bad so far but one thing destroys it all: the use of a certain presumably synthetic ingredient for the rosy smell. I think it is the same stuff that was used in Cartier's gent's cologne Déclaration d'un Soir. It has a monstrous longevity of its own as soon as it gets into contact with clothes or other textiles. Fortunately, I did not test Pure Soul at home, and also my clothes are washable. No perfume should have such an effect. I urgently recommend to take the necessary precautions if you come across Pure Soul.
So, what about a blind buy of Royal Copenhagen instead? Unlike Pure Soul, also the price tag is from the past!
