Pure Grace (Eau de Toilette) by Philosophy

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Pure Grace Philosophy 2003 Eau de Toilette

6.9 / 10 54 Ratings

A perfume by Philosophy for women, released in 2003. The scent is fresh-powdery. It is being marketed by Coty.
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Main accords

Fresh

Powdery

Floral

Synthetic

Aquatic

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Neroli

Bergamot

Lavender

Lemon

Heart Notes

Orange blossom Jasmine

Jasmine

Lily of the valley Rose

Rose

Water lily

Base Notes

Musk

Perfumer

Tatyana Petrakov

Videos

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Ratings

Scent

6.954 Ratings

Longevity

5.635 Ratings

Sillage

5.132 Ratings

Bottle

6.337 Ratings

Value for money

6.822 Ratings

Submitted by TVC15 · last update on 01/21/2026.

Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Pure Grace Solid Perfume

Ultimate

Carrière

Reviews

7 in-depth fragrance descriptions

01/19/2012

3Scent

Sherapop
1239 Reviews

Sherapop

2

All Too Redundant

Philosophy PURE GRACE is a serious shower-in-a-bottle in the bottle scent whose sole purpose appears to be to make the wearer smell as though s/he recently showered. No surprise really, since it's printed right there on the label: “nothing smells better than soap and water clean”. As I recently bathed, it all seems a bit redundant to me.

The philosophy here is one of inoffensivity: don't rock the boat and by all means avoid drawing the attention of the perfume police to you! Very much in line with the output of the house of Clean, PURE GRACE smells like a middling hotel soap with a sliver of vetiver thrown in for good measure and reminds me in its personal-hygiene-obsessed intention of breath mints or scented deodorant (both of which I shun). I prefer to start with a clean body and then layer on top a bona fide perfume. That said, since I have it, I might wear this fragrance now and then, when I know that I'm going to be in a congested public setting, such as today, when I'll be at the library surrounded by people some of whom really could use a good lathering... Perhaps my just-showered-smell will inspire them to raise the (soap) bar and finally suds up! On ne sait jamais...

Update: okay, after about an hour, I could not even smell PURE GRACE anymore. This is definitely much more of an unperfume than a perfume. There are better choices for public-friendly fragrances, it seems to me. TRACY and CERRUTI 1881 are good examples of very clean-smelling scents with a bit of perfumic integrity and depth.“Nothing smells better than soap and water clean”? Au contraire. For example, perfume.

08/07/2013

6Scent 2.5Longevity 2.5Sillage

Flavorite
240 Reviews

Flavorite

1

She or He is So Clean!

Just imagine a relative trying to set you up on a blind date and in spite of your initially emphatic protests sighting every possible common sense reason from (a.) 'I can handle this myself' all the way to (z.) 'I already know there is something wrong with this person or they wouldn't be agreeing to go on a blind date with me.' You eventually acquiesce, partially out of a morbid curiosity about what, exactly, their malfunction will be revealed to be. So, you open Pandora's box by asking "Uh...ok, tell me a few things about this person- why do you think we should meet? What makes them so perfect for me?" and you get this reply "Well, for one thing...She/He's very clean". Your heart nearly explodes with the joyful realization that you're about to meet your soul-mate, right?! What are the chances! But just to push yourself into permanent euphoria you press on asking "...and what else?" to which you get the reply "hmmm, well She/He's quiet, organized and likes to collect and catalog bars of soap, so there's that, as well." - Your mind is blown; Sold! Where do you sign up for your destiny!

Well guess what- those also happen to be two of the three key characteristics of Pure Grace by Philosophy. 1.Clean, 2. Discreet & subtle and 3. Reasonably priced in a simple no-nonsense package. Scent-wise, this is a near replica of Carriere by Gendarme, if you have one of these you needn't bother sampling the other, they are so close. Provides just a wisp of a lingering aroma which disappears entirely after 1 hour with the EDT. The Rollerball oil and solid forms provide about 3 hours of wear before reapplication is needed. The Shower gel, condition and lotion combined with the roller ball oil might buy you a decent 8 hours of 1-2 inch radius of projection, but I've tried all these things at once, several times and gotten literally no reaction from anyone, good or bad and felt simple fresh- nothing more, nothing less. Yawn!

Carriere is probably made from slightly higher quality ingredients. Both Pure Grace and Carriere are strictly low sillage short lived clean soapy affairs with a dash of lavender and a pinch of the blandest clean white musk available- so clean that they make Jovan's White Musk seem like the scent of harlots of biblical proportion. Pure Grace is one of the 2-3 scents I would not be offended by if my Dentist or Doctor was leaning over me wearing, because I would just assume that they had bathed. I went in big for this whole line a few years ago when I was a Restaurant Inspector, and it was perfect for that type of professional application. Now that I've moved on in the world, I feel no need to go back for more of this, since I have a bottle of Carriere that I will also never bother finishing. This is not the fragrance that exotic wild magical dreams are made from unless perhaps One is a Virgo with Virgo Rising and ascending as well as Virgo in the 5th house, in search of the same for quiet walks on even clean sidewalks and soap shopping, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that if it makes thy soul feel pure and good. Personally, I'm a Cancer with Leo Rising and Aries ascending so, I'm going to play in the sun with dirt and dogs and then make a big messy garlicky feast in the kitchen while wearing something spicy and hot.

02/27/2024

5Scent 5Longevity 2Sillage

CatSmells
7 Reviews

CatSmells

1

Orange Blossom Water

A blind buy for me, a not what I expected but that’s all part of the fun. To my nose, there is zero soapiness which was disappointing, and the notes selected here don’t represent what I smell.

Yes, there is a clean, white musk in the background which is one of my favourite scent notes, but it’s overwhelmingly floral overall. I recognise a powdery, orange blossom and perhaps some Jasmine. The florals are heavy, white florals in the heat of summer. I imagine on a hot day it would be somewhat cloying and not refreshing. It’s an airy, watery fragrance, but not fresh - more like orange blossom water. The orange blossom makes this scent feel dated, like old fashioned toiletries - maybe this is what others are describing as soapiness.

After 20 minutes the florals are not so heavy, and I appreciate the musk more. The dry down is more pleasant, but I can’t escape the orange blossom that I don’t enjoy. I’ll try with a white musk oil to see if it lightens the scent, but grateful I only purchased the 15ml.

04/03/2025

4Scent

lucekingg
179 Reviews

lucekingg

1

Soapy, Screechy Sunscreen

I dabbed on my tester and immediately went to my bathroom to scrub it off. I like the clean, fresh notes in this, but the florals are way too powdery, heady, and mature for my liking. I wasn't expecting to like this based on the notes and unfortunately my theory was right. It's not bad smelling for those who like this type of fragrance, it just definitely doesn't agree with my palate.

01/03/2023

Gourmandgrl
314 Reviews

Gourmandgrl

1

Synthetic air freshener, rather than fresh and clean

Oof, this one fell flat (to my nose). Soapy, fresh, cotton/detergent scents are some of my favorites - but this smelled like I was huffing a carton of laundry detergent inside of a truck stop bathroom with strong air freshener that keeps auto-spraying.

This was too sharp, screechy, synthetic, and not well blended. Also had an aldehydic dry down that turned metallic. 2nd Philosophy fragrance I've tried where that happened, and it wasn't on my skin either.

Better soapy/fresh scents: BBW's Sea Island Shore (NOT the release from 2022 - smells very different from older versions), VS "Heavenly" (newer version is more "soapy"/simple - OG formula is a bit warmer/spicier with the cardamom that was later removed).

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