Last week I reviewed the Pure Collection by Precious Liquid¹. This is a new perfume brand that offers three perfume collections (Exquisite, Pure and Texture) that contain three perfumes each. These are meant to wear alone or even to layer using the brand’s 3D Layering.
Roses
Notes listed include rose centifolia, Australian sandalwood, amber, Bulgarian rose, cassis berry and clean musks.
Roses is a red, berry-hued rose soliflore. The opening has some bright aldehydes and green leaves with the rose. It reminds me of lush, velvety burgundy rose petals on a living rose. The heart and dry-down wear as a musky, crisp rose. It’s a rather linear perfume but I’m fine with that. Sometimes I want to smell like a rose garden.
Give it a try if you like berry/jammy rose soliflores. Or perfumes like Diana Vreeland Outrageously Vibrant, Serge Lutens Sa Majeste la Rose, Ayala Moriel Tea Rose and/or Annick Goutal Rose Absolue. The longevity of this one is above average. It’s one of those perfumes that’s going to last through showering.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Red roses. It’s a long-wearing rose soliflore that reminds me of velvety burgundy rose petals.
Brand says, “Harmonizes with White Incense and Oud Smoke“. I love how it wears with the super smoky Oud Smoke.
White Incense
Notes listed include pure incense, amber, labdanum, white pepper, sandalwood and patchouli coeur.
White Incense is a really excellent incense. It’s crisp and resinous with a hint of sweetness. It opens with spicy pepper, glimmering aldehydes and citrus-hued resins. The heart is “pure incense”. It’s not smoky; it’s the raw resins and woods. There’s some patchouli in this that adds depth without adding any “dirt”. The dry-down is like a salty ambergris/amber and creamy woods.
Out of all of the Precious Liquid perfumes, White Incense is one of my personal favorites. It’s somewhere between Tom Ford Oud Wood and Tom Ford Sahara Noir. So, it’s not one of those overly acrid, bitter incense fragrances. It’s softer, warmer and sweeter.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Amber incense. I love it. I can tell that I’m going to drain this sample rather quickly.
Brand says, “Harmonizes with Roses and Oud Smoke“. I agree. I also like it with their Neroli Musk.
Oud Smoke
Notes listed include saffron, agar wood (oud), warm suede, black pepper, cistus and patchouli.
Oud Smoke is a smoky fragrance. It opens with a metallic saffron and warm spices – a contrast of warm/cool. It then starts to smell like a black motorcycle jacket and blacktop pavement. Seriously, it’s one of the most smoky fragrances I’ve ever worn. And that’s saying something since I’ve been reviewing niche perfumes since 2008. Oud Smoke dries down to a smoky oud incense. It’s not a funky, dirty, barnyard oud but one of those smooth, warm, modern ouds.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Oud on a motorcycle. If you like the smell of tar and bonfires, then you should like this one.
Brand says, “Harmonizes with Roses and White Incense“. It does.
Each one of these have above average projection and longevity. Like really, really above average with Roses and Oud Smoke lasting for days (no joke).
Overall, all of these layer wonderfully with each other but are also great alone. I’m *actually* tempted to purchase the 3D Set since I see myself wearing all of these. I’m drawn to these sort of rich, luxurious fragrances, especially in the cooler months. If you like perfumes from Tom Ford Private Blends, Yves Saint Laurent The Or*ental Collection, Armani Privé or any of those other “French perfumery interpretations of Middle Eastern perfumes”, then I can see you liking the Exquisite Collection.
Precious Liquid perfumes are available in a few sizes. The 2.5 oz bottles retail for $275 and the roll-ons for $78 at Precious Liquid. The 3D Scent Set (3 roll-ons) retails for $195 and comes in a red leather sleeve. Samples are also available for purchase. (This Collection is more expensive than Pure and Texture).
¹To learn more about the backstory of this brand, click the link to my Pure Collection review. I didn’t feel like repeating myself.
*Disclaimer – Samples provided by PR. I am not financially compensated for my reviews. My opinions are my own. Product pics from the brand. Catherine Deneuve by Helmut Newton from fanpix.net.
I was waiting to read your review and see what you thought! Last week I got 4 samples including the Rose and White Incense. Interestingly, the rose didn’t last so long on me. I love love love White Incense and was comparing it to an (empty) sample of Sahara Noir, one of my all favorites (that I didn’t buy). But again on me longevity wasn’t so great – but what a gorgeous incense fragrance. I am tempted despite the longevity……
Really? I could smell those 2 on me post showering. I also got some on a shirt and then put it through a wash and it was still smelling like Roses. I don’t doubt your experience at all. I sometimes wonder if it is things like sample variations, etc. (not to be one of those conspiracy theorists!) or maybe it’s that anosmic musk thing that people get sometimes (Roses is loaded with musks). But, I felt like Oud Smoke and Roses would not budge. White Incense didn’t last as long on me but I wasn’t upset by its performance. Perfumes are so crazy like this! All these weird little things don’t make it easy to write/talk about perfume 🙂
I also didn’t buy Sahara Noir which is one of my few fragrance regrets. It was so good. I just thought it’d be around longer! I should have known better since so many of those sort of brands only care about profit and Sahara Noir did smell like it was “expensive”. The rumor I heard (granted, a rumor, so probably not true by design) is that SN was too costly and difficult to produce, so it was cut from production. Anyway, I thought it was excellent and it’s a shame it was discontinued.
You have a sample of Roses and White Incense. What were your other two?
Yeah, I wondered the same thing about samples. I tested the rose again yesterday evening and it did not last on me. The other two samples were Neroli Musk and Mandarine. While I enjoyed both, neither were loves for me. Craving incense fragrances.
And yes, I’ve kept my long-gone Sahara Noir sample bottle for years. It was so gorgeous….. Should have just bought the darn bottle.
On another topic, Did you mention the oil shop Enfleurage in a post eons ago? I finally ordered some frankincense oil from her (to use in a salve or massage oil). So potent, in a good way and the SA I talked with on the phone was super helpful.
I’m in the mood for incense too. It went from being so hot and humid and SNAP it feels like fall now. I’m ready to wear all my incense and sandalwood scents again.
I hate it because I was “warned”. I was told by a SA that it was being discontinued. He actually called me and I thought A. it’s not true and he’s trying to sell perfume or B. I’ll get some later. I waited too late and he was doing me a favor!
I think so. There was a conversation about Enfleurage in the comments. They are so nice and knowledgeable. I highly recommend anyone visiting the city to stop by if they are interested in EOs. Plus, they have a frankincense ice cream! Their prices are higher than others but their quality is unbelievable. Like I don’t think there’s a better dealer of frankincense oil available to me in the US. I’m so pleased to know that they are also just as helpful with online/phone clients.
Frankincense ice cream!!! Hold on, I’m getting on the Bolt bus now! (well, not exactly – but a reason to come on up to NYC!)
It’s funny, isn’t it how a note or idea will just hit you, and it’s all you want. I’ve also been burning a lot of the Shoyeido brand Diamond incense which lists Sandalwood and Frankincense as the first two ingredients. It’s such a nice incense.
Yes! It’s a reason to visit! I have had it before. It’s sort of a spiritual experience, really.
Omg, you’re reading my mind. I got back home after traveling most of the month. The weather is fall-like, sunny and perfect. I’ve been burning Diamond incense (and a few sticks of Amethyst). It’s been what I’ve been craving as far as home scents go. As far as the blog, I typically have an editorial calendar. I thought “Hey, it’s still August! I’ll want to talk about clean/fresh scents”. Sadly, the answer is “no”. All I want right now are incense and sandalwood. Nothing else feels right.
Wow! Diamond and Ruby are my favorites, but honestly it’s been a while since trying others. Today at Whole Foods I picked up some frankincense and charcoal and have been burning that. So so nice….. And earlier today I ordered a bunch of incense perfume samples – now on a search for one that is just right – White Incense is pretty perfect, but wanted to try a few others before purchasing.
I don’t know if they’ve had them for years, but I noticed they now have some sort of “simple” line of single note incense (i.e. frankincense).
I’m all for sampling a lot in a genre before making a final choice. These days I try to be picky. Like if I’m going to add something to my collection, I want it to be my favorite example of that genre. I really wasn’t like that when I first got into perfume…and I should have been.