October 2023

The Story of Puredistance PAPILIO

‘Embrace your true nature’ is the essential message of the new Puredistance PAPILIO. In today’s world many people don’t dare to live their own life. They allow others to dictate their sexuality, study, profession, clothes, looks etc. and in the end how they feel about themselves. This often takes away their energy, self-esteem and inner happiness.

In the summer of 2020 I was sitting in my house at Ameland, surrounded by nature, looking at butterflies dancing in the air. Butterflies are not born as ‘beauties’. They develop through complete metamorphosis. From egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. And they accept and embrace their true selves after every transformation.

Butterflies don’t suffer from ‘good’ advice from parents, friends, influencers, cosmetic clinics etc. and simply accept themselves as they are in each phase of their life.

I felt PAPILIO (Latin for butterfly) could be a new Puredistance perfume with a beautiful message and started to work on the concept.

One year later, when we celebrated the launch of Puredistance No.12 on the roof terrace of Nathalie Feisthauer in Paris, I explained her the idea behind PAPILIO. When I was finished she had tears in her eyes. The concept of PAPILIO touched her deeply.

In the year that followed, she created a beautiful perfume that does full justice to the beauty of the butterfly and lures you into their magic world of 1001 colours.

Then, again one year later – December 2022 – I am sitting in Belleville in Paris writing a poem that tells the story of PAPILIO. This poem, along with this introduction, is all I will tell about this new perfume. – Puredistance Founder Jan Ewoud Vos

Artwork by Marleen Molenaar perfectly illustrating the key message of PAPILIO

Puredistance PAPILIO is available in 3 different sizes: 17.5, 60 and 100 ml

Puredistance Founder Jan Ewoud Vos presenting PAPILIO

**Click here to listen to a deeply personal interview with perfumer Nathalie Feisthauer**

Nathalie Feisthauer receives the first PAPILIO flacons

PAPILIO immediately inspired many perfume lovers: this beautiful image is created by @nischparfym

The world of Puredistance is visually and conceptually rich and our artwork is a source of inspiration for many people. People all over the world and of all ages. In this case a 12 year old girl has drawn a butterfly cocooning out of a 17.5 ml Puredistance Perfume Spray. We love it!

Jan Ewoud Vos in Cannes presenting PAPILIO to the twin sisters Bogdana and Yaroslava from @bogdana_blog

Nele Tammiste, International Sales Director from Puredistance, enjoying a nice dinner in Cannes after meeting a select group of niche perfumeries that are authorised to sell Puredistance.

June 2023

Puredistance Tokyo Tour 2023

Puredistance sells its Master Perfume Collection in more than 40 countries. For years Japan has been one of the countries in which a select group of perfume lovers deeply appreciates our perfumes.

We are officially sold and exclusively distributed by the ‘Grand Dame of Perfume’ in Japan: Sachiko Hatakeyama. And recently Puredistance is also available in the specialised perfume store of Aqua Bouquet in Kumamoto.

In June Puredistance founder Jan Ewoud Vos visited Tokyo to meet some of the most loyal Puredistance customers. The various meetings and events turned out to be a great success and many heartwarming compliments and beautiful gifts were exchanged.

The Japanese guests could smell the soon to be launched PAPILIO and enjoyed a preview of a very personal and intimate interview with perfumer Nathalie Feisthauer who created the new PAPILIO.

Preparing the Puredistance Wall of Postcards that perfectly illustrates the creative Puredistance DNA

Showcasing the Puredistance Magnificent XII Collection

The Japanese Puredistance Team and 3 special guests

This beautiful brooch was hand-made in Japan inspired by the concept of PAPILIO

Puredistance founder Jan Ewoud Vos signing Puredistance BLACK

A poem about the essence of PAPILIO was translated into Japanese

At Puredistance we love direct personal contact with customers and the stores who sell our perfumes

Jan Ewoud Vos and Sachiko Hatakeyama in the Tokyo Ritz Carlton

Puredistance at Aqua Bouquet in Kumamoto

Puredistance Founder Jan Ewoud Vos believes ‘Less is More’ and has limited the Puredistance Perfume Collection on regular display to 12 beautiful perfumes.

January 2023

TOUJOURS FIDÉLE

In 2002 I registered the name ‘Puredistance’ and started to work on building the company. I realised that launching a new perfume house with only one perfume (Puredistance I), would be an ‘all-or-nothing-venture’. Therefore I spent years figuring out the core values of Puredistance.

Key to better understand the rich and beautiful history of perfume was buying hundreds of vintage perfume flacons. Especially in the first part of the twentieth century many legendary perfumes and perfume brands were born. Collecting these beauties enriched me and slowly I got a feel for what later turned out to be the DNA of Puredistance. The highlight of my collection was a perfume launched in 1909 by D’Orsay with the name ‘Toujours Fidèle’: a beloved perfume for many years inside a crystal glass pillow shaped perfume bottle with a frosted French bulldog crystal stopper.

A dog, faithful as dogs can be, waiting on his luxury pillow for his boss to come home. The first moment I saw this bottle, I instinctively knew that loyalty should be one of the core values of Puredistance. Now, twenty years later, it turns out my gut feeling was right. The world today is in desperate need for personal warmth, for true caring and honesty. And that is what loyalty is all about.

Over the years I have seen Puredistance grow and do well. Even in these difficult years. Partly as a result of the beauty of the Magnificent XII perfume collection, partly as a result of our loyalty towards the perfume stores that sell us and towards our direct customers. All these years we kept our promises. Our promise of true exclusivity. Our promise of timelessly beautiful perfumes. Our promise of understated elegance and luxury.

Apart from that we kept our retail prices the same since the day we launched Puredistance I back in 2007 (so for 15 years!) and where these days most companies increase their retail prices (sometimes with shocking percentages) we decided to keep our retail prices in 2023 the same once again. For some of our customers price is not an issue, but for others buying a Puredistance perfume is a treat they can afford only once a year. Keeping our prices stable is a sign of loyalty towards our customers who together are the foundation of the world of Puredistance.

I wish everyone a happy 2023 and I promise you we will keep on dreaming and creating. – Jan Ewoud Vos, Founder Puredistance

P.S. When I wanted to thank Annie Buzantian (the Master Perfumer who created Puredistance I, ANTONIA and OPARDU for us) for all she had done for us, I gifted her an original, vintage ‘Toujours Fidèle Flacon. I felt this was the perfect gift to express the essence of our relationship. Annie is retired now, but we are still in touch and one more time I like to thank her for the gift of her personal perfume to me: Puredistance I. This started it all – in a beautiful way.

Photo Stories - October 2023