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Bel Ami and Puredistance M

post #1 of 23
1/13/13 at 8:33pm
Thread Starter 
Warning Small Rant! LOL


Hey guys its been over a year since my last post I believe (I was inquiring about a wedding day scent) and alot of you guys chose Puredistance M. I eventually went to L'Air Du Desert which was a beautiful choice for my special day. I finally got my nose to Puredistance and that also is a luxurious frag for men.... Impression good enough to get in on a split for about 15ml (someone split a big bottle of it Dan Mickers).

I just got my nose on Bel Ami by Hermes..... and I have to say.......Roja Dove and the Puredistance Team need to be ashamed of themselves LOL. They took and 27 year old frag and trumped the price of it by almost $500 and put the "derived from the finest leather of an Aston Martin" to Justify it. I wished someone would've said try BelAmi by Hermes..... That would be my power interview, no jokes and games scent.


The "master perfumer's" at Puredistance need to give Jean-Louis Sieuzac a round of applause and credits. You forget he also mastered the classic Fahrenheit by Dior!
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post #2 of 23
1/13/13 at 8:55pm
I think BelAmi is a true classic.
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post #3 of 23
1/13/13 at 9:52pm
Bel Ami is definitely in my Top 10 favorites. Which formulation did you try, vintage or current? If you havent tried the vintage then prepare to be even more amazed. It is much richer with a more sensual leather note. Its one of those frags that almost demands a suit and tie be worn with it. I was pretty appalled by Puredistance M in the same way you were. Its a wonderful frag no doubt, but for that price it should be completely original and unique.
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post #4 of 23
1/14/13 at 1:51am
I'll have to give Puredistance M another go. I have worn it a few times and I wear Bel Ami regularly and have not noticed the apparent similarity. Interesting...
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post #5 of 23
1/14/13 at 2:41am
I've heard that M was inspired by Bel Ami and that they smelled similar. I'm thinking of buying Bel Ami, but is it really that similar?
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post #6 of 23
1/14/13 at 4:35am
I like both, but don't notice too much similarity
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post #7 of 23
1/14/13 at 4:44am
The similarity is there but where Bel Ami (vintage) has a dissonant citrus-leather combo, M feels plushier, smoother and more refined. I honestly couldn't choose which one to get over the other. They're both well worth owning IMO.
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post #8 of 23
1/14/13 at 4:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by alfarom View Post

The similarity is there but where Bel Ami (vintage) has a dissonant citrus-leather combo, M feels plushier, smoother and more refined. I honestly couldn't choose which one to get over the other. They're both well worth owning IMO.

Agreed. M is plush. Opulent.
Bel Ami is citric.
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post #9 of 23
1/14/13 at 10:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SymbianBlack View Post

Warning Small Rant! LOL

They took and 27 year old frag and trumped the price of it by almost $500 and put the "derived from the finest leather of an Aston Martin" to Justify it. I wished someone would've said try BelAmi by Hermes..... That would be my power interview, no jokes and games scent.

I agree, the differences in scent aren't worth the huge price differential.
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post #10 of 23
1/14/13 at 12:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hedonist222 View Post

Agreed. M is plush. Opulent.
Bel Ami is citric.

That's a good summary. I have the old formulation of Bel Ami and M, both are really good but M is much more modern feeling and IMO, a much better frag all around. I think it's worth the money and is one of the very few frags I wear often after sampling hundreds. M is much more concentrated vs Bel Ami as well.

I do not doubt M was inspired by Bel Ami, but the similarities do not detract from M in my opinion.
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post #11 of 23
1/14/13 at 1:23pm
M is a great replacement for vintage Bel Ami (if you can't get it) and way better than current Bel Ami (regarding longevity, richness, etc). Even in comparison with vintage (I have 10 ml of it), I think M has a different enough scent (and better) to warrant a purchase if you can afford it.
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post #12 of 23
1/14/13 at 2:18pm
Compared to the newest formulation, I think M has it all over Bel Ami. To vintage, they are close, but still prefer M.
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post #13 of 23
1/14/13 at 5:48pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by alfarom View Post

The similarity is there but where Bel Ami (vintage) has a dissonant citrus-leather combo, M feels plushier, smoother and more refined. I honestly couldn't choose which one to get over the other. They're both well worth owning IMO.




Quote:
Originally Posted by gtsb View Post

M is a great replacement for vintage Bel Ami (if you can't get it) and way better than current Bel Ami (regarding longevity, richness, etc). Even in comparison with vintage (I have 10 ml of it), I think M has a different enough scent (and better) to warrant a purchase if you can afford it.

with that said where can I get vintage?
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post #14 of 23
1/14/13 at 6:54pm
And I thought I was the only one that thought they smelled similar. Identical? No way. But close enough.
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post #15 of 23
1/14/13 at 9:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SymbianBlack View Post

with that said where can I get vintage?

bump
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post #16 of 23
1/14/13 at 10:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SymbianBlack View Post

bump

Every once and a while a vintage formulation will pop up on ebay--look out for the minis (but make sure they have been well stored) since they are usually vintage formulations. Vintage are rounded oval bottles, newer formulation are square.

Also you might be able to find people selling decants of the vintage formulation (e.g. perfumed court), but that will probably be expensive. Might be cheaper than anything you find on ebay though...
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post #17 of 23
2/7/13 at 10:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by alfarom View Post

The similarity is there but where Bel Ami (vintage) has a dissonant citrus-leather combo, M feels plushier, smoother and more refined. I honestly couldn't choose which one to get over the other. They're both well worth owning IMO.

This. Also the current version of Bel Ami, though decent, is a lot weaker and less interesting than the vintage. M is lot smoother.
As a woman, I feel more comfortable wearing M than Bel Ami.
That is not to say M smells ''ladylike'' at all.
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post #18 of 23
2/18/13 at 2:30am
I have M but never smelled Bel Ami which I am ashamed to admit lol. In my case, is it really worth sniffing?
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post #19 of 23
2/18/13 at 10:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jkidd View Post

I have M but never smelled Bel Ami which I am ashamed to admit lol. In my case, is it really worth sniffing?

Yes
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post #20 of 23
2/18/13 at 10:51am
The most underrated Hermes IMO - own it and it is a grt classic frag. Yet to test Pure Distance M...
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post #21 of 23
2/18/13 at 5:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jkidd View Post

I have M but never smelled Bel Ami which I am ashamed to admit lol. In my case, is it really worth sniffing?

Definitely. It's a classic! Get the vintage juice, if you can.
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post #22 of 23
2/18/13 at 6:10pm
I have a decant of M and a sample of Bel Ami and in the drydown they are very similar, M being richier and sweeter.
In the opening they are very different, Bel Ami is very citric acid.
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post #23 of 23
4/8/13 at 5:20pm
I have Pure Distance M on my left arm. To me, it's 90% like Bel Ami (current). I'll give it a full wearing in a couple of days. It's very nice, but so far just a dead ringer for Bel Ami IMHO.
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