DKNY Pure (2010): More than just a Drop of Vanilla {Perfume Review} in live concerns

"PureDKNY speaks to the core essence of who I am and what I want to touch -- the people and children I love, and being at one with nature, It's about those little moments that bring you joy, pure and simple. Sometimes, those simple things are the hardest to find."

Donna Karan

 

Pure by DKNY was launched around the globe in February 2010 but won't officially launch in the US before July. According to WWD, it is a fragrance that wants to promote ethical living and the feminine condition, ideas that are embodied by a single raw material, vanilla from Uganda, which was sourced with the help of humanitarian association Care in order to help Ugandan women. "CARE is excited to partner with PureDKNY on an initiative that will support women in Uganda, while also educating U.S. consumers about the important role women play in breaking the cycle of global poverty," said Helene D. Gayle, president and chief executive officer of CARE.

The fragrance is taking for symbol of its mission "a drop of vanilla" which illustrates the idea of making small incremental differences in the world, one drop of soothing-smelling vanilla at a time.    

Notes: dewdrop petal accord, lotus flower, Bulgarian rose; transparent jasmine, freesia, lush orchid; white amber, creamy sandalwood and vanilla in water.

Pure by DKNY opens on a sweet note and much more tonka bean than I would expect from a fragrance called "Pure." It is actually the Ugandan vanilla note which is the central note of the composition, one that was described by Trudi Loren of Estée Lauder as offering a unique "creamy fluidity." It is not so ethereal after all. I expected a more crystalline, impalpable scent after browsing the advertising campaign featuring Angela Lindvall. Rather, it seems to pull the fragrance in the direction of a pure nursery ambiance of cuddly smells like vanilla-scented cereals cream for babies and tots but as if it were lingering on a blue woolen blanket near a bottle of baby powder and then - as it gained some intensity - could be traced back to mommy's perfume. The "tonka" which is not officially listed but could have been added to reinforce the vanilla-in-water accord is a bit mineral and "hard;" I realize after a little while that this stony aspect in my mind is one I associate with laundry-detergent-types of white musks which are not particularly subtle and seem to have been contaminated by the hard water in which they are meant to swish around...

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