Rubikona No. 11

Rubikona, the new perfume from Puredistance Master Perfumes, has just been launched after about two years of planning involving Jan Ewould Vos – founder of the house – and the perfumer Cécile Zarokian, who also gave life to Sheiduna in 2016. This time, the inspiration comes from a vibrant and perfectly cut ruby, which merges with the emotions that emanate from the red color. Warmth, sensuality, lust, and sophistication have always accompanied women who know how to benefit from the impact of this color, be it through a pair of shoes, an Haute Couture dress, or just lingerie combined with an exuberant pair of earrings made with this gemstone. The name represents a combination of the words RUBI and ICON and the fragrance follows the high standard of Puredistance, always in the concentration of Pure Parfum Extrait, with the best and most noble ingredients. Now, we have 28% of extract combining notes of grapefruit, bergamot, and mandarin, on the top of the composition. Then, notes of rose, iris, ylang-ylang, clove, orange blossom, and creamy notes bring a floral bouquet to the heart of the fragrance. Finally, patchouli, cedarwood, vanilla, musk, and solar notes complete the olfactory pyramid. On the skin, Rubikona presents Cécile's interpretation for the red color through opulent nuances, full of depth and, above all, delicacy. It is the perfect meeting between concept and expertise! The initial explosion is fruity, juicy, and sweet. However, the citrus facets were sublimated by an instant creaminess, which emerges from the rich flower of ylang-ylang and gains a waxed nuance thanks to orris butter. The balance is fantastic! Here, the ylang does not have a very tropical side with a banana kind of smell, nor a very evident facet of white flowers. And the solar notes make me think of flowers like gardenias and some types of jasmine. Rubikona's fragrance exudes a lot and evolves even more creamy, when vanilla joins the musk and the different types of patchouli chosen by the perfumer, in order to transmit all the intensity of the color, without giving up the elegant character of the Puredistance collection. At this point, I find myself imagining the character played by Julia Roberts in the movie Pretty Woman (1990), if after flying in a private jet to watch the opera, wearing that iconic red dress, she ended up the night with a bowl of vanilla ice cream and bare feet on the bed of that hotel room, in total plenitude. Once again, Puredistance nailed it by bringing red to its color and fragrance palette. Because being chic is not just a visual issue. It is a characteristic that emanates from inside out.

This is A perfume to be remembered by... Oh wow, this is such a creation. I have tried this perfume on different occasions and during different seasons for a couple of years. I was stunned to read some not-so-positive comments as Rubikona to me was a love at first sniff. I was amazed! It is very very unique scent and hard to be mistaken for any other perfume. Sheiduna and Rubikona are like upper-east side sisters to me. Above everyone else. Very posh, but elegant and chic with mysterious characters. Deep, seductive, warm, and with a strong niche feeling. Truly truly unique. In the beginning, I get this zesty sweet patchouli with cloves which is a bit sharp, but later on after a couple of minutes the zesty notes just disappear and the sweetness gives this perfume a bit rounder feeling, it becomes opulent, very very warm and attractive. It pulls you in, you just want to smell this over and over again. I just love how this perfume changes over time. After a couple of hours, you can smell this deep sweet patchouli note with hints of jasmine and I just love the dry down! It is to die for! I love how rich it is and I love to be generous with the sprays as It creates a very very elegant cloud around and the sillage is just... you would want to follow a person who smells like this. I would definitely turn my head around to second-look a passing person who would leave a trail of Rubikona. It is impossible not to get noticed with this beauty. I think a lot of people who didn't appreciate this perfume might have tried it on blotter or washed it off immediately after trying it.... Take my advice - try this perfume on yourself, on your skin, and let it sit for 30 minutes... It just completely changes. It gets so addictive. Puredistance perfumes need to be tested on the skin for sure. This is not a perfume to wear with jeans on casual days. No no no... It requires certain attire and an occasion. It is just so perfect for grand moments in life. Perfect for the fall/winter season, perfect to wear with your most precious jewels, perfect to be used during evening going somewhere very elegantly dressed. It is a perfume for darker hours. Love. Rubikona is jus love for me. Unique, distinctive, one of a kind. I haven't smelled anything like this. One more masterpiece of Cecile Zarokian that I just fell so heavily in love. I think ladies who like Jovoy - Psychedelique or Dior - Midnight Poison might like Rubikona, as it is very unique patchouli dominant scent.

What this is: A smooth, creamy, warm, earthy and woody floral. Unexpected, complex and original. Somewhat reminiscent of Xerjoff Richwood and FM Portrait of a Lady. What this isn't: Linear, simple, unbalanced or forgettable. After months of anticipating its release, my expectations for Rubikona were sky high. After wearing this for a week now, I must say Cecile Zarokian, the nose behind two of my favorite fragrances (Ani and Stairway to Heaven), hit it out of the park yet again. I agree with Cassiano about most everything except the opening, which I did not find especially sweet or juicy. It is a fresh burst of mildly sweet citrus for sure (bergamot, grapefruit and mandarin) that is rather strange, because to me this opening is distinctly more earthy than juicy. The tangy citrus seems to be greatly softened and balanced by the orris butter and a hint of patchouli--a preview of things to come. It is quite unexpected and interesting. It is the drydown that is to die for: The smoothest, creamiest blend of rose, ylang ylang, orange blossom and earthy iris is enhanced with warm vanilla and fluffy musk--all over a rich base of cedar and patchouli, whose chocolatey facets are felt throughout. Patchouli-haters, fear not: This is far from a patchouli bomb, nor is it a sugar bomb. Clove and carnation add a hint of spiciness, but don't dominate. This is resinous, but not overly so. The greatest achievement of this fragrance is its outstanding balance of contrasting olfactory qualities: fresh, floral, resinous-woody, earthy, vanilla, spicy, musky. Although performance is strong (28% perfume oil concentration), I wouldn't call it beast mode. I would give it arm's length projection and 10-12+ hours longevity. Its warmth and elegance make it perfect for the cooler months and evenings, but is still fresh enough for regular daytime wear. For me it ticks all the boxes. Rubikona is indeed a gem.

I do not understand all the hate for this perfume, it seems that in this perfume decade, if fragrances are not of familiar smell of Baccarat, Aventus, oud wood or some gourmand cheap blend then they are not worthy, they smell horrid, they are revolting. Train your noses, this is a complex parfum, give it time to develop, don’t judge it within first seconds or minutes! This is definitely a non linear frag and the beauty of this fragrance literally blossoms as the time goes by... I, for one, think this is one of the best perfumes I ever smelt, I enjoy every hour this 2 ml sample spray gives me, how the harshness of the opening becomes more and more creamy and yes, I will spend my money on this “non-average-joe-pleaser”.

I really do not know how to describe it but it is kinda flora, kinda sweet, kinda old school, feminine and very elegant. I might be affected by the color of the bottle but to me it smells red. Performance is great. worth the price but not blind buy safe. 17-APR-2024

My wife wears it on our dates and it has a wonderful place in my heart. Overpriced? Most definitely. Still gorgeous for what it means to me. I'm willing to pay for that nostalgia over and over again.

Not worth the price tag Similar smell came from other perfumery which offers citrus vanilla with bold floral Wish vanilla will be eliminated to give unique package

This is finally a perfect perfume a la 80s! Deep, warm, smells beautifully, strong but feminine, never got so many compliments for any other perfume.

Don't ever discontinue that perfume, the best one in the last 20 years! By all means, smell, longevity etc.

Its different its amazing. The only downfall is the price for me, waaaaay overpriced !

10/10 my type of fragrance, Best thing Ive ever smelled.

Raspberry liqueur, raspberry flavoured cough syrup, a dark rose and clean patchouli. If the top notes sounds awful, the raspberry facet has been cleverly blended here with the aid of hot spices to form a smooth raspberry veneer over the classic rose patchouli accord. I've mentioned cough syrup as it has a certain varnish overtone found in some cough syrups and also a little bit in some wood varnish. Just a tinge to keep to add some pop to the raspberry but not enough to be edgy. I did enjoy the scent but in general, I think the entire Puredistance line are severely overpriced for what they are (across the board). This is pleasant work but once you factor in the outrageous 500 euro per 100ml price, pleasant isn't good enough. I need to be blown away at those statospheric prices. Best to sample beforehand.

Very weird development on this one. Starts out obnoxiously loud orange and patchouli, with some florals in the background; rose and maybe ylang ylang. After one hour it has calmed down to a skin scent with vanilla added. Earthy patchouli is quite prominent on me throughout and I think Rubikona could be nice to try for a Portrait of a Lady fan?

This fragrance seems to create a lot of strong reactions lol Honestly I just thought it was "kinda nice" but hugely unnecessary (and sometimes too sharp)...even the story about the name doesn't make much sense 😅

Nice, but no identity, somehow plain. Not long lasting, so overpriced. When they spritz you in the shops, it lasts for two days, but not the one you actually buy. So cheating involved, I don ́t like that.

Totally feminine leaning citrus-floral-patchouli mashup. Nuance comes through as it wears, namely vanilla and musky orange notes. Pleasant, particularly as it dries down.

This is horrible. Metallic smell remind me of beach hut by Amouage.

I'm sure the cost of materials is fairly high but the way they're used isn't to my liking. The sweet gourmand side is quite nice with inflections of both chocolate and vanilla over an ambery base and the floral chypre part of it is suitably bright and full. However, somewhere in there are a huge dose of musks and other things which are probably designed to bring the 2 sides together. Instead of doing that it just overpowers and comes off as scratchy and harsh.

Is this performance art? To create a musty, dusty floral perfume and charge an absurd amount of money to see who falls for it? Eek eek eek. Every time I catch a whiff of this on my wrist, I keep telling myself to go scrub it off already. It's a flat, old, headache-inducing scent and I'm bummed it was one of the samples put into my sampler box, blech.

Masculine. Patchouli heavy. Sawdust. Orris smooths the fragrance but the clove oil doesn't work with the blend. The fragrance has an overall scratchy feel that I cannot tolerate. I would not wear this for one day of my life. -