Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, one of the pre-eminent independent perfumers, but one whose work I have had little access to, has just sent me about a million samples of her perfumes in the post from her studio in Colorado (more literally, probably, in the range of about one hundred and twenty, or two hundred – but who the hell is counting?)
I am mesmerized.
The eclectica!
The prolific rangeness.
The covering of virtually every hue in the olfactory spectrum.
The PROFUSION.
I have them all in a box, in the kitchen, and me and D will keep on trying them, like little advent calendar windows to open each night. . Albino. The Voices Of Trees ( D smells foxy as hell in Seve de Pin). The horror of Rendezvous- so scandalously animalic I could hardly believe it. Pretty And Pink. Fumee D’Or. A WHOLE CARNATION SERIES
(WHO makes five carnations??! (One of my obsessions, as a clove maniac.) Even one is a rarity. I LOVE this approach!)
The convincingly emotive Japanese Collection.
Kyphi, with its cardamom top note and intimations of embalming ambers…..
An entire world of intriguing perfumed vials to wade through……
But which ones to include in the book?
I hardly know where to start.
Please feel free to tell me your favourites, so I can rootle them out.
(I LOVE people with passion, creativity and generosity, though…………………………there are so many stingy, shallow mingers around in this world right now if you ask me: so much tedious, afraid-to-be-real bullshit, such….I don’t know……..BANALITY and ugliness and STUPIDITY that all,: : in essence,: : I can say for the time being is….)
HURRAH FOR DAWN SPENCER HURWITZ.
The Black Narcissus 
Dawn is amazing and lovely. I worship Chinchilla! Also love il Marinaio di Capri. Dying to experience Foxy!
Chinchilla was the only one I knew (and it freaked me out). Foxy is here in the collection and I did immediately fancy smelling it on the Duncan. Marinaio…..don’t think it is here!
boo hoo (starts smashing fists on kitchen floor)
I can’t say how much I love Dawn Spencer Hurwitz’s work. She’s also a wonderful, nice person. I’m an older lady and try as I have to love moderns, for the most part I still prefer vintage. Finding DSH was like finding my own bespoke perfumer. Nothing smells old – but much of it could have easily been made when I was a child or even before. Her animalics are amazing. (Rendezvous, Foxy, Chinchilla are my favorite 3) She makes an homage to my 80s signature Opium extrait (Fou d’Opium), that is side by side as good and in some ways better than the original yet uniquely hers. Mirabella, Mata Hari, Oeillets Rouge, Deco Diamonds, Tubereuse – so many carnations too; everything is so multi-faceted and blended in that way my favorite vintages are. For me, it’s wearing evolving, changing, living beauty that evoke feeling more than thought. I could probably pick out many (not all) of the notes in Mata Hari while wearing it but it would be a chore to not be consumed by the emotion of the fragrance. I’m not good with words but TLDR, Dawn Hurwitz is a perfume angel.
So glad I put this post up now, reading this. I will try all these properly (as they are included). How exciting all of this is.
Champaca
ooh, what selection pack would that one be in? I want ALL OF THEM
Right note , wrong name…it’s this one-
https://www.dshperfumes.com/shop/ashram/
I noticed that one actually. It amazed me how much it smelled EXACTLY like Chag Nampa incense!
Bravo! Dawn’s work is extraordinary and her out-put is astonishing. Seve De Pin is one of my favorites, smells just like the woods behind our house. Wedding Bouquet is a perfect floral, centered around stephanotis. And Il Marinaio di Capri will have you feeling and smelling like Liz and Dick stepping off the boat at that enchanted isle. Oh, and Lis Oriental makes me damn-near faint just opening the bottle. (I say faint b/c I really hate the word “swoon”. Almost as much as “moist”.)
She is an amazing perfumer!!! You are in for some treats!!!
Oeillets Rouges and Scent of Hope!
Liked those already!
( from this pack I mean ..)
I love Lilas de Minuit. I wore it to watch the full moon last week. And Foxy and Rendezvous just seem so right in the down and dirty São Paulo I love so much. American artists like Dawn make me not lose hope in the USA. She makes me realize there is so much passion and creativity there despite (perhaps because of?) the horrors of the current administration.
X
I second that emotion
So glad you and her have found each other. I truly feel she is one of the preeminent parfumeurs of our times.
Foxy is just beyond sexy. My friend Ida wears it often and I could just fall to sleep nuzzled on her busom. It is so beyond anything else I can think of.
My two top favorites are Scent of Hope and Souvenir de Malmaison, both of which leave me gently gasping and catching my breath.
My friend Ida Meister has everything she makes, so I have been lucky to have the chance to smell so many of them.
I am so happy you did this post, it reminded me how much I need to place an order for some of her scents I am not as familiar with.
I really can hardly wait until your book is available, I will be very eager to press the purchase button upon its release.
Love DHS and have been exploring and enjoying her creations for the past 3 years. Here are my favs:
Giverny in Bloom – wonderful green floral, the whole garden (soil and vegetation included) in a bottle. Very springtime, but here in San Francisco that works for me pretty much year round. My most worn DHS. (I teach piano and kids LOVE it.)
l’Opera des Rouges et des Roses (red flowers from Monet’s Giverny) – carnations, roses, beeswax, vavavoom drama.
Mirabella – when craving adult, vintage fruity chypre.
Onycha – ambery, marine roasted sea shell goodness.
Foxy – Calvados you can wear. Yum! Perfect fall fragrance.
Paper White – green, dry narcissus.
Tsukiyo-en – a refreshing treat for the rare hot day here. Love the subtle use of shiso in here.
Enjoy your DSH ride!
It’s funny : I was immediately drawn to most of these as well
How wonderful that you have discovered DSH and that you’re giving her this recognition. What I’ve found is that no matter what I try, even if it’s not my kind of thing or the type of perfume I want to wear, at least it always smells good to me and on me (unlike so many contemporary perfumes that contain certain harsh and spiky synthetics). And I love it that you can buy a range of sizes, including minis and travel sizes. Like you, I’m a carnation lover (did not know today that you were, too), so I’ve tried all of them. My favorite by far is Fleuriste (which makes me a bit weak in the knees), though they are all well done. I also love Fou d’Opium, which I wear frequently. Another interesting one to try is Cimabue, which is a unique and beautiful saffron fragrance. And I agree with others that you should try Scent of Hope.
My favourite carnation of all time is Santa Maria Novella’s Garofano which is so pink and clovey it HURTS, but Fleuriste – yes. I will check out Cimabue as well!
I have a longtime love-hate affair going on with Dawn’s candy-shop website. It’s kind of a nightmare trying to FIND something there, but if you’re just browsing it’s as full of rabbit holes as Wikipedia is. You start at one spot and click a link and then the next thing you know, your cart is full and you’re wondering how you wound up with so many bonbons…
She used to make a dupe of Coty Chypre that was absolutely fabulous. (Sadly, it is long gone.) And all those carnations! My favorite is Oeillets Rouges. Other favorites: Susinon/1000 Lilies, Rose Vert, Giverny in Bloom, La Fete Nouvelle (strikingly akin to the smell of hay drying in the field behind my house). I’ve recently fallen for Je Suis la Lune, a milky jasmine that hit a spot I didn’t even know I had.
OH! And Paper White is lovely too, as well as White Lilac.
Ooh thanks for these tips: there is a sample of Je Suis La Lune – I will have to check it out.