Indie perfume house Dawn Spencer Hurwitz has launched MaccaBees :: a Hanukkah scent {Holiday no.19}. (see also no. 18: Urban Moonshine and no. 17: Châtaignes du Bois…)
Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Sharkskin ~ fragrance review
Independent perfumer Dawn Spencer Hurwitz has just released Sharkskin, the seventh fragrance in her limited edition Heirloom Series.1 This one is timed for summer: it’s “tailor-made to get you through the steamiest days of the year…a wonderful balance of sparkling lightness, luxurious depth, and ease. In my perfect fantasy, this is the scent that both Frank Sinatra AND Grace Kelly are wearing to be cool as a cucumber, the picture of elegance, and ever so fresh in the heat of the NYC summer, circa 1957.”
This scent’s name refers to the fabric called sharkskin, a lightweight wool material that’s tightly woven with alternating colors of thread for a resulting smoothness and subtle, two-toned sheen. The members of the Rat Pack were often photographed wearing sharp-cut sharkskin suits in the 1950s and 1960s, hence the reference above! — but the material is still used in suiting for both genders…
6 from Dawn Spencer Hurwitz ~ new fragrances
So far this year, indie perfume house Dawn Spencer Hurwitz has launched Au Crépuscule de Lavande, Avocado Toast, Gardénia Vitreux, Le Jade, Royal Grey Cologne and Vers la Voute Etoilée…*
Thousands of perfumes
Boulder-based award-winning perfumer Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, owner of DSH Perfumes and retail space The Essense Studio, has kept the residents of the Front Range and beyond smelling delightful with her ever-evolving arsenal of handmade botanical scents. In her nearly 30-year career, she’s crafted thousands of perfumes — each with their own distinct story. Filled with fresh organic ingredients, often mirroring the scents found in nature, these innovative offerings stretch far past the generic, mass-produced bottles of CK One and Chanel No. 5.
— Read more at Boulder perfumer creates scent culture, wins for ‘Colorado’ at Daily Camera.
American Perfumer Colorado & Desert Flower ~ fragrance reviews
About a year and a half ago, I was aggravated enough by an article in a women’s glossy magazine to write a response on my own blog and to encourage a few fellow bloggers to do the same. This article proclaimed the rise of American indie perfumers (imagine that!) and noted their tendency to create fragrances inspired by wide open spaces (because of their “pioneering spirit,” apparently). It also seemed to be laboring under the impression that only men are currently crafting, creative-directing, or critiquing perfume in the United States.
More recently, I was intrigued by the launch of a perfume boutique in Louisville, Kentucky dedicated entirely to American fragrance brands. American Perfumer, as it’s appropriately named, takes an almost gallery-like approach to showcasing its brands and giving the perfumers themselves a voice through blog posts and podcast interviews. And, unlike the above-mentioned article, it includes a mix of male and female perfumers…