Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Q&A

I know many of you are fans of Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, as I am.  I love her comfort scents in particular, and I have reviewed a number of her fragrances on here.  Dawn emailed me recently and we got to chatting back and forth and one thing led to another and … thus today´s post.

Dawn will be stopping by during the day to check out your comments and add her own responses, so this is your chance to ask her questions!  Also please note her request for your input on streamlining her site and her line.  She knows she has some hardcore fans on the Posse and values your opinions.

Finally, Dawn offers us a permanent discount: 10% off DSH purchases online with the code posse (yay!)  I had a wee bit of difficulty pasting her Q&A in due to formatting errors on my end, so apologizing in advance if I have to go back and edit something to correct it if she points it out to me.  Here’s the link to her website.

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Q: Which fragrance in your extensive line are you most proud of, and/or which would you most like to draw attention to as possibly an overlooked gem?

A: That’s a REALLY difficult question to answer.  In terms of ‘most proud’, I’m not sure (It’s kind of like choosing a favorite child) but I can name some scents that I really love and wear often: Rose Vert, Cafe Noir, Tamarind/Paprika, Arome d’Egypte, Minuit, Ambre and Menthe Moderne. Of course I’m also very proud of the aroma-colors.  I love this exploration and creating perfumes that are multi-sensory. In terms of hidden gems, I would have to mention:  Parfum de Grasse (which is such an elegant, classical floral), blue-green: Arnica (one of the most unusual refreshing green scents I’ve ever worn), Violetta di Murano (a violet Chypre perfume based on an unusual violet flower I found on the island of Murano), Essenza dell’Ibisco (an incredibly sexy, full-grown woman’s floral bouquet) and Umber: bois de rose (an earthy, ‘stormy rose garden’ scent based on my own eglantine rose).  These are perfumes that seem to have a more eclectic appeal but I think are wonderful.

Q: Among perfume fans, you’re admired for your work with roses, spices and comfort scents.  (I also like that your comfort scents aren’t super sweet bakery items.)  Do you feel you have a particular affinity for these?

A:  I am not sure if I feel a specific affinity for comfort scents but I do love the concept of perfumes being influenced by foods/drinks.  Not only do many foods have wonderful aromas that would be great to experience anytime in a perfume, they can be really complex and interesting.  Also, foods carry the notion of comfort; aromas we are used to and love; that make us feel good.  In terms of designing gourmand (usually where comfort scents would be found) scents, I prefer a bittersweet approach or a just touch of cream, sweetness or syrup; hints of foody items but not really a full blown ‘cake scent’ per se.  That’s just my taste.

Coffee is one of my favorite gourmand notes and so I created “Cafe Noir” back in 1997 (before the trend really took off) based on it.  I think it was my first gourmand perfume, actually.   It has an authentic warmth, depth and richness from the coffee absolute but wears like a perfume with added balsam, spice and floral notes.  It’s a sexy, smoky and wonderfully sophisticated bittersweet gourmand.  I guess you could say it’s ‘my’ comfort scent.  I’m also truly delighted to know that many of my clients feel comforted by a scent I have made; it makes doing this work all the more meaningful.

Q: I find your simpler scents layer quite nicely.  Do you ever layer scents, or recommend layering? Any suggestions?

A: Yes, I do recommend it and even encourage my clients to experiment and feel creative with perfume layering.  The DSH New Creations collection was designed with this concept in mind and even comes with a layering chart to help with making decisions of what to layer to good effect.  I have been considering creating a master layering chart that would incorporate every scent possibility, even among different collections.  It’s a pretty large undertaking, so I’ll have to get busy!

I have two recommendations to any one who wants to get into layering but doesn’t feel confident as to how to start:

1) layer a simple scent with something more complex.  Two complex perfumes together have more chances to clash, but shifting or accentuating a note in a complex perfume has a way of feeling different without making a ‘mess’.  (for example: add a layer of bergamot to freshen a deeper scent, sandalwood to add some richness or a light musk to soften a stronger scent).

2) layer a brighter scent with a deeper/warmer scent.  These two styles tend to balance well with each other instead of too much of one thing or another.

Q: You also do dupes/interpretations of some classic scents, in addition to your own vintage-style creations.  Was this driven by your own interest in vintage scent styles, or customer demand?  To you, what smells “vintage?”

A:  Both customer demand as well as my personal interest.  Many of my clients have found me, I think, because I have always offered chypres, animalics and orientals, even when the trends in commercial perfumes were moving away from them.  Back when I had the Essense perfumery in Boston, we sold some “designer dupes” in oil format to accommodate our local clients and tourists looking for their scent in an oil or a better bath/body care option.  We also offered reformulations of cherished discontinued scents.  That is how it started; with just a few options.  Since then, I have added a number of interpretations of classic perfumes, especially from perfumers that I greatly admire, such as Jacques Guerlain, Francois Coty, Ernest Beaux and Edmond Roudnitska.   It’s as close to walking in their shoes and thinking like them that I can get.  This process has spawned a full blown passion for vintage scents to the extent that I am currently working on a Perfume Museum so that I can foster further interest in vintage styles of perfume design and greater awareness of the history and art form of perfumery.

There is another aspect to my interest in vintage perfumes: they are designs with larger proportions of naturals, including natural animalic notes, combined with selected synthetics. I feel that they represent a better balance than many of today’s commercial perfumes in terms of their beauty, complexity, artistry and allure.

To me, there is an inherent warmth associated with these older perfume styles that make them smell ‘vintage’.   They have an ambery, balsamic, sometimes mossy and animalic accord in the drydown that is pretty consistent in most vintage perfumes.  There is also a tendency toward an aldehydic topnote and a sweet, powdery feel in the drydown that can be considered ‘vintage’ as well, such as Chanel no.5, Arpege, Chypre, l’Origan or one of my faves, Fleeting Moment by Balenciaga.

Q: Your website is really extensive — some would say intimidating, due to the sheer number of scents.  If you could ask the Posse Blog readership for input, what would you want to know?

A: Well, it’s true; I have heard to my dismay that the site is overwhelming.  I have an insatiable need to create but I might have created a monster!   So, I have been contemplating what perfumes/notes I should cut and which to keep so that I can ‘prune the site’ into something more manageable and enjoyable.  I guess that my question to readers would be which scents should I NEVER consider discontinuing?  There are some beloved scents that may not always make the highest sales numbers but I don’t want to get rid of any scent that is cherished.  Is there anything you wouldn´t miss at all? {March asks: do y’all find the website confusing, or is it just me?  Of course the longer I’m on there the less confusing it is.  Has anyone used the search feature?  How did you like it?}

Q: Finally, can you tell me more about your “X” scent?  I found it really fascinating.  On me it goes through phases of being something like a drugstore musk, only its perfect, idealized version — with alternating whiffs of what I’d describe as sweaty male armpit, only in a really good, sexy way.  What do you learn about perception and skin chemistry from X?

A: Formula X developed out of working directly with clients; creating custom signature scents.  As a part of a scent development, I would analyze the reactivity of my client’s skin by trying different notes and judging the shift and then I realized that some materials I had been working with tended to do this better than others while some would actually amplify the scent of a person’s skin.  These notes (I never tell which they are) were used to create Formula X.  It is, in fact, the shift that tells the most about the wearer’s skin and how that chemistry can affect a perfume, any perfume.

Your skin, from your description, sounds to me like you have ‘musky skin’.  This means that scents tend to seem stronger on your skin than another’s and that if there is musk in the design that it will be more noticeable.  It also means that I would recommend that you stay away from the ozone/marine family as they will be too strong. I recommend warm, soft chypres; soft florals and spicy perfumes that aren’t too intense as possibly your best families.  {March says:  was that ever spot on.  Dawn, have you been browsing in my closet?!?}

I should also say that I released Formula X as a possible product/scent to wear since many of my clients said that they just loved the way it smelled on their skin; just as is.  it really is the perfect ‘non-scent’ perfume, when you just want a little something but you aren’t into being really ‘scented’, if you know what I mean.

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Thanks very much for your time, Dawn, and for offering to drop by here during the day to check on comments.  Readers, Dawn´s in Boulder and thus on Mountain time.  Finally, look for my reviews of some new-to-me DSH comfort scents in the next couple weeks, thanks to all your input on comfort scents posts I have found some winners!

image: DSH’s cool-looking studio in Boulder, dshperfumes.com