Hey Posse! You already know how much I love Indie Perfumes. Dawn Spencer Hurwitz has done it again with Seve de Pin (Sève de Pin is Pine Seed in French (SHIT! NOPE It’s Pine SAP sorry). She manages to keep the perfume feeling Indie but with a smooth nonchalance that makes me think of the fine finish on mass-tige.
Seve de Pin by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz for DSH Perfumes
DSH Perfumes gives these featured accords:
Amyris, Elemi, Pine Needle Absolute, Poplar Bud absolute, Ambergris, Balsam Fir, Fossilized Amber Resin, Frankincense (Olibanum), Honey, Labdanum, Oppopanax, Virginia Cedar, Bulgarian Rose Absolute, Leafy Green (accord), Armoise (Mugwort), Green Mandarin, Lemon
I have an admission to make. The bush is not something I crave. Nope. Give me urban landscape please, country towns even, convenience is an addiction and I am heavily into it. In no way do I choose to rough it on the land. When I was a cadet I bloody well hated it. Sleeping under a sheet of plastic over a rope in Australia is tantamount to a death wish. Too much of our flora and fauna will kill you dead.
So it’s weird that I have such a taste for earthy, woodsy, dank, humus rich fragrances that smell like you’re caught in the high summer heat under a trees shade on a creek bank. The warm fetid air about 15 degrees cooler than the scorching sunshine yet so full of intoxicating smells.
I’ve never been in an American pine forest but having smelled Seve de Pin it feels like I’ve been pretty close. Picking out any detailed notes is almost impossible here, somehow Dawn has woven the notes together so seamlessly that all I smell is the dream of a pine forest.
From DSH Perfumes:
Seve de Pin explores the inner life of the pine forest taking you from the first sweet, sticky, golden sap of Spring to the now encrusted Autumn amber jewels on the trees. This is lush pine resin at it’s best; there’s nothing pine-sol or hanging “car trees” about this.
Further reading: Colognoisseur
DSH Perfumes has a great selection of Seve de Pin products from $6
Have you ever been in the American pine forests? Tell us your memories.
Portia xx
If you have enjoyed this then please pop over to Australian Perfume Junkies and continue the scented conversation.
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I love this one. The Voices of Trees is another great DSH pine scent. They remind me of tracking in the East Texas pine forests.
Hi John, and Portia!
Thank you so much, dear, wonderful, Portia for this lovely review and the incredible images you’ve conjured for me! And yes, John, it is a natural perfume … well, 99% botanical. I hope that you will love it!
<3 <3 <3
I like to walk through a pine tree forest. Fresh, green and clean. I will love it and so will my partner. Essential oils of pine needles and twigs go into this perfume. This is a natural perfume. I love it so much. I really appreciate it. Thanks for sharing!
Hey John,
Not sure of the natural-ness but I think you’ll really love how it smells.
Portia xx
Pine is an over looked note in perfume. CdG Zagorsk and Dior Grandville are great renditions of pine forest.
Hey Eldarwen22,
I never think of pine forest when I wear Granville, next time I spritz this comment will be front & centre.
Portia xx
Tara C is right about the translation of the name, of course. So this sounds like something I can safely skip. Even if I love the scent of a pine forest on a warm day, it remindes me too much of functional products for the home and sporty lotions for me to want it in perfume. I have not been to the USA, but you will find pine forests also in Europe. I find pine forests more airy than those with mainly fir trees.
Heya Ingeborg,
We use pine frag as a disinfectant in Oz, in South Korea they have Pine & Salt Toothpaste, it’s surprisingly delicious.
I have been to the pine forests in Poland ski fields but it was winter and my nose could only register the smell of cold.
Portia xx
Sève de Pin = Pine Sap. I love the smell of pine! My favourite foresty scent is actually Zagorsk, which is pine and incense.
Hey TaraC,
SHIT! Bloody Google Translate. I thought I was being so smarty pants too.
Zagorsk sounds good.
Portia xx
When I lived in Colorado I went with a friend up into the forest. We were both tremendously hung over but the strong, fresh forest smell helped us both recover. I remember feeling clearer with each deep breath. Even in my sorry condition that feeling of the cool air and the gorgeous smell carved a place for itself in my brain.
Hi KateE,
Ahhhh the drunken revival by forest technique. Not one I’ve tried but it sounds good.
You will definitely love this scent then,
Portia xx
Sounds fantastic. I love a forest-y scent and like you, can’t imagine anything grimmer than camping 🙂
HA! GRIMMER! Best word ever for how I feel about camping Tara. Being camp is enough for me thanks.
Portia xx
Mmmmm…pine forest. I’m not usually a fan of pine or resiny scents, but I do love going for a hike in a pine forest. When I lived in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the summer temps would be above 100 F for days on end, we’d retreat up into the mountains to camp when we could — it could be 15-20 degrees cooler up there. Hiking in those trees was lovely. And my parents’ house in North Carolina backs up into the woods. The smell is fantastic. Unfortunately, the trade-off is pine pollen — it covers everything in a thick, yellow dust and makes my nose and eyes itch for weeks!
Hey HeidiC,
I’ve never heard of pine pollen, how bloody annoying. Do all pine trees do it? What time of year?
Portia xx
I don’t know if it’s all pine trees! But the pollen gets everywhere in North Carolina (southern US) as well as in Minnesota (northern US) — fun fact: only the male trees make the pollen mess! It’s usually from spring through midsummer.