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Burr gives Viridian by Parfums des Beaux Arts (Dawn Spencer Hurwitz) four stars

post #1 of 25
2/12/09 at 3:12pm
Thread Starter 
'...The quality of superniche scent collections varies hugely. Filmmakers who shoot at their parents homes and produce on credit-card-financed shoestrings create, for the most part, erratic movies, and independent perfumers generally produce erratic collections. There are the political perfumes (all natural! all organic!), which tend to smell like bottled ideologies, and theme collections (Japan!), and the slightly trite I hunt the planet for the most fabulous materials. And if the scents are almost always inferior to the Diors and the Tom Fords, it is due to the fact that perfume is not do-it-yourself. It is an excruciatingly difficult art form that requires trained professionals with access to the materials and technicians. And even then they can bomb. Most niche scent makers do forgettable work.

One exception is Dawn Spencer Hurwitz... '

Read the full review - where Burr mini-reviews a bunch of DSH scents including Sienna (which I own and love), Celadon and Pamplemousse, here
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post #2 of 25
2/12/09 at 4:00pm
Well this ought to keep DSH busy for a few weeks!
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post #3 of 25
2/12/09 at 6:16pm
Thread Starter 
Actually Dawn's got a lot of good press recently.

I say, good for her! Maybe now she'll get enough $ to pair down her inventory and clean up that really-hard-to-navigate website.
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post #4 of 25
2/12/09 at 10:13pm
"Most niche scent makers do forgettable work"

Oh come on, really? I'm very critical of many niche scents when they ratio of quality to cost verse designer is sometimes skewed, but to use such a heavy label as most is ludicrous! Unless he has a very different definition of niche than I do, I would hesitate to call almost any Montal, MPG, SL, Amouge, By Kilian, etc forgettable. Over priced? Sometimes. But forgettable? Hardly ever.

And the scents that he praises in the article don't really sound wearable. Smart? Yes. Artistic? Yes. Something I'd be able to wear to the office, a date, dinner, ANYTHING? Errrrr....

As keen as we all are on the concept of perfumery as art, the concept of accessability and wearability can not be sacrificed to maintain, well what exactly? The fragrance equivalent of indie record shop street cred?

I mean, has anyone READ this?


"Amico is a more complex, avant-garde abstract, a resolute contemporary (think of the smell of a Richard Serra sheet-metal work) that transcends l’Eau d’Issey’s clean water hologram and constitutes an eminently wearable olfactory sculpture. (If natural-world references are needed, the nearest I can come is salt water/cinnamon bark/the scent of the air in Kennedy Airport’s Terminal 1."

Ok, it's well worded but what the devil does it actually smell like?

It's seems strange to me, the are two contradictory themes here. On the one hand, here we are reading about niche scents in the New York Times. On the other hand, I have no idea what in the hell I'm reading. Instead of taking a possibly more boring approach and actually managed to tell me what I'm smelling (I'm sorry Issey to me smells like ice tea not a hologram, and what does a hologram smell like?) he instead manages to make me feel like an idiot. The phrasing of 'if natural references are needed' carries that implication that you are a plebian, nah, a goddamn country bumpkin if you actually care what exactly it smells like. He says a sheet metal sculpture and by god that should be good enough for you swine!

The man's knowledge and experience are vast, you mean to tell me he can't find a way to show it off and make the wording just a touch more plain?
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post #5 of 25
2/12/09 at 10:15pm
Burrrrrr, Chandler!
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post #6 of 25
2/12/09 at 10:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scentseeker View Post

"Most niche scent makers do forgettable work"

Oh come on, really? I'm very critical of many niche scents when they ratio of quality to cost verse designer is sometimes skewed, but to use such a heavy label as most is ludicrous! Unless he has a very different definition of niche than I do, I would hesitate to call almost any Montal, MPG, SL, Amouge, By Kilian, etc forgettable. Over priced? Sometimes. But forgettable? Hardly ever.

And the scents that he praises in the article don't really sound wearable. Smart? Yes. Artistic? Yes. Something I'd be able to wear to the office, a date, dinner, ANYTHING? Errrrr....

As keen as we all are on the concept of perfumery as art, the concept of accessability and wearability can not be sacrificed to maintain, well what exactly? The fragrance equivalent of indie record shop street cred?

I mean, has anyone READ this?


"Amico is a more complex, avant-garde abstract, a resolute contemporary (think of the smell of a Richard Serra sheet-metal work) that transcends lEau dIsseys clean water hologram and constitutes an eminently wearable olfactory sculpture. (If natural-world references are needed, the nearest I can come is salt water/cinnamon bark/the scent of the air in Kennedy Airports Terminal 1."

Ok, it's well worded but what the devil does it actually smell like?

It's seems strange to me, the are two contradictory themes here. On the one hand, here we are reading about niche scents in the New York Times. On the other hand, I have no idea what in the hell I'm reading. Instead of taking a possibly more boring approach and actually managed to tell me what I'm smelling (I'm sorry Issey to me smells like ice tea not a hologram, and what does a hologram smell like?) he instead manages to make me feel like an idiot. The phrasing of 'if natural references are needed' carries that implication that you are a plebian, nah, a goddamn country bumpkin if you actually care what exactly it smells like. He says a sheet metal sculpture and by god that should be good enough for you swine!

The man's knowledge and experience are vast, you mean to tell me he can't find a way to show it off and make the wording just a touch more plain?

It's a lot easier to just call Chandler Burr an idiot.
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post #7 of 25
2/12/09 at 10:25pm
Never hear of this company. May need to investigate.
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post #8 of 25
2/12/09 at 10:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluesoul View Post

It's a lot easier to just call Chandler Burr an idiot.

But that's just it, I know he's not an idiot I just don't understand what he's trying to do.

Describing a fragrance without saying what it smells like is like describing a painting without mentioning form or color.

I'm just at a loss as to what he's getting at?
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post #9 of 25
2/13/09 at 3:01am
It starts quite promising, and including the paragraph on that grapefruit perfume I enjoyed what I read. But everything else??!
Of course I have no idea what he thinks niche really is - too French to bother and explain the term to readers? And of course I am hardly more than amused by his keen definition of the 21st century perfume: "intelligent fragrances that melt subtly into skin rather than sitting egotistically on top of it". But one could find it worth discussing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by scentseeker View Post


Ok, it's well worded but what the devil does it actually smell like?

Can't you read, or do you honestly not know the distinct smell of glass offices in LA? - You have to trust a journalist who finds no adjectives that normally describe smells. It couldn't possibly be his inability, it must be the divinity of the fragrance why no adjectives are good enough to describe it....Ah, well, just more letters wasted by a do-it-yourself perfume critic on do-it-yourself perfumes. Would we find this worthy a discussion if it was NOT printed in NYT? - " ...the scent of the pure desert dust of Runyan Canyon Park in the Hollywood Hills, of ozone and ocean, of the plush, hushed glass offices at HBO and CAA... I love it equally for being impossible to nail down."

(mikeperez23, it always makes me feel miserable to write like that on your fine threads. Every once in a while I have to comment on that critic the way I feel. I do not hate Burr, the journalist and book author.)
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post #10 of 25
2/13/09 at 10:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluesoul View Post

It's a lot easier to just call Chandler Burr an idiot.

He should have probably used 2-3 descriptive words to describe the 5-6 fragrances he was trying to compress in that short article.

Crisp grapefruit.

Apple Jam Violets.

Clean, "fresh" & neutered.

Ozone-ic LA trash.

Yea, that will win many fans here ..
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post #11 of 25
2/13/09 at 11:55am
The irony here about Burr's niche-bashing is that he's praised quite a few extremely niche fragrances ( Paestum Rose comes to mind ).
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post #12 of 25
1/24/10 at 10:32am
Thread Starter 
Despite Burr's schizophrenic review, I happen to love the way Viridian smells.

A kind Basenoter sent me a sample of it, and I tested it once many months ago and I am giving it a full wearing today. Neat juice! It is super galbanaum-esque green in the top notes, almost like cutting into a fresh shallot or breaking a weed with your hands and getting a bit of the leafs natural juice on your skin. The celery seed is nothing like the one in Yatagan, this one is much more alive and raw, not so chalky and dried smelling. Then it's quite astringent (I think it was Galamb_Borong who mentioned on the 3x3 blind sniff that it reminded him of witch hazel toner - spot on!) which might be the aloe vera note. And then I can distinctly smell the Brazilian vetiver mixed in with that gassy violet leaf note.

All of your vetiver fans out there, should check this one out. It is everything that I wanted Vetiver Sport by Guerlain to smell like...but wasn't. Probably one of the most complex natural fragrance I've ever smelled. I think I might need a mini bottle of this (it's only $27 for .25 oz EdP spray) when Spring arrives!

The official notes from the DSH website are:

Top notes: Angelica, Artemisia, Bergamot, Celery Seed
Middle notes: Aloe (accord), Chrysanthemum absolute, Galbanum, Orris Root
Base notes: Australian Sandalwood, Brazilian Vetiver, Green Oakmoss, Lovage, Myrrh Gum, Patchouli, Violet Leaf Absolute
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post #13 of 25
1/24/10 at 10:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

like......breaking a weed with your hands and getting a bit of the leafs natural juice on your skin.

We must break some weeds together soon, this one sounds intriguing. I've never tried anything by Ms. Hurwitz.
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post #14 of 25
1/24/10 at 11:19am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruggles View Post

We must break some weeds together soon, this one sounds intriguing. I've never tried anything by Ms. Hurwitz.

LOL
The only other ones I've smelled are Celadon (Vibert sent me some a long time ago, I thought it was ok, but didn't intrigue me as much), Sienna which I LOVED, it was a gift from my sis' ComDiva and it's a cinnamon lovers dream, it had this wonderful smell of steamed rice that made it irresistible. And Piment et Chocolat, which I got when I was looking for a spicy/chocolate scent, but when I tested it it honestly grossed me out a bit. Blech.

Her line is a bit more cleaned up (I looked at the website this morning) and easier to navigate. Good for her. Her newest release, Kohl Gris, sounds very nice.
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post #15 of 25
1/24/10 at 12:52pm
'...Most niche scent makers do forgettable work.'

I hate it when people I respect say really, really, really dumb things.
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post #16 of 25
1/24/10 at 1:30pm
Nathan Branch - one of the best blogs around - speaks quite highly of DSH

http://www.nathanbranch.com/MT/mt-se...es+Beaux+Arts+
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post #17 of 25
1/24/10 at 7:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

Despite Burr's schizophrenic review, I happen to love the way Viridian smells.

A kind Basenoter sent me a sample of it, and I tested it once many months ago and I am giving it a full wearing today. Neat juice! It is super galbanaum-esque green in the top notes, almost like cutting into a fresh shallot or breaking a weed with your hands and getting a bit of the leafs natural juice on your skin. The celery seed is nothing like the one in Yatagan, this one is much more alive and raw, not so chalky and dried smelling. Then it's quite astringent (I think it was Galamb_Borong who mentioned on the 3x3 blind sniff that it reminded him of witch hazel toner - spot on!) which might be the aloe vera note. And then I can distinctly smell the Brazilian vetiver mixed in with that gassy violet leaf note.

All of your vetiver fans out there, should check this one out. It is everything that I wanted Vetiver Sport by Guerlain to smell like...but wasn't. Probably one of the most complex natural fragrance I've ever smelled. I think I might need a mini bottle of this (it's only $27 for .25 oz EdP spray) when Spring arrives!

The official notes from the DSH website are:

Top notes: Angelica, Artemisia, Bergamot, Celery Seed
Middle notes: Aloe (accord), Chrysanthemum absolute, Galbanum, Orris Root
Base notes: Australian Sandalwood, Brazilian Vetiver, Green Oakmoss, Lovage, Myrrh Gum, Patchouli, Violet Leaf Absolute

I'm glad to see another fan! It really is the most original clean, green fragrance I've smelled in a while; I love it. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to try it. I may spring for a bottle before it's gone for good.
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post #18 of 25
1/25/10 at 2:59am
The notes certainly look promising...

As for Burr, what can I say? He's just being himself. Over the top exaggerations and cynical 'observations' are just so Chandler Burr; he's just marketing himself. Wishy-washy political correctness don't really sell column spaces...
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post #19 of 25
1/25/10 at 11:48am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Galamb_Borong View Post

I'm glad to see another fan! It really is the most original clean, green fragrance I've smelled in a while; I love it. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to try it. I may spring for a bottle before it's gone for good.

Very original indeed. I mean, when you hear 'green' fragrance you start to wonder how any perfumer could possibly come up with something exciting and unique smelling. Yet, she really did with this one.
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post #20 of 25
1/26/10 at 12:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scentseeker View Post

The man's knowledge and experience are vast, you mean to tell me he can't find a way to show it off and make the wording just a touch more plain?

Scentseeker, discussion threads like this one are actually very helpful for me because they show me, sometimes brutally -- and there's nothing wrong with some brutality; that's the real world -- errors I make, stylistic problems and bad habits I have in my writing, etc. (Thanks for referring to my "vast knowledge," by the way; I'm often convinced the exact opposite is true...)

Looking back at my Viridian review, it seems to me you're completely correct. I should have made this (and should make other) wording more plain and my descriptions more tightly tethered to the earth instead of the stratosphere. The stratosphere is fun to write in, and I think Scent Notes does need some conceptual observation. But one of the greatest challenges of the column is, without resorting to some idiotic, mechanical listing of raw materials that is as uninformative as listing the instruments Ravel used for a given orchestral piece, writing an understandable, accurate, useful description of the scent. best, Chandler
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post #21 of 25
2/1/10 at 4:32pm
After reading Mr. Burr's review, I ordered some samples of DSH scents. I tried the first -- Feuilles Vertes -- today and was really impressed. A green, earthy scent that has some substance and staying power. Twelve hours after initially applying, it's still with me -- at this point a damp patchouli. It's a good one. I'm looking forward to sampling some of the others as well.

If this scent is the standard issue at DSH, I expect full bottles in the near future. I'm surprised that I haven't heard more on these pages about DSH.
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post #22 of 25
5/16/11 at 1:52pm
Thread Starter 
I am wearing Viridian again today and this stuff is amazing. Sort of a more wearable version of No. 19 by Chanel, but with a softer more vegetal approach and not so nails-on-chalkboard. There is even something in this, that conjures up the feeling of aldehydes - I have no idea which natural ingredient can do that. Magic! This sample makes me smile when I wear it. Highly recommended.
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post #23 of 25
5/16/11 at 4:06pm
  • RHM
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Mike, I know that this was recently on Dawn's "Fond Farewell" page. I don't know how much is currently available.
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post #24 of 25
5/16/11 at 8:03pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks RHM for the heads up. I still see it for sale, on the site, but now I will place it a few notches higher on my To Buy list.

I am still trying to figure out which I like better: No. 19 vintage EdC or Viridian.
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post #25 of 25
5/16/11 at 8:32pm
They are a few miles from me, I stopped by recently and got samples of:

Bacha Extreme
Michelangelo
Umber: Bois de Rose
Memory and Desire #1

Those were my faves out of the couple dozen or so I sniffed. She does have a lot to sniff... maybe too much.

I have only tried Bacha Extreme so far, and it is a citrus/woody frag with a hint of florals and incense, smells very natural and very high quality. It has a refreshing quality and seems like it will do well in the summer.

Also, for fans of Vetiver, Patchouli or Amber dominant frags, hers are seriously good and WELL worth trying.
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