green IS the new black

new works with DAM (aka special project no.2) »

green IS the new black

04/02/2011 by DSH

WOW! I am so thrilled at such a great response to Vert pour Madame and just the idea of a galbanum perfume this Spring. I get a great warm feeling inside knowing how many fans of this intense green resin there are! For many years now I have loved its fierce beauty but alas many people who have come to my studio to ‘smell smells’ have seemed to be less than impressed with it. And I have to say that one of my favorite and most surprising uses of galbanum in my recent history was last year’s Antiu for Denver Art Museum which pairs galbanum with bitter almond. It’s really terrific together and shows, again, how versatile and interesting a note galbanum is. Hurray for the Jolly Green Giant! (I know, I know… quit being silly). 🙂

So, I am finally getting to the part you’ve all been waiting for: the winners of last weekend’s draw for Vert pour Madame samples and a dram flask. Here goes:

* Elizabeth
* Holly
* Victoria
* Felicia
* Marilynn
* Vishishta

and the winner of the dram flask is *jen

Congratulations! Please email me at dsh@dshperfumes.com with your addresses to claim your prize!

the Antiu Mummy Bottle

And for all of my peeps who didn’t win, I thought I’d like to keep the love flowing for galbanum and do another draw. This time the draw is for 5, 5ml samples of Antiu Egyptian Perfume Oil (one per winner, of course) and the grand prize is one of our Mummy bottles made for Denver Art Museum. Each bottle is signed and numbered by glass artist, Tim Lortie. Just leave a comment about your favorite galbanum laced perfume to enter. The drawing ends next friday: April 8 at noon. Good luck everyone and have a wonderful weekend~ oxo

*photo credit: jolly green giant image found here (where you can also vote for a green mascot; which I found amusing this morning).

Posted in perfume, Uncategorized | Tagged Denver Art Museum perfumes, DSH Antiu egyptian perfume oil, DSH Vert pour Madame perfume, mummy presentation bottles for DAM | 38 Comments

38 Responses

on 04/02/2011 at 9:54 am | Reply Tarleisio

I have so many, it’s rather hard to decide…Vintage Vent Vert, the original galbanum monster, Sous le Vent, Chanel no. 19, Balmain’s Ivoire, Jacomo’s Silences and Piguet’s Bandit are all perfumes with a certain focus – razor-sharp or soft – on galbanum, and precisely because it’s one of my all-time favorite notes, I had to mention them all! 😉

Thank you for this, Dawn! If hope springs eternal – as surely it did in ancient Egypt! – then who knows – even I might get lucky enough to try one of your creations! 🙂

I’ve wished for one for my upcoming birthday based solely on some lovely reviews from fellow bloggers – and if that isn’t hope, what is?

Have a great weekend!
- on 04/02/2011 at 10:47 am | Reply DSH
  
  Hello, Tarlesio~ YES: hope does spring eternal and that is how it should be. Magic happens that way 😉 Oh, I love all of those perfumes you mention: original Vent Vert and Silences in particular hold special places in my heart. I wish you good luck in the new draw… perhaps Antiu was waiting for you the whole time! And Happy Birthday (upcoming) wishes to you as well! Have a great weekend, too!
on 04/02/2011 at 10:26 am | Reply RusticDove

Hello Dawn. It’s so generous of you to offer these draws! I’m such a fan of your work. Your love and respect for the art of perfumery is explicit and your fragrances are so well done. I have a few favorite galbanum perfumes [I can never pick just one favorite of anything] and they include two Guerlains: Chamade and Vol de Nuit and another classic: Guy LaRoche Fidji. I haven’t had the pleasure to try Vert pour Madame yet, but it’s on my ‘Must Try’ list. Have a great weekend!
- on 04/02/2011 at 11:13 am | Reply DSH
  
  Thank you so much, RD! I’m glad that you can tell how much I love aromatic art-form! 🙂 I love your choices for faves (I know what you mean… I have no absolute favorite of any perfume style);there are so many wonderful perfumes in this genre. I hope you’ll try Vert pour Madame; I think you’ll really love it. You know we’re having a Spring Clearance sale – you can get 10% off anything , even sale items and sample vials… 😉 use ‘clean’ as your member code during check out to get the discount. Have a great weekend and best of luck in the new draw!
on 04/02/2011 at 10:34 am | Reply Olfactoria

Dear Dawn, you are too generous! I would love to try Antiu. One of my favorite galbanum laced perfumes is Eau de Campagne.
- on 04/02/2011 at 11:20 am | Reply DSH
  
  🙂 It’s my pleasure, O! Mmmmm, is Eau de Campagne Patricia de Nicolai? I don’t think that I have a sample of that in my library. I wish you a great weekend and good luck in the draw! oxo
on 04/02/2011 at 1:49 pm | Reply Carrie Meredith

I’m going to agree with Tarleisio on this one, my choice is definitely vintage Vent Vert. I am always drawn to green (or green-ish) scents, but they don’t always work for me. Galbanum and vetiver are usually very safe bets for me, though. Irresistible.
- on 04/03/2011 at 6:32 pm | Reply DSH
  
  Hi, CM! 🙂 Oh yes, how I love Vent Vert. I know green scents don’t work well on everyone (especially those with ‘green’ skin. Too much sharp and no where to go…). I especially love cedar and galbanum… well and vetiver / galbanum and oakmoss / galbanum… so many great pairings. Yum. ( Thank you for stopping by and good luck in the draw!)
on 04/02/2011 at 4:13 pm | Reply Jeanne

I am curious about Antiu, so I will leave a couple of my favorite fragrances with galbanum:

Must de Cartier
Vent Vert

My most recent was Vent Vert, as I had been wanting to try this classic for so long…it was from another era altogether, so green and deep and powdery.

Must de Cartier was my favorite. I tend to lean towards powdery/amber scents…I’ve owned just one bottle and used it carefully…one of those saved for special occasions. Memorable.
- on 04/03/2011 at 6:33 pm | Reply DSH
  
  Hi Jeanne! Thank you for your comments an your interest in Antiu. It is a fascinating fragrance. ( Those clever, clever Egyptians! 🙂 ) Best of luck in the draw~
on 04/02/2011 at 4:35 pm | Reply rosarita

Ooh, thanks for another opportunity! I’ve worn Chanel 19 since I was in jr high school almost 40 yrs ago. The 70s were a great time for green scents – my mom wore Aliage, my aunt wore Azuree, my sister wore Emeraude. Calandre is another pretty green floral blast from my past. 🙂 Antiu sounds gorgeous!
- on 04/03/2011 at 6:38 pm | Reply DSH
  
  🙂 You’re welcome, Rosarita! Oh you mention so real gems of the ’70’s ! They were certainly the heydey for the green floral chypre… I’m so happy to be bringing back a fabulous genre that many don’t know so much about with Vert pour Madame. Antiu is like an ancient ancestor.:) Good luck in the new draw!
on 04/03/2011 at 12:57 am | Reply Monica

I love reading all the descriptions and imagining the scents…I am coming back to the US (and Boulder) this summer so I definitely will be coming in to sniff and purchase 🙂 Ones with galbanum that stand out to me (I also just had some delicious mint tea and an iced mint desert…so for some reason these seem related as far as my nose and tastebuds are concerned right now…) – the Feuilles and the Vent Vert Type….
- on 04/03/2011 at 7:01 pm | Reply DSH
  
  Hi Monica! 🙂 Oh, I am so looking forward to your visit! When will you come to Boulder? Mint and Galbanum do have some slight similarities in feel but no so much in smell. It will be fun to compare them when you visit… Mmmm; Feuilles, too. Minty, basil and green spicy leaves with galbanum and vetiver. yummy.
  - on 04/05/2011 at 12:41 am Lisa
    
    uh oh! Now I want to try Feuilles! 🙂
  - on 04/05/2011 at 10:54 am DSH
    
    🙂 get it while you can! It’s on the closeout page…
on 04/03/2011 at 3:13 am | Reply Lisa

What a wonderful offer–I’d love to play, and would be thrilled to win some Antiu! I was eyeing it when I was on the site recently!

I have to admit I’m not sure I have a favorite galbanum scent, though! But I’m super excited about rediscovering some old DSH samples–I’ve fallen in love with Prophecy all over again (no galbanum, there, I’m afraid) and think I may have to take advantage of the spring sale to get a bottle!

One of the things i love about DSH perfumes is how well they age. I have some bottles–and even some samples!–that are at least four years old, and they just become richer and more complex.
- on 04/03/2011 at 7:53 pm | Reply DSH
  
  Hello, Lisa~ Thank you for stopping by and ‘playing’! And for your comments! I’m happy to hear that the DSH perfumes that you have have been aging well ( I do try. 🙂 But it is the nature of many resinous notes to improve with age, so I can’t take the credit). Good luck in the draw and I hope you will stop by the site and get some of your faves while the sale is on! 🙂
on 04/03/2011 at 7:30 am | Reply Lucy

Love all those sticky smelly things. You have such a feeling for the materials! Perfume is a very physical art, isn’t it?
- on 04/03/2011 at 8:17 pm | Reply DSH
  
  🙂 Hi Lucy~ Yes, sticky, green scents: oh joy! And yes, for me perfumery is very physical but also about feel in an esoteric sense. I find that these days I am even thinking in color, texture, light, line and shape in my mind when designing more so than this material with that material. It’s now like an innate shorthand. I find I am just going for translating this sense and ‘feeling ‘ I have more so than formulating specific ingredients. so interesting. Good luck in the draw and I look forward to seeing you in NYC. 🙂 oxoxo~ D
on 04/03/2011 at 10:07 pm | Reply breathesgelatin

My favorite galbanum fragrance so far is probably Private Collection, although admittedly I haven’t tried very many. 🙂
- on 04/03/2011 at 10:28 pm | Reply DSH
  
  🙂 Oh yes, Private Collection sings of galbanum and hyacinth: delicious and so typically American in strength. I really like the reseda note in it. It’s a real badass perfume. I think that if you like PC, then Scherrer is really a must try as is Vent Vert (the vintage version if you can get your hands on it). Thank you for sharing and good luck in the draw~
on 04/04/2011 at 1:31 am | Reply dede hauff

I am not certain if I really know the scent of galbanum; but I love the scent of green, from cucumber to crushed ivy leaves.

Years ago I visited a friend and she had a bottle of, I believe, Eau de Patou, it was a magnificent green. Working in the stamp collecting section of the beautiful old downtown St. Louis Famous Barr (now Macy’s) I loved to visit the perfume counters on my lunch break. One I loved and wish I could find was Chartreuse by Stendahl (sp?). I did love my mom’s Aliage, too.

I always enjoy reading about your discoveries in the realm of scent, there are many of your perfumes I wish to try. Wondering if you have one that smells of roses and milk with a bit of green? Keep up the good work!
- on 04/04/2011 at 8:27 pm | Reply DSH
  
  Hello, dede~ WELL, you will have to come visit my studio so we can go through all of the greens!! 🙂 Galbanum is the queen green of them all and historically in perfumery it is one of the defining notes for “green” perfumes. (It’s like a dry resinous smell of broken tulip stems; plus a little dusty and pungent). Oh, and Eau de Patou… I love that scent, too. It’s not very well known but I do love it. (I have a mini from the early nineties that I suspect has been reformulated from the original but it still has magic in it for me). I will have to start looking for stendahl Chartreuse… I have heard of it but alas, never smelled it. How fabulous: I love a white whale! 😉
  Thank you for stopping by to read and wish you good luck in the draw. I think that Antiu will interest you.
  ps: In answer your question: I don;t have a rose design that is exactly as you describe however, American Beauty is the firs that comes to mind as it has a fruity touch in the top that rings a bit milky and has a greenness. I also have a older rose that I used to make around the holidays called “Antique Rose”. It has a creamy sandalwood under pining and some soft green and old rose notes in the top. If you call the studio, you could order a sample of that if you wish. (1-720-563-0344). Or email for paypal etc. (dsh@dshperfumes.com).
on 04/04/2011 at 3:10 pm | Reply Lindaloo

I’ve always enjoyed green and herbal notes in perfumes since first explored perfume as an adult in the early 70’s. The scents with galbanum that I really liked were Aliage and Ma Griffe, and occasionally Cabochard, and of course the beautiful Chanel No. 19. And a male friend of mine smelled wonderful in Devin.
Don’t know if I’d be able to handle a “galbanum monster” like vintage Vent Vert which gets so much love, but I am intrigued by Antiu and how an ancient Egyptian ancestor of a green chypre may smell.
Congratulations on Vert pour Madame and resurrecting a fabulous genre that deserves much more attention.
Thanks for the draw opportunity. It’s fun to share a love of the greens in any event.
- on 04/04/2011 at 8:35 pm | Reply DSH
  
  Thank you for your thoughts Lindaloo! I just love so many of the perfume classics you mention falling in love with in your early perfume explorations. I wish you good luck in the draw; Antiu is pleasantly surprising.
on 04/05/2011 at 10:27 am | Reply Elizabeth

Hello Dawn,

I sent you an email with my address but am not sure you saw it. Please let me know if I should re-send. Thanks!
Elizabeth (a Vent Pour Madame sample winner)
- on 04/05/2011 at 10:56 am | Reply DSH
  
  Hi Elizabeth~ It’s probably on the site server yet from the weekend ( we’re closed sunday / monday). I’ll be in the studio later today so I’m sure I’ll get it to send out your sample of VpM ( yay!) If your email is not there I’ll be sure to let you know. 🙂 Have a great day~ D
on 04/05/2011 at 11:09 am | Reply Elizabeth

Gosh, thanks for your quick reply! Closed on Monday…good to know. Okay, I’ll be patient now… 😉
- on 04/05/2011 at 12:11 pm | Reply DSH
  
  No worries. Your email is here and all is well. 🙂
on 04/06/2011 at 12:47 am | Reply Bellatrix

So many beautiful news and vibrations 🙂 🙂 I am enjoying read you.
- on 04/06/2011 at 9:38 am | Reply DSH
  
  Thank you so much, Bellatrix! 🙂 Happy Spring and good luck in the draw!
on 04/08/2011 at 1:33 am | Reply Ines

I do wish I was luckier and got to try Vert pour Madame but I wouldn’t mind getting lucky this time around either. 😉

I’m very glad to hear you’re in the midst of so many projects and I’m looking forward already to smelling your take on REnaissance sometime in the future.

My favourite galbanum laced perfume ever is Vent Vert – and I’m saving my vintage bottle and only wear it very rarely. 🙂
- on 04/09/2011 at 10:27 am | Reply DSH
  
  Hi, Ines~ 🙂 Oh, I’ll have another draw soon for some more Vert pour Madame… you luck might change! And you are entered to win the Antiu draw (which I will announce tomorrow). Thank you for the encouragement! The fun part about the new series with DAM is that while it’s about Renaissance themes and art, I am not held to specifically Renaissance methods or materials, so I can really get creative with all types of fantasy notes. Have a great weekend~
on 04/14/2011 at 2:33 pm | Reply Elise

Oh yes, Vent Vert! I haven’t thought about this green galb for a while!
Thank you for these draws! So nice of you!
- on 04/15/2011 at 12:01 am | Reply DSH
  
  Hi, Elise! Oh yes, Vent Vert … so popular and I am so happy to see it getting some much deserved love! 🙂
on 05/03/2011 at 9:12 am | Reply Cynthia

I always feel sophisticated when I wear Chanel No. 19.

I love your Egyptian bottles and would love to try this scent! thank you.
- on 05/03/2011 at 8:54 pm | Reply DSH
  
  Hi, Cynthia~ Thank you for sharing your comment! Yes, Chanel no.19 is such a wonderful, sophisticated scent. Alas, the drawing is past but do stop back again as I have drawings periodically and I am thinking of doing another Egyptian on soon! 🙂