ÇaFleureBon Profiles in American Perfumery: Sam Rader of Dasein Fragrance + WINTER Perfume Draw

 sam rader dasein fragrances

Sam Rader of Dasein Fragrance

Profile: I was a scheduled c-section infant, delivered at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles, and frankly I wasn’t ready to leave the womb.  My whole life I have wanted to be enveloped by rich sensual experiences.  I enjoy being smushed, swaddled, hugged and surrounded by warm bodies.  I call this my claustrophilia (as opposed to claustrophobia)—a love for any experience that puts me back in the proverbial womb.

Colors, music, touch, and smells satisfy my claustrophilia.  My godmother says that even as a little girl I needed to smell everything.  I would close my eyes and breathe deep, getting lost in the perfumes of everyday life.   I would press my whole face into a flower to feel soft petals embracing my cheeks while I inhaled their gentle fragrance.  Then I would pluck the blossoms and stir them into a soup of water, bottled perfume spritzes, and anything else I could find that smelled good.  I believed I was making perfume.

centralcoast california inspiration for perfume

Sam on the beach at Big Sur

As an adult, I still smush my face into friends and flowers, and have a thrilling penchant for smells.  In spring of 2012, I was vacationing with my fiancée in Big Sur and was overcome by the medley of saltwater, lilac blossoms, sagebrush, chimney smoke, pine, wet pavement and Deetjen’s peach roses in the air.  As I hungrily sniffed at the breeze I said, “I want to do this!  I want to blend these things together and bottle them!”  And so my life as an actual perfumer was born.  I ordered heaps of natural and synthetic oils and began making concoctions, just as I had done as a child.

creatinganewblend

Essentials oils and Sam's Perfume Organ

I started blending at home in late 2012 and a year later I had completed the final draft of my first commercial scent—WINTER unisex fragrance.  I had originally wanted to create a line of perfumes that could convey the smell of a particular location, such as Big Sur, Sunset Junction in Silverlake, Rockefeller Center at Christmastime, or Vassar College (my alma mater) in spring.  What I had to accept was that drafting blends with notes like woodsmoke, wet pavement, old books, car exhaust and hipster beard oil were a little out of my league as a novice perfumer.  I realized I could leave that stuff to Christopher Brosius . . . for now.

 WINTER PERFUME dasein fragrance

Dasein Fragrance WINTER surrounded by French lavendar

Instead I decided to create a line of seasonal fragrances.  WINTER unisex fragrance launched in November 2013 with notes of blue spruce, black cardamom, forest pine and French lavender.  To my surprise and delight it became a cult classic overnight in LA.  Stores on the eastside of LA were selling out quicker than I could restock them.  I have hand blended and bottled each small batch of WINTER in my kitchen, so it’s been quite an experience and many friends have been enlisted in the process!  I am so proud that less than a year after launching, WINTER is now carried 27 stores including in Australia and Canada.

gratingfreshsandalwoodpasteattheIAO

Sam Rader grating fresh sandalwood at the Institute of Art and Olfaction

On American Perfumery: What I like best about being an American Perfumer is that I have the freedom to be innovative and explore the frontiers of perfume design.  My perfumes are mixed media (naturals and synthetics), unisex and avant garde.  I am most turned on by outside-the-box scents such as the entire Comme Des Garcons collection, and some of the Nasomatto scents.  Just as in the air at Big Sur, nature and intuition can combine essences that would never be condoned in classical perfumery.  Who says a perfume has to be green or floral or oriental or citrus or animalic or fruity or oceanic or spicy or woody?  I imagine that a blend that combines all of the classical categories—green stems, jasmine flowers, amber, bergamot, ambergris, peaches, salt air, nutmeg and cedar—would be divine.  And who says a scent has to be a perfume or cologne?  As if women like only flowers and men like only spice and musk.  I would want to wear a floral spicy musk.  That’s why all my fragrances are unisex. I’m so grateful to be an indie perfumer in the U.S. in 2014.   It’s like exploring the Wild Wild West—there are no rules, no formulas, and no limits to creativity and expansion.

institute of art and olfaction

L.A. Institute of Art and Olfaction

A great resource for me in the process of becoming a perfumer has been for LA’s Institute Art and Olfaction headed by Saskia Brown. The IAO workshops and programs foster that American ideal of limitless creativity.  I have grated fresh sandalwood paste there while learning about ancient Indian perfumery, sipped scented cocktails while being lectured on smells in literature, and learned how to make a rose accord with only synthetics.

mark rothko reproduction untitled

Mark Rothko Reproduction by Sam's mom

My passion for perfume design has been inspired by many artists from many places, including creative friends on the eastside of LA . . . but I have to say that the greatest American Artist who inspires me is Mark Rothko.  His muted color field paintings are hypnotic and put me right back into the womb.

beck sea change

Beck Sea Change

Listening to Beck’s album ‘Sea Change’ (another great American Artist) and staring at a Rothko is my happy place.  By day I’m a psychologist in private practice in Silverlake, and I asked my artsy mother to recreate a life-sized soft grey and blue Rothko color field painting, which now hangs above the couch in my therapy office.  So if I ever need comforting, holding, re-centering as I work with clients, that womb is always there for me.

 

Sam Rader, Owner and Perfumer for Dasein Fragrance.

choosingtheperfectroseforSPRINGunisexfragrance

Preparing roses for SPRING

Editor’s Note: Sam will be debuting SPRING fragrance with notes of vetiver, violet, sandalwood, rose, yuzu and black pepper is set to hit shelves mid-January. Since Sam Rader and Daesin Fragrance doesn’t have a Facebook page or use twitter, follow her on instagram @daseinfragrance. CaFleureBon is also on instagram @cafleurebon.-Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief

 Dasein Fragrance WINTER

Thanks to Sam Rader we have a draw for a bottle of Winter  which is hand made in small batches for our USA readers and a sample for our readers outside the USA. To be eligible, leave a comment about something fascinating you learned about Sam and  indicate if you live in the USA or are an International reader. Draw closes October 11, 2014

Please like CaFleureBon Profiles in American Perfumery on Facebook and your entry will count twice.

We announce the winners on our site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize wil be just spilled perfume

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


31 comments

  • julesinrose says:

    I’m the first person to comment, again? Well, I just love these posts! Love CaFleureBon Profiles in American Perfumery and glad to “get to know” Sam Rader. I LOVE that she says she has “claustrophilia!” A friend just came back from Wyoming and we were talking about feeling unhinged by big wide open spaces. Now I know what to tell her. I love feeling cozy, too!! I’d love to try Winter! Thanks for these great profiles!

  • I enjoyed Sam’s comments on the “Wild Wild West” of American perfumery and the creativity that it engenders. But I also appreciate her willingness to share her learning curve with us-starting with seasonal scents before moving on to fragrances that convey the smell of favorite places. I’m in the US and Winter sounds wonderful. Congrats to Sam on its popularity.

  • I found it fascinating how being a c-section baby affected her in such a way. Two of my babies were also c-section babies (first an emergency, then a scheduled repeat) and they’ve also been especially cuddly and cozy. I also had a similar experience at Big Sur with it’s amazing and hypnotic coastal scents. I live in the US. Thanks for the great draw.

  • Sam and I would hit it off I can tell.. Love mixed medias as well as outside the box perfumes. I never ceases to amaze me how those that have a sensuous passion of all their senses allow that role to play a part in destiny. I am in the US.

  • I love Sam’s fresh approach, mixing it up and ignoring tradition in one way..I am international and I love the music that is playing around this creation! Thanks for bringing her to us!

  • I loved Sam’s story about vacationing in Big Sur, and how all the scents just enveloped her, and a career was bon! Very exciting story. I am in the US

  • Fazal Cheema says:

    I like the fact that Sam has open attitude towards both natural and synthetic ingredients. In addition, her admiration for brands like Comme des Garcons and Nasomatto shows she is willing to take risks and create unconventional perfumes..thanks for the lovely draw. i am in the US

  • I enjoyed everything about this charming profile,especially Sam’s attitude as a novice perfumer in the wild west of US perfumery. She had me at smush and breaking the rules of perfume genres, and when she said she loves Commes des Garcons and Beck Sea Change, I know she is One to Watch. Looking forward to smelling Winter! Thanks for the generous offer, I’m in the US.

  • “It’s like exploring the Wild Wild West – there no rules, no formulas, and no limits to creativity and expansion”…that statement says it all for me about Sam! I would love to experience her creations!
    I live in the US. Thanks!

  • I like that she’s into Beck, I also like the attitude of “there no rules”.
    I’m international and would like to try these.
    ty

  • Beginning the article with the womb experience and ending with the Rothko womb comparison, fascinating. USA

  • Jennifer Witt says:

    I was fascinated by her term claustrophilia – I don’t feel this way but I have a sister who fits this to a tee! AND she was a C section. I think she is on to something for sure – the WINTER perfume sounds amazing. I would love to try it if I were lucky enough to win the draw. I live in the US.

  • Aside from enjoying the smell of wet pavement (and I get that. It seems such a positive smell – possibility because it’s such a hard manmade surface being washed clean by the gentle forces of nature.) I am very intrigued to learn that her day job is being a psychologist! She must be one busy woman.The Winter perfume (and the Spring one) sound just wonderful.
    I’m in the U.S.A.
    Thank you to Sam and to CaFleureBon for the draw.

  • MikasMinion says:

    I am a c-section baby and have the same need for a safe nest. Wonder if there really is a correlation? I love that she was inspired by her surroundings and hope she can create the place scents she aspires to. That kind of perfumery appeals to me very much. I am in the US and would love to try WINTER. Thanks for the draw.

  • I was really fascinated by Sam, what a creative mind that knows no boundaries.She takes perfume to a completely different level for me. What an experience! I am in the US and would love to try Winter. Very generous draw Sam and thank you for introducing yourself to us.

  • I LOVE the idea of combining the scents of life into a perfume. I have never been attracted to conventional perfume, but I am stoked to smell Sam’s creations.

  • How could you ever imagine that your first fragrance would become a cult hit? It’s inspirational to read that Sam creates in her kitchen and bottles by hand.
    I am international and look forward to trying Winter.

  • I love her carefree attitude toward creating perfumes 🙂 I am in the US, and I’d love to try her creations.

  • I admire the fact that she decided to make the fragrances the way she likes. It’s one thing to enjoy scent/fragrance but completely another to say… you know what… I love this smell. I want to bottle it. She was a go getter and made that dream a reality. I think, too often, we just pass those thoughts or inclinations pass by. The scent sounds beautiful. I am very curious to find out what it smells like and what she has created. I live in the US. Thanks for the opportunity.

  • I love she understands that being an indie perfumer in the U.S. in 2014 is like exploring the wild wild west. 🙂
    u.s.a.

  • I like that Sam’s artist mom chanels Rothko. And that Sam knows the proper use for her home kitchen! I’m in the US; thanks for the draw.

  • Cynthia Richardson says:

    I admire that she hand blended and bottled each small batch of WINTER in her kitchen. I live in the US and would love to experience Winter.

  • I loved Sam’s phrase that Rothko puts her back in the womb! As the mother of a newborn child – I am realizing how comforting the womb really is, and I’ve been inspired to find my own ticket back to the womb! I would love to participate in the draw, I live in the US.

  • I LOVE the fact that she came to perfumery in such an offbeat way. I’m also blown away by the fact that she’s had to handblend multiple batches in her kitchen; this is seriously indie stuff! I live in the US, and I have liked this series on Facebook. Thanks for the draw!

  • I enjoyed reading about Sam. I find fascinating her love for smell and even more her perseverance to follow her dream and mix her own scents and succeeding… Winter sounds interesting. I am in the EU

  • I am happy to learn that Sam’s fragrances are unisex, as that aesthetic appeals to me. I, too, am a fan of Rothko! Winter sounds incredible. I’m in the U.S.

  • Good story but creepy in the begining she didn’t want to leave her mothers womb. Lol. During these crazy times and seeing where the world is turning, we all need that human touch, a hug and intimacy. Smells do succeed to access that anthology of closeness.
    Thanks USA

  • Hi! Sam Rader here…Thanks to all you beautiful people who have read my story and posted such generous and fun responses. I had no idea the c-section thing was a trend…being a psychologist I may want to research that someday! I feel so touched by all the positivity and warmth this community has shown me. It means a lot on my journey as a new perfumer. I’m sending you all a big virtual hug. xoxo

  • I love to be smushed too, Sam! Now I have a cool diagnosis for that. :o) I remember when I got to smush next to you in the choir @ VC. Congrats on all your successes and I look forward to sniffing spring soon!