This just came in today’s mail…from Dawn !
Can’t help it; I can hear my own heart pounding in anticipation.
Dawn’s intention- by her own admission- was to create a complex, natural, musk soliflore- in keeping with a trend favored during the Art Deco period.
She wanted a fully-fleshed, rounded, complete perfume, not merely an accord-
And it wouldn’t be hyperbole to confirm that she most certainly achieved her aim.
Oh, boy.
Dawndear only admitted to beeswax, as an animalic note.
What my nose tells me may make me a fool-
But I’m getting a resinousness that speaks of labdanum, of possibly a cedar note as well…what other woody substances ?
I’m feeling amber here.
As if one had warmed it in their hot hot hands, and held it to their cheek.
Velvety, deep, but subtle.
And spice ! Not sledgehammer spice, sinuous spice.
Slinky spice , with beeswax and resins and oh oh oh.
Stop me now.
Because of the oft-lamented ephemeral nature of naturals, our friend chose a very high concentration [ 30% !]- perfume concentration-
For a richer, more sensual depth- and more tenacity.
Brava !
She speaketh my language, folks…
And if you love the exotic, the erotic, the sublimely decadent but elegant-
Maybe, you’ll want it as much as I do.
I’m SO grateful that I got to test this one.
I intend to purchase as big a bottle as I can afford, and wear it ‘til I drop, in all seasons.
[Try to stop me]
– Ida Meister, Sr. Editor
Editor's note: In Dawn's note accompanying Musk au Natural, she writes that Musk Au Natural is a play on the words nudity and intimacy. Both Ida and I agreed that my choice of artwork would featureGeorgia O'Keefe, as seen through the lens of photographer Alfred Stieglitz, (her mentor, lover and husband, 30 yrs her senior)
I am wearing this RIGHT NOW, (yes Ida, AMBER and labdanum are playing with my heart like a naughty lover) and Musk Au Natural is as steamy, multi-faceted and daring as Georgia O'Keefe and Alfred Steiglitz's torrid relationship, art and marriage.
If this is your first exposure to Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, who works in both natural and blended fragrances and want to learn more about her ART:
I invite you to read an interview I did with Dawn called the True Colors of Dawn Spencer Hurwitz
https://cafleurebon.com//per-view-dawn-spencer-hurwitzs-true-colors/,
Mark Behnke review of DSH's Bancha, called Zen in a Bottle https://cafleurebon.com//zen-in-a-bottle-dawn-spencer-hurwitzs-bancha/ a natural fragrance
Ida Meister's *hymn* to DSH's *Parfum de Grasse* https://cafleurebon.com//parfum-de-grassedawn-spencer-hurwitzs-hymn-to-grasse/ also a natural fragrance
****************************************************************************************
If dear readers, you haven't surmised…all the artwork and literary references for the Mystery of Musk project used on CaFleureBon, are from 1890-1938, corresponding with what are known as the Deco and Nouveau eras…and feature global artists and writers of the periods.
A reminder, every comment entered for the 12 perfumers we review for this project is eligible for "Temple of Musk", by Alexandra Balhoutis of Strange Invisible Perfumes.