Darryl R. Hunter Of Dragon Perfumes

Profile: What happens when an aerospace engineer who loves gardening, hunting, being a dad, and studying ancient religions decides to dedicate his life to making the world feel better through perfume? You get Dragon Perfumes.

Over the next several paragraphs, I’ll share what most would call a Renaissance man’s life, my challenges, my revelations, and even a couple of secrets I’ve never shared publicly.

Darryl R. Hunter Of Dragon Perfumes mom and sister passport photo

I was born in Monterey, California. No, not the ritzy parts, the military base, Fort Ord. My dad was in the Army, a Green Beret, with three tours in Vietnam and PTSD. My mom was a young mother, 28.  They got married at 18 when she became pregnant with my sister. Looking back, I can see that my time traveling as a military kid, especially our years in Germany, directly contributed to my love of fine perfume.

 Darryl’s Dad was in the Special Forces a Green Beret during Vietnam

That trip was the first time I ever met my dad. He had been deployed since my birth. My parents divorced a couple of years later. My sister always jokes, “Yeah, it was meeting you that caused it.” After that, my mom, sister, and I moved back to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where both my parents were from.

Fun fact, Vicksburg was the first place Coca-Cola was ever sold in a bottle.

Vicksburg River

Darryl R. Hunter Of Dragon Perfumes Childhood in Vicksburg

My childhood in Vicksburg was excellent. I know Mississippi has its stereotypes, and some of them might be true in places, but for me, it was a great place to grow up. I played sports, I was tested as gifted, and I loved learning. Around the age of seven or eight, I realized I saw the world differently than most people. I could see patterns, predict outcomes, and it frustrated me when others couldn’t.

I loved football…it gave me a chance to show how ‘tough’ I was.  That was something I seemed to always want to prove to myself.  I had an older cousin, Ray, who was like my big brother, father, and uncle all in one. He played football at Jackson State alongside Walter Payton and had great stories to tell. Ray was also a 33rd degree Freemason. He saw my interest in spirituality, religion, and philosophy and encouraged me to join the Masons. I became a Mason at 18 and later, one of the youngest 32nd degree Masons in Mississippi, at around 22 or 23.

 Darryl R. Hunter Of Dragon Perfumes College Years at Mississippi State Alpha Phi Alpha

I went to Mississippi State University, majoring in aerospace engineering not because I dreamed of rockets but because it seemed the hardest, most interesting subject.  I joined Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, enjoyed the social life, and developed a love for psychology. Learning that psyche means “soul” and psychology “study of the soul” made perfect sense to me.

Darryl R. Hunter Of Dragon Perfumes Adulthood and a Turning Point

 Darryl R. Hunter Of Dragon Perfumes and his wife Rhonda

After graduation, I moved to Atlanta, chasing a job at Lockheed. Defense cuts ended that dream, so I earned a master’s degree in management and built a career in IT consulting. My real skill wasn’t coding but connecting with people, hearing what they wanted, and managing relationships.

I met my wife, Rhonda. Sixteen months later, we were married. We’ve been together 28 years, with two children: Morgan, 26, and Mason, 24. One of the most defining days of my life happened in 2012, Memorial Day weekend, when a tree crushed Rhonda’s car.

I received the call and drove in extreme ‘angst’…I knew she had died, but on the way, I heard a voice telling me, “You must accept this. You must love this. I smiled and submitted and the universe shifted.” Doctors said she’d never walk again. But within weeks, Rhonda stood, then walked back into our home. That taught me the paradox of strength through surrender.

Darryl Training in Spain

The Beginning of Perfumery

Oddly enough, perfumery began with hair loss. By my early thirties, I shaved my head but hated shave gels. I created my own, then scented it with bergamot, geranium, and sandalwood. The moment I blended them, something lit up inside me. It felt like remembering a forgotten gift. That was 2014, and I knew I would become a perfumer. I studied on my own before training with the Natural Perfumer, Author and mentor Dr. Elise Vernon Pearlstine. Choosing naturals was deliberate. I wanted the harder path, just as I had chosen aerospace engineering. Elise took me to Eden Botanicals in California, a meaningful trip for both of us. Later, I trained at the Perfumery Art School in the UK, studied Arabian perfumery in Spain, and learned the business side in Milan.

After nearly ten years of study, self-taught, mentored, and formally trained, I launched my own house: Dragon Perfumes.

Why Dragon?
The dragon is a universal symbol. In old stories, the knight fights the dragon to reach the treasure. But the truth is you are the knight, you are the dragon, and you are the treasure. The dragon represents the inner obstacles between you and the life you deserve.

From my Masonic training, I weave symbolism and intent into every fragrance. Dragon Perfumes is built on four facets:

The four facets

Scent: Vintage-style perfumes crafted with the best ingredients.

Art: Labels hand-drawn to scale by an artist using a jeweler’s lens.

Intent: Each fragrance carries a spiritual purpose.

Effect: Some ingredients chosen for their homeopathic or cellular influence.

I keep perfume names simple: Tree, Butterfly, Sun, etc., so that even 150 years from now, someone anywhere in the world can see the image and know its name. It’s language-free communication.

Where the magic happens…

On American Perfumery: As both an American and a Black American perfumer, I see two things: access and intent. Access first. In the U.S., alcohol is abundant and high quality, unlike in other regions where it’s restricted. That access opens creative freedom. U.S. regulations also allow ingredients barred in Europe, broadening my palette. Intent second. Politics, race, gender, economics—should they be in perfume? For me, yes, indirectly. I weave meaning into each fragrance.

Take Tree, for example. Its message: you are dual. Grounded here, yet meant to rise above. Its materials root and inspire at the same time. I once read that if every nation were a guest at dinner, the U.S. would be the teenager at the table. Teenagers experiment, stumble, and learn. As a Black American perfumer, I try to embody patience and creativity while using Dragon Perfumes to inspire change.

 Prince performs in concert circa 1985 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Favorite American Artist: Hands down, no hesitation…Prince. Ever since I was in junior high school, it’s been Prince. His individuality, his fearlessness, his unapologetic creativity…they’ve always resonated with me. I can’t say I chose the color purple for Dragon Perfumes because of Prince, but it wouldn’t be too far off to say his influence played a role in me embracing it as my brand color.

I hope I have moved you in some way with my words. I don’t know you, but I love you as a fellow soul trying to be amazing in this world.

–Darryl R. Hunter, Founder and Perfumer of Dragon Perfumes

Thanks to perfumer Darryl R. Hunter, we have a draw for a registered reader that is USA-based (contiguous 48 states) for a Discovery Set that includes five of 1.9 ml of Dragon Perfumes current selection. To enter the draw, you must be a registered reader. Please leave a comment with what you found fascinating about the path to perfumery, and that you live in the U.S. Draw closes

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Darryl R. Hunter is the 181st in our American perfumer series, which officially began in 20011 with Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH Perfumes.

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