DSH Perfumes Manroot via Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

Independent artisanal perfumer Dawn Spencer Hurwitz has taken full advantage of this years’ pandemic isolation and made prolific use of her creative juices (sic). It’s challenging to keep up with her at times: minuscule rollerball vials populate my dresser like so many little soldiers awaiting their marching orders. I could likely devote all my time to her oeuvres and never cover them all. In all fairness, choosing one perfume of hers over another feels like a mother choosing which child she loves best – impossible. But since we embarked upon the Iris Trilogy, it seems appropriate to conclude with her last iris-themed composition, ManRoot. Senior Editor Lauryn Beer reviewed L’Or{ris} last month, and I reviewed Iris Tuxedo. DSH Perfumes ManRoot is an entirely different matter altogether; it channels earth energy with its idiosyncratic hushed strength and profoundly grounding nature. Despite an emphatically virile designation, it is this deeply embedded tenacity we crave, exerting a much-needed gravitational pull which many of us feel lacking. In so doing, it fortifies our resolve.

 

Dawn Spencer-Hurwitz of DSH Perfumes

“Man Root is a term generally used to describe Panax Ginseng (one of the root notes in this design) which felt perfectly suited to this mix of gorgeous root notes accentuating the carroty-root nature of Orris (Iris Root).” ~ Dawn Spencer-Hurwitz

 

Panax Ginseng via verywellhealth.com

Those of us old enough to know better are very familiar with the renewed interest in multicultural herbal studies which blossomed in the 1960s and ‘70s. Ginseng was king then, highly touted for its ability to restore flagging vigor, potent antioxidant qualities which might reduce inflammation, optimize brain function, and possibly lower blood sugar.

I recall tiny subterranean Chinese pharmacies loaded with roots and herbs of vast variety as I gazed with unfeigned admiration upon those knobbly ginseng tubers; it was a privilege for any Caucasian in Boston to even be permitted inside. There was something oddly comforting about its musty, earthy odor and many-limbed form which reminded me of the legendary mandrake plant.

 

Image DSH Perfumes colorized by Michelyn

In DSH Perfumes ManRoot we do not lack for roots: from the Florentine iris itself, with its noble racinettes requiring five or more years to thoroughly dry before they can be processed – to the brilliant yellow piquant turmeric; the woody quasi-moldiness of ginseng; the suave, faintly-violet-tinged unwashed scalp note of costus, to the sublime vetiver which is balsamic bliss. Dawn constructs a carrot greens accord, something to gladden the gardener’s nose and dally prettily with angelica and the ever-so-slightly bitter haylike immortelle.

The Song of Los by William Blake via bq.blakearchive.org

Oh, there is sun! Sun and shadow, each compelling as the beckoning hand of the rose in her bower, wreathed in indolic jasmine and bridesmaided by violet. These blooms are heralded by a brisk bergamot and white pepper flourish; it fairly tickles. Barely sun warmed, bordering the cloistered garden coolly is an amalgam of earthly solace comprised of sandalwood, oakmoss, ambrette and ambergris. It provides a place of respite and restoration; we may shelter there, however solitary – and glean a measure of restitution in its wake.

 

 Franz von Stuck Forellenweiher 1890 via wikimedia.org

I would say that DSH Perfumes ManRoot is the most surprising of the Iris Trilogy and perhaps best sampled before purchasing because it is so unusual. It’s a fine spiderweb of scent which haunts like Das Lied von der Erde – and by now, you know how much I adore Mahler.…

Notes: bergamot, white pepper, turmeric, angelica, ginseng, carrot greens accord, iris, orris concrete, Florentine iris flower accord,  Bulgarian rose absolute, Bulgarian rose otto, violet, grandiflorum jasmine, immortelle, ambergris, ambrette, Australian sandalwood, costus, green oakmoss, Indonesian vetiver, vetiver co2

Sample kindly provided by the perfumer – many thanks! It’s a beauty.  My nose is my own…

~ Ida Meister, Senior Editor and Natural Perfumery Editor

Thanks to the generosity of Dawn Spencer Hurwitz we have a draw for a 10 ml perfume pen of either VdP or EdP DSH Perfumes ManRoot for one registered reader worldwide. Please be sure to register. To be eligible please let us know what appealed to you about Ida’s review and where you live. Draw closes 9/30/20

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