DSH Perfumes Mon Petit Oiseau Heirloom Elixir no. 38 courtesy of Dawn

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops – at all. ~ Emily Dickinson

Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH Perfumes with Sweet Pea courtesy of Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

Numerous proper tales commence with the following phrase: once upon a time. And once upon a time, our artisanal award-winning perfumer Dawn Spencer Hurwitz befriended a little bird: a budgerigar, aka budgie, aka the much-loved, gregarious Australian parakeet. You’re familiar with the type – a staple avian pet frequently found in many households, especially those with young children and/or pensioners. Apparently, the attraction and ensuing affection was mutual: Dawn invested love, time, patience, and energy into her Sweet Pea and eventually trained him to speak. Sweet Pea was a Muse, and an angel – and as we know, angels may assume a variety of guises. He was one of the feathered ones…

painting of Sweet Pea by Dawn courtesy of Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

“There he was at my feet; a complete surprise. A green budgie was asking to make my acquaintance as he peeped and looked up at me. I looked down, saw him, lowered my hand for him to jump on my finger, and he did. He smiled at me and peeped again. In that moment he stole my heart. This is how I met my little bird, Sweet Pea. I taught him to speak in phrases and eventually, being the poet that he was, he would rearrange them and recite them back in unique, wonderful new ways. He loved millet; and he had the cozy scent of warm, sweet feathers and grain breath. This is a fragrance homage to my beloved Sweet Pea. Along with references to his ‘actual’ scent are synesthetic references…references to his coloring (a vibrant green with bright yellow feathers) and his light blue beak band.” ~ Dawn’s reflections and inspiration via her website.

 water color by Dawn courtesy of Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

Love which arrives unbidden is often the sweetest; it possesses a rare, incalculable innocence. It is this unsullied purity of devotion which is as tender as an angel’s wing. Such is the nature of DSH Perfumes Mon Petit Oiseau  Heirloom Elixir (no.38) one of the more soulful and subtle perfumes I’ve experienced this season. While Dawn keeps pace with ongoing fragrance trends, she is never a slave to them – and it is her passion to seek allusion where others expound in a more vociferous fashion. This synaesthetic steadfastness is one of her strengths; it enables her to reconstruct (and if needed, deconstruct) the nuances representative of her subject of study. In DSH Perfumes Mon Petit Oiseau, each fragrant collaborator finds its place – there are no extraneous bits. Vibrant citruses evoke her little bird’s brilliant coloration; mimosa, heliotrope, oakmoss and ambrette echo the downy animalic nature of Sweet Pea’s feathery corporeal being. Other olfactory hues in the perfumer’s palette are more difficult to define: what constitutes the character of a vine leaf (as opposed to a tomato leaf), or the reminiscence of millet seed? Sweet Pea’s own honeyed aroma may be evoked by a soupçon of neroli, a delightful note of musk rose – and, most decidedly, the inclusion of vanilla and tonka. Precious orris concrete wears multiple faces which contribute to an overall naturalism, with its facets of silver, chocolate, earthiness: bready, rooty, and floral all at once. In toto, we are presented with the portrait of a beloved being, one which may have been domesticated over years of breeding, but which still retains its connection to the wild. Mon Petit Oiseau is a stealthy fragrance, in that it insinuates itself into one’s good graces – which may be an underrated kindness in an unkind world. To my way of thinking, this provides a much-needed talismanic veil of wellbeing – and I seek these small blessings at every available opportunity.

Notes: bergamot, green mandarin, Tahitian lime, lemon, sweet pea accord, heliotrope, millet accord, mimosa, musk rose, neroli, orris concrete, vine leaf, green oakmoss, vanilla, tonka bean, ambrette seed

‘It feels fitting to celebrate American Independence Day with Dawn Spencer Hurwitz – our first perfumer interviewed in the ÇaFleureBon Profiles in American Perfumery series begun in July, 2011. Since then, Dawn has won awards internationally, garnering the respect and admiration she merits. When you think about the best American perfumery has to offer – how it can hold its own with the likes of Paris, London, Milan, etc. – DSH Perfumes is right there in the forefront, a bastion of indisputable quality and taste. We at ÇaFleureBon are grateful for Dawn’s presence and for providing an aromatic soundtrack which we adore’. – Ida Meister from her review of Vers La Voute Etoilee

Sample kindly provided by the perfumer – many thanks! My nose is my own…

~ Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor

 

Mon Petit Oiseau (Heirloom Elixir no. 38)

Thanks to the generosity of Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH Perfumes, we have one 30 ml flacon of Mon Petit Oiseau (Heirloom Elixir no. 38) for one registered reader in the continental USA. To be eligible, please leave a comment regarding what sparked your interest about Ida’s review of DSH Perfumes Mon Petit Oiseau and that you live in the contiguous USA. Draw closes 7/7/2025

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ARTISAN PERFUMERS AND BUY DIRECTLY FROM THEIR WEBSITES OR STUDIOS

Please read Michelyn’s Interview with Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH Perfumes

Please like CaFleureBon Profiles in American Perfumery and your entry will count twice. Please leave that in your comment. We now have 180 American Perfumers, for many first exposure to a global audience. Happy Fourth of July!

Follow us on Instagram @cafleurebonofficial @idameister @dsh_artstudio @dshperfumes

This is our Privacy Policy

We announce the winners only on our site and on our Facebook page, so like ÇaFleureBon and use our blog feed, or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.