DSH Perfumes Partners in Crime (Dawn Spencer Hurwitz) 2025 + An Irresistible Force Giveaway

Partners in Crime by DSH Perfumes

DSH Perfumes Partners in Crime courtesy of DSH Perfumes

“Like a team of thieves in the night, Labdanum and all its gorgeous facets act as “Partners in Crime”; they’re bandits that steal your heart and seduce at every encounter.” ~ Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, description of Partners in Crime

Penny Dreadful Ethan and Vanessa 

Last scene of Vanessa Ives and Ethan Chandler (Eva Green and Josh Hartnett) From Penny Dreadful IMDb

Partners in crime: be they charming and quirky, dark and mysterious, or oddly matched – daring duos and their cohorts have always captured our imagination. A simple phrase conjures images of ill-fated lovers Vanessa Ives and Ethan Chandler in Penny Dreadful; the Bonnie-and-Clyde antics of Sean Kerrigan and Tina Brien in the British TV series Cracker (To Say I Love You); and detective John Luther and his nemesis/love Alice Morgan in the crime series Luther.

Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH Perfumes

 Dawn Spencer Hurwitz courtesy of the perfumer

One of artisanal perfumer Dawn Spencer Hurwitz’ newest autumnal offerings is DSH Perfumes Partners in Crime {a honeyed labdanum perfume}, which became love-at-first-spritz when I sprayed my sample the other day. It is a complex chypre intended to beguile and bewitch both wearer and those within their immediate orbit – and thus far, it’s a succès fou, as far as I am concerned.

DSH Perfumes labdanum

Unsplash Dawn’s ideation

I often reach for animalic perfumes and chypres: they suit my personality, blossom on my skin, and return the love many times over. Overt optimists have been known to harbor an intense craving for the profoundly mysterious and darker aspects of life – in music, art, literature – and that would accurately describe my tastes and predilections, artistically speaking. DSH Partners in Crime fills this wanton desire with considerable aplomb – and is the sort of perfume that makes one greedy for more. Because it is Dawn’s creation, we are assured of consummate elegance and multiple entanglements, a fragrance which develops over time, revealing a narrative all its own – for Dawn is a storyteller of the first water.

 

Tristan and Isolde John Williams Waterhouse

John William Waterhouse Tristan and Isolde with the Potion via wiki

DSH Perfumes Partners in Crime, for me, evokes the 12th century Celtic legend of Tristan and Isolde. Tristan was a Cornish knight during the reign of King Arthur; he had been entrusted with the mission of escorting Isolde from Ireland to wed his uncle, King Mark of Cornwall. Along their journey, the couple ingest a love potion which was supposed to be given to Isolde’s husband-to-be, King Mark, on their wedding night – and as result they fall madly in illicit love and lust. Their adulterous end is a tragic one, and both lovers die.

Dawn’s Ideation Unsplash

Partners in Crime is not a perfume of despair and despondency, unlike the tale of our legendary star-crossed lovers, but it possesses their unmitigated passion, an irresistible force which will not be denied. Everything I adore is in it – so perhaps I cannot be said to be unbiased here, but I suspect that many of you will share my feeling about it. The introduction shimmers with a shaft of bergamot followed by the warm metallic glow of saffron and spice (black and pink pepper, cinnamon); it’s piquant and grabs your attention. This warmth is augmented by a lavish abundance of honeyed fruit and flower, epitomized by plum, roses, and jasmine. The cool tones of orris are complemented by unctuous honey and tobacco absolute: sweet, coumarinic and animalic. The leathery chypre base upon which all this loveliness rests boasts a significant dose of leathery, dusky labdanum fused to Himalayan cedar, oakwood, oakmoss, cashmere musk, ambrette, ambergris, and sandalwood. It is a perfume of secrecy and provocation which encourages one to lean in and bury their face in the scented nape or cleavage. I think that Partners in Crime may well be one of my favorite fragrance releases this year…

Notes:  bergamot, black pepper, pink peppercorn, saffron, cinnamon bark, plum, Moroccan rose absolute, Bulgarian rose absolute, grandiflorum jasmine, orris, honey, tobacco absolute, leather, cashmere musk, green oakmoss, labdanum, Himalayan cedar, oakwood CO2, ambergris, ambrette seed, sandalwood

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

~ Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor

DSH Perfumes Partners in Crime courtesy of the perfumer

DSH Perfumes Partners in Crime

Thanks to the generosity of Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH Perfumes, we have one 30 ml EDP of Partners in Crime 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 Partners in Crime and where you live in the continental USA. Draw closes 9/21/2025

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15 comments

  • reyessence89 says:

    A beguiling and bewitching chypre… I would love to smell this. If I smell this on ne, would I beguile and bewitch myself?
    I’ve not smelled any offerings from DSH perfumes, and this sounds like a good reason to look into the house. I live in NE, USA.

  • bentviolets says:

    Who does honeyed animalics better than Dawn? I love her work with leather as well. So many of her offerings have scent pyramids stacked with a perfect balance of spice, resins, musks, florals and fruit. I’m consistently impressed by her.

    Onto the article, I enjoyed reading about Tristan and Isolde. That kind of tumultuous love is a good symbol. For those of us who love chypres, we understand how they can be unbridled with life, projecting their personality off of (and on to) the wearer. Perfume for passionate people!

    Thank you to Dawn and CFB for the giveaway! I live in ND, USA, and already have the facebook page liked. 😉

  • Ramses Perez says:

    I think this perfume is maybe meant to be worn by a couple alike. Partners in crime as the name and having notes that both lean masculine and feminine in the composition add to this theory of mine. Classically chypre fragrances were always masculine but the over abundance of floral notes surrounding this style really makes it a total unisex scent. Dawn really put the art in artisanal on this one. I’m located in the USA.

  • Laura Hamrick says:

    Who doesn’t want “unmitigated passion” in their fragrance! Sounds divine!! I’m in Louisville Kentucky

  • Kensolfactoryodyssey says:

    Ida’s description of the honeyed labdanum, spice, and chypre base in Partners in Crime instantly drew me in. It sounds like a fragrance full of mystery and allure, and I’d love to experience it for myself. I live in California, USA.

  • Ben A says:

    Like Ida, I’m a huge fan of chypres and of animalic perfumes. So this one sounds right up my alley. I live in Oklahoma, USA.

  • quixoticcynic says:

    Wow, this is a honeyed labdanum bomb AND it’s a leather chypre AND it’s by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz? One way or another I’m going to have to try this someday, that’s for sure. The meditations on famous, historical, and mythological ‘partners in crime’ made this review extra evocative, too. I’d love to enter the giveaway, and I’m in New Mexico (in the US!).

  • Annika says:

    I remember Penny Dreadful! I loved the tortured Vanessa, incandescently portrayed by Eva Green. Partners in Crime sounds like a worthy fragrance for Vanessa (and her paramour Ethan), a complex chypre with elements of honeyed fruit and florals, warm spice and animalic woody leather. MD, USA

  • aditu says:

    I am trying to explore more chypres, and the complex layers of Partners in Crime that Ida describes makes me want to include this one in the journey. The interplay between the spicy and floral elements overlaying the leathery resinous base sounds intriguing. I am in MA, USA.

  • zibbyz says:

    This has so many notes that I love, and just sounds wonderful. I am not an overt optimist, but I do try to be a regular old optimist, ands is this perfume supports my optimist, I want to try it. I have sampled many of Dawn’s perfumes and they are all lovely. I think having Partners in Crime close to hand in rainy Seattle winters will mean I choose it often. In Seattle.
    Thank you for the lovely review and generous draw.

  • foreverscents says:

    Dawn is definitely a storyteller with her creations. I have tried many of her fragrances, and I am never let down. I love fragrances that are a bit dark and animatic—yet l like them to be elegant. The notes of Partners in Crime sound gorgeous, especially the rose, plum, jasmine and labdanum. I like that Ida mentioned Penny Dreadful in her introduction. I miss that show!
    I live in the USA.

  • mmerline says:

    Dawn has a knack for fragrances with warmth and progression, like Partners in Crime. ” The introduction shimmers with a shaft of bergamot followed by the warm metallic glow of saffron and spice (black and pink pepper, cinnamon); it’s piquant and grabs your attention.” I’m intrigued by the spice in this opening over that tobacco absolute and rich, multifaceted labdanum.

    I’m in the continental USA.

  • David F says:

    Hmmm…the story of this picture being painted was quite vivid. Although everyone loves 2 love this is centrifuged down into a powerful potion that heralds many notes. Sounds sweet but with this many layers there is no telling how it wears. The tale of The Knight is splendid but the raw materials the bottle contains has a tad bit more “salacious-ness”. Ever present and always seeking something out of the ordinary I would like to see where this takes me …from North Carolina.

  • Agent47 says:

    What really sparked my interest in Ida’s review of DSH Perfumes Partner in Crime was the way she described it—not just as a scent, but as a personality. Her words painted it as playful, a little daring, and totally magnetic. I loved how she captured the spirit of the fragrance with such flair, making it feel like more than just perfume—it was a character, a vibe, maybe even a secret sidekick. That mix of charm and intrigue had me instantly curious to experience it for myself. From NY.

  • Kassie Tocko says:

    What drew me in was the way the article described the perfume as more than just a blend of notes—it became a character in its own right, full of depth, secrecy, and passion. The imagery of legendary lovers and daring duos gave the fragrance a cinematic quality that instantly captured my imagination. I also liked the ÇaFleureBon Profiles in American Perfumery.