New Perfume Review: Dasein Fragrance AUTUMN (Sam Rader) + Cinnnamon in Your Coffee Draw

dasein autumn perfume

Photo: Courtesy of Sam Rader @dasein instagram

Cinnamon lovers rejoice! Los Angeles-based indie perfumer Dasein (pron. DAH-zyne) have released Autumn, perfumer Sam Rader’s latest in seasonal scents. Autumn is an unusual and introspective fragrance comprised of a very prominent cinnamon bark note and coffee along with incense, oud, leather and ambergris. I think each note is framed to feature its best supporting accents and adds to the overall depth of the composition. Daesin Autumn makes for a much-needed departure from the usual Oriental fare being trotted out this time of year. So save your ambers and your “trips to an exotic Middle Eastern market” scents for another time and place, because there’s a fresh perspective now being offered for Fall.

sam rader of daesin fragrances winter spring summer fall

Sam Rader of Dasein and her seasonal fragrances Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn

If you haven’t had a chance to sample the other seasonal scents Dasein offers, Spring is an amazing green vetiver with an unexpected yuzu note Summer is a wonderfully spicy cilantro and grapefruit scent. Winter features cardamom, spruce and lavender. All of Dasein’s fragrances are blended by hand by Sam Rader in a small batch, cruelty-free environment.

cinnamon coffee

Cinnamon coffee beans steel grinder  via Thekitschykitchen

Autumn starts out with the cinnamon bark note way out in front, with that crisp, sharp, dry herbal crackle the first sensation to hit your senses. But before it begins to dominate outright (cinnamon notes are notorious gangsters in perfumery), a freshly-ground dark roasted coffee note wafts up from underneath and evidently is being offered to you on a brand-new black leather coaster. The ambergris and incense are lightly applied here, adding a slight airiness and steely tang to help keep the flat dusty qualities of the coffee and cinnamon from being too pronounced or making the perfume appear lopsided or imbalanced.

angelina jolie and brad pitt drinking coffeee mr and mrs smith

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Mr and Mrs Smith Drinking Coffee

All of these notes harmonize together quite well – it’s plainly obvious that Ms. Rader has spent ample time deciphering the domineering aspects of coffee and cinnamon notes in perfume and found a way to get them to synthesize well with the other elements while still keeping their strength intact. The effect is a subtle, spicy yet powerful scent that is complex enough for repeat wrist checks as it develops, and also perfectly amenable to being worn by both sexes. I would sport this fragrance on my clothes as well as my skin for best longevity and effect.   The sillage stays fairly close to the skin, and there’s average power here. You may need to re-apply once to get a full day’s use from Autumn.

Dasein is one of my favorite new houses. I enjoy their “scent for the season” approach as a newly-formed house, and so far they have avoided easy or syrupy clichés in each outing, while still creating stylish artisanal scents that have a welcome attachment to the calendar as it moves along.

The Now Mix & Match”Gemma Ward by Emma Summerton for Vogue Italia

The Now Mix & Match”Gemma Ward by Emma Summerton for Vogue Italia

There’s always something that pops out as quirky, unique and fresh in these releases. I liked the cardamom note in Winter, and found the inclusion of cilantro in a summer scent engaging and unexpected.   I also find their releases to be pitched perfectly and appropriate to wear anywhere. Dasein Fragrance is a house I would introduce to  both perfumistas and those new to perfumery. But now they have a full year’s worth of scents available and one has to wonder what Sam Rader will do as her second winter as a perfumer settles in? What new theme might emerge to take us into 2016 from Dasein?

Notes: agarwood, incense, coffee, cinnamon bark, ambergris and leather

Pam Barr, Senior Contributor
Disclosure: I received my sample from Twisted Lily

daesin autumn perfume

Autumn Perfume and Dasein  photo via instagram

Thanks to Sam Rader we have a US-only draw for a 50 ml bottle of Autumn for a US registered reader (please use your registered name as well) and a sample for our international reader. To be eligible, please leave a comment with what appeals to you about Dasein Autumn, your favorite season and where you live by 9/28/2015

We announce the winners on our site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

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33 comments

  • Patty P. says:

    This is my favorite season now. 🙂 I love incense scents. Never tried one paired with coffee note. Sounds unique. Love to win this. Thanks. USA

  • mariotgomez says:

    You had me at Coffee and Cinnamon.

    Having moved from the Midwest to West Coast, I miss the changing of the leaves. The beauty of color they bring and the crispness in the air.

    I’m lucky to live in the Bay Area were I am able to get that crispness in the air every time the fog rolls in.

    I live in the USA.

  • Kim M. says:

    The idea of cilantro in summer makes sense to me, as I live in Florida and summer is salsa season (but then again, when isn’t it?) As for their seasonal scents, they all sound yummy… but I love coffee in any form, and the idea of one of my favorite aromatic blends being worn as a scent is really compelling. Cozy, too. US resident, and excited about this draw!

  • Patsi says:

    Autumn is my most favourite season – all the leaves and colours and darker nights provide time to walk, to photograph to settle in the evenings and take stock of life. This scent sounds comforting and addictive and i would love to try it. I’m in the UK, ta for the draw.

  • fazalcheema says:

    Pam’s favorite from the line is Spring but I think mine may be Autumn..it starts with Cinnamon but I must declare cinnamon is not a note I enjoy when it is dominant like in Lutens Rousse but when it helps other notes and here it seems it helps other notes such as coffee and also incense. thanks so much for the wonderful draw. My favorite season is Spring. I am in the US.

  • benjariell says:

    What appeals to me is the Ambergris, and what it would do for the entire composition. Fall. Oklahoma, USA

  • madeleine gallay says:

    Coffee and cinnamon. Nothing could be better. I’m still new to perfumery, its language and so love it. Romantic prose.

    In the USA.

  • ringthing says:

    Autumn is my favorite season and this note list is like a greatest hits of many of my favorite things, especially the cinnamon /coffee /incense combination. Pam’s comment about a fall perfume that’s not a heavy hitting oriental is appealing, and the Dasein website describes Autumn as unctuous coziness. Irresistible. Thanks for the review and the chance, look forward to checking out Dasein, quirky is good. I’m in the US Midwest.

  • pursejunkie says:

    Incense and leather? Sign me up for that!
    My favorite season is Autumn for the cooling weather, the colors, the Christmas shopping and (fingers crossed) maybe a little rain this year.
    In the U.S. in dry, dry California.

  • Iuno Feronia says:

    Autumn is my favourite time of the year. I live drinking tea or coffee and eating gingerbread in the afternoon . I would love to try this frageance. I live in Europe.

  • Latifah S says:

    I truly enjoy Winter. It’s a great fragrance. My favorite season is fall though. I love the color of the leaves and the scent of pumpkin spice lattes, candles, body butters…etc. I would love to win this one. I live in the US. Thanks,

  • Abby says:

    My favorite season is spring, but I think Dasein Autumn would be my favorite because of the coffee and cinnamon notes mixed with incense. I never heard of this line but I follow you on instagram and followed the link in the profile.

  • cdb73110 says:

    My favorite time of the year is spring but equally love fall too. I use to have this custom blend of coffee that had quite a level of cinnamon in it and it smelled heavenly. The whole fragrance concoction seems like a scent I would thoroughly enjoy. Thanks for the chance. I really enjoyed Dasein’s Winter. In the USA.

  • Anna H says:

    Dasein Autumn sounds so good! I love spicy, smokey fragrances that aren’t overly sweet. Winter is my favorite season, closely followed by Fall. I live in the US.

  • Greg Sh says:

    Wow coffee and cinnamon sounds like an epic duo! I love the spice in it and it would make for a perfect fall scent. My favorite season is summer. I just love hot weather!

    I’m in Canada and thanks for the draw!

  • Steve A says:

    I’m enjoying the weather now when it’s warm enough not to wear a jacket yet cool enough for Fall fragrance. I like that this offering has ambergris and leather to go along with the coffee. US

  • Wayne says:

    That silly phrase “this is my jam” comes to mind. This is my season: pleasantly warm days and cool nights and mornings. Windows open. Fresh air in the apartment. And so with this fragrance – cinnamon…coffee…incense? What’s NOT to love?? Want this one! Ilive in the US, in NYC. Thanks for the chance!

  • nsquared says:

    Dasein Autumn combines many of my favorite notes, most notably cinnamon and coffee. I do not yet have a favorite fragrance that features coffee, so perhaps this one will do it! Add incense and my ears really perked up. I could see this scent sprayed on a favorite scarf in the fall to enjoy as the season changes. My favorite season is winter – I live in the South of the U.S.A. so it’s a chance to escape the very hot summers.

  • sunmisun says:

    This sounds utterly scrumptious for the fall. Now that the weather is finally cooling down (does 75 degrees count as cool??), coffee sounds rather enjoyable again. I haven’t tried any coffee fragrances yet, but the combination of coffee and cinnamon sounds absolutely lovely. I think spring may be my favorite season, but it’s so hard to choose! Thanks for the lovely draw, I’m in the US.

  • Laurels says:

    Autumn is my favorite season. I’ve been looking for a perfume with a coffee note, and cinnamon that isn’t overbearing sounds good, too. I’m in the US.

  • roxann says:

    OH, autumn. I hate to see summer end, but I adore the heavier spicy scents of autumn. I have never heard of this brand, but the profile sounds fantastic. Thanks for the opportunity to try. I live in WA.

  • Valentine Girl says:

    I had to smile when I saw the pic of the coffee beans and cinnamon in the grinder because when the weather starts cooling down, I begin breaking off bits of a whole cinnamon stick (with a pink peppercorn or two) and add them to my whole coffee beans, before grinding it all up and brewing my own spiced coffee. That’s when I know fall has arrived! As the coffee brews, the aroma fills the kitchen while I am waiting for it to finish & I have always wished there was a way I could capture it and somehow wear it…Daesin’s new Autumn fragrance sounds like Sam Radner has figured it out.
    Autumn is my favorite season of the year, as I grew up in a house that had a giant, 375 year old white oak tree in the back yard. That tree would cover the lawn in fallen leaves & when autumn came, I would go outside and rake up huge, 3-4 foot high piles of leaves, just for the joy of taking a running jump into the middle and then burrow through them (Dad would eventually come through and grind them up for the compost heap). Although I am a little too old now for the leaf pile, I still love autumn because it’s when I carve pumpkins. I live next to the Cheasapeake Bay and right now, it’s honking Canadian geese traffic central…I must live right below an established migratory route, because you know fall is here, when all you hear, is honking geese above your head. Thanks for the draw! Mid-Atlantic, USA resident

  • Elizabeth T says:

    I often brew my coffee with cinnamon in the fall, my favorite season, and this sounds right up my alley! Thanks for the review and for bringing the release to our attention. I’m in the USA. Thanks again!

  • Michelle U says:

    To me the cinnamon bark note appeals a lot, I love cinnamon. In every way possible. The dry smell of cinnamon and coffee seems like a perfect fit for my favorite season that is actually autumn. A sample to sniff would be great!

    I am a registered reader from the EU.

    Thank you very much. Wish you all the best!

  • Mim says:

    Autumn is my favorite season. I’m in the US, where fall is literal–the leaves are an immersive experience.

    Spices, warmth, woods, coffee, incense, subtlety, strength; there is nothing I do not adore about this description of Dasein Autumn!

    Thanks for the lovely draw

  • raisinred says:

    Thanks for the great review and giveaway! Daesin Autumn sounds perfect to me, as I love putting cinnamon in my coffee and love cinnamon and coffee notes in perfume. Autumn is also my favorite season. I am in the United States. Thanks again!

  • Cynthia says:

    Here in Texas if you go for a Mexican breakfast of huevos rancheros, the coffee will often have the addition of a couple of cinnamon sticks. It’s one of my favorite scents and tastes in the winter. (Somehow not quite as good in the summer). Something about that cinnamon smell goes perfectly with chilly weather and chili food. I would love to try this seasonal perfume. I have not experienced any of the other Daesin perfumes. I am in the USA. Thank you!

  • hofken says:

    The cinnamon and coffee notes of Dasein Autumn appeal to me. I live in the US and my favorite season is autumn.

  • Mary K says:

    Spring is my favorite season, as it seems like the earth is waking up after a long winter and there is so much new plant growth to enjoy. Also, it is followed by summer and then autumn. Where I live winters are long, so it is good to appreciate warmer temperatures when one can.

    I think the cinnamon bark, coffee and leather in Dasein Autumn sound great and it would be wonderful to experience this! I am in the US.

  • Rosa says:

    Fall is my favorite because the temperature is perfect to me and the trees are very pretty.
    The notes sound so wonderful.
    Thanks for the draw. I am in the US.

  • Holly F. says:

    All of these notes appeal to me! I love gourmand scents, especially in the fall, and the leather and incense draw me in as well. Autumn is by far my favorite season! I’m in the US, thanks!

  • Staceyw says:

    I’m a huge fan of both cinnamon and coffee notes in perfume so am intrigued right off the bat. My favorite season also happens to be fall! I’m in the U.S. Thank you for the draw!