A Spring Awakening from Dasein

by: Jodi Battershell

"I am going to try to pay attention to the spring. I am going to look around at all the flowers, and look up at the hectic trees. I am going to close my eyes and listen."—Anne Lamott

Sage advice from Anne Lamott. When I lived in Nebraska, there were far too many years when our weather went from winter straight into summer. March, April and early May were overcast, snowy and chilly, then suddenly, 100°F (37°C)!  If there was a spring in there at all, its brief apperance escaped my attention as I chipped away at the ice that still coated the sidewalk on the shady side of the house.

Spring is notoriously fickle. The appearance and demise of cherry blossoms may or may not coincide with Philadelphia's planned Cherry Blossom Festival each year. Those April showers that bring May flowers sometimes come in March, or not at all. The beautiful tulips and magnolia blossoms I've been seeing on everybody's Instagram feeds this week could easily be wiped out by a late frost or snow. 

But given a choice, I would change nothing. Spring is a season to which we should pay attention, for no other season has the beauty, the urgency or the vibrancy of Spring. For the record, my favorite season is Autumn, but I'm seduced by Spring's charms each year and it's always a welcome relief from the short, dark, dreary days of Winter (even when it's an unseasonably warm Winter like this year's.)

I've enjoyed sniffing and writing about Dasein Fragrance's beautiful Winter andSummer fragrances, but, oh! I think Spring may be my favorite of the bunch! (We'll see what Autumn brings later this year.) This unisex fragrance from perfumer Sam Rader arrives in a gorgeous green hue that says everything about the season and the perfume inside that frosted glass bottle. (By the way, Dasein Fragrance and Sarah Rainwater Design recently won the 2016 Package Design Award from Graphic Design USA! It's not hard to see why, with their classic frosted bottles, seasonal color schemes and bold but elegant logos. Congratulations, Dasein!) 

From the press release: "Spring unisex fragrance features natural vetiver from both India and El Salvador. Vetiver is a fragrant grass that smells of rich soil and green shoots, which grows only in the southern hemisphere. The rose note in Spring comes from a precious crop in Egypt where rose petals are solvent extracted for an alive and rich smell. Spring features only natural sandalwood sustainably harvested in Australia. The rare yuzu essential oil used in Spring is cold-pressed from the rind of the citrus fruit found only in Japan."

I knew before sniffing that I was going to love this fragrance. Vetiver is one of my favorite notes in perfumery. From its dry, prickly grassy aspects to its earthy, rooty undertones, with wafts of woodsmoke throughout, vetiver in all its varieties imparts a distinctive complexity to any fragrance that includes it. Truly, you must have some affinity for vetiver in order to appreciate Spring, but if you like it even a little, you'll love what perfumer Sam Rader has done with it.

A spicy blast of black pepper and the tart citrus of yuzu open the fragrance, but the vetiver note—dry, earthy, even a bit prickly at this stage—is present throughout the evolution of Spring. About 30 minutes in, the top notes have burned away and a garden in bloom emerges. Sweet violets and plush roses are strewn at random, softening the sharp edges on those blades of grass. The rose note dominates and and blends with the gentle sandalwood for a kind of powdery effect. At the two hour mark, Spring so perfectly recalled the tender aroma of a freshly-bathed-and-powdered baby—one who is playing contentedly on the soft lawn during a sunny spring afternoon. As an olfactory image, it perfectly captures all that is good about the season: tender flower buds, green grass, warmth, hope and new life.

Like all the Dasein fragrances I have tried, the sillage is moderate but the longevity is amazing—in the 9-10 hour range. As the sun sets on our pleasant Spring day, the smoky and earthy aspects of vetiver have burned away. What remains is a lingering warmth, a soft aroma of wood and dried grass so delicate that the gentlest of breezes could tear it asunder and scatter the particles (though on skin, you'll still have a good hour or two to enjoy it).

Spring is a must-try for fans of vetiver. Men will not find it too floral and women will enjoy the grassiness softened by flowers and sandalwood. It's a high-quality and long-lasting fragrance that is perfect for the vernal equionox but won't seem out of place at the autumnal one, either. Like the other "Season" fragrances of Dasein, it encapsulates its season and transcends it, too.

Thank you to Dasein for the opportunity to try Spring!

All product images: Dasein