Scented Snippets New Fragrances Review: Dame Perfumery SOLIFLORES / When Linear Grows Lovelier

by: Ida Meister

I love being proven wrong.

You heard me.

There is nothing better than being called to account, or when someone/something reveals its nobler self.

I blather on and on about linearity: fragrances which don't change or evolve, which smell the exact same from start to finish; lamenting the unwillingness of our society to delve deeper than the surface, our inability to wait for gratification. Blah, blah, blah.

Here I stand to celebrate that linearity, if you will.

Jeffrey Dame of Dame Perfumery has given us cause to rejoice at a price point that makes beauty accessible to a great many [he's rapidly expanding his mailing base to include many countries outside the U.S., beginning with his SOLIFLORE line at $35.00 USD apiece!

"A true floral, alive and in full bloom. Lifting off into the breeze, floating through the air; adrift in a garden of earthly delight. Pure perfume too perfect for this world.” ~ Jeffrey Dame

Is this hyperbole, like much of the perfume copy one reads?

Where's the rest of the story, the fairy tale?

There is none.

Jeffrey feels very definitively that his soliflores speak for themselves; he wants each person to relish their own unique experience without his interference. How refreshing.

Since last summer's UNRELEASED Project in collaboration with Tigerlily Perfumery, Jeffrey has been obsessed with the concept of soliflores in general; his first was the Gardenia which was released as a sample. I went wild for that gardenia; like most folks, I couldn't even conceive of owning a Baccarat flacon of JAR Jardenia, and Tom Ford had already discontinued his exquisite Velvet Gardenia, as did Yves Rocher their most excellent bon marché version. Nothing on the market scratched that particular itch: the desire for a realistic, full-bodied, take-no-prisoners gardenia complete with bleu-cheesiness, an earthy mushroomy aspect, fresh verdancy, and full-frontal bloom perched upon the precipice of utterly divine decay.

Gardenia Soliflore is all that and more. My gateway drug. Jeffrey sweated blood over it. He agonized, and it was worth it. And it is linear, which makes Jeffrey happy.

Linear?

Strictly speaking – YES. It smells photorealistically like a gardenia at the beginning, the middle, and the end. But this is a good thing.

If I am truthful, the charm of each 10 ml. rollerball of pure perfume oil is precisely this: the chosen flower commences smelling like itself and becomes more itself throughout the wearing. It doesn't lose its fundamental character, it becomes one with the wearer. You don't walk around smelling like a gardenia – you become Billie Holiday wearing a gardenia behind your ear, swaying to that soulful melody.

It melds with your flesh. It clings to the bed linen, your scarf, your lingerie. It's glorious.

There's more than gardenia available here; there's tuberose, and Jeffrey Dame'sTuberose Perfume Oil is a whopper.

Mentholic [wintergreen], indolic, sweet and nasty: the whole enchilada. She's beguiling and potent, full of the magnificent approach/avoidance personality for which she's famous/infamous [you decide], larger-than-life. If she's just too much for you, you can layer her with other soliflores. That's the beauty of it.

[I adored her last night; my dear husband, not so much ;-) So I'll have to tone her down a bit. Or maybe not slather her all over my arms and cleavage next time.]

Do you crave tenderness? Then may I suggest mimosa.

Is there any word which describes her better? I feel Mimosa tender as a mother's kiss, that Proustian madeleine-like caress which shares a linden gentleness of spirit, slightly spicy, almondy, heliotropin-infused sweetness. Those beautiful yellow pom-poms hanging heavily from such frondy-appearing fragile branches! Oh, to be in the south of France when the mimosas are in bloom! I close my eyes and I am there: bless the lizard brain, that amygdala of mine. It is instantaneous olfactory recall.

Yes, I cherish Jeffrey's Mimosa Perfume Oil. It reminds me of Caron's wonderfulFarnesiana, blithe and winsome.

Mmmmm.

There is more: rose de mai.

I love rose in her many incarnations, but I can't be bothered with sleazy rose dupes.

Jeffrey's Rose de Mai Perfume Oil is young at heart: green, damp with the fallen dew, the freshly-snapped stem in hand. She's peppery and vital, dulcet and ever-so-willing. What a beauty! And you know what a fine playmate she is; pair her with your gardenia, your tuberose, your mimosa. Your choice, and yours alone.

She's a world unto herself, with all those facets flashing before your greedy nostrils like a diamond brought to light.

Osmanthus, the Queen of Apricot.

This is the role which Jeffrey has assigned her in his Osmanthus Perfume Oil – lush, apricotty, pulpy, fleshy. A zing of citric piquancy at the very start, then full-on fruit right out of the gate. This beautiful fantasy osmanthus is all juice and no leather, unlike absolute in the raw from China; the costuslike furriness has been deliberately left behind.

What I smell is an ambrette silveriness [perhaps ambrettolide] in its stead, the sort of metallic coolness which conjures the qualities of violet leaf with its limpidity, and perhaps a whisper of vetiver somewhere.

[In my Perfumed Closet of Shame I happen to have some glorious ambrette CO2 distillate and a French natural apricot melange fraction – these do well, side by side – in my attempt to analyze what's going on in Osmanthus.]

The end result is a beautiful fantasy of the flower, an image of voluptuousness tempered with a silvery reserve: a very elegant, plaintive perfume in its own right - just dose judiciously.

Narcissus as Enigmatic Floral.

Of all of the Dame soliflores, I feel Narcissus Perfume Oil to be the most complex and mysterious.

For many, narcissus can prove a challenging floral: in absolute, it sings of the stable, urinously-animalic, densely aromatic in an herbal /earthy / balsamic sense – and all the while, very much a flower, a complete perfume unto itself. The most highly prized absolute comes to us from the mountains in the Lozère region of southern France [a mere .05 ml sample costs $42.00 a pop – and that's a bargain].

Narcissus celebrates the amplitude of the earth, such a modest-appearing blossom possessed of animalic verdancy. If one imagines the qualities of lavender [not the actual aroma, of course] – herbal, floral, spicy, earthy, sometimes tonic and astringent - and then add that horse urine note plus a sigh of the paperwhite, you might have a sense of the narcissus scent profile.

Small wonder that the Greek word 'narke', from which the word 'narcotic' is derived – is the actual root of this name – NOT the myth, as it turns out. Narcissus is like a drug, as many white flowers seem to be, except that one may more quickly feel drawn to a jasmine, orange blossom, tuberose - than narcissus. Give narcissus a chance; it will probably grow on you!

Layer it with the musk, the osmanthus, the rose! Add the mimosa, to gentle it. Other perfumers certainly have, with glorious results.

[I'm a big fan.]

I'd like to add another oil perfume which isn't a soliflore, but provides fabulous accompaniment: New Musk Oil. I'll freely admit to initial skepticism, so I ordered the smallest bottle possible, thinking that it might last me a lifetime [which it undoubtedly will]. This one has notes listed:

“a blend of lemon, plum, lily of the valley, jasmine, rose, vanilla, sandalwood, musk; but mostly musk.”

Okay, I was a skeptic at first. This oil simply gets better the longer you wear it, and blends seamlessly with any of the soliflores if you want to introduce a soft touch of furry warmth. It does very well on its own too; I'm just a fussy-britches about my musks, is all.

It's taken me quite a while to complete my reviews, as the perfume oils arrived in the order of their availability. Like many of you, I've been on tenterhooks; it's been a marvelous, satisfying journey. I purchased every one gladly and eagerly awaited each shipment; I've not been disappointed, and at times I've been surprised. I sincerely hope that more beauties will be forthcoming in the future, as the quality / size / price point and clever rollerball size is simply perfect for me. I can slip these into my pocket at work, and treat myself [and anyone else I care to, as is my custom ;-) ] to a fresh hit of olfactory pleasure. The soliflores make it easy to literally spread floral love around, flower child that I was and still am.

Thank you, Jeffrey Dame!

Dame Perfumery Scottsdale's Desert Rose

03/24/15 18:23:05 (11 comments)

by: Jodi Battershell

By now, many of us have had the opportunity to try the scents ofDame Perfumery Scottsdale. When we first profiled this new American perfume venture from industry veteran Jeffrey Dame and his son Cullen, the house was brand new, debuting with six women's eaux de toilette and Black Flower Mexican Vanillafrom the Artist Collection, the first in a series of collaborations with his father, artist V. Dave Dame. (If you weren't one of the lucky winners in the very generous giveaway from Dame Perfumery Scottsdale, don't forget about Jeffrey's Postcard Samples program if you're in the United States.) The perfumery's first official fragrance for men,Herb Man, appeared a few weeks later.

Momentum has been building fast for the new perfumery. In addition to constant development of new scents (we can expect THREE new fragrances later this spring! stay tuned!), Dame Perfumery Scottsdale has also partnered with distributors across the country: Tigerlily Pefumery in San Francisco, Indigo Perfumery in Cleveland andLa Petite Parfumerie in Minneapolis. After being the first perfume house to be featured for all three selections in Olfactif's August 2014 subscription box, the house's Black Flower Mexican Vanilla was also featured in the December 2014 box. And let us not forget Mr. Dame's other ventures—Long Lost Perfume, Parfums Retro, Hypoluxe.

In the midst of all that activity, in February 2015, Dame Perfumery Scottsdale quietly slipped Desert Rose into the market.

This newest scent and the second in the Artist Collection, Desert Rose is an eau de parfum designed with women in mind, though of course men can and will wear it, too. Jeffrey tells us a little about the scent:

"Desert Rose was created to be gorgeous, smooth and full-bodied, but in a manner which is easy, open and flowing. Very pretty and uplifting with a gentle warmth. Too often rose scents are dense, cloying and overbearing. Here with Dame Perfumery Desert Rose I sought out a composition with all the beauty of rose without the heavy burden and weight of history. Desert Rose is very much a creation from a 'Modern American Perfumery.' An experience of discovering a beautiful glowing rose flower, dewy and lush in the dry desert sparseness."

V. Dave Dame (below) rendered the gorgeous desert rose in bright shades of pink against a moonlit sky, using pen and ink on vellum with gouache for color. His original illustration was used to create the label and accompanying materials for the perfume. A 5" by 7" print of the work accompanies each full-size bottle of Desert Rose.

The Desert Rose (Adenium obesum) is native to Africa and Arabia, though the plant also grows well in sunny Arizona and tropical climates such as that of Florida. It's a popular bonsai plant or houseplant for those who live outside the tropical and subtropical garden zones. V. Dave Dame did a beautiful job of capturing the plant in bloom, with its succulent fat caudex, colorful blooms and diminutive green leaves.

An interesting fact about this plant: its blossoms usually have no scent or a minimal one at best. As delightful as it would be to stumble across this plant in the desert, it would mostly be a feast only for the eyes. Thank goodness we have perfumes to bridge the gap and translate visual beauty into olfactory delight!

I've enjoyed all of the scents in the Dame Perfumery Scottsdale line. All of them are so very wearable, so pleasant, noticeable but not disruptive. When Jeffrey and I were chatting about the new scent, he mentioned something he referred to as the "Grocery Store" challenge.

"One of my standards for excellence is the official 'Grocery Store Challenge' whereby when you wear the scent out shopping, do people compliment you and ask what you are wearing," he said. "The scents are not intrusive and loud, but they have identifiable beauty and presence."  

All of the scents in the collection surely meet this standard. They've been worn to the office, worn for date nights with my husband and out for cocktails with friends. They're also perfect for lazy Sundays when I wear track pants and don't leave the house all day. Their versatility resonates with Jeffrey, too. "Must be that American approach," he says.

That being said, I do have my favorites amongst them. Black Flower Mexican Vanilla was an early favorite and is a fragrance both my husband and I reach for, time and time again.

Desert Rose is now a favorite, too.

When my sample first arrived in the mail, I was immediately greeted by the scent of red roses in full bloom, before I even pressed the sprayer. I do enjoy rose scents and thought I knew what I was in for, based on what I could already smell. I wasn't prepared for what would come next.

The perfume world has had its fair share of rose scents in perfumery over the years. The smell of rose is undeniably classic and transcends genders and cultures. From photo-realistic rose scents that smell like the fresh-cut variety in a vase, to the Middle Eastern-inflected oud and spice roses, to the candied fruity-floral rose, we can find a rose to suit any taste and any mood.

If plain old rose soliflores are not your cup of tea, Desert Rose has a lot to offer. I classified this as an Oriental Floral when I added it to our encyclopedia, but it's different from a traditional Indian or Arabian rose fragrance. The rose notes are certainly a focus, but this is not a French rose scent like we might expect from Grasse. Desert Rose somehow manages to be distinct in a market brimming with rose perfumes.

(Must be that American approach that Jeffrey mentioned!)

Desert Rose is gently sweet, but in an earthy and natural way. The fruits are immersed in their natural juices rather than syrup and are infused with a warm and balsamy vanilla bean. The heliotrope, jasmine and carnation here use their "indoor voices" and serve to trim the green leafy edges from the rose notes. The amber, sandalwood and musk give a pleasant, dry desert "heat" to the perfume that becomes noticeable about two hours in, mingling softly with the sweet florals for the remainder of the perfume's life on skin or fabric. And it's a good long life, too—I can still smell its last faint traces from my morning spritz of 12 hours ago.

Desert Rose is another quality offering from this "Modern American Perfumery" in sunny Scottsdale. At $65 for a 50 ml bottle (or $10 for a 7 ml travel spray)—"The Nice Price in Niche," indeed!—it's truly a bargain and I marvel at Dame Perfumery's approach in offering such quality scents at such affordable prices.

Thank you, Jeffrey and Dame Perfumery Scottsdale, for the opportunity to try Desert Rose. Can't wait to see what you have in store for us later this Spring!

All Images: Dame Perfumery Scottsdale