Products in the “Myrrh Gum” Category
1,000 Lilies (aka Susinon)
Susinon was a luxurious and strongly scented lily perfume that was made by the Egyptians as well as the Greeks, but the Egyptian version was thought to “excel most’. This fabulous fragrance was also used by Cleopatra to scent the sails of her royal barge, perfuming the air along the Nile as she sailed, proclaiming herself as Goddess and Queen. The exhaustive recipe for Susinon calls for spices and resins to first be soaked in fragrant wine and balanos oil to be prepared. When the oil ready, it is added to the spices along with 1,000 lilies. Interestingly, in our time a lily perfume would be almost exclusively worn by women, but for the ancient Egyptians, Susinon was one perfume deemed suitable for a man.
* 1,000 LILIES PERFUME has been created for Denver Art Museum’s KING TUT exhibit, 2010.
Adoration (Milan)
Inspired by Bonifacio Bembo’s “Adoration of the Magi” (about1455-1460) and Renaissance Milan’s great wealth and status among cities. This fragrance depicts traditional Catholic incense, which is based on the gifts of the Magi to the Christ child: frankincense, gold and myrrh. Even during the Renaissance, these rare aromatic gifts of the East (frankincense and myrrh) were more costly than their weight in gold.
I have included a precious rose note to this design as well, to center the essence and to symbolize Mary.
(*image credit: Bonaficio Bembo, active about 1444-78, Adoration of the Magi, about 1455-60, tempera and oil paint on panel, Denver Art Museum; the Simon Guggenheim Memorial Collection, 1957.167).
* please note: 1 ml sample vials of EdP are 1/2 filled; Perfume / extract vials are filled.
Ambre (Amber)
Alluring. Refined. Otherworldly.
My own personal amber perfume made more balsamic and rich with a classic floral heart for those of us who love amber but usually find it too sweet to wear.
* EdP sample vials are 1/2 filled.
Ancient Air
A sensual patchouli accord based on the true meaning of “Per Fumum” (through smoke). It is reminiscent of a time when the air was laden with incense smoke that carried prayers and sacrifice to the Gods.
Ashram
Om Nama Shivaya.
The scent of meditation, deep breathing and a time spent in peace.
Caravan Spice (Holiday no.11)
For our Holiday scent, 2011, we went ‘old school’… a kind of nostalgic remembrance of holidays past and the designs I used to create when living in Boston and how the season felt to me there. This is a cozy and warm spice scent with ambery nuances and a sense of home near a warm fireplace. Of course, the name recalls the old-world caravans that carry the spices from exotic lands to our homes.
Cathedral (Holiday no.3)
An ancient aroma of sacred incense…the Holy Smoke of the Midnight Mass rises with a blessing for the coming year.
December (Holiday no.10)
It’s Holiday time again…oh, yes, it is December.
December evokes for me many of the very best ‘smells’ of the season: pomanders, gingerbread, the long walk in the woods to find the perfect Christmas tree, and traditional incense (I call it ‘gnostic incense’) made of frankincense and myrrh. It brings the Holidays home for me.
dirty ROSE
A rose like no other: dirty ROSE. The image of a single rose that has been a bit manhandled; bruised and dragged through the mud which gives it its rugged beauty. Although dirty ROSE is a rose based perfume the note does not dominate; it is interwoven throughout the fragrance, continuing to grow as it dries down. And ladies…he may just borrow this; its a shared experience.
* sample vials are 1/2 filled.
Euphorisme d’Opium
Euphorisme d’Opium: Opium Perfume: c.1977
The original “YSL Opium” perfume, when launched was a scandal. Not only for the open drug reference but for it’s open sexuality and sensuality. Just as YSL was inspired by his beloved Morocco and the Orient, I have infused the original design of Opium perfume (which as of 2010, is no longer on the market) with some extra doses of the euphoric aromas that bring this enchanting Spicy-Oriental perfume to life.
* EdP sample vials are 1/2 filled.
Inner Sanctum
A winter sanctuary: That place of deep serenity and peace represented by a warm, oude-incense chypre with a lovely winter rose heart.
Michelangelo
Artistic. Provocative. Suave.
This vintage inspired woody/resinous/conifer design for men expresses the scent of the artist; some notes from the studio, leather bound books, hints of smoke and a whisper of aged single malt scotch. Incredible!
* Eau de Parfum sample vials are 1/2 filled.
Oeillets Rouges (Red Carnations)
Les Rouges No. 2; scarlet red: A charming and playful perfume of red carnations in full bloom…joyful as a day in May.
* EdP sample vials are 1/2 filled; Perfume / Extract sample vials are filled.
* 92% Botanical Perfume.
Paradise Lost (the clarimonde project)
The phrase “ A twilight blue oriental perfume” most captured my imagination from the first time I heard it along with the image of faded flowers along side a bed of gold and silver, attended by a negro page wearing black velvet holding an ivory cane; and the satiny hand of “Clarimonde” as she lay dying. This cool, almost misty scene that might have been a last glimpse of Clarimonde paired with an alternate universe of warm opulence in Venice were always shimmering in my mindʼs eye as I created “Paradise Lost”.
Paradise Lost is a very limited edition: only 13, 5 ml PERFUME vials and Parisian-made, ochre colored Art Nouveau charm bottle sets have been produced.
Prana
Power. Light. Harmony.
The embodiment of the One.
A lively and energizing Ayurvedic fragrance that balances citrus, herbs, spice, florals, woods and resins.
100% botanical perfume.
Ruba’iyat
Inspired by the Persian poetry form of the same name, and traditional oudh designs of the region. Created for indiescents.com, Ruba’iyat is a glorious all botanical middle eastern oudh, incense, saffron, and spice perfume. I don’t need to tell you that it’s as complex and intriguing as the patterns on the walls of a sacred mosque.
* EdP sample vials are 1/2 filled.
Sampsuchinon
Dedicated to the Egyptian God of the Crocodiles, Sobek, Sampsuchinon is a wonderfully green scent with unexpected nuances of spice and resin that gives it it’s unique depth. The herbs most closely associated with Sobek are marjoram and oregano which are sweetly fragrant. In western perfumery, marjoram and oregano are almost exclusively used in men’s designs, Sampsuchinon is remarkably suited to both men and women.
* Sampsuchinon PERFUME / Unguent Solid has been created for Denver Art Museum’s KING TUT exhibit, 2010.
The Color Orange
Exuberant. Youthful. Bold.
Exactly as you would imagine: a pop of bright orange color in your mind. The expression of the color orange in scent form. One of the inspirations for “the color orange” is Mark Rothko’s “no.12, c.1951″.
Three Kings
“We three kings of Orient are…Bearing gifts we traverse afar…Field and fountain, moor and mountain..Following yonder star…”
The traditional carol tells the story of our new Three Kings scent, so filled with precious resins, balms and woods from the Orient. There is nothing modern about this darkly textured and earthy perfume; it speaks to us of the Ancients.
* sample vials are 1/2 full.
100% Botanical.
Twelfth Night (Holiday no.2)
In the deepest woods on the darkest night…the scent of the Solstice.
Vetyver
Confident. Expressive. Superb.
Beyond the classical form of Vetyver, which is usually a more a vetiver based, lime peel dominant, eau de cologne style scent. Our Vetyver accentuates and revels in the smoky, woody-earthy nature of the grass root with added notes of birch tar, tabac and rich balsams.
In partnership with the LAMBI fund, sales from DSH Vetyver will support the rebuilding in Haiti and continue funding rural relief. *30% of retail sales will goes to help those in need.
* 92% botanical
Violetta di Murano
Deep. Saturated. Glorious.
My Italian Journey No. 4: Based on a dark and mysterious deep purple violet I found in a hidden garden on the Island of Murano. I fell in love at first sniff.
* sample vials are 1/2 filled.
Viridian
Organic. Sultry. Enchanted.
Based on a semi-transparent, green-blue-green artist hue (paint). A abstract green scent that speaks of dark woods and deep forest floors.
* sample vials are 1/2 filled.
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