Description
The finale of this series for 2020: who knows if this series will see a vol. 2 as we end this year, and see ourselves in 2021 with any of the same facets of life.
As we’ve moved through the year the energies at play have seemed to just intensify… culminating in what feels like the complete breakdown of society; with chaos sewing itself into every corner of our lives, down to the molecular level. The emotional wounds of isolating: the rage, the grief, the constriction have been incredibly intense. Then the fires began…and an election that seemed to loom overhead endlessly.
What started as a series of meditations to cope with the uncertainty of the COVID times has become a mirror to the self of the world as well as a roller coaster of emotions and focus. From the quiet centering of tea and charcoal, through the intent on nourishment of hot masala, to the need to go deep, to the super safe place of sweet pine tar, and the joy of spending time outdoors with poplars and planes, to what has finally emerged. The end: a frenzy.
It’s come to this: Adrenaline and Scorched Earth.
Perhaps surprisingly, besides a ‘cowboy coffee’ accord, one of the main notes in this design is Mitti, an ancient and sacred attar from India made from co-distilling sun-baked earth and Indian sandalwood. Mitti is a deeply meditative and profound aromatic material and is the linchpin of Adrenaline and Scorched Earth.
The paintings made for this design are made of cowboy coffee, heaps of sugar, charcoal, and dirt (red clay pigment).
trade_pip –
Based on that description, I had to post a review.
I received a bunch of samples from DSH as Christmas gifts, as I do about every other year now, always the natural botanical variety (or mostly all-natural). Finally got into them today more than 3 months later.
This was a surprising test; I can’t detect any of the DSH dna that I come to expect with many of the creations. It’s definitely different.
The description discussing 2020, covid and the mess of a year that it was…and now as we’re in 2021 and things continue to be, in my opinion, equally or even more messy…makes trying this scent out a nice distraction from it all.
I consider myself to have a layperson’s nose, even tho I’ve been into frags since I was a kid. I’m a middle age male btw. I deliberately do not read note breakdowns before I test, so I can just get from a frag what will come to me, uninfluenced.
After sniffing this, then reading the description, I do see the note breakdown, or at least I do discover more of them as I analyze what I don’t pick up initially.
The Scorched Earth part comes out instantly. It has the sort of burnt and post-fire vibe, along with what I would put as charcol (sp) and then that hint of a sorta coffee thing going on.
There’s a very outdoorsy earthy vibe to it. My mind did go to the original Zoologist Bat, even tho it does not have that dirt/cave thing….it’s just a reference to the sort of realm/genre I’d put this into. (And I saw recently that Dawn worked with Zoologist, very cool!).
The layperson would say this smells like a unique post-fire-pit experience, with an added darkness to it that I’d say is the coffee and perhaps attar component. A very pleasing scent that I have in my office right now and will enjoy for the rest of the day as I look forward to the rest of the samples I’ll get to over time.
Megan Fujishige –
Adrenaline and Scorched Earth had not even been on my radar, so I’m very lucky that it got tossed in as a free sample with my order.
It’s a delicious sweet incense fragrance, with traces of coffee and spices. The VDP opens up with the smell of fresh dirt, as well. It’s very odd how the fragrance captures it.
I’ve also tried layering it with other VDPs since I went ham on ordering samples. It goes great under Piment et Chocolat!
merielkosokar –
I received this as a thoughtful sample (along with Amuun Ra, a one-off design I wish I could review on a dedicated page). This is really interesting. It is a unisex, tending towards the “masculine”–as I sample and ponder scent more and more, I don’t really know what gender designations mean, apart from our attempts to put into words a myriad of human creative expression and tendencies. This is my third day sampling (I thought the name of the scent was truly apt for a horrible chaotic week at work in my veterinary clinic) though the scent itself is MUCH more wonderful! I get whiffs of charcoal and smoke, which is comforting, and after a while a developing sweetness. I don’t get obvious gourmand notes but it could be due to 1) me being anosmic to some notes or 2) my body chemistry works in odd and mysterious ways. I am just so amazed by DHS’s olfactory creativity (not to mention her fine art as well) and these explorations of textural scent. I would have to say that the Indie Perfumers are “where it’s at” if you want quality, interesting, unique fine fragrance at a fair price point. While I’m not sure if Adrenaline and Scorched earth works for me, I still give it a whole-hearted 5 stars just because of its originality, how interesting it is, and the creative, contemplative process that it describes in scent.
Sara Hoots (verified owner) –
Amazing, smoky, and sweet. The coffee blends well with the other notes. I’ve gotten compliments on this scent from people who don’t usually notice fragrance!
Harry Lowenthal –
The expected, yet surprisingly authentic opening of realistic smoke in combination with the name had me feeling like a zebra in the safari, catching the first whiffs of a brushfire nearby—burning wood, grass, earth, and even a few of my barbecued animal friends—needless to say just as the name foretold my heart rate shot up as if my only choice left was to run. I can’t guarantee this is a replicable experience, as I may be a puff or two off the marijuaner. Now picking up the sweetness and the dark, roasted coffee, the gourmand aspects coming out make this out to be a very rare breed of smoky-earthy-gourmand scent. I’ve often wondered how to successfully sweeten a vetiver-forward fragrance, and combining it with a dark, bittersweet note like coffee proves to be an excellent way in this. Nearly a complete reversal from my very first, err, impressionistic, impression, I find this scent to be fun, exciting, and adventurous.
Bravo, madame!
Jonathan Gilligan –
This is a fun scent. Definitely not for every day, but there are times when the smokiness is just what I want.