Dawn Spencer Hurwitz has always boldly followed her own inspirations.
Who was it who said, “Most men, in life, do what they can; the genius does what he must.”?
Honoring change and her own unrestrainable afflatus, Hurwitz now debuts her latest vision, PANDORA, a complex spicy chypre with delicate fruit and sensual animal notes.
. 
PANDORA is Hurwitz’s ode to Mousse de Saxe, a special mossy accord first used in perfumery around 1881, as the fledgling pioneers of the modern perfume era experimented with a variety of new odorants, both “natural” and “synthesized”.
Mousse de Saxe, as originally prepared by the De Laire family of French perfumers, was a vivid accord glowing with stunning moss nuances, and slightly sweet notes of geranium, spices and tonka, with wood and floral notes.
In fact, some have noted that the structure of Mousse De Saxe is very much like that of the fougère accord, but minus the lavender descriptor.
PANDORA thus alludes richly to the dawn of modern perfumery, but with Hurwitz’s modern new vision. Synthetic aromachemicals are present, but in extremely tiny doses… their purpose being to light aflame the vast preponderance of rich, costly natural essences.
The official olfactory pyramid for PANDORA is:
Top: ruby fruits (botanical accord), bergamot, aldehyde, spice notes, ozone, violet leaf absolute, davana, cassis bud, green and pink pepper.
Heart: rose de mai absolute, juhi jasmine, linden blossom absolute, yerba maté absolute, cabreuva wood, orris CO2, green tea absolute.
Base: mousse de saxe accord (botanical), cyperus, fossilized amber absolute, ambergris tincture, patchouli CO2, vetiver CO2, muhuhu, australian sandalwood, tonka bean absolute, oakmoss green, vanilla absolute.
Hurwitz has created a new fragrance of stunning complexity, in which no one note or accord stands out; rather, like a classic Guerlain, the notes meld seamlessly into a startling new gestalt of their own.
PANDORA is a rich, chypre with a tweedy handsomeness reminding one of the smart chiseled lines of the New Look period, or “Anglo-smart” like the Deco era Patous, or society appropriate 1950’s Balenciagas.
PANDORA also has utterly authentic floral and vanillic nuances which speak softly and alluringly behind the impeccable ochre/olive fibrousness of the mousse de saxe structure; hay-ey coumarin and spicy notes held back in a near-subliminal restraint. The result is a dignified fashion statement which lovers of the chypre, and of nostalgic perfumery must not miss. Though complex, PANDORA possesses a discreet sillage that is always appropriate, with a very good staying power.
Suitable for day or evening wear, unisex in its appeal, and timeless in its taste, PANDORA is a confident step forward for the house of DSH.
Highly recommended.
DRAW for 3ml sample will be held on Autumn Equinox September 21st, please leave a comment to be entered.
Please sign up for Perfume Pharmer’s feed or email mail to be eligible for our draws, thank you!
Please visit this blog list for more PANDORA reviews!
Disclosure: DSH kindly provided samples of Pandora to Perfume Pharmer for review. Pandora is a mixed media natural/synthetic fragrance.
Images: Avatar movie wall paper from the planet PANDORA and David Lincoln Brook’s SHELLS art.
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{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the giveaway! Pandora sounds beautiful and I’d love to try it. I’m subscribed to the feed.
David, love your insight and detailed analysis. Such a sense of full attention and depth.
Great quote, I’ll remember it: “Most men, in life, do what they can; the genius does what he must.” I don’t know who said it, though–was it Thoreau? Here is a similar thought: Genius does what it must, and Talent does what it can. ~ Owen Meredith Earl of Lytton
One of my all-time favorite quotations is by Henry James: “We work in the dark, We do what we can, We give what we have, Our doubt is our passion, And our passion is our task, The rest is the madness of art”. I love a good quotation. And I love Dawn’s work!
Pandora sounds incredible. My mouth literally watered while reading this post. Please sign me up for the draw! Thanks.
I would love to try this perfume, it sounds heavenly! Thanks for the draw!
This is an incredible review, David, and I fully enjoyed the read!
Dawn – another lovely perfume to grace the world. It sounds wonderful. I would love to be entered to win and experience Pandora.
Love Lyn
How apt that the one remaining quality was Hope; I hope to try DSH’s Pandora out of the same kind of curiosity that caused Pandora to open that jar in the first place!
It sounds breath-taking! I have never tried this line, but with this review I might have to dip my toe
The description in this post was wonderful. I would love to try this fragrance. Please enter me in the draw…thanks for the chance.
Chypre. Just the word gives my heart a rush. These are my favorites, especially now that fall is approaching. I’d love to try this. Thanks for the draw.
Would love to be entered in the draw!
Would love to be entered in the draw! I’ve been craving vintage scents lately and this sounds incredible!
Thanks you for this generous drawer!
I’ve spent the last hour or so reading such wonderful reviews of Pandora, I’d just love to try it!
My thanks
HollyJae
PS – already subscribed to this fabulous blog!!
Thank you very much for the post and the draw!
I was subscribed to emails for a while, and today I finally figured out how to do RSS. I kept pressing on the link at the top of the page and it did not do anything for me. But I found the place where I can subscribe, so Perfume Pharmer is in my google reader now!
I loved the quote, the post, the illustrations and history of the Mousse de Saxe accord, I did not know anything about it, in fact I believe the only one I knew about before was the “aide”. Thanks! I will come back here and learn.
David, you had me at hello, but your poetry and turn of phrase are beyond belief! Thank you, so so much, for this guest spot at Perfume Pharmer and this delightful review of Pandora! I loved every minute of it! oxoxo
Sounds beautiful!!! I can only imagine what it smells like form your description. Would love to meet it in person!
Can’t wait to smell this!
David, great review! Great quote by the way.. Dawn congratulations on great reviews around the board on Pandora!
Rich chypre? It has my name all over it….
WHAT is keeping me from ordering samples from this amazing talent? Money. I keep reading about her scents and was just in New York at Min NY and she was the only small brand/niche perfumer that they mentioned. I’d love to try this fragrance!
“a rich chypre with a tweedy handsomeness”? sign me up. yesterday!
Thanks for the chance to win a sample of this lovely perfume!
Good luck, y’all!
Chypre is my all time favorite scent catagory. Please enter me.
I hope I’m not too late to be entered in the draw. I would love to try this
“I was about half in love with her by the time we sat down. That’s the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty… you fall half in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are.” ~ J. D. Salinger