I like living with old things. I love my small collection of vintage dresses and jewelry, and when I buy new clothing and adornments, I gravitate towards vintage-inspired styles. My husband and I buy used books rather than new ones whenever we can. Most of the furniture in our home is older than we are. I spend my workdays thinking and talking about art history, with an emphasis on the "history" part. Many of my perfumes, not surprisingly, also tend towards the "retro."
Indie line Dawn Spencer Hurwitz recently launched Rendezvous, a fragrance that's a throwback to the animalic perfumes of the mid-twentieth century, and naturally I was curious. The composition of Rendezvous includes notes of musk, civet, ambergris, castoreum, oakmoss, ambrette co2, labdanum, hyracium tincture (also known as African Stone), jasmine, orange flower, gardenia, white pepper and aldehydes. The result, according to Hurwitz, is "a lush, provocative, and thoroughly sexy perfume for both men and women."
Rendezvous makes me feel like I should be wearing a fur coat and riding in the back seat of an old-fashioned Checker cab, on my way to meet some sharply attired gentleman for a drink in some shadowy cocktail bar. It's heavy on smooth civet (synthetic!), a crushed, boozy jasmine, some plush resins and an earthy-woody ambergris note. Rendezvous has a bit of swagger and a hint of "skank," and it's definitely androgynous, despite the florals in its heart. I'd never be able to wear it on a steamy summer day, but in this late-winter weather it feels bold yet not overwhelming. (Granted, I'm wearing a single spritz!)
I like Rendezvous a lot, and I think my vintage-loving Now Smell This colleague Angela would appreciate it (maybe even love it!), too. If you're a fan of flea-market perfume finds but you could do without their frequent old-age mustiness, you should give Rendezvous a spin.
Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Rendezvous is available in a variety of sizes and formats. For more information, see the Dawn Spencer Hurwitz website.
I love retro, and I love fragrances with a bit of skank in them.
This is on my MUST try list..if it doesn’t wear on the the masculine side?
Nope! I really don’t enjoy wearing anything that skews into masculine territory — that’s just not “me.” I just expected this one to be more BIG WHITE FLORAL, whereas it’s really smooth and warm resins/animalics/woods with some flowers just worn like a “boutonniere.”
Sounds aptly named. And would love to be meeting a well-dressed gentleman in a retro bar. The sharply attired are sadly absent from my suburban world (not that I can cast aspersions, in my yogawear).
Would love to give this a try, but am taking a sampling breather, after I test the Dame Perfumery vials that just arrived.
I’m picturing some film from the 1930s-1940s – you know, one of the “Thin Man” pictures or some film noir!
A great review Jessica, I’m really intrigued by this line, if only the perfumes were available in the UK, I think shipping is probably prohibitive, but I would love to explore them at some point.
Oh, I’m sorry about that — I do hope you find a way to test some someday. I’ve been a DSH fan for a long time. She has an amazing variety, and she does really thoughtful work.
I hope that it’s ok to reply to this post directly
We are starting to formulate a ‘non-alcohol’ version of almost all of our designs to be able to comply with postal regulations and still ship overseas. So, to that end we offer ‘voile de parfum’, which is the same formulation in terms of scent and concentration as EdP, but is in a fine-sprayable oil base that has a super high flashpoint. Sampling is no problem…
This sounds gorgeous! I like other things too. There is an energy that only comes from old furniture, books, etc etc, that has been in the world for a long time. Thanks for the review! It is my fondest wish that someday I’ll get to go back to Boulder, have tea in the Dushanbe Tea House and spend the rest of the day sniffing out at DSH! I have a few, but I am sure there are more I’d love. Her artistic vision is always so strong.
One of my friends recently visited Denver, and she was planning a side-trip to Boulder, so I recommended the DSH studio to her. She took my suggestion and she went and had a wonderful time! I was a little envious, but happy for her. She came back with 2 bottles.
I agree about the energy of older things.
Ever since I was a kid I’ve collected old books and coins (among random other things). I would always imagine who had held that coin throughout it’s life.
Haven’t bought any samples for DSH in a while. This one might tip me over the edge. Sounds right up my alley!
I love the fact that she offers samples and wee little bottles as well as full-size bottles!
Dawn did another take on a vintage perfume, that I know of, called Mirabella. I tested it right after I fell down the rabbit hole. I was too inexperienced at the time to fully appreciate it. Now I wish That I had bought it. I could be wrong, but I think. It was a dupe for Femme. I’ll have add Rendezvous to my list as well. I wish she would do a perfume dupe for vinty Jolie Madame. Thank you for a great review Jessica!
I spent an afternoon at her shop with my husband who isn’t really interested in perfumes, but by the time we left, he had fallen down the Rabbit Hole! My absolute favorite fragrances by her are Passport a Paris (smells like vintage Jicky), Peace (limited edition-very animalic- the dry down reminds me of a vintage Coty fragrance my mother used to wear) and Pandora (a fragrance that’s very lush with some fruit- smells vintage to me). For those who love modern fragrances, try Metropolis, it’s terrific in the heat wearing a linen white shirt and khaki shorts, my friend wore this outfit with the fragrance and it was stunning.
Thank you for this lovely review! You perfectly get the vibe and feel of Rendezvous (yes, The Thin Man! I love those movies!). I don’t really love fur coats but I like the idea of their luxuriousness… this is my fur coat of sorts. Many thanks indeed <3 oxox