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Dasein Winter Nights ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 22 December 2016 12 Comments

Safe in the woods

I began writing this review on Winter Solstice, the Northern Hemisphere's shortest day and longest night of 2016. What better occasion to review a fragrance called Winter Nights? This unisex scent from indie house Dasein includes notes of "coastal forest, driftwood bonfire, cardamom tea, lavender flowers and wild musk" and was developed as a collaboration between Dasein perfumer Sam Rader and Josh Meyer of Imaginary Authors.  

Dasein is based in Los Angeles, and its fragrances are all inspired by the seasons of the California landscape. However, you don't need to live on the West Coast to enjoy Winter Nights. This is the first Dasein release I've tried, and I appreciate its direct approach: just enough information, a focused theme and a fragrance that delivers what it promises. It's certainly unisex, perhaps skewing more masculine than feminine, and it does evoke the experience of a walk in a wintry forest with a bonfire in the distance. We're surrounded by pines and other trees, many of them sticky with drips of resin, and the frozen earth is crunching under our feet; the chilly evening air wafts woodsmoke towards us.

Wintry Nights is intensely aromatic, and initially it's almost too "photographic" and faithful to nature for me to enjoy as a perfume; it reminds me more of a high-end candle or home fragrance that I'd happily spritz around my living room throughout the Christmas season. (If you've ever wished you could wear your Diptyque Feu de Bois candle, for example, you may want to seek out Winter Nights.) Gradually, however, it mellows somewhat. The charred notes of the "bonfire" settle down, and the rest of the fragrance evolves into a resin-wood fragrance with hints of cedar and lavender.

Winter Nights has impressive longevity: when I applied it for evening wear, I was still able to smell a far dry down of pine-tree notes after a quick shower the next morning. I also liked smelling its traces on my coat cuffs later and feeling as though I'd actually been at some holiday bonfire gathering. Although Winter Nights never quite becomes part of me, it's an evocative scent-experience. I'll have fun wearing the rest of my sample when I'm home on these dark nights, drinking a cup of tea and reading a mystery novel. It will bring a little of the great outdoors into my East Coast urban nest.

Dasein Winter Nights

Dasein Winter Nights is available as 50 ml Eau de Parfum ($95). It has been produced in a limited run of 400 bottles for the 2016 holiday season. It appears to be sold out already at the Dasein website, but you may be able to snag a bottle through one of Dasein's stockists (as of this writing, it is in stock at OtherWild).

Note: top image is Safe in the woods [cropped] by leokennis at flickr; some rights reserved.

Possibly of interest

Imaginary Authors How To Say Bicycle In French ~ new fragrance
Imaginary Authors A Little Secret ~ new fragrance
Imaginary Authors Dipped in Chocolate ~ new fragrance

Filed Under: perfume talk
Tagged With: dasein

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12 Comments

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  1. cazaubon says:
    22 December 2016 at 2:28 pm

    Hmm, I have their other scent just called Winter, and it’s clear, so this seems to be a variation/flanker. Sounds nice but perhaps too late to sample.

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    • Jessica says:
      22 December 2016 at 2:47 pm

      Yes! This is a limited edition variant, just for Holiday 2016, apparently. Only 400 bottles were produced, and it seems to be selling briskly. You can also still find it at the site for a design shop called Nora, here: http://noramodern.com/products/winter-nights-unisex-fragrance

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  2. jjlook says:
    22 December 2016 at 3:42 pm

    I got an unexpected sample of this in my Twisted Lily order, and it is perfectly atmospheric. I might make it into lampe berger fuel, as I want to smell it, but I’m not certain I want to smell of it.

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    • Jessica says:
      22 December 2016 at 5:00 pm

      “Atmospheric” is the right word for it! I also think I prefer it in the air around me, rather than actually on my body…but then again, I’m more of a floral-wearer, so that’s to be expected!

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  3. Kanuka says:
    22 December 2016 at 7:09 pm

    Happy Christmas Jessica and have a wonderfully scented 2017. I have really loved reading your reviews. Thanks so much.

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    • Jessica says:
      22 December 2016 at 10:41 pm

      Thank you so much, Kanuka!! Have a lovely holiday season.

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  4. Petunia says:
    22 December 2016 at 7:40 pm

    I tested a sample of Winter Nights and passed it along to another NSTR. It was nice but as you said, it is more atmospheric than something I want to wear. Spot on review Jessica!

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    • Jessica says:
      22 December 2016 at 8:42 pm

      I love “NSTR.” It looks sort of like a boy-band acronym! 🙂

      Thanks!

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  5. nozknoz says:
    22 December 2016 at 11:57 pm

    Sounds tempting – thanks for all your reviews, Jessica!

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    • Jessica says:
      23 December 2016 at 3:51 pm

      Thank YOU for always being part of the conversation, nozknoz! 🙂

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  6. pixel says:
    23 December 2016 at 12:00 pm

    I own a FB of Dasein Winter – love it – and was looking forward to trying Winter Nights. Sadly didn’t love that one, there’s a too-sweet note in the ‘bonfire’ accord. I’m thinking I may try making my own version by layering Winter with Demeter Fireplace…

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    • Jessica says:
      23 December 2016 at 3:51 pm

      I need to try Winter! and Spring actually sounds pretty enticing to me, too…

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