Chilehead

My bottle of Mandarin, Neroli & Cedar arrived yesterday evening (haven't tried it yet) and, along with my purchase, enclosed was a thoughtful handful of Dame Perfumery samples. Included this time was a generous sample vile of Chilehead. It has only been on my skin for less than 5-minutes, but I love, love, love this one. My immediate impression is this is Dame's most complex fragrance to date: spicy, aromatic, resinous, mossy, a pinch of that Dame DNA (think Dark Horse) and a whisper of animalic elements which gives it character, but is certainly not overwhelming. Lots and lots of stuff happening during the opening, but the three notes that I most detect are: chili, ylang-ylang and galbanum...but the blend is really more about spicy, aromatic, woody and balsamic tones and is changing quickly in the time it has been on my skin. On the negative side, this may be a bit too complex for some folks, and some of the well-behaved mossy and anamalic elements may remind some of those old-school chypres and fougeres which may not be their thing. I'll update this immediate impression after I've had a couple more wearings. Although unisex, this fragrances just strikes me as having a more masculine leaning edge, which is fine with me since I'm a dude. Uipdate: Chilehead projected about average on my skin; it pushed out for about an hour or so, and then transitioned to more of a personal scent. However, I could skill smell it on my skin when I wore up this morning 16-hours later. Although faint, I picked-up on that chili pepper and galbanum vibe...very nice! This one continued to grow on me so I pulled the trigger on a full bottle now that it's available or sale - arrived yesterday and I'm a chilihead. I just wanted to add that this one performs much better from the bottle than it did from my sample for whatever reason. The scent has more depth in that the smokiness and spicy/chile are more pronounced and has better lasting power.

This is one of the Holy Grail fragrances that I've been searching for. Scottsdale, Arizona-based Dame Perfumery has managed to accurately capture the scent of the desert, bottling something that instantly makes me think of home whenever I spritz it on. Don't ask me what's in it - it's complex and well-blended. Obviously, the spicy scent of chile peppers is first and foremost, and it so perfectly makes me think of walking past the adobe buildings of Old Mesilla, New Mexico, with chile ristras (strings of dried chile peppers) and wreaths hanging by every doorway. The herbal aspects of the fragrance bring me to the foot of the nearby Franklin Mountains, where I swear I can smell the creosote bushes that create "the smell of rain" (creosote isn't listed as a note in Chilehead, but something in this combination of notes has a similar effect). There's a sandy dustiness to this that makes me think of walking through the Chihuahuan Desert in the scorching 100-degree heat, or sitting next to a fire pit in the desert right after sundown. And underneath it all, there's a hint of something fresh and floral, bringing together the wild and mysterious beauty of the desert. I can't thank Jeffrey Dame enough for creating a fragrance that so perfectly captures the beauty of my desert home.

The oil and edp play quite differently on the skin. I love both. Both versions are very long lasting. The oil leans heavier on the animatic and cumin notes. With the edp I get much more of the herbs, lime and chili. I almost get a sense of tomato leaf. The lavender is also more pronounced on my skin in the edp. Totally unisex. Really I love both but find the edp works beautifully in all weather and find different facets play out in different temperatures as well as on clean or sweaty skin. For this reason I will definitely purchase a full bottle of the edp and possibly buy the oil for cooler seasons.

To be tried again. I would say to me it smells better than Dame Perfumery Monsoon EDP, has more of a herbaceous rosemary & wet bushes smell. 4.5/5 for realisticness, 2/5 for wearability

This review is for the perfume oil. Agreed this is a complex and interesting fragrance, and I will need some time getting to know it. People who enjoy aromatic herbal fragrances should get a kick out of this. The longevity I get is impressive, just turning into a skin scent at 12 hours or so. The sillage is modest though, but definite. For me first there is a nice refreshing lime with ylang ylang, and a galbanum greenness that brings to mind cutting into a fresh chile pepper, but not harsh or biting. Then a dollop of fresh lemony musk, and a bunch of aromatic herbs. I smell thyme and a hint of mint, and a stronger herbal woodiness that's a little mossy as well. There is a hint of birch tar that lends a smokiness that makes me think of a roasted chile pepper, with bits of blackened skin. The animalics are quietly in the background, minimal if any barnyard factor, and for me they are most noticeable through the middle phase as a comfortable furriness. At the end it seems I'm getting mainly vetiver and patchouli, maybe sandalwood, with the touch of birch tar. I can see this as being well suited for wearing in hot weather. Quite interesting, and fun.