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.

So, I’ve received one of Jeff’s generous free 4th of July give-away sample and I must say that I LOVE it. This scent is certainly something different, at least for me, and since I have nothing to compare it to, it’s my #1 in this new section of fragrances. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. My thoughts were all over the place, from a burning sensation derived from the name (hey, there are lip balms that “tingle”) to the strange idea to smell like the spicy food I like. On me, Chilihead starts out with a blast of chili and lime, transitions through a for my nose strange “kitchen prep phase (lots of chopping stuff for a yummy stew), and ends up in a lot of my favorite components, like Myrrh, Sandalwood, and Vetiver. Throughout the long-lasting aroma (I applied it for work on day and it was still going strong after 10 hours) the chili were omnipresent in a very yummy but not overpowering way. Thank you, Jeffrey, for opening up my fragrance horizon to new areas. I think I will be more adventurous now in areas that I thought would not please my nose. I stand corrected!

I tried this in oil form and found it *really* light. I got black pepper and wood at the opening for about 10 minutes. After that. . . I can't even begin to describe all the different facets, yet they all were enjoyable and never "weird." In fact, at one sniff on my arm, I got a very carnal sexy wiff. I had to smell my armpit to make sure it wasn't me, despite never smelling that way myself. I'm not kidding! It smelled like what a lover smells like after they are all sweaty, but you don't care because you absolutely love them and they never smell bad to you. Is that what Cumin is suppose to do? I've smelled Cumin in fragrances before and I was *not* a fan. It was really quite off-putting. Don't hesitate, buy a sample. I'm being incredibly picky about buying full bottles, so I'm going to sample this again but in a larger all-over dose. It might be so unique, yet not challenging at all that I can't *not* buy it. Also, I can't think of a season where this wouldn't work. Summer? Yep. Winter? Beautiful. Day? Just stop! It's always good!

I got it as a sample (spray) from an order from Dame perfume. It's a spicy-herbal concoction. Not as strong as the notes would suggest. I can detect some spiciness (chili or black pepper, not sure), celery, a bit of cumin, some acidity from the citrus and geranium. Absolutely beautiful. The other ingredients are just blended together. The dry down smells more woody though. It smells quite natural and reminds me my mom's garden. Full of green vegetables and aromatic herbs. Geraniums in front of the house. I'm sure this is wonderful under the scorching summer sun. It's not heavy and people around you are more likely to think you're just out of a garden than wearing a perfume :) A very nice surprise. If you like aromatic-greenish perfumes give it a try. It's way cheaper than French designers perfumes that produce aromatic scents (Sisley, Hermès) and the quality is rather similar IMO. It's unisex but I'd prefer to smell that on a man to be honest. That would be fantastic on a man.

I got a sample from the Fragrantica giveaway today. From the notes listed, I was really curious to test this out. My main impression is: fresh garden/herbs + Yatagan. I can smell the mint, thyme, and celery, which are very green and fresh and remind me of the herb section at a garden store. I can also smell the castoreum, wormwood, and galbanum, and I am pretty sure those 3 together remind me of Yatagan. I would say, similar to how I feel about Yatagan, this is definitely unique and also perfectly wearable. It is not as intimidating as you might think from the notes listed. It is definitely worth a sample, I don't think I would call it a 100% safe blind buy though. If you are a fan of Yatagan or just looking for something different, you should enjoy this. Thank you to Jeffrey Dame and company for the sample, I definitely enjoyed it. Thane

Just received a small oil sample of this with my order..must say deff. different then anything I've smelled so it has that going for it..but just isn't my cup of tea..this is deff. a green very herbal fresh spicy type scent, the perfect scent for a lover of all things nature. It smells like a day at the farmer's market & I get a bit of a hippy dippy vibe..not bad lol but my fav. still remains the New Musk..after 3 bottles of the EDC I sprung to try the EDT & happy I did. :)

Chilehead opens with fresh, piercing lime, followed by a realistic hot chile note. it settles into a very pleasant but hard-to-place dusty sage-green chord — a bit woody, a bit animalic, very consonant with the “Sonoran desert” theme of Dame’s perfume collection. it also reminds me of the drydowns of vintage Bernard Chant compositions, like the desert-earthy vibe of the gloriously weird 70s gem Halston.

Chilehead is a fresh vegetal and herbal composition. Interesting celery note juxtaposed to the lime and chili. I'd like to smell this on a man who works outdoors. For another celery fragrance, try also Escentric 01.

in the top this is a little bit of lime and bergamot with dry not spicy chili, not like pepper that makes you sneeze, lots of mint, little bit of celery, some cumin, galbanum, marjoram,then comes in lots of vetiver, lots of oakmoss; really liked the top but got more and more herbal and bitter in the drydown and became less unisex and more masculine

Admittedly, I have not spent as much time with this as I normally spend with testers, but I already kinda get the gist of it. As a desert lover, hobby chili grower, and savory green fragrance enjoyer, I wanted to love this so much (the bottle is soooo pretty too), but I think the overall sum of the experience is boring. First off, there's hardly any chili to be found here. It's there but It gets drowned out. I thought the plethora of notes were there to emulate the complexity of a chili plant due to how present chili is in the marketing, but that's not the case. The whole things smells like a generic herbaceous spa scent. You can definitely detect the individual notes (especially the celery and the cumin and the musks) but if you're not searching they all blend together into something way lesser then it's parts. It also lacks any heat. Secondly, there is nothing reminiscent of the desert in this fragrance. When I think of the smells I associate with being in low north american deserts, soapy spa does not come to mind. The marketing here was misleading. All the notes led to a too many cooks situation. It's very upfront and strong for how boring it smells and other perfumes do what this wants to do a lot better.

Beerk, 🤢, I found it physically revolting. It reminds me of a terrible smell memory from an Osco Drugstore circa 1987. I bought several from this house and I strongly disliked all of them. I gave multiple bottles away. Something in the formulas, which I believe is the musk note for the house doesn’t agree with me at all.

With a note list and a name like Chilehead, I was expecting something much more challenging and confrontational... What a wonderful surprise Chilehead turned out to be! People are always looking for "spa" type scents and this is unquestionably one of them. It's very natural and meditative, green, earthy, and calming/soothing, but with intelligence! Intelligence in the sense that it's very pleasurable and doesn't make you work to enjoy it, but at the same time it's very original and doesn't smell like a basic eau de cologne that can be found anywhere. Chilehead is brisk, aromatic and tonic in its opening with a combination of astringent fresh green notes that smells almost coniferous and like lemongrass in turns, followed by transparent, demure, non-sweet florals. It reminds me of doing an oil painting en plein air. I don't feel that it reads as explicitly masculine in its personality. It definitely smells too natural to give me cologne-guy vibes. Seeing that there was civet and other animalics listed, I was anticipating the emergence of the base notes with some trepidation after such a clean, refreshing and innocent development, but when Chilehead dries down its base notes read as clean earth, ferns, mosses, and frankincense, a hint of something cozy, woody, and soft, and a lingering trace of citrus. It's all so well calibrated and there's no funk or raunchiness to be found. I'm blown away by the way which all of these potentially divisive components come together into a pristine natural landscape. I feel cleansed by this fragrance and deeply peaceful, like I'm hundreds of miles away from traffic, pollution, and the din of the city. Thinking of all the Muglers and other aggressive attention seekers in my wardrobe by comparison feels like being smack in the middle of the glaring sights and sounds of Times Square. I suppose there's a time and a place for everything, but don't let the name and crazy note list fool you; Chilehead is an understated priceless spa of a fragrance that WAY more people should be wearing.

Instant love. I didn't have to think. Or rather, I completely lost my ability to think. The most prominent notes for me are (in order of appearance): first juicy lime, mint, thyme, and crisp celery. then: neroli, geranium, ylang-ylang - a lush, almost tropical heart. then: very green and medicinal again with oakmoss, patchouli, sweet resins, sharp tar, and a pleasant gritty funk. much going on - but it all meshes well together into something surprisingly simple and quiet and clean. I want to drink this on ice all summer long. Bonus: your sinuses will never feel clearer.

Now, this really made me sad. Absolutely amazing, complicated, unique in the most gorgeous way fragrance, filled with spices in the best possible way, and unfortunately stays so very much masculine on my skin. This would have turned out to be possibly my signature for the years ahead if it was just a bit more leaning towards the femininity. Never mind, hubs is the luckiest here to wear it. I really want to cry, though. I might write to the creator to see what he can do for me:-)

Definitely not my usual choice in perfume but it's an unexpected love. This took me back to being 7 or 8 being at a local park/ preserve and having a festival in the summertime. Thare is cool grass, sunshine and shade, watermelons, lime Jello and people eating chili dogs... I just won my first coloring contest! People are happy and carefree. This is a shady, summery feel good scent, at least for me who has memories of this specific event. It was unexpectedly nostalgic.

First impressions: Opening, friggin incredible! Drydown, incredible!! I know I have to get more in depth, but the scent overall rocks. Sillage for me is much better than moderate. Sprayer is substandard for an $85 fragrance. One of the best spring scents of all time. Beware this fragrance may be harsh to the casual user. This is a very advanced fragrance IMO. Dame Perfumery offers samples.