Axis Mundi

DSH/Parfums des Beaux Arts is (nostrils down) my absolute favorite Indie Niche fragrance house out there. The creativity and vision of Dawn Spencer Hurwitz comes through in each and every scent in her prolific and massive body of work. Each one I have sniffed or worn thus far has been an inspiration realized or scented memory captured that wafts most heavenly from her Boulder, CO atelier. It is not only for the sheer numbers of fantastic releases alone that I adore this perfumer; but also for the consistently delivered level of product quality, rendered without sacrificing artistic purity. On the company's website there is a page (and usually a blog entry link to Dawn's own thoughts, inspirations and feelings) for each perfume and each one lists complete notes (with sources whenever possible) and tags to links describing and defining the raw material and its odor profile. Reading the perfumer's words and feelings while sniffing her jux and allowing you to explore or learn more about any particular facet of the fragrance makes the nosy note-lister in me very content!! *FROM DSH WEBSITE* {As the title states, the "Axis Mundi" is the cosmic center of the world; the link between Heaven and Earth. Perfume, or Per Fumum (through smoke), just might be the manifestation of the concept...a double helix of prayers released from Earth’s sacred (material) offering taken through the air to the divine, celestial realm. The ritual censer is lit filled with the most beautiful and costly incense carrying our greatest wishes, hope, and prayers to the heavens. The smoke rises and releases the sweet and lightly charred aroma. It is the Axis Mundi...} COMPLETE DSH NOTES (alphabetically, not structurally): Amber, Amyris (torchwood), Bakul attar, centifolia rose absolute, champaca leaf CO2, Choya Ral, civet, elemi, fossilized amber resin, incense, incense notes, olibanum, frankincense CO2, Himalayan cedar, orris, oud/agarwood, Siam benzoin, Arabian myrrh gum My own perfumed lexicon was enhanced by simply clicking on the unfamiliar "tagged" notes; like -Bakul attar [a lovely and exotic Ayurvedic co-distilled flower essence with sandalwood, resulting is a rich floral-animalic (leather tones) with buttery-woody nuances] -Choya Ral [a traditional Indian Choya of Himalayan cedarwood and the resin of the Sal tree, resulting in an ambery, warm smoky resin aroma with delightful leather-incense undertones] and -champaca LEAF CO2 distillation [a leafy aromatic with an apple-kissed floral, mildly herbaceous character]. These descriptions strike a spark in the mind's eye and reading the info provided fans the fragrant flames of knowledge. It is when you finally don the parfum (mine was via a superb mini-bottle sample with a metal rollerball) that the tendrils of sacred smokes begins to billow and I felt as if my aura was fragrantly fortified with a golden dwoemer of perfumed protection as I was awash in incense smoke, bubbling resins and charred wood. It is through our constant contact with the divine that we progress and grow-this scent focuses the mind meditatively while making me remember it was first though sweet scented offering on an altar that the gods were beseeched. Now, wafting this incredibly simple but ultimately magickal philtre containing the highest quality regal resins, divine spice and holy woods that I am reminded it is US who are the bridge between the worldly and animal that spans the chasm to reach and aspire to the heavens, to capture the intangible in art while feeding the our own spirits along with those around us. In this, Dawn has triumphed!! Axis Mundi climbs from a primordial animalic musk to a heavenly fresh centifolia rose on a superbly woven rope ladder of incenses. A veritable "Who's Who?" of resin, smoke and smolder: amber, choya, elemi, frankincense, benzoin tears and true myrrh coalesce into something profoundly more than the sum of its (rare precious and costly) parts. A censer lined with cedar chips, torchwood twigs and oud shavings inflame and singe the resins deepening its smokiness but grounding it in warm woodiness as attar, orris and champaca leaf provide silken threads, both pearly and verdant, to complete the composition and prevent it from becoming some stuffy old church incense and this is light years beyond the "head shop" incense vibe. You won't just SMELL LIKE incense when you sport Axis Mundi...you will BE the incense. Smudged by the sacred yet anchored in the profane, this is as familiar and comforting as it is inspiring and captivating. This wore close to the skin for most of its extremely impressive duration (detectable the morning after, even sleeping in!) and is simply wonderful. Sillage: soft to close Longevity: very good Overall: 4.25/5 The most impressive thing, for me anyway, is not how totally awesome this smells (and I am an insane incense fan); more so the fact I am anointing myself with actual ARABIAN myrrh oil, imported sustainable oud wood, cedar from the highest mountains in the world all alembicated into something containing ancient Ayurvedic blends and mystical aromatics; that alone make it worth infinitely more than the price of admission. Om Mane Padme Hum...

"Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight: the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice." Psalm 141:2 The term axis mundi derives from the Latin words "axis" and "mundi" or world, together meaning "pivot point, or line, connecting the earth and the sky/heavens." All sacred places constitute world centers with the altar or place of prayer as the axis. Altars, incense sticks, candles and torches form the axis by sending a column of smoke, and prayer, toward heaven. The architecture of sacred places often reflects this role. (From newworldencyclopedia.) What are the axis mundis of earth? Judaism has Mount Sinai and Mount Zion, Christianity has the Mount of Olives and Calvary, Islam has the Temple Mount (Dome of the Rock) and Mecca. The places of the most important prayers the faithful can make. Ziggurats, cathedrals, mosques, pyramids and stupas among many other physical religious structures all aimed to reach closer to heaven. The belief that by incense or smoke prayers were lifted up is universal. Fundamentally I believe that is what DSH Perfumes was attempting to do here. To universally call to that ancestral knowledge we all keep inside ourselves, the familiarity and foreign nature of frankincense, myrrh, oud, cedarwood... and so on. These scents have been with us since the beginning of our quest for pleasant smelling things. And here they are honored like sacrifices. Does it achieve what it seeks to achieve? I'm not sure. I think the first hour of the fragrance is heavy but almost aimless. Very animalistic. Which may be quite appropriate for the aims of the fragrance. It really does feel like a sacrifice. Then it transforms into the most beautiful amber fragrance... very similar in my opinion to "O Hira" by Stéphane Humbert Lucas 777. It's a beautiful amber. It's here that I believe 'heaven and earth meet'. It's not an incense fragrance, in my opinion, although all the notes come from incense. It's an amber. A beautiful resinous amber. I really love it, and the longer I wear it (I've already use up half my sample unfortunately) the more I love it. If only, IF ONLY I could find something like this with improved sillage. It's my only real complaint about Axis Mundi (and about O Hira). It sits barely an inch from the skin and hardly wavers. I want to really feel the smoke rising to heaven, not have to bury my nose in it. But... it is beautiful and it's charms outweigh my need to be drenched in a bomb of a fragrance. Solid 8/10 again for DSH. I think they're shaping up to be my new favorite house.

This is really nice. Exotic and interesting, but pleasant. I wish my house smelled like this. I am not familiar with amyris so I assume that's what makes this smell unique to me. I'd compare it with Balmain Ambre Gris and say this is overall higher quality and more pleasant. It doesn't smell very similar to Tauer 02, but gives the same sort of exotic connotation.

I couldn't possibly agree more!^^^