Become the Shaman

I've been meaning to review Become The Shaman because I think a lot of people who would normally gravitate to this scent have missed it, largely due to the online descriptions for it. Fragrantica's notes on the top of this page don't begin to cover it and the description on the DSH website is just too zen meditation /cosmic guru/ Native American sweat lodge for most people. "Trying to find your true balance, cleanse from negative energies;" oh pleeze. It puts people off. Forget all that. It's mystical all right. There is no pretending to hide that. It's the smell of really dry wood incense, smoky but not choking smoky. Sagebrush/smudge sticks tied together yes, but I don't smell tobacco here, or pot or hemp or anything like that. It's sage and incense, temple incense, Tibetan incense more than anything. Dawn says she's developed a milkweed accord, and I can't be the only person who has no idea what milkweed smells like. Talisman is used in DSH's text, and amulet, and that's sort of what it could be for people who really like it. Become The Shaman is for quiet times by yourself, night or a dark rainy day. You're reading or writing or just looking at art or even out the window (well, maybe not at night), and you're wearing this fabulous quieting scent which soothes your spirit in a way that all the loud, sweet tobacco and whiskey drenched fragrances hitting the market right now could never hope to do.

THIS IS IT! This is the very first scent that I smelled from DSH and it immediately cemented my opinion that Dawn is a genius. Anyone who has played with, been protected by and/or explored the beautiful Palo Santo tree knows that the the scents dervied from the distilling of the essential oil and the burning of the wood are two entirely different universes. Both beautiful and magical in their own right, but you'd be hard pressed to connect the two if you didn't know they came from the same tree. Previously if you wanted to smell burning Palo Santo, you would, well... have to actually burn Palo Santo. This isn't always practical to walk around with a burning stick lol. Become The Shaman is the most photo realistic experience of burning Palo Santo wood I have ever smelled. It is perfection. Its "incensy", but in a very uniquely Palo Santo way. It's not going to be something that you're rocking on a hot summer day (but who knows). Its defintely a fall/winter vibe. If you know what I speak of in terms of the uniqueness of burning Palo Santo, get a sample and get some of this on your skin stat! You're going to love it. I couldn't add it to my cart fast enough after sampling.

DSH Perfumes Become the Shaman is a palo santo scent with copal resin, tobacco, and sappy milkweed. I’m not familiar with sappy milkweed, myself, but I certainly get the incense mix of palo santo and copal in glorious fashion, a very strong celebration of the two notes, with just a hint of the bitterness of tobacco in the background. It’s very rich and feels very dense, with enough vague sweetness in the mix (I believe tonka and vanilla are tagged) to keep it from being too sharp or bitter. It feels sincerely devoted to the incense but nuanced enough to be appreciated by niche fans. Become the Shaman is an easy recommendation for incense fans, specifically, but also for fans of resinous and/or smoky fragrances in general. Pricing is in the standard range, $165/90 for 60/30ml VDP, and given its strength, it’s an even higher-value than most of the line, I’d say. I’m very impressed by the strength of the juice, which feels fitting for the type of notes and mix. It’s nice to wear under cooler circumstances but I imagine it could be overwhelming in the heart. 8 out of 10

This was an instant love, going straight to the top of my want list. I don't generally like smoky/incense in perfumes. I like the smell of actual wood smoke, campfires, BBQs, stuff like that in real life, but I don't usually want to smell like smoke myself. This is totally wearable though. It's smoky without smelling like you've been at a campfire all evening. And it's a little woodsy without smelling like a pine forest (another smell I like in real life but not in perfumes). I'm not familiar with palo santo or copal as notes, so for me this smells like nothing I've tried before. It's a very gentle, warm, evocative smell. A little smoky, a little woodsy, also maybe creamy and a little fruity, like dried dates or raisins.

A delightful, dry scent that is a pleasure to sniff. The palo santo is DRY AS! The tobacco, which isn't as moist, pairs well with vanilla/tonka to give a bit of a Sova vibe -- in fact, that's what this is. Sova with palo santo. I like this, I like this A LOT, but for the wrong reasons..!!! I have 10 mls of the VdP, which will probably last me long enough, I feel, it's not something I would reach for, I feel, even though I am quite partial to it. Big fan!