Habibi

The first time I tried a sample of this, I loved it. But once I got the roller bottle I couldn't tell what was going on. It seemed it hardly had a scent. I then tried it at different times of the year to different results. I tried wearing this in spring and it only smelled of alcohol. When I tried it mid-summer it was great, but only if I was outside in the heat. The second I went indoors into an air conditioned space it went back to being a weird honeyed alcohol. Would love to know if it was just a bad batch or if this is typical of this particular scent.

Somehow I managed to find this one incredibly indolic. I'm admittedly not the biggest jasmine fan nor the most experienced with oud, but I wonder if these two were just not playing nicely together on me. For the first twenty minutes at least this is stinky, stinky stuff. Jasmine city. Eventually it smells similar to DSH Fleurs d'Oranger, which I like a lot (very naturalistic orange blossom with honey and a pleasant dash of cumin). I went in with the expectation of this being a dirtier, more adventurous version of that perfume, and yes it definitely is, though I'm afraid it's just not to my liking. This is pretty rugged but in a natural way rather than a perfume-y way. Definitely one of Dawn's more challenging ones that I've tried so far.

at first this is a honey/oud with touches of bitter jasmine and saffron. later i get more orange blossom but i think honey and oud are the strongest notes on me. it's dry woody and bitter then softens and rounds out more with the orange blossom later on.

I am a huge fan of DSH and I can see how her perfume and her art influence each other. Her perfumes are so nuanced, and each one captures a portrait of a certain feeling in time or space. Habibi means "my love" in arabic, and as a bellydancer, I was very excited to try it, although with a little hesitation because I do not usually like oud in my perfumes as they tend to overwhelm the composition. I've been fortunate to travel to Morocco, and found myself in the souk searching for a doumbek. It was a fresh, sunny day and I could smell the orange trees in bloom and the spices in the market. I chose a very traditional ceramic doumbek with a tanned leather hide. This fragrance captures this moment so perfectly, it's as though it was created for me. My skin amplifies the oud a touch more than I would like, but I freshen it up with a layering of DSH Orange Blossom and this is perfection. I will also admit it took several wearings to grow on me, but now I wear this when I dance, and I just love it.

Bitter greenish honey.. This is like a bitter plant seeds with a touch of honey as i can smell a fresh cut jasmines more than honey as voted here! I get a touch of dates as well with slight orange blossoms. Saffron! maybe! but that's kind of mature one and not fresh. I don't see any middle eastern touch in this blend as Dawn is seeing or trying to deliver but i do see that leather accord she is mentioning but that's after the drydown & it's a very bitter kind of leather. It's a nice fragrance but i can't deny that i didn't like when i first sprayed it on!