A dream and memory fragrance of Spring grass, new mown hay, meadow flowers, and soil… wet with snowmelt. Horse barns and cow pastures roll along the countryside subtly adding their honey-like charm to the base note accord. Riding along the countryside with all of the windows rolled down in the early afternoon, on a sunny Spring day in Dutchess County is how the perfumer can breathe in a favorite smell of hers. In her psyche this scent is synonymous with a sense of blossoming and the Earth’s renewal. It is what dreams are made of for her.
Rural Dutchess County isn’t all that far north of New York City but it is filled with completely different imagery and smells. The City is full of gritty grease and gasoline smells, sweet and savory food smells, mixed with funky animal and human waste smells most of the time. The country is known for its funky aromas, too. Dutchess County in the Spring is filled with dewy new hay, green grasses beginning to sprout, and flowers bursting through moist earth. There are loads of horses and cows filling the air with their smells as well. Dutchess Meadows is all that is dreamy and beautiful, scent wise, from the perfumer's childhood memories… it’s atmospheric, humid, sweet, round, sun-warmed hay fields with meadow flowers (and some horse and cow barns near by). Very dreamy indeed.
Dutchess Meadows features top notes of bergamot, clary sage, clover leaf, French lavender, green clover blossoms, green grass, Tunisian neroli, violet leaf absolute; middle notes of hay absolute, rose petals, Bulgarian rose absolute, Grandiflorum jasmine, liatrix, labdanum and acacia honey absolute; and base notes of Australian sandalwood, Brazilian vetiver, castoreum, coumarin, green oakmoss, horse (animalic accord), leather and Oud Crassna. It is a voile de parfum.
DAWN SPENCER HURWITZ (DSH) DUTCHESS MEADOWS REVIEWS
DSH Perfumes: Dutchess Meadows is such an evocative fragrance! I don’t know how Dawn does it; she’s definitely queen of natural fragrances along with retro nouveau ones. I live beside a meadow and the hay note is realistic and prominent with just a touch of civet. The clover/honey notes steer it into perfume territory. Creative, wearable, natural.
DSH Perfumes: I tried Dutchess Meadows. This perfume changes and has many sides to it. I was transported. It is like you are walking through the meadows. I got the fresh dewy grass and hay, then the flowers, then the animals, and then it was like the wind was blowing the different scents around. Definitely a contemplative scent.
DSH Perfumes: I love hay and test any fragrance that features the note. This is a very realistic hay scent, but it’s complex and the other notes stand out, as well. I really do feel like I’m walking in a spring meadow with plenty of hay bales and barns nearby. It’s quite atmospheric but still wearable. There is a slight animalic quality to it, but it’s not overpowering. I would say it’s quite unisex.
DSH Perfumes: Picked this one as I was looking for an osmanthus perfume for my partner! When I first put it on, it’s a bitter green, like freshly cut stems. After a bit, the bitter elements mellow out a bit and it becomes lighter and creamier. Something VERY subtly smoky (perhaps tannic/tealike?) pops up but I don’t find the osmanthus itself to be very strong. It’s a fairly light green-golden scent overall. I think the main “tea” element that I’m getting is green tea, and it’s uplifting and pleasant and has a comforting warmth to it. I think it’s a good first foray into green/green adjacent scents, if you are as unfamiliar with them as I was. I notice a bit of that smokiness increases with wear, but not overwhelmingly so. It’s a dry scent, and fades after around 2 hours.
Cafleurebon: Dawn Spencer Hurwitz grew up in Dutchess County in upstate New York, and Dutchess Meadows is an homage to the bucolic charms of its farmlands in springtime. I smile to myself when she notes that the odors associated with cow and horse manure “aren’t for everyone” – because I’ve always enjoyed them immensely – but they aren’t the be-all and end-all of Dutchess Meadows’ attributes This choice heirloom elixir embraces the meadow in its entirety, and it is picture-perfect. Dawn gives us the honey provided by swarms of obliging bees; herb, grass, clover, violet leaf, and hay partnered with the coumarinic comeliness of liatrix (aka deertongue, it is simply wonderful in fougères and ambery perfumes). Lavender appears, then yields to rose, jasmine and neroli for an ebulliently floral initial fanfare. It’s exhilarating. THEN come the grazing pastures and barn/stable nuances – without which this scene would lack authenticity. Labdanum has a stronger presence here (I love labdanum with vetiver), and the inclusion of oud Crassna (an aged Cambodian oud which is renowned for its evocation of the barnyard) is a real coup. Castoreum has an animalic visage as well; there is a certain sweetness to it which is appealing; sandalwood soothes and smooths. Dutchess Meadows’ drydown is really lovely, hours into the scent: dulcetly leathery and slightly sweet. What commenced as brilliantly floral and animalic has become a pastoral lullaby.
