Description
Inspired by one client’s devotion to the fabled Iris Gris de Fath perfume, Dawn Spencer Hurwitz created the Scent of Hope, an iris soliflore fragrance at its most voluptuous and luxurious with decadent peach in the top and the kiss of animalics in the drydown.
Scent of Hope was launched in 2014. The fragrance features aldehydes, ambrette (musk mallow), bergamot, carnation, civet, jasmine, oakmoss, lemon, lily-of-the-valley, musk, sandalwood, orris, peach, vetiver, violet, violet leaf and virginia cedar.
Scent of Hope is only available in extract/parfum concentration, in 5 ml and 15 ml antique presentation bottles. 30% of sales from Scent of Hope will be donated to Denver-based charity Sense of Security, an organization dedicated to helping those coping with breast cancer afford their treatment and living expenses.
kakis – :
DSH Scent of Hope opens with an intense peach note. This peach is no longer the juicy, luscious fruit fresh from the branch, but carefully dried under the sun, having absorbed the warm energy of sunlight. Its sweet-tart flavour and even the discreet bitterness close to the core feel concentrated yet sublimely balanced. This dried fruit sensation is further underscored by the dusty, slightly spicy even anise-y violet, reminiscent of the violet note in Caron Aimez-Moi.
The orris does not manifest itself in a distinctive way on my skin. But after about 40 minutes, when the dusty spicy violet starts to soften, the plush, velvety texture of orris renders the previous dried peach more pulpy again. Underneath the peach flesh, there is also occasionally a papery, even slightly starchy touch, which might be a combined effect of orris and ambrette.
Scent of Hope then maintains this palpable, suede-like peach skin scent during the rest of its development. I can’t really discern any other ingredients such as the civet or the moss in it. They help to complete this lavish peach-orris-violet accord rather than distracting from it. The sillage is mostly moderate and it usually stays about 10 hours on my skin.
As I’ve never smelt vintage Iris Gris or the Osmothèque reconstruction, I can’t provide any comparison. When compared to the recently released L’Iris de Fath, the orris in Scent of Hope seems to be more quiet, mostly supporting the radiant peach rather than performing a pas de deux. And it has a stronger presence of a deliciously dusty and anise-y violet in the opening, while its dry down is more homogenous, lacking the multilayers of carnation and green moss in L’Iris de Fath.
Regardless of comparisons which depends mostly on one’s preferences, Scent of Hope is definitely beautiful and charismatic. Smelling it really makes me feel sunny, happy and optimistic, thanks to its lush, bright, harmonious blend of peach and orris. Me being a fan of Caron Aimez Moi, that dusty spicy violet in the opening is also a welcoming touch for me. I would definitely recommend giving it a try if you’re interested in exploring the magic pairing of peach and orris.
krotov_83 – :
A very interesting blend! with that peach and orris blend mixed with some airy notes. I always tend to love peaches as it gives some happy vibes somehow as in here it smells quite fresh and darkened with orris and some airy notes, and i really wonder if it’s going to result in some animalic as it shows in the notes!
This is more watery airy fresh peaches and orris. Quite summery and happy.
pernwaype – :
I’ve never smelled Iris Gris, but have always been curious about it. When the development of this scent was announced, I pretty much stalked Dawn and the DSH staff as I waited (not so patiently) for it to become available. (For the record, they were all gracious and lovely about it.)
Scent of Hope is gorgeous. It opens with an intense ambrette and peach aldehyde that lasts for quite awhile on my skin. As it dries down, what I sense most is a cold and almost metalic-rooty orris, a slightly old school animalic musk and oakmoss. The peach and ambrette are never really gone, just blended in with the other notes.
There is a retro-ness, an almost visceral dustiness to the composition. It does not smell like many perfumes on the market today and I can’t really think of a perfume this resembles. It is far from unpleasant, but I’m not sure many non-parfumistas will appreciate the bready, papery aspects of the scent dried down.
It is beautiful, but would I recommend it to others? Only if they love iris and vintage fragrances.
Vova513 – :
Scent of Hope is DSH’s attempt to recreate the famous Iris Gris (1947) by Jacques Fath.
I consider myself very, very lucky to own 2 tiny bottles of original Iris Gris by Fath, both of which have a small amount remaining, and which are in very good condition. The smell of original Iris Gris is very distinctive, an accord of iris & cool, sweet, jammy fruit.
When I applied some of DSH’s new Scent of Hope, I immediately recognized that characteristic accord of the original. However, it was undergirded (or even “marred”) by a very pronounced, dusty Aldehyde C-14 (aka “peach aldehyde”) note that was not nearly so prominent in the original. This same dusty peach-aldehyde accord can also be found in the other modern attempt to recapture the original perfume, Iris Gris by Legendary Fragrances. Both modern attempts are dominated by the dusty-smelling Aldehyde C-14 whereas the original Iris Gris maintained it’s initial sweet, bright fruity character for a long duration.
It seems to have unfortunately become indoctrinated gospel among perfumers that “original Iris Gris was based on orris & C-14 Aldehyde,” to the extent that they let that dusty ingredient (which does not really smell anything like peach) dominate their recreations of the fragrance. This is, I believe, a misstep – because those modern recreations with that accord are not what Iris Gris smelled like. I can only guess that the Osmotheque recreation is also very heavy-handed with the “peach aldehyde” – maybe that’s where these two commercial recreations are getting the idea from. But that is simply *not* what the original version smelled like.
To summarize, in my opinion DSH’s Scent of Hope does manage to capture a very similar smell to original Iris Gris in its topnotes, but those familiar bright, sweet notes quickly dry down to a dusty C-14 Aldehyde & orris accord, whereas the original maintained it’s bright sweet character for a long duration. I also hypothesize that the Osmotheque’s recreation of Iris Gris may also have this dusty “peach aldehyde” thing going on, which is unfortunately influencing other modern recreations, but I’ve never smelled the Osmotheque’s version so can’t be sure. But it seems like perfumers have a really hard time capturing what old Iris Gris smelled like, I’m guessing there were certain proprietary bases and ingredients that are not available anymore, so modern day perfumers have to substitute as best they can.