Hello and welcome! Please understand that this website is not affiliated with Guerlain in any way, it is only a reference site for collectors and those who have enjoyed the classic fragrances of days gone by. All trademarks belong to their respective owners. The main objective of this website is to chronicle the 200+ year old history of the Guerlain fragrances and showcase the bottles and advertising used throughout the years. Let this site be your source for information on antique and vintage Guerlain perfumes. Another goal of this website is to show the present owners of the Guerlain company how much we miss many of the discontinued classics and hopefully, if they see that there is enough interest and demand, they will bring back these fragrances! I invite you to leave a comment below (for example: of why you liked the fragrance, describe the scent, time period or age you wore it, who gave it to you or on what occasion, what it smelled like to you, how it made you feel, any specific memories, what it reminded you of, maybe a relative wore it, or you remembered seeing the bottle on their vanity table), who knows, perhaps someone from the current Guerlain brand might see it. If you have any questions, please send all images of your bottle and pertinent information directly to me at cleopatrasboudoir@gmail.com. I will try to assist you the best I can.

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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Dawamesk by Guerlain c1942

Dawamesk by Guerlain: originally named Kriss and created in 1942 by Jacques Guerlain. Renamed Dawamesk in 1945.

"Dawamesk" is a pastry-like green paste or baked good, a form of 'cannabis jam', mixing hashish with oil, butter, orange juice, cinnamon, cloves, sugar, ginger, rose essence, pine kernels, nutmeg, cardamom, vanilla, pistachio, almonds and musk; plus sometimes Cantharides (Spanish fly).

The pastry, reportedly an aphrodisiac, is consumed in India and Arabic speaking countries and was already known in the ancient Near East.

 

Fragrance Composition:


What does it smell like? It is classified as an oriental fougere fragrance for women.
  • Top notes: lavender, bergamot, orange blossom, violet
  • Middle notes: jasmine, rose, ylang ylang, lily of the valley, sage, cinnamon, leather and animalic notes
  • Base notes: tonka bean, oakmoss and musk

I have had the pleasure of obtaining two different vintage samples of the Dawamesk parfum. My first sample had degraded quite a bit but the second sample, which I received several years later was absolutely perfect. The first sniff is a rich, sweet floral, a blast of heliotrope with all its cherry pie goodness, mixed with opulent orange blossom, lily of the valley, and rose. A trace of bergamot makes an appearance, though it likes to play hide and seek. Jasmine, ylang ylang and violet also provide a sweetness that is a quite beautiful marriage punctuated by the hot spices of cloves and cinnamon. Herbal lavender and sage add a unique facet to the powdery drydown of tonka bean and oakmoss. Lasting notes of leather and musk round out the composition.

The overall impression is very sweet, powdery and slightly animalic. I love sweet floral perfumes and this one made my heart skip a beat. The parfum lasted a very long time on the back of my hand, even after having washed my hands several times within an 8 hour period, the perfume was still present. In short, I feel this was a masterpiece of perfumery genius. Guerlain, please bring this one back!

Bottles:

Presented in an 8oz ‘Quadrilobe bottle (parfum) and the Noed Papilon bottle, both made by Cristalleries de Baccarat. Also sold in the Amphore flacon (parfum) and the Goutte flacon (eau de toilette).


photo by ebay seller pkolesnikov57



"Dawamesk" - (1942) Imposing bottle solid colorless crystal Baccarat molded pressed, rectangular cube, its rectangular protruding belly in three sections sidewalls carnette neck, quatrefoil his cap, with its gold and white label titled, numbered. Top:. 14 cm






Fate of the Fragrance:

Discontinued, date unknown. May have been renamed after WWII and relaunched. Still being sold in 1955.



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