Dasein Winter Nights Review: A Festive Stunner

Winter Nights surprised me. I tried the house of Dasein before with their Winter Green offering, and I was simply appalled. It smelled of toothpaste to me, with an annoyingly sweet undertone. I was dismayed, as I normally love Josh Meyer’s work, even though it was a collab with Sam Rader, who signed all of Dasein’s fragrances. Sadly though, all of those Daseins are discontinued outside of Winter and Winter Nights. I’d really love to see more autumn themed scents.

A good friend of mine, Joel Berg, told me I should try Winter Nights. I cast it off, recalling my experience with Winter Green and shuddering. You see, Joel and I speak daily. We both love weird stuff and small indie houses. He’s well aware of my obsession with conifers, so he urged me to try it. I still wasn’t convinced. So, he took it upon himself to send me a decant.

Well, that decant eventually influenced me to get a bottle. The enchantment of a cold winter night was fully captured. The soft tendrils of smoke rising from a cracking fire, a melody of snapping within those ambery flames, singing the rural song of our ancestors in the most primal of ways. A simple symphony that reminds us to be humble. We need nature to survive, but nature doesn’t need us, at least not as much as we think.

Summoned from the depths of a Thomas Kinkade painting, Winter Nights paints a snowy mountainside town preparing for winter festivities. The cool, serene lavender harkens the crispness of frigid air gustng from nearby icy peaks. The soft stillness of a sleepy town, dug into their cozy abodes, while smoke billows from their chimneys.

The contrast of cardamon tea reassures this picture, almost painting an ambery trail of cozy spice combined with woodsmoke. It’s not precisely amber, but it does make you recall memories of ambery delights that warm the soul on the most freezing of days.

I tried for a long time to figure out what conifer was used here. Even with my experience within that realm, I couldn’t crack the code. I ultimately surmised that it wasn’t meant to smell like any particular conifer as a whole, but possibly a mix. It has the dry woody camphor of pine needle with a bit of sappy resin from a fir. It will probably remind people mostly of a Christmas tree, but not in a cheap way that is akin to a holiday candle. It simply exists as a forest nestled amongst the pristine freshly-frosted landscape.

As I sit here in spring with my air conditioner on due to days reaching the 80s, I am reminded of those cozy nights of winter, and Winter Nights makes me long for them. People may say I am crazy, but I love the cold. I am addicted to being chilly on the outside and getting warm under clothing or a blanket. I am originally from New England, so who can blame me? It’s in my blood.

Joel was right. Winter Nights was certainly worth trying, and I adore the scent. I am addicted to it. It may not be the most vivid conifer scent in my collection, but the execution is sublime. It’s a joyous memory painted amongst the stars of a cool solstice evening, and it’s an emotion that cannot be accurately painted in words, but it must be felt.

Winter Nights was discontinued before. Dasein shut down operations for a while, but luckily they rose like a phoenix from the ashes. I need a backup bottle as this scent was one of my most worn scents last autumn and winter. It just fits me, and that is a great feeling when you understand a perfume and it understands you in return. Bravo, Dasein. You redeemed yourself with this one. Now, I need to try the normal Winter offering to see what it’s about. I shall procure a bottle soon.