Fragrance house

Dasein

Dasein Fragrance was founded by Sam Rader after a 2012 trip to Big Sur, which inspired her to recreate the region’s salt air, lilacs, sagebrush, woodsmoke, and wet pavement in scent. A psychologist in private practice in Los Angeles and a self-taught perfumer, Rader began blending natural and synthetic materials at home without formal training. The name Dasein comes from Heideggerian existential philosophy and reflects ideas of human being, place, time, authenticity, and meaningful contact with the sensual world. The house arrived publicly in 2013 with Winter, the first in a planned unisex collection organized around the seasons. Its fragrance identity treats perfume as ungendered and balances different olfactory families. Winter became the basis for related scents including Winter Nights and Winter Green. Dasein closed in 2020 when Rader turned her attention to psychology and a book project. After longtime customer Jenna Lyles proposed a second chapter, she took full responsibility for the brand and restarted shipping in January 2022. Today, Dasein presents small-batch unisex blends made with essential oils, absolutes, CO2 extractions, aroma molecules, and isolates.