Let's talk about D.S. & Durga
They make some memorable and very wearable scents.
If you’re a fan of perfume and reading this Substack I am going to guess you have heard of D.S. & Durga, a fragrance house based out of Brooklyn, NY that was founded by husband-and-wife team David (D.S.) and Kavi (Durga) in 2007. I started noticing their fragrances in high-end indie curated shops in San Francisco like Reliquary about 10 years ago. They felt fancy and cool. They make likable and approachable scents with a strong point of view. They’re also good at marketing and as someone who spent most of my career in marketing and comms, I’m a sucker for a good ad campaign.
I really like D.S. & Durga even if I am still angry at them for discontinuing White Peacock Lily. I fell in love with this scent years ago and bought a new bottle as soon as my supply would get low. The photo above is what remains, I think it’s my 3rd or 4th bottle. I reserve this for very special occasions or when I need a mood lifter. I can tell you the notes, but honestly, this perfume smells like the color purple to me. Not berry at all that is not how I describe purple — it’s something so much more complex. A little electric, with soft white floral undertones (I love me a white floral), and warm base notes full of amber and vanilla. I love how it smells on my skin and my clothes and I was a little heartbroken when I found out they stopped making it — why D.S. & Durga!? Surely I wasn’t the only person who was obsessed with this scent.
Like a lot of other houses, D.S. & Durga seems to be getting big into the gourmands right now, you’ve probably seen their ads for Pistachio. They also have a newer Peanut scent, which I haven’t smelled.
Speaking of food scents I am interested in smelling their pasta water candle.
My boyfriend and I visited one of D.S. & Durga’s brick-and-mortar locations in NY last Fall and it was fun to smell some of their new scents. He fell for their Tuberose Myrrhder and has one of these hanging in his closet. We both fell for Big Sur After the Rain and I got him this pricey but worth it soap for xmas. Perfume or good-smelling things make the best gift in my opinion, it feels like a splurge to spend on yourself. Another nod to D.S. & Durga’s marketing — we both were given a sample of this hand soap and the lavender lotion when we made a purchase which led to more purchases once we got hooked. Samples can be like drugs and I highly encourage brands to give them out more.
Drunk shopping is always a good idea
Yesterday I dragged Danny and Jen to a perfume store I like in San Francisco after a birthday brunch for Donna and a few drinks. Danny broke something but he also bought something so it evened out. We were maybe a little obnoxious but it’s a big store and it was a Saturday and Jen bought something too so I don’t feel too bad.
We spent a lot of time in the D.S. & Durga section. Josh swung by to say hello and was wearing Notorious Oud which smelled of leather and diesel and reminded me of men working on cars in their garage in the summer, it has a deep dirty-in-a-good-way smell that feels rugged and tough.
Jen and Danny both ended up getting Debaser, Jen in the roller above and Danny went for a full bottle. It has a nice bright green scent I like but it feels too sharp to me. I could smell the fig but not the coconut milk. I think this would be an interesting one to blend with other scents.
We talked about the name and I said “Isn’t that a Pixies song?” and then we looked it up and sure enough that’s where the name came from and that made me like this scent more. It’s definitely what I love about perfume and fragrance houses — that they can create a scent for a time or place or sound and here it is and you have to believe them and I wonder if the next time I hear that song it will sound different to me because of this. Some lines from their site about Debaser:
The wild shrill of Black Francis coming through the radio in the August heat. Ripe fig, iris, coconut milk, tonka and dry blond woods. At 9 I went to camp on an island. Cool older punk kids showed me the Misfits and the Pixies.
That summer was ruled by Doolittle. The provocative lyrics. The cackle of Frank Black. I absorbed it in the summer heat. August humidity. Young romance.
Our Debaser scent is hot, humid, sexy.
D.S. & Durga recommendations
I like that they’re branching out into skin and room products too and from what I have smelled they’re all really good. Here are some recommendations if you want to try something from them:
Big Sur After the Rain candle, not just for CA lovers.
Concrete After Lightning candle, I regret not buying this tbh.
Tuberose Myrrhder auto fragrance, also great in a closet or small space.
Rose Atlantic perfume, Jen put this on and kept coming back to it after we left the perfume store, she maybe regretted not getting this one too.
White Peacock Lily if you can get your hands on it, it does look like some places are still selling it.
I Don’t Know What, this is a fragrance enhancer that people love and that you can wear alone too.
Do you own anything by D.S. & Durga? Do you have thoughts about this brand? Spill it. I want to hear.
I have Steamed Rainbow and love it. It smells like peeling an orange by a sprinkler on a fresh cut lawn. Its sultry August days and simultaneously one of my favorite rainy day scents.
I have coriander by DS & Durga, which is a designated July perfume. I love it, but I also sort of wish I had my OG July perfume, Phylosokos by Diptyque. THAT one smells like the color green to me. Now I am desperate to smell White Peacock Lily because I want to smell purple**!! Philoskos is the only color-scent synesthesia I've ever had.