D.S. & Durga is a new Brooklyn-based indie perfume line that debuted last year:
D.S. & Durga began humbly in December of 2007 when they decided to make holiday gifts for their friends. D.S., a musician, & Durga, an architect, first experimented with tinctures of flowers, herbs, & seeds to make aftershaves & toners. When they realized that none of their friends shaved, they decided to begin blending oils, resins, & plant extracts. The results were small batch handmade colognes & perfumes. Their friends loved the results, so they decided to make it official. Within months they were selling to boutiques in New York & California.
D.S. & D make everything by hand. They have been known to distill some of their own oils, but also procure the best perfume ingredients from around the world. They are inspired by the lore of herbs & flowers and their importance in the fields of medicine, beauty & gastronomy.
The "Originals" collection for women includes:
Siberian Snow ~ "A new take on a classic. Sweet herbs support this rare, narcotic floral which dries out to a woody, powdery base."
My Indian Childhood ~ "Culled from memories of India through the eyes of a young ex-pat. A harmonious blend of tropical flowers - osmanthus & kewda."
Cowgirl Grass ~ "Our earthy men's fragrance reblended with damask rose & luscious creamy tuberose. Great for robbing cowboys of their will."
Silent Grove ~ "Clean, fresh, crisp with green, dew-on-grass tones. Notes of cedar, white tea, and linden."
Rosa Americana ~ "A welcome addition to the queen of flowers, focusing on the winey sweet air above the rose, the green stems & thorns. Simple, fresh & attracting".
The "Originals" collection for men includes:
Cowboy Grass ~ "A scent of wild grasses & flowering herbs. Earthy and slightly smoky. Pure Haitian vetiver, white thyme, and prairie sage brush evoke the wild American west. Perfect for robbing banks on horseback."
Bear Trapper ~ "Modified from a 16th century Russian alchemist's potion used to attract bears. A blend of cedarwood, tarragon, and Japanese yuzu complemented by leather notes and mandarin peel. Ours attracts other beasts."
Barbados ~ "For men who work hard to relax. Based on a classic bay rhum. A vacation of warm spices - bay, nutmeg, and lime - softened by premium Mysore sandalwood & linden blossoms."
Marblehead Reds ~ "Old men in coastal New England town like Marblehead, MA sport red pants and smell of chypre - the classic marriage of oakmoss & bergamot. This version gets an extra lift from orange blossoms."
$ ~ "For the modern man. A classy blend of tuberose, musk, leather, and tonka. All things money. When you dress money, you should smell money. "
Burning Barbershop ~ "A fire broke out in the Curling Bros. barbershop in Westlake, NY in 1891. All the shaving tonics with their spearmint, lime, and vanilla and lavender burned. A charred bottle was found half-full. It smelled like this. "
In addition, a "Solos" collection includes Grapefruit, Coriander and Cedar for women; Vetyver, Juniper and Orris Root for men.
All fragrances can be purchased directly from the D.S. & Durga website.
Update: see reviews for Cowboy Grass, Marblehead Reds, Barbados, $, Vetyver & Juniper.
OK, this made me laugh. None of their friends shave?
thats exactly what I thought- a bunch of hairy folk!
One word: Williamsburg.
Thank you, so I figured. At any rate, it's happier for all of us — I've no interest in shaving products either.
So funny, that's exactly the part that stood out for me too! I'm imagining a pack of wolfmen roaming Williamsburg…
Based on my subway ride today that's actually pretty accurate.
“All things money. When you dress money, you should smell money. ” I defnitely am going to try that one. It could double as a magic potion, I bet.
Drat, another website to bookmark. I swear, when I start working again (soon, please, God) all my paychecks are going to go toward catching up!
I was also a bit taken aback by the no-shaving bit. I guess in SF beards are not that popular.
Wolfmen with really tight pants and Chucks who could use to eat a cookie or two. I doubt many of them smell very good.
Their website is really well done and a lot of these fragrance names & descriptions have a real sense of fun about them. I laughed about “Beartrapper.” $ sounds kind of silly but the scent itself seems really interesting to me. I'm writing to them to ask if they have any kind of sample program, since I'd love to sniff some of these.
Warren Devon's song, “Werewolf of London” comes to mind….”…I saw a werewolf on Bay Street…his hair was perfect…I'd like to meet his tailor…”….this line of products sounds great! Looking forward to checking out ehir site, and seeing if they have samples!
Yep…I need that one too!
They do sound nice. I've got samples but as always am behind…hope to try them soon.
Let us know, wouldja?
They're not popular here either. But then, neither is cologne.
The website made me kind of woozy – all that zooming back and forth made me slightly motion sick. It is an attractive site though.
I did notice under the “stores” link that they're available in Austin, so I might have to check it out when I'm there next month – presuming that samples aren't available for order, at least I could test a few on skin or maybe beg for some samples at the store.
I don't like pages that move horizontally either, but they seem to be getting very popular.
Nice that you can find them locally!
They told me they'll send two samples for the cost of shipping and any additional @ $3 each. Email them for details.
Thanks for doing the research!
Not bad!
And they didn't notice all those beards until *after* they made aftershave as gifts?!?
Hey, thanks for pointing that out, Cynthia. Things *never* seem to show up in Austin, but that store is one of the newfangled straight-from-southern-CA boutiques that have popped up downtown amongst all the $$$$$ condominiums. Ah well. At least its not a mall.
Have to go check it out!
I was kind of surprised to see it in Austin as well – I had thought that the Galleria in Houston or somewhere in Dallas would be more likely, if it was available in Texas at all. Now I just have to make time to check out the boutique when I'm in town.
You guys are really tough on the beard issue
FYI, just ordered a batch of samples this morning. Maybe at some point I'll let y'all know how they are.
I really am intrigued by $ — tuberose, leather and musk for men sounds like it could be great. I immersed myself in “Cèdre” this past weekend and realized how much I love a dark, oily tuberose.
Hope they'll be fun to try! Always nice to find another indie line.
Yeah, except “another indie line” just means “another way to say goodbye to cash.”
I have the cowgirl grass and I love it. It’s perfect for a man or a woman. A little pricey for my taste but worth every cent!