• About
  • Login to comment
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
  • Perfume Reviews
  • New Perfumes
  • Perfumers
  • Perfume Houses
  • Shop for perfume
  • Resources

D.S. & Durga Pomelo Blossom ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 22 July 2010 23 Comments

Pomelo

Citrus-floral fragrances are made for hot weather; the best of them smell light and airy, brisk and cooling (all the sensations I want from a scent on a sultry day). I like summer fragrances to smell “clean” but also possess a hint of sexiness — a “bare” quality. The fat and heavy pomelo (Citrus maxima), which you may have encountered in Southeast Asian cooking (think: mild, sweet grapefruit), is an excellent inspiration for such a summer perfume.

Pomelo Blossom is part of D.S. & Durga's spring-summer 2010 (limited edition) fragrance collection for Anthropologie, and it contains notes of pomelo blossom, grapefruit peel and white musk. Pomelo Blossom goes on sharp and juicy (smelling like fresh oranges, a mix of cool peel and juice). In mid-development, floral notes become apparent; these floral notes remind me of slightly indolic jasmine and pungent, “wild” orange blossom.

My favorite part of Pomelo Blossom is the oily grapefruit rind note; the peel, along with the floral accord, provides the “sexiness” I like in a summer fragrance. For those who hate ‘grapefruit’ in perfume, who find it harsh and outright “urinous,” you may have a problem with its use in Pomelo Blossom. On my skin, the grapefruit note does NOT smell like cat pee, but it is a tad “sweaty” (in the freshest possible way).

D.S. & Durga Pomelo Blossom

As Pomelo Blossom dries down, all the notes (citrus juice and peel, floral) merge with a sheer, soft and slightly sweet musk note. Pomelo Blossom is more complex and substantial than an Eau de Cologne-type citrus fragrance; it has very good lasting power and sillage — without being “heavy.” My only complaint? Like so many niche scents these days, it’s a limited edition offering. If you love it, you’ll have to stock up!

Though it's marketed as a "feminine" fragrance, Pomelo Blossom could easily be worn by a man — at least the type of man who enjoys citrus blossom scents.

D.S. & Durga Pomelo Blossom Eau de Parfum is $58 for 50 ml and is available at select Anthropologie stores and on the Anthropologie website.

Note: top image of Citrus maxima by Berthe Hoola van Nooten from Fleurs, Fruits et Feuillages Choisis de l'Ile de Java [cropped] via Wikimedia Commons.

Possibly of interest

Serge Lutens Des Clous pour une Pelure ~ fragrance review
Atelier Des Ors Riviera Lazuli & Pomelo Riviera ~ fragrance reviews
Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Sharkskin ~ fragrance review

Filed Under: perfume talk
Tagged With: citrus, ds and durga, limited edition

Advertisement


23 Comments

Leave a comment, or read more about commenting at Now Smell This. Here's our privacy policy, and a handy emoticon chart.

  1. jirish says:
    22 July 2010 at 3:31 pm

    I’ll have to make an effort to check this out. I have no problems with grapefruit notes and love the scent of fresh sweat. Did you try any of the other limited-edition scents there? I remember one had a marigold note, and I love marigold.

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      22 July 2010 at 6:17 pm

      jirish: Petigrain Sur Fleur was very nice too.

      Log in to Reply
  2. Tamara says:
    22 July 2010 at 3:47 pm

    YUM.

    I like grapefruit,
    it’s not my absolute favorite or anything but I enjoy it.
    I do love musky florals.
    What I’m really diggin’ though is the bottle.
    Looks like ‘old world’ aftershave. Is that a tree on it?

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      22 July 2010 at 6:19 pm

      Tamara: I believe that’s a clump of marigolds on the bottle.

      Log in to Reply
  3. RusticDove says:
    22 July 2010 at 4:06 pm

    I’m really glad you reviewed this Kevin. I haven’t tried any of the DS&D fragrances yet and this would be a great place to start I think. We have been having the hottest summer I can remember and I NEED a perfume like this one! Nice price too.

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      22 July 2010 at 6:20 pm

      Rustic Dove: this is a VERY nice summer fragrance…it’s cool here again…the coolest summer in Seattle EVER.

      Log in to Reply
  4. Joe says:
    22 July 2010 at 4:23 pm

    Sounds delicious, Kevin, as long as I get none of the dreaded “cat pee” note. I looked for D.S. & Durga at my local Anthropologie over a month ago and they weren’t carrying any of the line yet, which irritated me (apparently the Santa Barbara store isn’t “select” enough? hrrmph). Maybe I’ll try again.

    Speaking of interesting citruses, I’ve finally gotten a decant of Orange Star since you reviewed it and I LOVE it; it is in no way too heavy for me. I do love a citrus floral.

    Log in to Reply
    • odonata9 says:
      22 July 2010 at 5:21 pm

      Keep checking! Our Anthropologie here in San Diego just got the D.S. & Durga line, within the last few weeks. Sniffed quickly as I was in a hurry and none were that exciting to me. Will have to try this one again.

      Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      22 July 2010 at 6:21 pm

      Joe: so strange…these being limited editions you’d think Anthropologie would be selling them in every store.

      Log in to Reply
  5. AnnS says:
    22 July 2010 at 5:22 pm

    Sounds really interesting – thanks for the review! I don’t normaly have troubles with citrus/grapefruit, etc. so perhaps this will be a lot of fun.

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      22 July 2010 at 6:22 pm

      Anns: it’s rare for a grapefruit note to go “bad” on me, but when they do it can be awful.

      Log in to Reply
  6. tsetse says:
    22 July 2010 at 6:03 pm

    Ooh — forgot about these DS & Durga summer limited editions. I’ll have to check out all three, but this sounds lovely to me based on your review, Kevin. I’m a big grapefruit fan, too. It always seems to work for me without veering into cat pee territory.

    I have DS & Durga East MidEast and think it’s such a great quality fragrance, especially for the price. I’ve really been hoping they’d come up with another winner, and this sounds promising!

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      22 July 2010 at 6:23 pm

      tsetse: I really enjoy this one and the Petigrain…also, DS & Durga will be adding to their own line this fall with new fragrances.

      Log in to Reply
  7. Daisy says:
    22 July 2010 at 7:28 pm

    Oh, you ARE an evil man…yes indeed.
    you make me want this despite the fact that grapefruit almost invariably does either a urinous or sweaty thing on me…or even the dreaded urinous AND sweaty combo-pack, which is alarming from any (and every) angle. It does come in a nice bottle though—that nice deep, luxuriant gold color to the fragrance and etched (?) marigold plant on the front….I must say they’ve done a nice job on that….oh, but for the presence of grapefruits….. (for the full effect, place back of hand across forehead whilst reading the last line)

    Log in to Reply
  8. Kevin says:
    22 July 2010 at 8:07 pm

    Daisy: don’t know what to say! HA! I’d tell you to go search it out, but it may be sold out by then! So, move on, my child…move on..I’ll have others to tempt you with next week….

    Log in to Reply
  9. Haunani says:
    22 July 2010 at 8:46 pm

    Thanks, Kevin! I love the pomelo photo, and the fragrance sounds well worth trying. That Petitgrain Sur Fleur sounds really appealing, too!

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      23 July 2010 at 6:04 pm

      Haunani: I know…I love those old botanical prints! (as you’ve probably guessed)

      Log in to Reply
  10. Absolute Scentualist says:
    23 July 2010 at 1:20 pm

    I had to take a peek at DS &Durga’s offerings over at Anthropologie and all of them look lovely in their own way. But I do love a good grapefruit frag and usually don’t have trouble pulling it off (I can wear the divisive Guerlain Pamplelune fairly well) so this is especially tempting. I love neroli and amber, too, so the rest of the line looks great as well. But I’ve recently fallen for Field Notes from Paris so think that will satisfy the ongoing neroli jones for the time being. :) Thanks for the review, Kevin.

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      23 July 2010 at 6:05 pm

      AbScent: Field Notes is on my HUGE ‘to buy’ list as well.

      Log in to Reply
  11. irishprincess says:
    23 July 2010 at 11:32 pm

    I love this one, D.S. and Durga seem to know exactly the right ways to use grapefruit, I love the original ‘grapefruit’ from their own line. And the new bottles are even better in person!

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      24 July 2010 at 12:33 pm

      Irish: I didn’t even know about the “original” grapefruit.

      Log in to Reply
      • irishprincess says:
        30 July 2010 at 9:18 am

        It’s from the Feminine II collection, I actually like it better than Pomelo Blossom. Would be happy to make you a sample from my bottle if you would like.

        Log in to Reply
        • Kevin says:
          30 July 2010 at 9:43 pm

          IrishPrincess: that’s very kind of you…thanks…but this being NST someone already sent me a tiny vial! HA! (haven’t had the time to try it yet though….)

          Log in to Reply

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Advertisement


Luckyscent

Search

Browse by…

Topic

Perfume talk New fragrances
Shopping Books :: News
Body products Home fragrance
Polls Another subject

Date

December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
Prior months

Author

Robin Jessica
Angela Kevin
Erin Guest Author

Tag

Celebrity perfumes
Cheap thrills
Collector bottles
Perfumista tip series
Video
The complete tag index

From NST at Twitter

  • "Jo Loves adopts refillable technology for Fragrance Paintbrush" (cosmeticsbusiness) https://t.co/sn2tZ1cguT,
  • @robini71 And my favorite honeysuckle is also limited edition -- Goutal Le Chevrefeuille. They do bring it back eve… https://t.co/MFGwHJK0Ji,
  • "Juliette Has a Gun Gets Minority Backing" (wwd via aol) https://t.co/7EdL3TyXKO,
  • @MrsCollins1787 Good, hope you love it!,
  • "Rare and infamously stinky 'corpse flower' to bloom in Dunedin, crowds expected" (tvnz) https://t.co/t9VVZKXNrK,

Recent reviews

Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus
Moschino Toy Boy
Arquiste Misfit
Diptyque Eau Capitale
Zoologist Bee
Parfum d’Empire Immortelle Corse
Comme des Garcons Series 10 Clash
Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir
L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Chant de Camargue
Yves Saint Laurent Grain de Poudre
Régime des Fleurs Chloë Sevigny Little Flower
Chanel 1957
Gallivant Los Angeles
Amouage Portrayal Woman

Blogroll

Bois de Jasmin
Grain de Musc
Perfume Posse
The Non-Blonde
More blogs...

Perfumista lists

100 fragrances every perfumista should try
And 25 more fragrances every perfumista should smell
50 masculine fragrances every perfumista should try
26 vintage fragrances every perfumista should try
25 rose fragrances every perfumista should try
11 Cheap Perfumes Beauty Outsiders Love

Favorite posts

The Great Perfume Reduction Plan
Why I Love Old School Chypres
New to perfume and want to learn more?
How to make fragrance last through the day
Fragrance concentrations: sorting it all out
On reformulations, or why your favorite perfume doesn’t smell like it used to
How to get fragrance samples
Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

Upcoming

List of upcoming Friday projects

TBA April ~ freebiemeet

Back to Top

Home
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy

Shop for Perfume Online
Perfume Shopping in New York
Perfume Shopping in London
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Links
Perfume Books
Fragrance Awards

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z

Copyright © 2005-2021 Now Smell This. All rights reserved.