Scents of Smell: A Blind Scent Study Featuring D.S. & Durga
Photo Credit: Viola Chip
Photo Credit: Viola Chip
Like most things worth enjoying, there’s a level of interpretation to be had, which generates an experience unique to each person. The same reason why some may view Mona Lisa as serene and beautiful and others see mystery, is the reason why I decided to take matters into my own hand and conduct my very own blind scent study using D.S. & Durga's most recent fragrance, Crystal Pistil.
The avant-garde aroma purveyors define this new aromatic potion as a fragrance/enhancer. Similar to its celestial cousin, I Don’t Know What (minus the pheromone iso e super*) it can be worn on its own, or in combination with other transcending perfumes throughout their collection.
In some cases, you may even experience what the Germans call ‘sehnsucht,’ or the longing for something you cannot explain.
I purchased a sample set featuring their perfumes: Crystal Pistil, Rose Atlantic, White Peacock Lily, and Durga. As you would imagine, D.S. & Durga crafts their scents with alchemical precision, which means complex ingredients, some of whose origin is unknown to many. They define the structure of these perfumes as top notes, heart notes and base notes, and list these for each of their fragrances on their site. This is where the blind part of this study comes in. Having never seen the scent structure for any of these perfumes beforehand, I decided I would use my investigative nose to guess the top note, heart note and base note, and compare my findings with the real thing.
Photo Credit: Viola Chip
Photo Credit: Viola Chip
Before we begin, it’s important to note the ethereal experience you have with D.S. & Durga’s scents that I call a nosegasm. To contextualize, a nosegasm goes beyond ordinary pleasant smells like fresh sheets or clean soap. We’re talking a full-blown, other-worldly, outer-body experience that begins in the nose, rushes straight to your brain and shoots out to your fingertips and toes. In some cases, you may even experience what the Germans call ‘sehnsucht,’ or the longing for something you cannot explain. So for each perfume, I took the creative license to include an illusive description of what I would call the visual accompaniment to my olfactory narcosis.
Keep in mind, I’m no pro here, but I must say my nose has been around the block a few times.
Scent 1: Crystal Pistil
Nosegasm: Nighttime garden. A dark blue sky with lush, greenery. Leather sandals and clay brick. Humid tropical air.
My notes:
Top: grapefruit
Heart: black pepper
Base: fresh cotton, aloe
D.S. & Durga:
Top: orange flower, water, dew on petals, pink pepper
Heart: crystal flower parts, paradisone, jasmine water
Base: civettone, white musks, ambrette seeds
Scent 2: Rose Atlantic
Nosegasm: A third glass of white wine and lived-in denim. Frothy waves at dusk.
My notes:
Top: peach, bergamont
Heart: honey
Base: ocean mist
D.S. & Durga:
Top: bergamot, petals, lemon oil
Heart: linden, rose accord, dune grass
Base: muscone, salt water, white moss
Scent 3: White Peacock Lily
Nosegasm: Delicate silk and pearls. A refined woman, unused to hardship.
My notes:
Top: rose petals
Heart: champagne
Base: ozone, baby powder
D.S. & Durga:
Top: oleander, cabreuva rouge, grapefruit pith
Heart: white lily cream, egyptian jasmine, alabaster violet
Base: ambrette seed, vanilla, fog
Scent 4: Durga
Nosegasm: Summertime drive after rain. Conditioned leather from a 1989 Mercedes 500SL.
My notes:
Top: juniper, kaffir lime
Heart: fennel, sandalwood
Base: vanilla
D.S. & Durga:
Top: green tuberose, melon, chrysanthemum
Heart: ylang ylang, orris butter, orange blossom
Base: tuberose absolute, sambac jasmine, fine musc