DS & Durga’s latest perfume, Big Sur Eucalyptus, is evocative of co-founder David Moltz’s unexpected trip into a eucalyptus grove in Big Sur
- Who should use it? This is a scent for “anyone who needs a little mystical reminder throughout the day”
- How long until I love it? I’d say immediately
- How planet/people friendly is it? Very. Ingredients are sourced from the most ethical companies and DS & Durga products are 100 per cent vegan, never tested on animals, and totally paraben and phthalate-free.
- How do I use it? Spritz whenever you want to “change the mood” or need “a centring moment”.
One of many enchanting things about perfume house DS & Durga is that every fragrance is a world unto itself. “We believe that fragrance is an art form equal to painting, literature, poetry and music,” explains David (the brand’s perfumer and the “DS” of their name). “We take aromatic variables and we use them to tell a story. Like a songwriter uses notes and lyrics to make this whole little world in sound, we make this whole little world in fragrance.”
Founded in 2007 by husband and wife David and Kavi Moltz out of their Bushwick apartment, the brand has since created a series of beloved scents which elevate and amplify the romance of actual lived experience. Whether it be drinking tequila in the rain in Guadalajara or listening to Pixies songs on the radio on a summer night, DS & Durga’s scents are autobiographical, composed from the fabric of their real lives. “We’re curators of unseen beauty,” David tells AnOther. “We can take inspiration from the back cover of a record we liked in seventh grade, Brooklyn concrete after the rain, or aperitivo hour with our friends on our porch in summer. What do those things smell like? We don’t really need to talk about the south of France and flowers.”
Their latest offering is based on their most popular scented candle, Big Sur After Rain. Translated into a perfume, Big Sur Eucalyptus (available from Liberty London) also takes inspiration from this “mystical” and much-mythologised area of the California coast. “Big Sur is one of the most beautiful places in America. A few years ago, we walked into this grove off the side of the road – in the woods, totally cut off by high mountains. It had just rained and coastal fog was rolling in. It was the first time I smelled eucalyptus in the wild,” recalls David. “I’d always thought of eucalyptus as a medicinal, cool smell – something to open up your nasal passages. But the actual buds growing from the tree were dark green and oily, and I couldn’t believe the smell, it’s kaleidoscope. Ultimately, it’s terpenic floral – it smells white flowery yet it’s super green and earthy, and a little spicy and woody. It has all these elements and it's one of the most beautiful smells in the wild.”
Beneath the aroma of humid eucalyptus groves, flanked by the Pacific on one side and monolithic mountains on the other, magnolia adds a hint of dried brown leaves alongside heart notes of rosemary and cardamom. Big Sur may have attracted generations of poets and musicians, but this perfume is for the “seekers and tweakers” everywhere. “I always feel that you can change the mood of something so quickly by putting on music or fragrance, ” David concludes/ “Big Sur Eucalyptus is like giving someone instant respite. It’s uplifting and invigorating, it brings you to this grove by the sea. Smell your wrist, and you’re there.”
Big Sur Eucalyptus by DS & Durga is available now from Liberty London and other stockists.