Comments on: D.S. & Durga 1538 Rheims, Smoked Amber, East MidEast and Royal Purpure ~ fragrance reviews

By: JennyM

JennyM — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 22:57:25 +0000

I tried Royal Purpure and Smoked Amber today. I went in expecting to love Royal Purpure, but it was Smoked Amber that took the prize. Kevin, I think you’re spot on with the “mallows over a campfire” comparison — I love it! I checked out DS&Durga’s facebook page and they mentioned that they’re developing a new line for Anthropologie, and that this collection may not be available past April. I think I’m going back tomorrow to snatch up Smoked Amber before it disappears.

By: Na

Na — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:51:06 +0000

I got to try smoked amber. It was interesting enough for me – it starts out rough and becomes sweet after a while. Cinnamon is very noticeable.

Although I was somewhat pleased, people around me didn’t seem to like it. A lot of them said I smelled like incence. One of them said I smell like coke. Lots of attention for just one little spray-

By: contrabassa

contrabassa — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:19:35 +0000

I tried all of these this weekend. While I love older, heavy scents, these took me by surprise. Smoked Amber was heavy, animal/musk (not the pretty “musk”), and bitter in the opening, and easily overpowered any other scents in that corner of the store, smelling overwhelmingly of bitter smoke. Rheims was well-behaved, Purpure was nice, East MidEast tried to make an incense-y statement, but all were overwhelmed by Smoked Amber. What had I done? Why had I sprayed these directly on my skin?

Fortunately, Anthropologie has lots of fun distractions, and no visible sinks, so I wandered the store for a while, allowing the scents to sit on my skin.

By the time I got to my car, Smoked Amber had developed into a lovely, sweet scent very similar to Tea for Two… if it was chai sipped by a campfire. The other scents had mostly faded away, though I would like to re-try Rheims. I would definitely recommend sniffing these before buying.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:07:55 +0000

donanicola: good luck with work!

By: Dolly

Dolly — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:47:14 +0000

The Halston I recall was very smooth on the dry down, the way patchouli SHOULD smell, not the stink I smell in it today. For me to compliment patchouli like that is saying a lot since I’m not a big fan of it anyway for aforementioned reasons.

By: ScentScelf

ScentScelf — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:27:40 +0000

Oh, Kevin, spoiling the fun….
…but you are right, of course. The playful, erm, “egging on” was all mine.

By: donanicola

donanicola — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:49:28 +0000

London gets an Anthropologie as of next month I’m so excited! (that’s if I’m allowed out of current work hell hole). The Rheims patch and Royal fig leaf/woody one sound right up my alley. I love that you descibe them as liquor-y with the warning that some might find them retro. I guess that fits with the Anthropologie image.

By: Daisy

Daisy — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:50:18 +0000

ha! I saw that

But they don’t recognize Michigan at all…

By: boojum

boojum — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:39:37 +0000

Interesting…they think Milwaukee is in Minnesota. Regardless… my local store does carry the line. Maybe I’ll drag myself there at some point.

By: boojum

boojum — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:31:00 +0000

Lucky for me, ours is in a frou-frou suburb I don’t set foot in (unless I’m invited to my boss’s home, and then I have to – he’s family). So I’ve never even crossed the threshold of one of their stores.