D.S. & Durga
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The pinyon pine and chilli hit with immediate assertiveness, a crackling, almost peppery freshness that's accompanied by that dusty, herbal bushland accord. Within seconds, your nose registers something slightly sharp and unfamiliar—this is not a gentle introduction.
The creosote emerges with considerable presence, transforming the composition into something decidedly less verdant and more industrial-mineral. The oak and creosote marry into a dry, treated-wood character whilst the original spice and green notes recede fractionally, creating a more brooding, contemplative mid-phase where the fragrance becomes genuinely atmospheric.
Sweet gale provides a subtle floral-herbal whisper beneath the lingering creosote and the sand base, which settles into a faint mineral-salty dryness. What remains is skeletal and austere—more a memory of the fragrance's journey than a sustained presence, with barely a trace after the four-hour mark.
El Cosmico arrives as a deliberate provocation—a fragrance that refuses the comfort of conventional beauty. David Seth Moltz has constructed something genuinely arid here, a scent that smells like the American Southwest filtered through a burnt-rubber filter. The pinyon pine emerges with a resinous bite, immediately joined by a chilli note that's more *sensation* than sweetness; this isn't a culinary warmth but something peppery and slightly acrid, the kind of heat that makes you squint. The bushes accord (likely desert scrub and sage-adjacent botanicals) adds a dusty, mouth-drying quality that's almost medicinal.
What's remarkable is the creosote in the heart—that railway-tie, chemically treated wood smell—which never softens into something quaint. Instead, it deepens the fragrance's austere character, creating an almost hostile woody-green core. This is where El Cosmico reveals its personality: it's worn by people drawn to landscapes rather than gardens, by those who find beauty in desolation. Sweet gale and sand in the base prevent total abstraction, offering just enough mineral sweetness to anchor the scent in something tangible rather than purely conceptual.
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4.0/5 (787)