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So here’s the thing: I’m a complete fragrance snob. In almost every other department, I’m all about a bargain. 90% of my wardrobe has been thrifted and I practically live off of Trader Joes’ frozen meals. Call it a vice, but when it comes to perfume, I will always choose a boutique fragrance over one you could find at a mainstream retailer.
Thanks to my finicky taste, my quest to find my “signature” scent has been quite the rollercoaster. That is, until I got a whiff of DS & Durga’s Radio Bombay fragrance. This Brooklyn-based niche perfume house has quickly become the darling of cool girls all over New York seeking refuge from the omnipresent smell of Santal 33 and Chloe eau de parfum.
DS & Durga’s scents are far more complex than smelling nice: they evoke stories from far away places and distant times (and are named accordingly). So when I first read Radio Bombay’s story provided by DS & Durga–“Transistor radio hewn of sandalwood radiates ragas in the Bandra heat. Hot copper tubes warm the soft wood releasing blooms of musk, cream, peach, ambrette, coco, cedar distillates.”–I knew I was going to be in love.
Radio Bombay wears exactly like the story it tells; it begins with a metallic, coppery note perfectly balanced by the woodsy sandalwood and cedar notes. As the hours pass, the creamy notes of coconut, peach and iris peek through like a sweet dessert following the main course.
Although undoubtedly a warmer, spicier scent, Radio Bombay is light enough to wear during the most humid summer months (it was made to smell like summer in India, after all). And on the flip side, it is like going on a warm vacation when worn in the winter.
If that weren’t reason enough to incorporate this fragrance into my every day routine, the compliments I get when wearing it absolutely seal the deal. At $175 for 50 ML, Radio Bombay can certainly be classified as having a luxury price point, but it is an investment that you won’t regret.
