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D.S. & Durga

I Don’t Know What

50ML / 1.7FL OZ - EAU DE PARFUM

In our

Amber, Musk & Animalic

Smells like

Bergamot EssenceIso E SuperVetiver AcetateCivettoneFirsantolAmbrox Super

$225

Available for pickup

In stock at the shop on Grand Avenue — choose pickup at checkout, or come smell it in person.

565 Grand Ave, Carlsbad, CA 92008

Tue–Sat 11am–6pm · Sun 11am–4pm

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In the same key

More in the Amber, Musk & Animalic family

The Story

A fragrance enhancer with transparent radiance that gives any perfume a certain, as the French say, “I don’t know what.”

I Don’t Know What is a wonderful tool for anyone who wants to play around with perfume. Of course it can be worn as a modern wonderfully transparent aroma, but it can also be layered over anything. Often when I leave the house, I will wear a touch of sandalwood, rose, jasmine, patchouli, oud, etc. These oils are lovely but can be muddy and they don’t last more than a few hours. IDKW sprayed over them makes the oil into a PERFUME. It does this because it is made with no notes!

It is a secret combination of materials that perfumers use to highlight and enhance notes in a perfume. A Bergamot accord announces freshness, Vetiver Acetate a thin amber, Firsantol a lingering sandalwood, Iso E Super a radiance, and so on.

It is like a building with only structure—no interior. You can fill in the interior with an oil, a scent you like, even an old scent that has lost its way. IDKW is built to layer and enhance everything else it touches.

-D.S.

TOP NOTES
bergamot essence
HEART NOTES
iso e super, vetiver acetate
BASE NOTES
civettone, firsantol, ambrox super

The House

D.S. & Durga is the Brooklyn house of David Seth Moltz and Kavi Ahuja Moltz, founded in 2008. David is a self-taught perfumer with a background as a musician; Kavi is a trained architect who designs the buildings the fragrances inhabit — bottles, packaging, an entire visual world. Everything is made in-house in New York, and the house publishes a playlist alongside every scent: music and perfume telling the same story by different means.

The Perfumer

David Seth Moltz