D.S. & Durga — Cowgirl Grass
Essence
Cowgirl Grass (2008) is one of D.S. & Durga’s early releases, a feminine-collection counterpart to the house’s breakthrough Cowboy Grass and composed by founder David Seth Moltz. It is a green-floral built on tuberose, vetiver, sage, and rose. The single most important thing to know about it is that the original is genuinely obscure: a small “Feminine Collection I” release sold only in a 20 ml EDP, long discontinued, and routinely confused with an entirely different 2024 Neiman Marcus relaunch that shares the name but not the formula.
Scent Profile
The clearest description is the house’s own original framing: an earthy fragrance of vetiver and sagebrush dosed with Damask rose and heady tuberose, summed up as “a slightly dirty tuberose.” That captures the idea exactly. Cowgirl Grass takes Cowboy Grass’s dry, earthy, herbal skeleton of vetiver and sagebrush and overlays it with a fleshy tuberose and a Damask rose. In wear it plays the contrast that defines the Cowboy and Cowgirl pair: pungent, dry aromatic herbs tensioned against rich florals. It reads as green and earthy, a dirty floral rather than a smooth sweet white floral or a smoky composition. Because the original is so thinly documented, a precise note-by-note drydown cannot be responsibly reconstructed beyond this overall arc from herbal-green opening to a soft, close floral finish.
Performance
The original is a modest performer. The one figure specific to it describes intimate projection lasting around three hours, short and soft. That fits the house pattern: its sibling Cowboy Grass is reported at low-to-moderate sillage and roughly four-to-six-hour longevity with a quick fade, a frequently lamented D.S. & Durga trait. Expect a close-wearing scent rather than a projector, and apply generously if you want it to last.
Wearing Context
The dry, green-herbal-floral profile suits casual, daytime, warmer-season wear, the kind of outdoorsy fragrance evoking dry grasslands and the American West that the house built its identity on. The feminine framing is nominal; like Cowboy Grass it wears easily unisex. With intimate projection, it belongs to close-quarters everyday wear rather than statement occasions.
Comparisons & DNA
The essential reference is its direct sibling, D.S. & Durga Cowboy Grass (2008), the scent it was re-blended from; Cowgirl Grass is best understood as Cowboy Grass plus a tuberose-and-Damask-rose floral overlay, the two reading as complementary rather than identical. For the dry-vetiver lineage behind both, Diptyque Tam Dao offers a comparable dry aromatic-woods feel, while Frederic Malle Vetiver Extraordinaire marks the more polished, modern end of the vetiver lane. The 2024 relaunch, despite the shared name, is a different fruity-floral entirely and should not be treated as the same fragrance.
Reception
There is no substantial body of reception for the original. No major critic review exists, and the bulk of online “Cowgirl Grass” discussion actually concerns either Cowboy Grass or the 2024 relaunch. The honest read is that the original was a minor, quietly discontinued release overshadowed by its masculine sibling. Anyone weighing opinions should first confirm which version is being described, because the two are routinely conflated.
Versions & Reformulation
Two distinct fragrances share the name. The original (2008) is the tuberose-vetiver-sage-rose feminine re-blend of Cowboy Grass, sold in 20 ml EDP and now discontinued. The 2024 version, made in collaboration with Neiman Marcus and described by Moltz as a ground-up reinvention with much more flower power, is a lychee-bergamot-geranium, peony-jasmine-grass, musk-vetiver-amber fruity-floral. They are separate compositions under a shared name, not reformulations of each other.
Acquisition Notes
The original 2008 EDP is discontinued and surfaces only rarely on the secondary market, typically in its small 20 ml format. Anyone searching the name today will almost certainly find the 2024 relaunch instead, priced around $225 in a 50 ml EDP. Buyers seeking the original dirty-tuberose-over-vetiver concept should verify the version and notes carefully before purchasing. For the underlying earthy-vetiver-sage DNA, the still-available Cowboy Grass is the most reliable way to experience the family.
Notable Facts & Lore
- D.S. & Durga is a perfumer-owned Brooklyn house founded by David and Kavi Moltz on the ethos that “perfume is armchair travel.”
- Cowboy Grass, the scent Cowgirl Grass was derived from, is described by the brand as “the fragrance that put us on the map in ’08.”
- The early Cowboy and Cowgirl work was made using homemade tinctures of herbs, citrus peels, and flowers.
- Moltz frames the pair around the American West, evoking sagebrush, prairie grass, and worn saddle leather.
- The original Cowgirl Grass tagline, “Great for robbing cowboys of their will,” captures the house’s tongue-in-cheek narrative voice.