# D.S. & Durga — Notorious Oud

> Notorious Oud is D.S. & Durga's 2019 entry in the Western oud-rose-saffron genre, composed by co-founder David Seth Moltz and named, like several of his fragrances, after a musician: Christopher Walla

## Essence
Notorious Oud is D.S. & Durga's 2019 entry in the Western oud-rose-saffron genre, composed by co-founder David Seth Moltz and named, like several of his fragrances, after a musician: Christopher Wallace, the Notorious B.I.G. The name is a double pun on Biggie's Brooklyn heritage and Moltz's framing of oud as the most notorious ingredient in perfume. Built around a rare Indonesian oud accord and a worldwide cast of materials, it sets out to be a deliberately accessible, Western-aesthetic oud rather than an Arabian-purist or pure-oil one.
## Scent Profile
The opening is saffron-forward and intense, a big hit of saffron with a medicinal, almost dentist-chair edge, joined by a cool camphor note that opens the sinuses without turning harsh and a green, slightly herbal-resinous galbanum lift. The oud accord arrives quickly: dry, resinous, leathery agarwood in the Western reconstruction style, and many wearers pick up a rubbery or winey-medicinal facet typical of synthetic oud.
The heart pairs that oud with a smooth, suave Bulgarian rose, present but not jammy or sweet, and a lavender absolute that adds a herbaceous smoothing effect. The two materials sand each other's edges down rather than competing.
The drydown moves to dry papyrus woodiness, musk, cetalox, and a listed civet that most wearers find restrained, smooth and not all that dirty, though a minority read it as heavy, metallic, or headache-inducing on their skin. Recurring images for the finish include a smoky thrift-store jacket and a leather-and-camphor car-dealership effect.
## Performance
Performance is a clear strength. Many wearers rank it among the louder, longer-lasting fragrances they own, with reports of 12-plus hours on skin and successful sillage, one user noting it survived two showers, and blotters still booming several days later. It is potent enough that most counsel a light hand of one or two sprays, and they place its projection favorably though not quite at Montale or Roja levels. Robust but easier to wear than the heaviest oud references, it is not a skin scent.
## Wearing Context
By consensus this is a cool-weather, fall and winter fragrance: its dry woods, saffron, and leather read as autumnal and evening-appropriate, though worn in moderation it becomes office-safe and more wearable than a typical heavy oud. Marketed as fully unisex, in practice it leans slightly masculine, with one wearer picturing a male CEO in an all-black suit who exerts authority, but the rose keeps it shareable. It is frequently recommended as a gateway oud for Western noses who find Middle Eastern ouds too intense, even as purists count that very accessibility against it.
## Comparisons & DNA
Notorious Oud sits squarely in the modern Western oud-rose-saffron lineage. The most useful anchor is Maison Francis Kurkdjian Oud Satin Mood, often described as the same saffron-rose-oud idea but stripped of all sweetness. Le Labo Oud 27 and Lancome Oud Bouquet share its winey, almost chocolatey oud facet, while L'Artisan Al Oudh is cited as the rougher cousin whose edges Notorious sands off. Tom Ford Oud Wood and Creed Royal Oud serve as the accessible-Western-oud benchmarks it measures against, and like those two it is one of the rare ouds that smells like its own brand rather than generic. Detractors group it with the genre's sameness, nicknaming it Inconspicuous Oud.
## Reception
Reception is largely positive but carries a clear creativity critique. The house faithful rate it high-quality and well-built, and detailed reviews lean favorable, with one predicting it could be a big winner for the house. The most common reservation is sharp: for a fragrance named Notorious, it is too safe, its bold raw materials tamed into a scent whose name is more notorious than its actual feel, with one wearer dismissing it as a generic, office-safe, starter-kit Western oud. A smaller camp reports strong adverse skin reactions, finding it metallic, civet-heavy, or nauseating. Dedicated long-form critic coverage of this specific release is thin.
## Versions & Reformulation
Released in 2019 as an EDP and still in production, sold in 50 ml and 100 ml. The ingredient list shows a sunscreen-filter base and the standard EU allergen declarations, and the brand specifies that the civet and ambergris are vegan synthetic reconstructions. No reformulation is documented.
## Acquisition Notes
Notorious Oud is in current production and widely available from D.S. & Durga directly and from authorized niche retailers, in 50 ml and 100 ml, with samples and decants easy to source. It sits at a mid niche price tier, around 300 USD for 100 ml, consistent with the rest of the line. Given its strength and the polarizing civet-metallic facet some skins amplify, sampling before committing to a full bottle is strongly advised. No vintage or discontinuation premium applies.
## Notable Facts & Lore
- Named for the Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace), the Brooklyn rapper; the brand copy is laced with Biggie references including "smell the Indonesia" and a closing "sky's the limit."
- It is the second D.S. & Durga fragrance to reference a music legend, following Debaser (2015), named for the Pixies song.
- Moltz's product-page essay treats oud as the most expensive and notorious raw material in perfumery, while openly noting the perfume uses an oud accord rather than bulk pure oil.
- Its materials span the world: Indonesian oud, Bulgarian rose, Afghani saffron, Egyptian papyrus, and French lavender, all formulated in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.