Black Magenta

It begins with fireworks of pineapple-- pinks and golds. Full of promise, sparkling bright. The sparks fizz into mellow, warmth, pops of zinggy freshness present even as the mid-floral notes creep in. Imagine it all against a background of seared concrete; something a little hard and dark and warm from the tobacco and amber lend the final dry-down a distinct and distinctly cool edge. Black Magenta is the coolest girl in the club, who takes you by the hand through an endless whirlwind of a night through city streets in high summer, who disappears without a trace after you watch the sun comes up, who will leave you aching for another stolen whiff of her perfume to remind you that she ever existed at all. While a lot of reviewers mention that it's a great weekend/evening scent, I found it to be bright and light enough to wear during a heatwave in NY. There's no powderiness in the drydown (on my skin), which meant that I got away with smelling like the it-girl of my dreams when I really had no right to.

I am absolutely in love with this fragrance. I am NOT typically a fan of fruity or sweet fragrances, but this is on another level entirely. It does start off strong with a punchy but sweet photorealistic pineapple. It lingers for a good few minutes and then slowly ramps down as the sandalwood and amber ramp up. I don't get much pepper or tobacco on my skin at all, which is probably a blessing since I don't love tobacco. I smell no orange blossom, which is an even bigger blessing. I would absolutely be intrigued to smell the wet concrete and smoke notes others seem to be getting, but unfortunately I don't seem to have a ticket for that scent journey. I'm not upset about it, though, because on my skin, Black Magenta ends up being a soft, sweet, creamy, feminine sandalwood with the memory of pineapple after the opening burst of tart and sweet fruit, which I really love. Definitely considering a full bottle. 9/10.

I love this house so much--there's no middle ground with them, lol. All of their scents have such a unique identity, and this one is no different. It's a burst of juicy fruit sweetness from the pineapple note, but then there's this metallic, peppery, tobacco thing happening in the background--I don't hate it. It feels like a fragrance I haven't experienced before, and rarely do I say THAT. I do find Durga scents take some time to get used to--I wore Debaser many times before falling in love. May grab this one, too. Update: I ended up passing this one along to my husband. The vibe is a bit too masculine on my skin, but it's a lovely scent.

Just bought a full bottle after buying a sample, it stays FOREVER on my clothes. On skin dont expect it to stay all day long. The opening is pinneaple and pinneaple only. As it dry down the pineapple note comes down and it feels more like incense. There is a background of flowers but couldnt describe wich ones. Would wear on a hot summer night. Overall very sweet, very appealing, unisex but slightly leaning on the feminine side, as a man i'll still wear it 100%. Its pricy but all of ds and durga's perfume are. Not a safe blindbuy but imo you shouldnt blind buy perfume lol

This is a 90's raver - a Smart Drink in your hand, sloshing all over your sparkled, synthetic top, cigarette dangling from your mouth and sweat covering every inch of your body in a dirty, dank concrete space. Absolute love for me and I have not smelled anything like it. The only comparison I can give is the pink pepper and fruit are slightly reminiscent of the way they play together in Sundrunk but these two fragrances are not at all similar. I also imagine this one will play differently in different types of weather because on my skin it's really a shapeshifter.

In agreement with review below, perfect name. The last time I smelled a fragrance that instantly felt like dark violet in colour was Velvet Haze...they don't smell alike but somehow to me they both smell intensely purple. This one felt like a tropical mystery, like a starry night at a retreat in Costa Rica...flower power but not loud, silent...but then unfortunately I read the perfumers description and now I can't unsmell the dark city by night vibe. I still like it

They knew what they were doing releasing this for brat summer. In my partygirl days I always ordered vodka and pineapple because the vodka toned down the acidity of the pineapple and the pineapple neutralized the antiseptic taste of the Smirnoff. The amber and sandalwood do the same with the pineapple here, and the result is equally fun. Probably best for night but I’ve been wearing my sample during the day and it works. Full bottle worthy for me. Bottoms up.

For sure I would wear this out to, say, a dance party, but I can imagine wearing it lightly at any time. Fruity yet edgy, a little cigarette-smoky at first but quickly mellows. Not obnoxious. Fun, sexy. The juicy pineapple bit dries down to a well-blended tobacco amber sandalwood combo. Sort of similar to TF Noir Pour Femme but more playful and lighter, not quite so serious. I just feel good wearing this, a total love.

I found this to be sexy and alluring in an elegant way. It’s not an in-your-face type of scent which I really enjoy. Unisex. I can see this working in almost any setting or time of year. I did two sprays on a tester strip and keep getting whiffs of it as I’m sitting in my room a few feet away. Very impressed with this one — pineapple and tobacco makes for a unique yet approachable fragrance.

black magenta is a whole experience. starts off with strong pineapple, calms down quickly but still stays throughout the wear. then the amber, sandalwood, and tobacco come in. they develop slowly, mixing beautifully with the skin. bold, smoky, intense, fruity. while not the best everyday wear, it’s still a favorite in my collection because of how unique and fun it is to wear.

Effortlessly cool. It just smells good because it does. Black Magenta isn’t a “pick me” She dares you to keep up. Pineapple glows like a neon in the dark, then it’s iris, powder, and a whisper of last night’s smoke. She’s smudged mascara, stolen lighters, and perfect chaos. Smells like trouble. The fun kind.

Literally the most intriguing scent I’ve tried to date. I can’t really pick out any of the notes, except maybe pineapple. But it’s a dirty pineapple. Like really. I equally like and dislike for how unique and strange it is. Alluring, repulsive, perplexing and I obviously need a bottle. I mean, right?

I love the category of dark, night time, slightly edgier fruity scents. Sticky pineapple juice spilled over the bar, powdery in a way that evokes grittiness over cleanliness, sweet deep sexy amber and tobacco dry down. Unforgettable, unique, mischievous, and alluring.

This stuff is gorgeous 😍 i will definitely be buying a full bottle. It starts out with a large dose of pepper and settles in to be what can only be described as pineapple incense. I think this can be worn year round. Really beautiful.

I recently find this brand and they got my love directly. It smells like a new pressed Pineapple juice. Fresh and clean. Maybe can be too heavy for some noses. But this is a 11/10 scent for me. And it sits on skin for 14+ hours.

instant favorite on a night out, truly androgynous and sultry without being overbearing. no seasonal specificity, but feels like a night in august

Another masterpiece from DS & Durga. Smells like a mixture of pineapple juice and tobacco - a really fun, unique, and uplifting fragrance.

In the bottle and at first spray, this perfume is like "Bam - Pink Pineapple!" And I feel like the pink part is important, because if you've had pink pineapple, you know it's a milder, fruitier, less acidic version of its yellow sibling, and that reads in this perfume. The pineapple fades to a skin scent pretty quickly and gives way to Sandalwood and a musky sweetness. If I go back and take a deep whiff of my wrist after the first 5 minutes or so, that pineapple is still in there...I just don't get "fruity" the way others have said. There's a bit of a lipstick/powdery note, and something moreish and gourmand to my nose...almost chocolatey? I get the 90's vibe for sure from this, but I'm not sure if I get "going out". I almost get more of a witchy vibe. More blue glass and gold moon, and less black magenta. I grew up in Seattle, and there used to be this dark little underground shop in Pike Place Market in the 00's that sold crystals, tinctures and tarot cards. This perfume smells exactly like that shop to me. It's a very nostalgic scent. It leans slightly feminine, but only very slightly, and only compared to the rest of the house's scents, which tend to read very masculine on my skin. I think if you wore this out to a bar or club, people would ask you what it was. It's a lot more accessible than most of DS's scents. If you were disappointed with the lack of sweetness that Deep Dark Vanilla had, I think you'd be happier with this. I don't know if I'd replace my signature Sweet Do Nothing with it, but it was worth the blind buy to me. By the way, as with most DS and Durga scents, on my skin chemistry, it lasts *forever* and has pretty decent silage, but your model may vary, because I see other people complain about these things with this house.

Initial spray smells like cutting into a fresh pineapple- very bright. It immediately fades into the peppery amber notes. Those notes are the main stay with a sweetness undercutting it that I don't find cloying or overwhelming. With a big whiff I get a deeper sweet smell that is just like pineapple juice from the can (this note does not project on me but stays close to the skin). Reminds me of Tom Ford's Black Orchid- they could be cousins. They certainly don't smell identical but they share a sort of hazy, spicy fruitiness that's perfect for a night out. I was not blown away by it but I quite like it. Will definitely wear it out this weekend to test it with a heavier dose and to see what friends think.

Starts of with some slightly plasticy pineapple notes mixed with some play doh amber, but it quickly morphs into a supple, soft and velvety fragrance with a little sweetness and warmth. This is unusual and there is something sexy about it. Unfortunately I get nose blind to this very quickly, but I have gotten some compliments from strangers. This one is hard to describe, you really have to try it on skin to determine if it works on you or not. It is slightly perfumy and has more of a dressed up aire about it, but I'm glad I picked up a bottle. This might be my go-to for when I hit the town on a weekend night. Overall, thumbs up

Pineapple! This is a grown up pineapple scent. Plum was a gateway fruit for me in perfume and now look at me! Pineapple! If you’re worried about smelling like a hormonal body-spray drenched 14 year old don’t be. The Orris, tobacco, amber, and sandalwood keep this perfume firmly rooted in reality and actually make this blend somehow hilarious to me. Black Magenta says: you’re stupid if you think I’m stupid, but I think it’s funny so I won’t say anything. Self aware tutti-fruitti with some snarky base notes keeping things level. Unexpected sample but planning to full bottle

This fragrance was not at all what I expected. On paper it’s pure pineapple. Realistic and juicy pineapple. On skin, though, the notes unfold rapidly. My first thought was, “This smells like Halloween,” and I couldn’t quite place why. But then about an hour in, it clicked. This is the scent of a fog machine and all of its pineapple-y, smoky, plastic-y wonder. It’s a rave party with big lights, music you can feel in your chest, leather coats, a little sweat, and that good old fog machine. This isn’t a fragrance I would wear all the time, but wow is it fun!

Pineapple accord is always fun, and here, unlike in Aventus, it plays a major role. It's well constructed and lasts quite a while, though its more of a syrupy sweet type and not the unripe, green one from Hacivat. Sadly, the scent hardly projects and quickly becomes a skin scent. The whole pinapple top/flowers mid/woody base made me think DS&Durga cloned the 1270 by Frapin - then I've tried them and they are almost indistinguishable when tested hand by hand. Frapin is original, cheaper and ever so slightly more complex in the drydown.

Mature pineapple, that is still sweet. Almost like a pineapple cocktail or pineapple bread with a syrupy glaze. I'm getting the tobacco and an unlisted chocolate note. Angel Muse? Don't get the pepper and I don't get orange blossom. I guess I detect some flowers but they are not prominent. Ambery wood plus a slight powder note are there. An evening gourmand. It does settle and fade to a gentle dark sweetness. Tom Ford adjacent. I don't think the name fits. This is not magenta, but rather a ambery brown color.

For me, Black Magenta is a scent that perfectly captures the sticky, humid air at the end of a night in a smoky club. The pineapple is there, but it's not fresh and tropical; it’s "dirty," soaked in tobacco and alcohol. I like that it's unique and makes me think, but it’s not for every day. It's more my "once a week" scent when I want something bold and different. The performance is solid, it lasts a long time, but the sillage is moderate, which suits me because I don't want to overwhelm people around me.

I’m not sure what others are saying regarding this fragrance and its club-in-the-city vibes, but think they all read the brand’s own description which influenced their own similar reviews. To me this isn’t a fragrance to be paired with smoky clubs and loud music at all, nor do I think it’s a summery scent despite the pineapple note. I felt more of an autumn vibe off of this one from the tobacco notes & galbanum; enjoying a cool, cloudy afternoon with your favourite sweater on, out in nature.

On paper this is pure sticky overripe pineapple. This is not unpleasant by the way. I’m intrigued to give this a proper wear-test, to see if any of the further complexities or deeper notes bloom on my skin. Because at present if I had to add a pineapple scent to my collection it would be Rosendo Mateu’s number 8.

It's such a unique scent... Reminds me of my first boyfriend's leather jacked that smelled like cigarettes and something fruity. Maybe I only like it because it's nostalgic, but who cares!

This is pineapple first and foremost. The wood and tobacco notes keep it from feeling sunny. This is an out-on-the town in a dive bar perfume.

The opening pineapple smells identical to the taste of an original Allen's Killer Pythons. Australian cobbas will know what's up

A smoky, sticky pineapple to start. It starts off strong but it’s gone within 3 hours. I like but it don’t love it.

If black magenta was a real color that got turned into a perfume, this would be it.

I wanted to love this so bad. The marketing and art direction suggested something evocative of a 90s Memphis Design nightclub: cue the midnight hijinks and mirrors stamped with lipstick prints. A tropical amber? Sign me the heck up. While many reviewers take away different facets of Magenta – bold pepper, buzzy tobacco, or even a rare few spy some green notes – I can’t find any of that. To my nose, the intro is promising: clip-art perfect pineapple. But within five minutes it evaporates into a feeble, synthetic saccharine residue. Accessible, inoffensive, and retro-fruity like a drug store body mist. However, longevity and radiance are almost nil on my skin (and I got my sample direct from the vendors, so I don’t think it’s diluted!). Maybe in a different life, Magenta. Mental Snapshot: It’s the 90s. You’re at the club. A blacklight and day-glo laser tag club. (It’s Kevin R.’s eleventh birthday, and the whole class is invited). You’re wearing perfume for the first time. (Your older sister’s “Maui Kiss” body mist). To impress Kevin J., of course. But under all that sweaty, plasticky, glow-in-the-dark armour, all either Kevins can smell is the funfetti cake of parties past. tl;dr: plastic toy pineapple 🍍🛼

Very masculine upon first spritz. I can pick up on the tobacco instantly. The tobacco immediately melds into the background and it begins to smell familiar. DS & Durga definitely re-purposed some of their accords with this one. There is a candied sweetness to it, which reminds me of Salem Gothic. I did 3 spritzes on one wrist and it stayed pretty close to the skin. This sort of whisper on the skin reminds me of their Crush Balls studio juice (which also has a light sweetness to it). I sprayed it on about 30 min ago and it’s faded so rapidly that I doubt if it’s going to make it to the 1 hour mark. I’d classify this as a unisex scent that leans slightly towards the feminine side due to its light sweetness. Wearable, pleasant, nothing special.

I get pineapple over a vintage powdery muskiness. It's weird because the name and the description makes it sound like something modern and youthful, and I get that through the pineapple, but the rest is very old-fashioned. I'm not a perfume expert so I can't tell you what notes are giving it that feel, but it's got the same undercurrent as the vintage no 5 and maybe some guerlains I have sampled, as well as Zoologist nightingale. At times, the tobacco peeks through, and adds a bit of masculinity, but then the powdery muskiness overtakes it. Its a curious scent and unique but not really something that suits my style.

an intriguing, interesting scent, but not fbw. Very sweet, but not in a young way. on initial spray, the pineapple is detectable, but it melts into the blend pretty quickly, leaving a general overripe sweetness, surrounded by dust and ooooold hints of tabacco. Maybe I'm influenced by the perfumer's blurb, but this makes me think of pavement, or sidewalks, some cleaning fluid or chemical of some kind I can't quite put my finger on. Someone's review mentioned the coolest girl in the club- I totally get this vibe, but she's not me. she's a little unknowable, she doesn't wash her face when she gets home.

It’s not a scent profile that attracts me; very “juicy,” more kitschy than sincere. The pineapple and the smoke are kind of sitting beside each other in this composition—I’m not convinced they go together. “Fog machine” is right on, as this is chemical smoke rather than the product of burning organic materials. I think I probably aged out of the demographic that has occasion to wear this....no more clubbing for catharsis over here. Edit: Actually fine and good, I wore it to the community pool, and enjoyed the way it coincided with the metallic smell of the damp grimy tile floor of the locker room.

This is the interior of a white 80's Thunderbird with plush maroon interior driven by your white trash friend's mom, Ronnie, who is 26 and wears cheap perfume. The ashtray is full of cigarette butts with lipstick on the ends. Black Magenta encapsulates the smell of the car in the best way. If you know, you know. It's a fun, femme date fragrance the announces you are looking to party. The dry down is very smooth and turns into a more standard fragrance, but the opening is pretty loud.

I wasn't impressed. Smoky, fruity, but nothing too crazy or unique. I agree with others, it gives a fall vibe and t's fun and slightly sexy. I don't find it worth repurchasing though. I just think it's a very simple direct fragrance that's not overly unique. For example pineapple is barely heard here unlike in Memo Tamarindo. I much prefer the Memo's version because it's just a more intense and authentic fruit there. This fruit is very very toned down.

Opens with the expected pineapple, plus something else fruity, like a fake cherry flavor. Then it's waxy, like beeswax, and fades eventually to a sweaty sandalwood. I don't know if this took me on the narrative journey the marketing copy intended, but it was. . .fine? You could wear this out in the city at night, if you wanted.

Hmm... Idunno about this one. Its not bad by any means but I don't think it's for me. It's very fruity, warm and peppery. I can totally see this being polarizing; you'll either love it or hate it. Creative for sure! 😊

Opens with pinapple mixed with incense. Dries down to a ever so slightly sweet incense like AllSaint's Incense City.

It smells like overripe fruit to me, but it also kinda smells good in a weird way

not anything special, cute branding but disappointing scent.

Bitter, still green pineapple that ripens slightly as you wear it, with nondescript florals in the background and a splash of ambroxan. Black Magenta doesn’t make me think of the color black, nor magenta, but rather pale orange, like a gourd. Gourds are starchy, have a slight sweetness to them, but really don’t smell very strong and neither does this perfume. It’s honestly a bit of a head scratcher. It’s pleasant enough, slightly odd, but forgettable. I was expecting so much more from this.

Juicy juicy juicy brûléed pineapple and tobacco, plus a play-doh creaminess that pops up on my skin after a bit of wear. Based on the accords and notes, I should like this, but I don’t. Smells like a chick who wears last night’s cut/crease and contour to her corporate job. It’s dirty and ‘sexy’ and makes you feel dirty for thinking it’s sexy. I wear it very occasionally when I’m feeling like a pain in the ass.

I was not impressed with my sample at all. The perfume was not cohesive to me. It felt very peppery and masculine leaning. However, this may just be not my direction of perfume as my friend whom I gave the sample to found this quite likable. It also did not project well, but again it is probably more of my skin chemistry factor as I often get moderate projection at best with perfume.

Upon first spray, it’s juicy sweet pineapple, but it very quickly dries down to something reminiscent of pineapple incense. When I think of a pineapple heavy perfume, I’m almost inclined to think it will be a younger scent, but this definitely has a mature vibe.

Confusing. Smelled on card and was just confused and not in a fun way.

I tested Black Magenta, Pistachio, and Bistro Waters from D.S. & Durga, and unfortunately I had the same experience with all 3 — to the point where they smelled identical to me. Immediately after spraying (on both skin and paper), I was hit with a strong base that completely overpowered everything else. I could not meaningfully detect ANY of the listed olfactive notes because this underlying scent dominated from the very first second. The best way I can describe it is: - old makeup bag - waxy cosmetic powder - old play-doh It was not a soft or airy powder — it was dense, pungent, and clung to the skin in a way that quickly became nauseating for me. What stood out most is that this happened across multiple fragrances from the brand, although I did smell an over ripe pineapple note but experienced the same base I smelled with Pistachio and Bistro Waters. That leads me to believe this is part of D.S. & Durga’s “house base” or a shared fixative (core structural component) that my nose is particularly sensitive to. For comparison, I’ve smelled a loud powdery base in Tom Ford’s Electric Cherry, but that one reads very differently to me: - sharper, louder - more synthetic - more “clean” Whereas the D.S. & Durga base feels: - heavier - waxier - more pungent and suffocating The difference is significant. One feels like synthetic powder; the other feels like dense cosmetic residue. Because this base note appeared immediately and completely masked the intended scent profiles, I wasn’t able to experience either fragrance as described. That said, I don’t think the perfumes are “bad” — this seems to be a matter of sensitivity to a specific base material. If you enjoy powdery, musky, or cosmetic-style bases, you may have a completely different experience. But if you’re someone who is sensitive to waxy/powdery musks or prefers clear, distinguishable notes (like tea, fruit, or gourmands), I would strongly recommend sampling first. 1. What I smelled: initial overripe pineapple note then pungent cosmetic powder and nothing else. 2. Reaction: nauseating within minutes. 3. Verdict: sample first, avoid this brand if you cannot tolerate D.S. & Durga’s signature base material that D.S. & Durga likely uses across many of their formulas.