Crush Balls

Reading some of the reviews ahead of time, as well as the description of the scent, I knew it wasn’t going to smell like straight up tennis balls (a scent I find to be hypnotizing when I open a fresh can of tennis balls, similar to a smell of brand new sneakers, something about it I just love, I know it’s weird). I came across a Demeter cologne that’s supposed to smell like tennis balls, but I’m not sure how true to scent it would smell. The imaginary authors tennis ball frag was one I was initially interested in trying but based on notes and reviews, I decided not to bother, as this was the one I had wanted to try so badly. Safe to say, I am putting it on my wish list. I find that it’s very unisex, was worried it would lean on the masculine side, but there’s a sweetness that projects that makes it veer in the middle of either gender. Upon spraying it, it immediately made me feel a tad calmer and the chilly gloomy day feel a bit brighter. It has some country club vibes, maybe closer to a golf course than tennis. It opened to a sweet green, with a slight synthetic semi tennis ball/new sneakers scent subtly there. Then settles into what smells like freshly mowed grass on a warm day, flowers in bloom, the sun shining on you mixed with a freshly clean cotton tee. I was pleasantly surprised by what I had sprayed, as it was unique, fresh, sweet, and clean. Since I was conservative in spraying it, it didn’t stay smelling strong on my wrist for more than 2 hrs, but even after it began to slowly fade, it took a while, as the I could still smell it linger subtly 6+ hrs later.

Received this today and I am in love. On paper, you definitely get more of that “sporty accord” and it’s very disappointing and smells cheaper than it is. But on partner (who has the type of skin that makes santal smell like pickles) it starts out smelling like the 90’s formulation of Ralph Lauren Polo (or maybe Polo Sport?) but then it turns into just grass. Like freshly mowed grass that’s been sitting in the sun all day long. It’s very realistic and not synthetic. The only part synthetic is the brief sporty note and like I said, it’s brief. On me it also starts out with that 90’s sporty cologne smell (must be the rosemary and sporty accord) but then it quickly turns into a smell that’s like fresh cut grass with a very light floral aftertone (almost like a linen or laundry/dryer sheet scent). It’s quite strong, I only did one spray, I haven’t worn it out of my home yet so we’ll see how that goes. I can’t stop smelling it and I’m a picky person when it comes to fragrance. I guess my only complaint is that I paid so much for a 50ml (yes I understand how studio juice releases work) because I’m going to be scared of running out of it.

The tennis ball and floral notes are very present if you're looking for them, but with time I find it turns into more of a grassy citrus. I love this house's ability to capture scent memories and create unique but very wearable smells, my issue with them tends to be performance. But I find here the performance is surprisingly decent, 4 sprays and people can pick up on the smell from a few feet away, seems to last maybe 3 hours before it starts becoming a skin scent. Only really thing that makes me uncomfortable is the price, you can probably find something similar for cheaper, but I really like it!

Not sure why people are dissing it - this felt great and unique to my nose. I don't know if it's specifically "tennis ball" but it's definitely not just generic "grassy". there's also something a bit "coconut" about it (not in a natural way, but just a similar feel) but performance is indeed abysmal - it disappears so quickly... at least it was fun asking for this from the seller at the perfume store.

Between Carner Barcelona’s Tennis Club and the Vacation Ball Boy candle... I have noticed so many inspired scents lately! I’m hoping the grass is prominent because I instantly bought it in hopes that it would remind me of going to the local tennis court and watching my parent’s play tennis with their friends.

Want this so badly as my gym scent. Sporty in a fake soccer grass kind of way. Love it so much and smells so masc leaning on me. Sprayed too much of my sample one time tho and went mega rosemary on me. God I wish this wasn’t a studio scent please add this to the permanent line >:(

So nostalgic. Smells like a summer evening after a day spent outside. Immediately in love.

Sampling D.S. & Durga – Crush Balls, a 2023 release from this Brooklyn-based house that is inspired, in part, by the scent of tennis balls, grass, and the other natural and manmade elements that comprise a tennis court or general environment. I find it immediately to be a stimulating and interesting fresh scent, accessible but with some innovation, a bit of sharpness and natural floral, citrus, and grassy elements but also something vaguely industrial and environmental, contributing to the “hard court” base note and preventing the blend from being overly grassy or floral. I do not feel that it smells strongly of a tennis ball or tennis court, though it conjures being outdoors in a tennis-like environment or park, with the suggestion of a tennis ball scent in the particular type of grassy notes that are put together. Overall, though, I feel that it is quite pleasant and fresh while still being interesting, making me want to smell more. Crush Balls is EDP concentration with retail pricing of $250 for 50ml, which tends to be the standard pricing for “studio juice” that at least nominally a limited edition and somewhat exclusive, even though sometimes they are more widespread and available for years. Crush Balls in particular is sold in the US via the house website and great boutiques like Olfactif (from which I ordered my sample) and Ministry of Scent. The pricing feels a little steep considering that the performance is not very strong for an EDP and, while innovative, is not super unique, as there are other green fresh grassy fragrances that approximate it, but I quite like the scent. 7 out of 10

Crisp. A touch citrusy at first. Really grassy. Husband walked in and said hed just finished mowing if he wanted to smell that hed just walk back outside. If I was going to make a tennis ball accord that was just reminiscent of tennis ball I suppose this is how I’d do it. The grass is a touch sweet and mellow as it dries down. Bit sporty. Overall nice fragrance.

Finally got my hands on a bottle from a reliable eBayer, although mentioned below, it is now available at Space NK - £155 for 50ml. Not quite sure about scent of tennis balls, but a lovely green fresh scent with a decent longevity. The notes listed on the packaging are: green grass, yellow fuzz, hedge flowers, white cotton, sporty accord & hard court.

Anyone know where I could get this in the UK? All the usual stockist of this band don't stock this particular scent.

This perfume takes me back to those wild teenage days. It is like the scent of crushed balls, rebellious kicks in crotches and late-night cbt sessions, all bottled up. Nostalgia in every spritz.

Honestly smells grassy and minty with a very generic male sports cologne.Very youthful, maybe too youthful. It's good but nothing really special honestly.

More lime than tennis ball. I don't see why anyone would want to wear this except millennial influencers attending the US Open

disappointingly lacks the tennis ball note :( green and fresh like grass but no balls!!!

more grassy than tennis ball to me

The opening is great but again, only lasts about 5 minutes. It's been about 3 hours and I can hardly smell it. Super weak

It’s.. nice. Grassy, sure, but missing that damp sweetness of a freshly mown lawn, instead turning semi-citrus on me. It doesn’t smell of tennis balls, though that might be a blessing, I’m not sure. It’s pleasant, cheerful, fresh: it’s a slice of lemon dropped in an ice cold glass of sparkling water, while you sit on a picnic blanket in the sun. Nothing to complain about there. But it lacks complexity and depth and, on me at least, just doesn’t want to stick around. It keeps scampering off, like something that isn’t really intended to be smelled for more than a few minutes after application. A hand cream, say, or a hair serum. Something that would come with the tag: “suitable for the whole family”, it really is that mild. So I couldn’t pay full price for this. Altogether too light, simple and fleeting for that. All in all, a little disappointing that such a fun concept doesn’t really want to play.

Just picked this up today, straight off the bat it’s super grassy, fresh and leans masculine, once it settles I get more of a warmth I think from the yellow fuzz and also smell the hard court accord, I don’t get much of tennis balls to be honest and my partner also didn’t, overall this is pleasant and wearable. (After wearing this for a couple of weeks it has grown on me exponentially, it’s addicting and I find it comforting, I get random wafts of this throughout the day and sometimes even the next day, it clings to my hair not overpoweringly but subtly even after I have washed it.) my mum had told me she could smell my scent trail too! Ds&durga are quickly becoming my favourite brand

Sporty green fresh but smells more like the bottom of a white K Swiss tennis shoe after tennis practice more than a tennis ball. To me, the scent that gives me tennis ball vibes 1000% is OP Juice, a middle school oldie favorite 🎾 but this is still good and fun. I tried Soft Lawn from Imaginary Authors and Tennis Club from Carner Barcelona but I liked DS&Durga’s version better.

I love this scent a lot. It's green and fresh in a way that feels unique to me, with very forward grassy notes throughout. I was worried from some of the reviews that it would smell more generic-sporty-mall-cologne but I didn't find that to be the case at all.

I inquired to see if people could sample this, and the reply was "We don't offer samples of our studio juice." So if you want to see what this smells like, you have to blind buy a $300 bottle of a perfume called Crush Balls. Jesus.

This perfume takes me back to those wild teenage days. It's like the scent of crushes, rebellious adventures, and late-night escapades, all bottled up. Nostalgia in every spritz.

Looking at the accords, I wonder how much like IA "The Soft Lawn" it is. The notes look so similar. (In fact IA sent an email out saying they were first lol.)

Loved this when I smelled in store but missed purchasing. Let me know if you’re willing to sell a bottle! ;)

instructions were VERY unclear, hoping I can get my money back

@robbiebgg It's just become available at SpaceNK in the UK

I wonder how tennis ball smells?