Roman Fruit Sellers

My husband is a historian and years ago, he was so excited to take me to Ostia Antica, an archaeological site outside of Rome known for its really cool mosaics. We got there right from the airport, sleep-deprived, bags in hand, hottest time of the year. The return shuttle broke down for over 5 hours. They set up a tent for shade and handed out fruit, crackers, and water. The mood constantly shifted from awe, frustration, laughter, back to awe. It was one of the best days of my life. Drenched in sweat, eating bruised peaches and crackers, slightly delirious from jet lag and magically in two worlds centuries apart. I don't think this fragrance 'smells good' in the sense that it would smell like bright fruit and creamy wood. This is dark crushed fruit and wood and dust and heat and crowded bodies. There's a damn good chance that if it did not magically transport me to that day, I'd find it too dusty to handle. But that's sort of the magic of how scent impacts the brain, right? I can't believe I found this and that it fits that day so well. I had a good, happy cry over it. I will say that in 30 minutes, there is no smoky dustiness left and it's just dark, plummy fruit juice. I made sure to ask people because I thought maybe I'd gone nose-blind to the dust. Nope! It fades away.

Super Fluid Extract is another word for CO2 extraction. It delivers a very pure material with lifelike qualities. I find this scent very lifelike and not synthetic at all. Smells like a fruity vacation on my skin and lasts all day and night.

Absolutely love this, and the jammy strawberry has incredible longevity! Stop by the store in Venice Beach (on Abbott Kinney), it’s a vibe.

@Scent Detective To be fair...EVERYTHING from this brand smells like aroma chems to me 😅 However, "jam and dust" from another review is pretty on point, and not as bad as it sounds. It has a similar concept to Masque Milano Times Square with elements of decaying fruits, which is also better than it sounds, and I like 'em both!

My first batch bottle is now macerated enough that I can appreciate this. It's now sweeter and less screechy/synthetic that when I got it. With it currently being late fall and the air crisp, it smells great, fresher. It may also have affected longevity, just about 2 hours and then sits close to skin.

Roman Fruit Sellers is a big disappointment for me. I loved the copy that described the fragrance in the notification I received from DS & Durga, and love virtually all of David Seth Moltz' work, so I bit the bullet and spent some hard earned cred on Roman Fruit Sellers and have been completely underwhelmed. rbalkris' description is very accurate when it says, quote, "But here is one case of a rushed scent that feels like a chemical experiment gone wrong". Completely accurate. This feels like it was rushed to me and also smells more like aroma chems than anything I've smelled by DS&Durga previously. I want to smell the black currant, the black cherry, the mandarin orange, the bergamot, the strawberry, and the apricot coming together in a beautiful fruit symphony with a slight poplar woodiness as it described. What I do smell is a very weak almost limpid wisp of black currant along with a lighter fluid smell and a synthetic woods aroma as it drys down. Sadly, it's completely uninspiring to me. I don't want to just complain about this fragrance and I will say that I've tried to wear it several times to see if I was being unfair or if something else would develop...but so far, this is just not something I want to wear. I love the idea and think this could have been special if DSM would have achieved what he described but I just don't smell that at all. I'm hoping it will get better with time...but I don't have much hope for that as it does smell mainly of aroma chemicals as mentioned.

You have to hand it to DSD. They are very prolific and make perfumes that are often interesting and different. But here is one case of a rushed scent that feels like a chemical experiment gone wrong. Designed as a tribute to the fruit markets of Rome, the gourmand musk opens with fruity notes of apricot, black currant and bergamot. The heart is cherry, mandarin and violet. The perfume settles on a base of strawberry, incense, slight woody notes and something called super fluid extract (which smells like cleaning solvent). The addition of the last ingredient ruins the scent, and probably was meant to evoke the automobiles that transport the fruits. But it brings the scent to a screechy halt from which it never recovers. The slight feminine leaning scent has moderate to strong sillage and good longevity. Fruity gourmand lovers may want to give it a try, otherwise a very safe miss.

This EDP is an acquired taste. If you are a fruity gourmand lover you will enjoy it. Strawberry extraction stays in the dry down with the musky poplar woody smell. I wore it today and the longevity is more than 8 hours. It is a shape shifting scent and worth the wait for the dry down. If you can find the perfume on a clearance sale it is a jackpot.

Damn this one sounded amazing but for $400 and the review below I’ll have to pass. Glad I could find at least one review, even though the super critical fluid extraction bit had me rolling. automobiles dog?? 😂😂