The Carlyle

This opens with a jalapeno/lime cocktail vibe, but dries down with complexity. I get the hay and subtle floral and herbaceous notes--it's nicely blended. If this is a cocktail, it's mixed by hand in a crystal mixing glass by an impeccably dressed bartender, Rainbow Room style. I have trouble imagining anyone really disliking this one, and even though I prefer femme scents, honestly, this would work well on a man. It reminds me a bit of some of my other bright, cool, "hotel lobby" scents like Simone Anderoli's Malibu Party in the Bay (lime and tropical leaning) Killian Roses on Ice (another rose-forward cocktail scent), or the granddaddy of hotel lobby perfumes, DS&Durga's Debaser. I love modern-leaning scents like this one--there's elegance, refinement and an austere modernity I love here. Not bad for a blind buy. Additionally, now I'm curious to visit the Carlyle hotel. Update: Performs best in warmer weather. Almost immediately a skin scent below 60 degrees.

This genuinely captures the lobby of The Carlyle Hotel. Its polish, history and serenity. It could not possibly be more perfect.

This is an amazing spring/summer fragrance, it smells like if a gimlet or a very limey gin and tonic turned into a perfume.

First impressions. This is gorgeous. This is the most mass appealing Durga fragrance I’ve tried. It’s like a delicious lime flavoured summer drink - limeade but just barely sweetened with honey and given depth with floral accents. The citrus is round and a bit bitter instead of sharp and cold - there is a nice warmth to the fragrance overall, but it stays fresh. The rose sits very far back but I do get the honey suckle quite clearly in the dry down, I think it’s boosted by the hay note. The florals are restrained which I appreciate but show up more as the lime fades, keeps this totally unisex. The sandalwood just adds a bit of smoothness without going full on creamy or woody. This is going to be stunning in the summer heat, but I’m teasing in the midst of an ice storm and it doesn’t feel cold. I can’t judge performance yet but it seems solid. Durga seems to have changed directions a bit over the past few years moving away from the more serious dark broody aspects of some of their older frags and offering more playful bright fragrances instead, but maintaining a signature quirk. This is pleasant and festive. I think it’s perfectly on trend. A very easy versatile wear. Love it, wish I got the 100ml. Kindly fill up the reminds me of section so I know what else to smell.

I, too, bought this blind. I was hoping for a honeysuckle fragrance that happened to have some lime, but I was mistaken. This is just lime. It’s not bad, but this isn’t worth the $200 it retails for.

I got this as a blind buy more for nostalgia purposes (I used to live in NYC and have fond memories of Bemelmans) plus I love citruses, linden, honeysuckle. On the one hand, this is pleasant. Probably one of safest "blind buys" from the company (which is generally not one I would blind-buy from) if you like citrus-y scents and aren't looking for something challenging. On me, this is unisex, almost cologne-leaning (not very floral). At the outset it is super limey--more zesty lime rather than sweet, juicy lime. At times, I can catch hints of the twiggy greenness of neroli, of faint wisps of linden or honeysuckle (no rose for me). On the other hand, the floral element/mid section doesn't feel fully formed, and the base is slightly woody/moss-y (mixed with a slight powdery sweetness from the florals) but very soft. So after the lime opener, this fragrance feels like it lacks direction and character. Even though I know this was inspired by a soap, from a collab with the Carlyle I would expect something richer and more defined. And as with most citrus-heavy fragrances, it doesn't have a lot of staying power. This is my very first impression of it, so we'll see what happens over time.