Durban Jane

Friends - I’m so sorry to report that we have been gatekept. Anyone who knew about this gem and didn’t tell us... rude. I love this so much I had the compulsion for half a second to get rid of the entirety of my collection and just wear this forever. It’s that good. I returned to my senses quickly and remembered how much I love the other things I have too. Durban Jane is what I would imagine a yoga instructor wearing. She’s wandering along the coast enjoying her life. It is the only fragrance she owns because she’s a minimalist and she always smells clean and cool and effortlessly chic. Side note: I really don’t understand the Santal 33 comparison *at all.* And Durban Jane would smell equally amazing on men, women, or nonbinary people. My review is written to give you an image of who I instantly imagined wearing it and the vibe of the fragrance. I adore it. 🙂 Truly obsession worthy.

I'll preface this review by stating I own the sample sale version and not the mainline release. I purchased the discovery set for Maison d'ETTO about a year ago and thought Durban Jane stuck out as an incredibly sexy and calming unisex perfume. After almost 8 months without this perfume, because the mainline release is too overpriced, I purchased the sample sale version. The perfume itself is oddly straightforward for how elegant it smells and how much I love it. The top notes of pink pepper and powdery orris are paired with the sandalwood base to create a soft goose-down pillow for your nose. The reviews list this as a warm-weather fragrance, but I disagree; it is better for cold days indoors, like at a library or cafe. Smell: 10 Longevity: 8 Versatility: 8 Uniqueness: 8 Value: 2 Layering compatibility: 8 Overall: 7.3

Wow, this a very clean soft woody fragrance with a touch of spice from the red pepper and a creamy Orris and delicate orange flower. It opens with woody spice and dried down into a creamy orange cedar. It’s soft inoffensive unisex and easy to wear all season. I get zero pickle smell. I love this house. This is my 4th fragrance I tried and I’ve liked all of them so far. My top favorite would be 1.Noisette- lavender musk(feminine) 2. Macanudo green/earthy (unisex- slightly more masculine) 3.Durban Jane -clean soft peppery wood (unisex) 4. Rotano-leather animatic (unisex-leans more masculine)

Picked up the Maison d'ETTO discovery set on a whim and fell in love with this one - simply the most gorgeous scent I've come across in a while. I'm not sure what's in it that reminds me ever so slightly of the Harmonist's Hypnotizing Fire, but Durban Jane is more elegant. I sprayed it on this morning and kept catching delicious wafts of it all day. Now by the afternoon it's an amazing skin scent - so I would say 4 - 6 hours of arms length sillage. I agree with the previous reviewer that it would make a wonderful signature scent. Definitely fbw <3

As someone who cannot stand Santal 33, I LOVE Durban Jane. I can see the comparison, but Durban Jane is done completely different and makes it so much more stunning and enjoyable. The longevity on skin isn't the greatest (1-2hrs) and it makes me so so sad 😭

First Impression -- Comforting fragrance. Smells well made. I didn't get the S33 comparison at all. Fairly long lasting.

Orris, soft spices, and cozy woods. This definitely gives Santal 33 vibes but way less pickle-ly. 10/10

Incredibly powerful opening. Bright, freshly cracked pink pepper is the most prominent note and, as far as I can tell, sticks around the longest. Somewhere in the distant background is fresh sawn cedar, sap sticky and still warm from the chainsaw. Powdery iris blooms and fades as quickly as the fragrance can catch your skin. Some lingering floral remains though every note in the line up is overshadowed by that pepper. I don't see myself reaching for this often, unfortunately. I should add that my sample spray is considered "vintage" so the overall blend is probably slightly different than a fresher bottle. It's not bad but pink pepper heavy scents always lean savory for me. It projects well and lasted over the course of a night. Though I didn't love smelling like pepper for that long. The price also doesn't do much to help it. God are these fragrances expensive and I don't feel that cost is justified. I'll be giving it another wear out for sure though.

It has a strong sweet hay smell, like new hay that's still just a little green. The pink pepper note is pretty prominent. I mostly get pink pepper, orris, and cedar. It's got this quality of dried plants or pressed flowers about it, the opposite of fresh. A little of the sweetness that rotting plants give off, a little resinous. This seems like strictly a fall or later winter/early spring scent to me, with a feeling of transition and turning over decaying plants to make the soil fertile to grow once again. I've tried a few from this house and I think this is one of the better ones. Sadly relatively fleeting (~2 hours for me), which is not ideal for the price point. 7/10.

It's very pretty - sparkling and pleasing - likely a crowd pleaser. A very bright, crystal clear fragrance. Less of a cocoon, more of a shimmer.

Soft, spicy woods. The sandalwood is light but lovely.

Elegant and a wonderful signature!

Fresh autumn woods, bright playful bursts of resins. Cocoon-like feelings of home. Second wear is cold, unisex, and very bisexual (which is the goal). Update: WAIT NOW I SMELL PICKLE: after I sampled I'm a Musk by Fine'ry and noticed the sandalwood smelled like dill I can make it out in other perfumes like this one. It's like it haunts me. I still like this more. It has a lot of weirdness to it. Other reviews compare it to santal 33. I resampled it after I kept Thinking about Durban Jane when sampling 7 virtues amber vanilla. After smelling Amber Vanilla, they are like sister scents yet durban jane is obviously the more expensive and mature older sister imo.

On paper this fragrance is everything I love but on my skin it’s a different story... it opens beautifully but I can’t stand the dry down and It gives me a migraine. People saying this is giving Santal 33, but I don’t get any of that. I wish that was the case as I love Santal.

This one is quite reminiscent of santal 33, but with more pepper and orris. And just like santal 33, there is something a touch pickle-ly which may offend some. I don't get grass at all (although I adore that note), but the sandalwood is beautiful (like santal 33), albeit not unique. She's a spicy sandalwood (due to the cedar and pepper), not a creamy one (ala piano santal or santal basmati), putting this on the masculine side of unisex. I also don't get any flowers, citrus or orange blossom. Longevity is middle of the road, and the skin scent left is pretty on me, making the dry down more pleasing than the opening. For what she is, I agree with others that it's probably not special enough to justify a full bottle - many would mistake this for le labo, and the price point is also high. (Ps I'm pretty sure the review below from WhenHerb is for Macanudo from this same house, as that's a true grass bomb. Or maybe like me, he's trying the sample kit and sprayed the two one right after the other, causing the combo confusion ;-)

This is actually a pretty heavy scent. I wanted the pink pepper and orange blossom to pull it a bit lighter, but instead you're hit with really overpowering woods that render it unworthy of distinction / purchasing. It's yet another Santal 33 esque fragrance. I will continue to recommend Maison Louis Marie No. 4 as a more cost effective option for this category.

Grass. Freshly cut....grass. Green....lawn....grass. Golf Course grass. Landscaper.....grass. First 30 seconds....grass. 15 minutes in.....grass. Three hours....grass. Pink Pepper, Orris, Cedar, Musk, Sandalwood... yup yup yup....in a great big bag (bottle) with.....grass. And.....it's lovely.

Very lovely, modern scent from Maison D'Etto. Similar in profile to Santal 33, carries some of the same pickle notes, yet more refined and interesting. My girlfriend doesn't like this scent on me, but I enjoy it a lot. Would be a great all year option to keep in the rotation.

Husband said it smells like garble bedding 🫣