Bottle Design:
Kavi Ahuja Moltz

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Gateau Blackout D.S. & Durga 2024

7.8 / 10 41 Ratings

A new and limited perfume by D.S. & Durga for women and men, released in 2024. The scent is smoky-woody. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Smoky

Woody

Spicy

Fruity

Sweet

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Frankincense

Black cherry Fir

Fir

Heart Notes

Cocoa

Orris absolute Jasmine

Jasmine

Base Notes

Fire

Musk

Vanilla

Perfumer

David Seth Moltz

Videos

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Ratings

Scent

7.841 Ratings

Longevity

7.532 Ratings

Sillage

7.130 Ratings

Bottle

7.827 Ratings

Value for money

6.914 Ratings

Submitted by Cheshirecat, last update on 10/14/2025.

Interesting Facts

This fragrance was created in partnership with British singer-songwriter Joe Talbot, lead vocalist of the rock band Idles.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Reviews

3 in-depth fragrance descriptions

03/18/2025

7.5Scent

DogiCoco
637 Reviews

DogiCoco

Autumnal cocoa, deep in the woods

A small disclaimer:
D.S. & Durga might be a house that's just not made for me, and that's okay. Their scents and the whole brand feel a bit too quirky and hipsterish for me, they don't the glam/sexy/feminine/fun/cozy vibes that I want from a perfume. Some of their releases, like this one, still sound interesting enough to try, but I doubt I'll ever find a 10/10 for me in a D.S. & Durga fragrance.

It's an interesting take on the trendy cherry note, that's for sure. I actually only noticed the cherry note when I tried this for the third time, it's quite subtle and mostly comes out in the opening. The trick with this is that you have to use it very sparingly to get all the notes, otherwise the smoke and woods overpower the quiter nuances.
The cocoa is not as shy as the cherry. It's dark and not particularly sweet, more like baking cocoa than a finished cake. Or maybe a dry, low sugar chocolate cake. Imagine eating that next to a bonfire in a conifer forest, damp earth around you, and you're pretty close to what this smells like. Don't hope for a realistic black forest cake, or you will be disappointed.

I like this as a conceptual scent. It would really fit the mood in autumn, not when you need something comforting to escape the cold November rain, but when you really want to lean into it. I can't imagine that I would want to smell like this myself though, except maybe for Halloween. I'd recommend it to people who like dark, smokey, witchy, nature-inspired fragrances.

07/31/2024

8.5Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

Bmblbee
11 Reviews

Bmblbee

unusual gourmand for someone who doesn't like cherry desserts

Smelled this in person at one of their shops this summer and kept coming back to it. Unfortunately they did not offer sample vials of this so I could not test it on my skin long-term. So I impulsively got the whole bottle (I swear this is not a common occurrence). This is my first "gourmand" purchase. I should start by saying I haven't found a good slice of Black Forest Cake anywhere; the cherry filling is too fake and sugary. I don't like cherry pie or other pastries. Only fresh cherries are ok, or sour cherry preserves such as you can find in Middle Eastern grocery markets.

Starts off cherry cola with a tiny bit of pine needles and sap. Then comes incense smoke, like a Buddhist temple. Hint of chocolate, dry, balanced by rich earth. On a hot day the middle can grow unbearably sweet, it puts me on edge a little wondering if it will reach that point. Being inside a temple on a hot day can get pretty stifling too unless the entrances are architectural and oversized (not common here in the US sadly). The end is woody, campfire smoke, a little bit creamy. My partner has mixed feelings on it-- some days he doesn't like it, other days he is drawn in by how the dirt and soil aspect tempers the fruity sweetness. I am waiting to try this in cooler weather as I think it will really shine then.

09/25/2024

9Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

ChicoChino
6 Reviews

Translated · Show original

ChicoChino

Helpful Review 24

The best way to scare a Tory is to read and get rich …

This line comes from the song "Mother" by the British post-punk band Idles.
What does that have to do with Gateau Blackout? Well, quite a lot.

But let's start from the beginning: D.S. & Durga are from New York.
More specifically, from Brooklyn. So, from where everything that is currently "cool" comes from.
Mr. Moltz is self-taught, not a trained perfumer, his wife is actually an architect.
And yet, their plan to create their own fragrances (juices) has become a success story.

Also a success story is the rise of the band Idles from Bristol, England.
This band really shouldn’t be successful, at least they musically resist that notion. Some of it even reminds one of the "genius dilettantes," because no one here really masters their instrument. Or at least they don’t show it. Nevertheless, the harsh pieces, including the professional alcoholic singing, have managed to become successful.

Here, the first parallel emerges: Mr. Moltz is also a musician - of course, a guitarist. There is a playlist on Spotify for almost all fragrances (also called fumes). Are Idles on it too? Maybe. I haven’t checked. But what does all this have to do with Gateau Blackout? Well…

Mr. Moltz embarked on a "Perfume Quest" in a YouTube format. The task was to olfactorily convey a story that was told to him. And his first guest - or rather client - was: Joe Talbot - the singer of the band "Idles." So, the circle closes here. Without giving too much away: it’s about drugs, emotions, and a long detour in the wintery Black Forest - and of course, about a Black Forest cake. All these components can also be found in the fragrance, along with the typical D.S. & Durga DNA…

But how does Gateau Blackout smell then? Like a cake? Like a sticky, sweet gourmand? Of course not… because that’s not what Moltz is about. Instead, there’s a lot of fir, fire, incense, and a creamy iris. Surrounding all these notes is the actual "Gâteau": a bit of bitter cocoa, a subtle cherry (neither sweet nor synthetic), fine vanilla, and a hint of musk - the sweat of friendship.

Anyone who wants to hear the whole story and find out where the "Blackout" in "Gateau Blackout" comes from should watch the corresponding video on YouTube. I can only say that I really enjoy this excursion into the wintery Black Forest - even if the namesake cake stays more in the background. No wonder, Moltz simply prefers natural scents. But that doesn’t mean it’s not there. A hint of gourmand lingers in the air, but is constantly overshadowed by the smoke of the fire until the snow extinguishes the last embers and peace returns. However, this takes some time, as the scent lasts (especially for D.S. & Durga standards) really long.

In short: A gourmand fragrance for everyone who actually doesn’t like gourmand fragrances.