HYLNDS - Bitter Rose, Broken Spear
D.S. & Durga (2013)

This one goes right into the "successful blind purchase" category. From the Hlynds collection of DS&Durga Bitter Rose Broken Spear. I'd say the most masculine take on a Rose perfume. Many would argue it's not even a Rose fragrance, and I agree. The Rose is a minimal touch to the composition. I like to categorize my perfumes into various families. This one goes on the Dark/Medieval brews list.

An aromatic, bitter Rose is thrown in the pot with thyme and wildflowers, put on high heat, and left to brew. The armory chamber is dark and lit by only a few oil lamps. The oil smell permeates the air and mingles with the scent of incandescent metal brought to heat by blazing embers. The blacksmith shines his newly forged swords and plates, occasionally checking his rose brew and enjoying a whiff.
Dark, with a powerful red, hot metal accord, as well as a lamp oil smell (if you ever played around with one of those, you know how it smells like), and the shy aromatic, spicy rose to pop in and out, honoring the perfume's name.

If only the rest of their perfumes from the regular line would achieve this level of alchemy, quality, and originality. A unique perfume that is worth checking out.

IG:@memory.of.scents

When i first sniffed this as a small decant, i thought "no freakin way! Very strange!" But in hindsight and more to the point in CONTEXT, I was relatively new to the fragrance obsession game and this was WAYYYYY off the well paved, curb cut and manicured designer path...

...which is WHY i eventually fell in love with BRBS, HYLNDS and DS&D. For me, they suggest with a fragrance name and then deliver an olfactory definition. The whole HYLNDS line is this way for me. As are most of their other offerings. This one is just Best In Show for me.

There are strong suggestions of earth, metal, blood, and yes rose. It's brutally medieval masculine.

I'm happy to return to sampling the D.S. & Durga niche brand and begin the Hylnds collection, and Bitter Rose, Broken Spear is definitely among the more appealing offerings from this quintet of fragrances based on notes breakdowns.

It's a burnt woody rose, reminiscent in its woody resinousness of Bowmakers, which is mainly based off an acerbic woody resin itself. Here, rose is added to the mix, so it's not only burnt, lacquered woody but also smoldered flowers. It's another level of complexity from Bowmakers on the one hand, and on the other, a simple deviation or change in direction from Bowmakers.

To its name, I wouldn't say that the element of rose is actually bitter, or that the smoky, woody, or resinous angles the fragrance lend bitterness of their own. Rather, any brightness from the floral side is supplanted by the darker elements, and while rose is a main player, it's nonetheless under a cloud of darkness.

Performance is quite good, with much projection coming from a light application on the wrists of a 1ml sample vial, and longevity suggestively high given the limited diminution of the fragrance over some hours.

Despite it feeling slightly redundant with Bowmakers, this might be something I still pine for, even at $180 for a 50ml. My collection is replete with rose, but this is certainly a different use of rose from anything I own.

8 out of 10

opens with smoke, metal, pepper, rose, soap; then sweet amber opens up, with spicy mouthwatering tones (yes!); then peaty/Scotch; sweet ?galbanum curls in at end of its evolution; lingering rose sweetness in AM when I wake, but still tempered with a slash of peppery icy metal to keep it from ever cloying