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Barlowmsp – :
This fragrance is an amazing feat. It smells exactly as the marketing copy invokes: a nineteenth-century violin woodshop redolent with wood shavings, rosin, varnish, and smoke from the fireplace. For me, though, it feels more like a clever trick than a fragrance I would wear. It smells FANTASTIC, in the way crayons or laundry lint or baby heads do, but I don’t think I want to smell that way on purpose. I kept sniffing and sniffing my arm, but doing so felt more like entertainment than enjoyment of a fragrance as I usually understand it.
mcc25 – :
Bowmaker’s is a violin concerto in scent . . . raw materials that still have their potency, a fairytale setting, and the runic hand of an alchemist. The inspiration for this scent is a violin maker’s workshop located in the middle of an old growth deciduous forest. Bowmakers lives up to its description, although this is so magical I picture Middle Earth instead of the East Coast! This comes from D. S. Durga, whose Pale Grey Mountain, Small Black Lake scent is one of my all time favorites. A haunting masterpiece that is unforgettable.
In Bowmakers, tree sap, wood shavings, varnishes, lacquers, leather tool bags, are all mixed from the vantage point of a talented perfumer. It captures the terpenic, camphorous aroma and enhances with perfect accents. There’s even a hint of incense adding to the magical feeling. I wish it was stronger, but the high percentage of natural ingredients has other benefits. Like amazing nuances throughout, akin to the extraordinary tonal characteristics of a fine instrument. So much depth I could just sit and take in the details for hours. (Reminds me a little bit of Olympic Orchids Woodcut, another favorite love that has cut wood as it’s focal point.) Love it so much, I’ve already gone through a bottle, and with my reorder I’m getting the oil along with the perfume!
Dramencormawe – :
Without being a slave to the stated pyramid, here is what my nose gets on this amazing fragrance I had to get a full bottle of…
-Church incense “resins”
-Dry Sauna/ Cigar-box/ Spanish Cedar
-Pine
-Oak aged whiskey
-Touch of varnish (could be taken as the sour/ sharp kick of oud)
This is the woody fragrance I’ve dreamed of and have spent 1000s searching for.
It smells like something in the real world, not a bottled creation. That is a compliment to the art of this and doesn’t take anything away from the creator. This is beauty in a bottle.
If you want to bring yourself to sit on vintage furniture in a cabin on cool summer evening, with the fire outside and the whiskey on the table.. spray away.
Amazing.
FlaleSeep – :
I can immediately see why this is so popular. I am also amazed how similar it is to 4160 Tuesday’s The Lion Cupboard which a great favourite of mine. There are similarities in the notes. The resins and wood notes. This has the aromatic note though. This takes the scent off into another direction.
A great scent for a chilly grey day. It has that wonderful embracing intensity to cut through the gloom. I like the crunchy dry leaves aspect to it.
Good longevity and sillage. If I didn’t have Lion Cupboard I would be seriously tempted.
xbondx – :
I had a sample that I used 5-10 times. The opening is extraordinary… immediately evocative of violins and woodshops, a strong turpentine note… and then it very, very quickly becomes wood shavings. Several Durga perfumes I’ve tried are interesting conceptually but don’t really work as fragrances, and are overpriced. This one is in that camp. If it smelled like the opening for hours, this would be my favorite thing ever, but as it stands, I couldn’t see myself wearing it, or buying it.
Men and women both will love this for the first 5-10 minutes, before it becomes all pencil, and a quiet pencil at that.
Ozuzuka – :
A mysterious and evocative woody scent that invites you to a stroll in a sunlit forest. This subtle beauty combines central notes of different woods (mahogany, maple, cypress), violin varnish, moss, and amber pine resin with a light leather to evoke the workshops of wood craftsmen in the 1800s Northeastern United States. This is a deceptively beautiful composition, which will take an adventurous sort of perfume lover to appreciate. The beauty is in a natural simplicity and how beautifully it captures a certain ambience. Moderate in sillage, it mostly stays close to the skin and unisex (slight masculine leading). A subtle scent that glows on your skin. Enjoy!
Sdasdfvvsv – :
a walk in the forest in summer…why summer? this is not the moist mossy wet forest but more like the sun enjoying trees… for me this is more of an ambient feel than perfumey so won’t be buying but I can appreciate it’s uniqueness and appeal.
rapito – :
LOVE! I get the varnish, woods, and resins. It’s slightly pine-like, but not too much. I don’t feel like I’m in a pine forest. The resins provide a bit of (subtle) sweetness and roundness, therefore I don’t find it as sharp and turpenic as Precious Woods by April Aromatics.
At first I didn’t notice any leather, but as it wore on my skin, I began to envision this scene…a foggy day in the 1800’s, a dark little studio without electricity, a violin maker carving, shaving, sanding, varnishing and plucking strings in his workman’s apron, sleeves rolled up, walking around on the creaky floor boards in his clunky, worn leather boots, the same ones he has worn for 20+ years as he hones his craft day after day, year after year. So it turns out that I absolutely smell leather. It’s not chic black leather, but his old, brown leather boots. I think I have a crush on the violin maker. This scent is somehow sexy and addictive to me. Overall this perfume feels rugged and natural.
Bowmakers is linear, which is fine by me. I get the varnish, woods, worn leather, and resins all the way through to the very end. It is not a powerful fragrance and gets fairly close to the skin after an hour, but it lasts many hours.
Wish I could compare to the oil version.
Update: Have a full bottle now, and the scent of turpentine and varnish is more intense when sprayed from the bottle. Sillage and longevity are huge, quite different from my experience with dabbing. It’s a top 5 fragrance for me.
Smiley – :
Bowmakers definitely has a strong varnish/turpentine opening, which then becomes sharp wood – a camphor-y piney topnote and an oud-like sour woodiness. The effect is of fresh sawed and treated pine lumber. I love the smell of pine (especially fallen pine needles in the sun) but I don’t like this chemical take on it – I dislike the smell of varnish and turpentine. A richer, nuttier wood scent lies underneath, which is the type of wood I tend to gravitate to (much warmer and less sour than the topnote woods). This portion reminds me of Olympic Orchids Woodcut, but less sweet and nutty. I like this portion, but not enough to make the opening worth it. Overall, somewhere between meh and mild dislike. There are more woody scents out there for me.
salenii1968 – :
Soon as I heard the name I knew this was for me. Soon as I saw the notes it was confirmed. Soon as I could find an FB I could afford I jumped at it. And as soon as I smelled it I was (and still am) in love. One of the most completely spellbinding woods I’ve ever sniffed – utterly natural and true to life, endlessly refreshing and totally honest. It doesn’t unfold much in stages because it doesn’t even need to.
It is very, very, very warm and very, very, very, very woody. Varnish and sap and turpentine and resin and sawdust and the tiniest bit of beeswax … that’s what it does and that’s where it stays. Truly refined and truly unisex. Somehow it smells *burnished* – planed and polished and sanded to the most bewitching form. It is perfection imo. (But only if you are a serious lover of wood.) Didn’t get any of the boredom or other issues with dry down that other reviewers here have. For my own heart of oak this could duke it out with Chene and I am not sure which would come out on top – high praise indeed.
9.8/10 but honestly the numbers are irrelevant! Try this if you are seeking your wooden Holy Grail. Don’t bother if you find plain wood scents dull or too macho.
ETA: wearing this again in much warmer temperatures ( almost by mistake) and it performs very differently: sweeter and waxier, but with the high turps and whiskey note REALLY making itself felt, in steady wafts for hours and hours and hours. Luckily I hadn’t oversprayed but it could get a bit much – apply with caution if it’s over 25C, or you might end up smelling a bit more like a freshly-creosoted fence than you want to..
accordabirm – :
“EnglishCountryGarden
Very, very special indeed. Remember that thing I have for Iso E Super? Hold that thought. The curtains open and our principal thespian, A carved wooden Green Man of pagan lore, takes to centre stage to deliver his opening line. From his carved lips pour utterances of shavings past, of ebony, of mahogany, pine and oak. I hear nothing of his chum, Old Walnut. Maybe he will be along later. But wait! Who is this entering stage right? The slick oily mistress Waxy Turpentine, who takes those words and makes them shine, she pours on the gloss, one coat at a time, buffing to a shine so high, you can see flies skid trying to get a foothold. There is a deep outdoors amphitheatre contained in this fragrance, a play beneath the stars, the reverend silence of a natural grove in the forest, fallen autumn leaves and wonderful resinous sap. Like wraiths in the night, weaving in and out of the audience, in and out of time, slipping through the veils of alternate realities, trailing slender scented fingers under noses before disappearing into nothing for a while, come the dryads of Iso E Super. Wherever they go, they concentrate the carrier scent, fleetingly, irresistably there, like a ghost, and then gone again until the next pass. Violins? Yes I suppose so, but painstakingly made wooden bows and arrows,taught strings drawn close to the nose before release. Beautiful fragrance. Gotta have a FB in my life.”
Jeez, I thought those hilariously stupid J. Peterman adds were restricted to episodes of Seinfeld. The review above proves me wrong…
Looolita^^ – :
Very, very special indeed. Remember that thing I have for Iso E Super? Hold that thought. The curtains open and our principal thespian, A carved wooden Green Man of pagan lore, takes to centre stage to deliver his opening line. From his carved lips pour utterances of shavings past, of ebony, of mahogany, pine and oak. I hear nothing of his chum, Old Walnut. Maybe he will be along later. But wait! Who is this entering stage right? The slick oily mistress Waxy Turpentine, who takes those words and makes them shine, she pours on the gloss, one coat at a time, buffing to a shine so high, you can see flies skid trying to get a foothold. There is a deep outdoors amphitheatre contained in this fragrance, a play beneath the stars, the reverend silence of a natural grove in the forest, fallen autumn leaves and wonderful resinous sap. Like wraiths in the night, weaving in and out of the audience, in and out of time, slipping through the veils of alternate realities, trailing slender scented fingers under noses before disappearing into nothing for a while, come the dryads of Iso E Super. Wherever they go, they concentrate the carrier scent, fleetingly, irresistably there, like a ghost, and then gone again until the next pass. Violins? Yes I suppose so, but painstakingly made wooden bows and arrows,taught strings drawn close to the nose before release. Beautiful fragrance. Gotta have a FB in my life.
560683 – :
Wood, wood and more wood…with a slick, glassy coat of varnish on top…great unisex scent…and I am a WOOD LOVER!…fantastic…
sveta-venya – :
There aren’t many fragrances that transport me to other places but this is one of them. When I close my eyes and take in the incredible smell of this fragrance I picture myself in Colonial New England. I’ve walked through these houses and often imagined what it would be like to be a fly on the wall during the American Revolution. Bowmakers takes me there. I can picture the people in colonial attire. I can imagine a fire place in the other room. The sound of horses neighing outside. This is truly a remarkable fragrance that isn’t run of the mill. To me this is Americana. A masterpiece. This will be added to my collection.
Matzeratti – :
This is a heady concoction on me, resins, furniture polish, woody, incense-y … if I close my eyes I envisage a gleaming shiny violin.
It’s potent, erring on the side of masculine (I love that) and really unusual (I also love that).
If you’re looking for something that isn’t run of the mill rose/sugar/oud fest that litters the perfume market these days this is really very good indeed.
Sphinx78 – :
After its opening flash, Bowmakers settles down into what I can only imagine must be an accidental homage to that great benchmark in commercial perfumery: Silver Shadow, by Davidoff: 100 mils of which are available, pretty much everywhere, for less than $US 30. I’m reviewing Bowmakers because I find it to be the best of the DS Durga line, and I find it emblematic of the house as a whole.
If DS Durga devoted as much time to a comprehensive in-depth study of, you know, perfume-making, as they do to marketing, presentation, and the construction of arch, and quite often, cringe-inducing back stories from a re-imagination of 19th century Americana so hackneyed you half expect the ghost of Walt Whitman to return and exact a highly pre-industrial vengeance against interlopers so painfully un-ironic, maybe they’d be on to something. But they don’t, and, therefore, they’re not. It’s not, you know, that Durga doesn’t make GOOD fragrances. They do. But greatness is not in them (and by “them” I mean both the bottles and the creators). The proof of this, to me, is in the copy they use to justify the price point which, although not particularly high for niche perfumery, is ridiculously high for unimaginative blends hiding behind a smokescreen of Victorianism.
Silver Shadow is created by Francis Kurdjian, a classically trained nose. Its ad campaign is minimalist: a headshot of the silver fox masculine archetype above the tag line “Lead the Way.” As I said, thirty bucks.
Or you can buy into Bowmaker’s bullshit, at around $140 for 50 ml: “Amongst the transcendental woods of the 1800s, craftsmen from the Massachusetts Bay Colony built violins & bows in the tiny towns of the Pioneer Valley. The shops were riddled with old growth mahogany, burled maple shavings, amber pine rosin, aged walnut & their unique secret varnishes.” The only thing authentically “oldtimey” about Durga is the thrill one gets from buying snake oil from a mountebank charlatan. That delicious feeling, they’ve nailed, almost exactly.
Uraha – :
عطر صانعي الأقواس من دار D.S. & Durga للنساء والرجال
Bowmakers D.S. & Durga for women and men
Bowmakers أو صانعي الأقواس
الأقواس هي أحد أشهر آلات الحرب التي ظهرت قديما على يد القدماء المصريين وتطورت مع مرور الوقت
واليوم قد أصبحت تراثا وإرثا بشريا انتقل من ساحات المعارك والحروب إلى صالات المسابقات الرياضية
شهدت صناعة الأقواس تطورا هائلا في خامات التصنيع المستخدمة منذ ظهورها وإلى يومنا هذا.
ولكن البداية: قوس خشبي يشد بين طرفيه وترا جلديا من “أمعاء الخراف” وسهام ذات نصل حجري أو معدني أو خشبي
لأي مدى يمكن أن تصل سهامك وما هي دقة إصابتك للهدف؟
ربما تكون هذه النقطة هي مفتاح هذا العطر…
لأي مدى سينال منك ذا العطر؟؟
دار D.S. & Durga هي دار أمريكية أسسها David Seth Moltz سنة 2007م وبالتعاون مع
Kavi Moltz and Rayda Vega أطلقت الدار 52 عطرا حتى الآن
البداية صنوبرية جميلة جدا، ولمن لا يعرف قيمة رائحة الصنوبر يكفي أن نذكر أنه من أقوى مزيلات التوتر والقلق والاكتئاب.
لمحات عشبية خضراء نضرة وفواحة وراءها الرائع السرو الإيطالي “سايبرس” الذي امتزج بتناغم مثالي للغاية مع شجيرات الصنوبر الخضراء ثم بهذه الرائحة الخشبية الدهنية الكريمية لثمرة الجوز.
تناغم لا يمكن أن تتوقعه بين الصنوبر والسايبرس والجوز “عين الجمل”
أخشاب الماهجوني الأسيوية الحمراء الداكنة ذات عبق قوي ومميز للغاية قد تجدها تفوح من أفخم أنواع الأثاث وأغلاها ثمنا.
ما أجمل أن تغور هذه الرائحة التي تشبه رائحة الغابات الكافورية داخل أسبار أروع وأجمل وأنقى رائحة راتنجية فاخرة، وأؤكد على كلمة فاخرة لأنني ربما أستشعرها لأول مرة بهذا الوضوح ضمن مكونات أحد العطور.
أشجار القيقب “الإسفندان” Maple ذات الأوراق الخضراء والبرتقالية والحمراء وهي الشعار الموجود داخل العلم الكندي هي أحد أجمل أشجار الزينة في العالم ومنها يستخرج بالتقطير مشروب القيقب الذهبي ستعمق من قوة العطر وخشبيته الممتزجة بالراتنج بحرفة عالية.
الجلود المدبوغة المطلية بالقار ستكون مكملا رائعا لهذه التوليفة القوية.
العطر “خشبي أروماتيك” مثالي – شتوي لا يصلح مطلقا للصيف وحرارته الخانقة
جمال الرائجة: 9.5
التميز: 9
النقاء والفخامة: سيرجوف – سيلمبر هاوس – أمواج “قديما”
الثبات والفوحان: رائعان
السعر: حوالي 130 يورو لحجم 50مل قبل خصم الضريبة
Muflon – :
Bowmakers has a truly fantastic opening. I detect that fantastic turpentine note from the top of CDG Hinoki, but instead of the airy camphoraceous freshness of the CDG, theres a much darker dry, resinous woody-leather undertone. It’s absolutely addictive. Unfortunately I have to agree with a few other reviewers in that it kind of loses it’s way after the opening. The woodiness continues to grow while the turpentine note all but vanishes and in it’s place is a rather obvious iso e super, as well as some bland ambered sweetness. It’s such a shame because the opening is so damn good. I still like bowmakers, but in many ways it’s such a missed opportunity that wearing it sort of annoys me. Performs as well as anything with iso e, and projects surprisingly well.
If this gets some kind sequel with more emphasis on the top than the bottom, it will rocket up to the top of my favorites list. For now its a bittersweet “what if” of a fragrance that provides an incredibly thrilling 15 minutes before going pedestrian.
5.5/10
suninbef – :
Bowmakers is the best of three D.S. & Durga fragrances I’ve tried so far. It’s also a case wherein the creative name very accurately reflects the note and heart of the composition–namely, old-smelling woods. Combined with leather and liquor, it becomes a masculine composition that walks the line between sophisticated and brash. It conjures an old house or bar, dominated by the smell of old wood and upholstery, mixed in with some of the spicy, herby notes that appear in a restaurant.
Much stronger in projection and longevity than the warm-weather options I’ve tried from this house, Bowmakers at least begins to knock on the door of being worth the price, especially given the artistry of the fragrance.
I can’t imagine this would be too pleasing to women, but for men in the pursuit of a woody/leathery fragrance (Tuscan Leather, Pure Wood, etc.) this in an interesting niche alternative. I’m not sure I’d buy it myself but I’m intrigued enough that I’ll come back to it during the winter, since it’s surely better as a cold-weather fragrance.
8 out of 10
qcq863Negeltzex – :
The opening is masterfully done. I get notes of varnish, a slightly synthetic, however pleasant leather, and some deep wood. It burns the nose a bit, which I like. “Masculine” and rough around the edges in a good way. Smells somewhat blue collar in a non-pedestrian “I work with my hands but I’m making a fucking violin” kind of fashion..
It remains comparable throughout, however after the dry down there is a peculiar, almost Encre Noire cypress and vetiver thing going on that I can’t really understand. It’s vetiver and cypress under a blanket of harsh varnish but it’s still there and much to my dismay, not entirely enjoyable.
If the initial spray remained throughout, I could easily call this one a masterpiece, however now at best, this is “pretty good.”
My neophyte recommendations for a reformulation?
Bring in some round, warm leather ala Bel Ami for the dry down. Varnish on top of a smooth leather would be fantastic. It’d really make the difference, I’m sure.
yrrrrik – :
I am addicted to the opening of this cologne, barely falling short of dousing myself with the fragrance in hopes of maintaining those first few moments. And they are unusually addictive: nail varnish, chemically treated leather, and the inside of an old, dusty violin. There is something almost like a menthol in the beginning, perhaps that is the pine. Spraying this on clothing or the inside of a leather bag or wallet preserves those top notes, and I would say – to me, anyway – they are the most important of the whole experience. I prefer the slightly sweet, but mostly dark and lacquered thickness in the opening to the faded woodiness of the dry down.
Unfortunately, within an hour on my skin, all I can smell is Iso E Super and the harsh crispness of Ambermax, which leaves me wishing I could be anosmic to both – the latter is quite painful to my nose. I would be completely disappointed on the whole if I didn’t receive such good comments about this one, especially after my partner followed me across the room demanding to know what the heck I was wearing.
I would say of this niche line, yes, try Bowmakers, Mississippi Medicine, and Burning Barbershop, and if you’re like me and totally addicted to the first few moments of the fragrance journey, then perhaps they are worth a full bottle. They are surprising, to say the least. I will keep this review updated, and hope to give the entire line a try, eventually!
Migmepetext – :
The woody shavings and pine resin are the first things out of the box, and then it quickly turns into freshly polished shoe leather. I continue to get flashes of wood shavings for a while. It’s a skin scent, which is good, because it’s a sexy/dirty smell you want to share with a lover, not the whole world. Like you’ve been making beautiful things with your hands all day, and now it’s time to relax and (ahem) play.
Strogiy53 – :
From the makers of Shake Shake Senora and the widely acclaimed Mississippi Medicine comes the feel good winter event of the year. Bowmakers is a story about a few notes on a mission to fill the atmosphere with pleasant aromas. Starring the award winning ingredient of Pine Tree, Mahogany and newcomer Canadian Balsam. The trio is set to give you a real life experience with natural wood and all it’s aromatic properties. The evil forces of Eau de cologne is pushed to the limit as the woody luminaries barrels past the assumed longevity. The supporting cast of leather, woody notes, resins and walnuts are aloof but are used for fortification purposes. Eyebrows will be raised and inferior perfumers will be put on notice. Definitely a cologne worth a 2nd and 3rd try….
ArturC – :
I smell like an exquisite pencil right now. Nothing else going on, just the loveliest, classiest little pencil you ever did see. This may not suite everyone, but I’m digging it. It’s such a nice crisp wood, lots of rich resin, I am daydreaming about what it would layer well with. And yet… nope, I think I’ll stay a happy, finely lacquered pencil.
If you want to be fancy, try this and imagine sitting in a violinmaker’s studio or among ornate woodwork in a classic library. But I’m a plebe so I think pencils. Big thumbs up! (Edit: While it leans masculine, I think a woman could pull it off. I would likely maul any man who wore it, yum).