To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
IYawiqQ – :
The effect of this one is stunning. A stereotypical fresh barbershop clean masculine rendered under an amber tint; lavender, vanilla, spearmint, and lime—all in equal measure—behind smoked glass. Not smoke, per se (or at least not in how I think of it more masterfully rendered, in such compositions as La Curie’s Incendo, or even DS & Durga’s own Mississippi Medicine), but some deeper concentration that brings all those classics to be more themselves, as if roasted and caramelized. It’s quite rich, lasts forever, and projects itself widely. In other words, it’s quite the performer should you find it to suit you.
But… it just doesn’t suit me, even after trying it a few times over the past few years. Maybe it’s too close to some real memories of talcum powder, bad haircuts, and feigned masculinity. But for fans of those classic manly scents looking for something a little grittier, a little more assured, this could be it. (7/10)
Salsegaurse – :
The classic barbershop cologne with a modern edgy twist and more concentration. The perfume opens on a fresh note with spearmint,lime and spruce. The heart if floral with lavender and rose. The base showcases a note of burnt oil, vanilla and hay giving the perfume a slightly edgy and surreal feel. Unisex (masculine leaning) with moderate sillage, projection and good longevity. Familiar, yet modern and edgy and an unusual work safe masculine scent. Enjoy!
Klairiecom – :
I purchased Burning Barber Shop as a tester, and I was excited to try it, as it sounded like a complex, and intriguing fragrance. I applied it to my wrist and let it wind down for a moment. After a minute or so I took a sniff at my wrist, and I was immediately, and highly disappointed! On my skin this fragrance is flat, and I could detect none of the notes described. I would describe this scent as “powdery” and not in a good way. I recall cleaning out my grandfathers attic after he passed away. My sister came across a bottle of old, medicated body powder, and she accidentally spilled some all over the attic floor. The scent of Burning Barber shop reminds of that episode. It smells just like musty, medicated body powder left in an attic for thirty years. This is a costly cologne but it smells cheap, and I would not recommend it to anyone.
Slanek – :
Signature scent material here!
I’m crazy about this scent cause it combines classic men cologne ingredients(lavender, citrus, vanilla) with the very modern touch of campfire smoke covering them as a fog that allows small hints of these to appear here and there. It works soooo fabulously! The effect is very unique, it feels as if you layered a nice cologne with pure smoke on top and the result is very sexy indeed. I have tried other jewels like Bois d’ascese and others of that ilk and I love them but get sometimes tired of the dense everlasting campfire as a wall around me. In this case you get a fraction of that sensation without any harmed neurones. The mint adds some pizzazz to the effect. No blindbuy recommended though. You need to try this before to see if the smoky effect doesn’t bother you. It’s love or hate I think for its unconventional allure.
My only complaint (mm mm) is that it doesn’t last what it should for an edp that costs half a kidney. I am happy to say I would wear it anyway (and reapply again and again) as I’m in love with the concept and was hoping to find something in these lines. However: please contemporary natural smelling perfume authors: work on consistency after the initial effect of your scents please!!!
usmic – :
Most fragrances I’ve smelled can smell similar to others. El Cosmico by D.S. & Durga smells similar to Tam Dao by Diptyque. Laudano Nero by Tiziana Terenzi smells similar to Black Afgano by Nasomatto. Burning Barbershop smells unlike anything else I’ve encountered, except maybe an actual barbershop. Very fresh, and while it’s rated as more of a fall/winter fragrance on here, it’s proving to be great year-round for me. I don’t get the smoky note that a lot of reviews mention, and the lavender mentioned is more juniper to me. The lime and a bit of spearmint are definitely present for the first 15-20 minutes, and it mellows out to a fresh powdery lavendery, junipery barbershop scent that is somehow masculine. I love this one, and it plays out really well on my skin. It definitely isn’t for everyone, and I feel like it could be diluted a bit and sold as an EDT.
AndrewDm – :
The opening of Burning Barbershop is indeed quite challenging. It’s not exactly smoky like a wood smoke, it has a very sharp burnt chemicals/plastic kind of smell, I think it’s the combination of mint and pine that gives it this sharpness. This stage certainly isn’t pleasant. But after an hour or so this sharpness completely takes a back seat. It’s still smoky, but more lavender and vanilla are present making the scent somewhat wearable. Unfortunately, the scent becomes too subtle at this point and continues to diminish after the first few hours. By the 3rd hour it’s a skin scent, but what lingers actually smells very pleasant – a lot more barbershop and less smoke. I like the uniqueness of this fragrance, but wish it had the projection and longevity of Boston Ivy. But I can understand why they had to tone this one down a little as I just can’t see this project like a beast, it would just suffocate everyone and wouldn’t do well in public. It’s one of the most challenging scents I’ve come across in a while. I really have to be in the mood to wear this.
kavkaz99 – :
To my nose this is a classic leather chypre with a nice smoky rubbery cade note, wearable equally by men and women. It’s suprisingly light and pleasantly green and smoky. I do think it’s a particularly sexy masculine for the right guy.
What I love about DS & Durga colognes is their extremely natural feel combined with a classic aesthetic. Burning Barbershop is simply a great cologne. It’s natural in feel and easy to wear day or night. Maybe more fun in cool weather but heat brings out more of the citrusy and green feel of the leather.
(Their Sir is also a lovely resinous chypre, with nice development and a very pretty dry down. DS& Durga also designed Rodin Bis which is a projection bomb of a modern ‘vintage’ perfume that has an iris note but has no iris listed, reminiscent of Rouge Assassin by Jovoy.)
Highly recommended if you want a smart chypre with a great rubbery smoke.
UPDATE: 7/16/16
There is a great complexity to this fragrance, it doesn’t wear the same way twice. The lavender-vanilla-spearmint is definitely present, and depending on the weather and skin chemistry it presents more floral, gourmand, or fruity facets as the heart of the fragrance. The smoke note stays throughout. My only criticism (barely that) is that there is a warm ambery synthetic wood that is barely evident for the main part of the fragrance but extends the dry down and ends up being left as the afterimage on clothing. Still, it’s very cool and worth trying.
aksutin78 – :
I like this!
Love the concept, name and the smell although challenging is nothing short of brilliant. Burning Barbershop is especially for those of us who are fans of Slumberhouse I’d say. The notes listed here make sense in a pinaud powder, barbershop sense and that in mind are perhaps just detectable, underneath a heap of smokey remains. I could hazard a guess as to what this smokey note is, the first review below say Cade, so lets go with that.
The opening of this fragrance was reminiscent of the recent Imaginary Authors A city on fire. This is because of the savoury quality of the smoke evoking a BBQ or something? Well, I got from Burning Barbershop, very specifically… Hot dog wieners.
Not sauages in the general terms or gourmet sage & onion stuffed ones…not even ‘pork’ in all likelihood…
but salty frankfurters.
This association passes thankfully and burning barbershop becomes an intensely smoked, woody scent with a hint of mint.
It’s bonkers. Absolutely mad. The silage is insane at first but dies back to a relatively manageable hum.
I like it, I’d much rather Jeke or Norne If I was going this dark but still worth a sniff if you like a smokey, full on experience.
Lasts well.
Сергей000 – :
Durga claims that “burning barbershop” is about a barbershop that burnt in 1891 and that the fragrance they’ve made smells like the remains of that fire. While it’s an interesting story, the tale is apparently fictionalized.
When fragrance producers make certain historical claims, I will occasionally check them out. (For instance, the Kennedy reference and secret ingredient claimed by “Eight and Bob”). In my research, I can find no reference to a Curling brothers barbershop catching fire or even existing in NY in 1890 or 1891, outside of the Durga claim. Additionally, for them to claim that their fragrance smells like the aftermath of that fire would mean that they’d need need to have a sample of it to reproduce the scent, which would be quite difficult to have, if the place didn’t exist.
Regardless of the tale, I’m a fan of the fragrance.
To me, it’s a very nice lavender with a slightly smoky opening to offset the lavender for the life of the fragrance. To me, it’s a “real” masculine lavender, as opposed to something like “Epiphany” by House of Matriarch, which claims to be a masculine lavender but it actually more like “glade air freshener” or feminine floral.
Another reviewer stated that it smelled like Pinaud powder, which I couldn’t disagree with more. I’m a fan of Pinaud and I have both the fragrance and the powder, which I love but I just can’t make the association between Pinaud powder and “burning barbershop”.
In “burning barbershop”, I smell no vanilla, spearmint or lime – it’s lavender and smoke all the way. If I had to make a comparision to another fragrance, the closest comparision I’d be able to make is that it’s close to MDCI’s Invasion Barbare, except “heavier” and more smoky. A better reference may even be Prada’s Amber Pour Homme Intense but with slightly less smoke.
I’d have no problem wearing this to the office, because the smoke fades to the background somewhat quickly but still, it’s not something that you’d want to heavily apply
Bottom line: A nice lavender fragrance that opens with a bit of smoke but dries down to simply a nice lavender.
max preston – :
I couldn’t get this off of me fast enough. I suppose it is what it is. They nailed it. If you like the smell of that Pinaud powder the barber uses to help brush off hair at the end of a cut, you may love this. I personally hate that smell and this fragrance nails it in spades with a burnt overtone. Yuk.
max13 – :
This fragrance reads like the correct answer to a question on a perfumery SAT test.
Smoky topnotes of Tauer’s “Lonestar Memories”
+ the lavender/herbal middle section of Guerlain’s “Jicky”
—————————
DS & Durga’s “Burning Barbershop”
It is a delightfully clever idea for a scent, and I do enjoy both of the fragrances this reminds me of. That being said, I wish there was more of a transitional accord between the top notes’ heavy smokiness, and the abrupt drop off into a classic aftershave.
Fun, but not an everyday wear/ full bottle worthy scent for me, as the whole is slightly less than the sum of its parts.
bravest – :
These are the official notes from the D.S. & Durga website.
Top notes : spearmint,lime and hemlock spruce
Heart notes : lavender, absolute and Turkish rose
Base notes: burnt oil, vanilla and hay.
klux – :
Burning Barbershop is kind of a let down to my nose. It’s truly an amazing concept for a fragrance, but I expected a bit more ‘barbershop ‘and quite a bit less ‘burning’. It smells like a lime that was left in an old dirty charcoal grill for way too long. The smoky meatiness of the spit-roast char-note clashes with the slightly tangy, mildly acidic lime note. The Lavender is detectable and kind of blossoms out in the drydown, where it lends the mojo pork-butt vibe of the opening a slightly more wearable cologny air. It’s not the worst fragrance ever, but it’s either strong evidence that 1. a great concept does not necessarily make a great fragrance or 2. Some extremely challenging concepts should be left to only the most talented and technically proficient perfumers.Theres something rough around the edges to the DS and Durga scents that I’ve tried. Sometimes it comes across as a sort of rustic charm, but in this case it just smells not that well made. The smoky barbecue aspect of this is so one dimensional when compared to something like Sonoma’s Fireside Intense. In that fragrance the smokiness is profoundly evocative, here it lacks the depth and comes across as some sort of masculine gimmickry. If you think the idea of Burning Barbershop sounds appealing, I highly recommend checking out Lush’s Breath of God. It has more barbershop, a more balanced burn, and some other interesting incensey aspects that make it much more satisfying and wearable.
5/10
TundImminna – :
Burning Barbershop is a good follow up to Bowmakers, as the woody and leathery aspects are still there, but the spicy/herby notes are more dominant. Also pervasive is a smokiness that I can’t really attribute to any particular note. Very acerbic opening with a more mellow, agreeable dry down. The vanilla is very subtle, even in the dry down, as the fragrance as a whole remains pretty bold throughout its lifespan.
It has strong projection and longevity, and is more of a cold weather option, for sure, but seems like it dresses up well at night as in the day. Much like Bowmakers, this is an option I might reach for again based on curiosity alone.
7 out of 10
Mmmiha778 – :
I think of this as a much better behaved cousin to Tauer Lonestar Memories. Lots of that smokey incense but with a softening rose and lime throughout.
10100 – :
humm.. creamy lavender, so calming.. like te cream that smells like lavender, apply it on your skin to feel the tenderness and sleep in a peaceful mood. i am testing this from a decant and i really wonder does it smell the same from the real original bottle! if so then it’s def going to my collection.
MycleMulA – :
I want to be a fan of DS & Durga – so bad – love the look and feel of the brand. This was my first purchase from the house – and it was a blind purchase – big mistake. This is so damn smoky – you’ve got to be a BIG fan of campfire smoke to enjoy this fragrance. On me, the smokiness is overwhelming – kills the lavender and mint notes. So disappointing.
sanekosipov – :
After the initial 30 minutes, Burning Barbershop is a pleasure to wear. And if you like things on the more bizarre, challenging side, I suppose the first 30 minutes could be a pleasure as well.
I was a little worried when I first put this on. The opening is intense–smoky, mesquite-like wood that resembles barbecue meat, accompanied by the same mint I encountered in Breath of God, which reminds me of a tin of Wintergreen Skoal chewing tobacco. I find this combination nauseating. Luckily, everything mellows out after 20 minutes or so. The mint takes a back seat to a slightly powdery and very comforting vanilla-lavender accord, and the mesquite-like, barbecued quality of the smoke gives way to something much more palatable, along the lines of smoldering firewood or smoke from a chimney. The fragrance softens up as a whole and becomes enjoyable and easy on the nose. From here on in, it’s great–an original twist on a classic accord that avoids the realm of novelty by toning things down to the right levels and in turn making it completely wearable. The smoke casts an assured haze but doesn’t intrude. The vanilla and lavender sit below the smoke, never becoming too obvious or dominant in their roles. And every once in a while a little mint pops up, this time more in tune with the barbershop than the chewing tobacco of the initial 20 minutes.
A bit of an oddball, but the combination actually feels quite natural and I don’t own anything else like it. If Bois d’Ascese and Caron Pour Un Homme had a lovechild, he might be called “Burning Barbershop.” Projection is good and so is the longevity. This one’s not for everybody, but fans of more experimental outfits and and anyone that likes the idea of a little lavender with their smoke should certainly check it out.
Thumbs up and 3.5 stars out of 5 for this offering from D.S. and Durga.
Alex Wolf – :
This one captured me yesterday and I want to be its slave for the rest of my days. A MASTERPIECE!
natali_3510 – :
I like this one. Can’t wear it everywhere. Vanilla, cedar, cade, mint, lime, bergamot, some woods and ylang/rose/violet. Cade, or Juniper Tar, smells like burnt wood which is especially good for creating Lapsang tea scents. If you like the smokiness of burnt wood give this a shot. Once the burnt scent fades you’ve got a light oriental wood with vanilla.