How Scent Connects to Memory

In our bodies, everything is connected. Our sense of touch can change our mood. Our sense of sight affects our perception of flavor. Our sense of smell can transport us to a fond memory. Our sense of taste can dictate what we choose to put in our bodies, and how we feel.

Today we speak with David and Kavi, co-founders of the perfume house D.S. & Durga, about how our sense of smell connects us to our memories, emotions, and other senses.

Splendid Spoon: Hi David & Kavi! Tell us about your journey to creating D.S. & Durga.

D&K: D.S. & Durga began when Kavi (whose nickname is Durga) thought it would be a good idea to package some things David had been working on for friends — lotions, creams, and perfumes. The idea took off and we realized we could use scent and design to explore deeper, sensory topics!

SS: How do you combine your sense of smell with your other senses to create your products?

David: I make the scents and stories. I get my ideas from music, archetypes, literature, travel, and poetry. I try to recreate realistic records of certain objects, plants, and places, which I then weave into narratives that explore real and fantastical worlds.

Kavi: I use my background in architecture to inform my vision of how best to present the scents and the brand.

SS: You say you translate musical and literary spaces into scent. How is this synaesthesia (when one sense stimulates another) visible in the final creation?

D: Scent is like any other sense. You know the scent of a mountain, the beach, a rose, a chair. You associate the scent of things with memories and experiences, perhaps even emotions. I use aromatic materials to conjure up times and places just as a painter would. The only difference is that I make you smell the sunset over the mountain, rather than see it.

SS: How do you create the packaging so that it reflects the scent inside?

K: For our pocket perfumes and candles I make a bold graphic image of a dominant theme or item in a particular scent. In general, I try to keep the packaging clean and simple: it’s like a canvas for the scents and stories to play out on.

SS: Does the perfume someone chooses reveal anything about their personality?

D&K: It can! Many people now have a wardrobe of scents, though (which is our style too). Scent is very personal — we are attracted to things based on our own experiences. Your choice of perfume can say a lot about who you think you are.

SS: How can finding a scent you love help you tune into yourself?

D&K: Perfume is so personal: it’s one of the easiest ways to change the scene or mood you’re in. It has the same power as choosing what music you’re listening to: it allows you to travel inwards. It often brings you back to a particular feeling or memory.

SS: Do you use the same scents every day, or do you change them up?

D: I’m normally covered in a range of trial perfumes. However, as I get older, I gravitate towards stronger, old man perfumes — scents of amber, herbs, sandalwood, flowers. I wear our White Peacock Lily and Rose Atlantic scents a lot too.

K: If I’m not wearing trial perfumes, I love Vio-Volta. I also often rock Durga, Radio Bombay, or Coriander.

SS: When do you feel most at peace?

D&K: After meditating and when our kids fall asleep!

SS: How can we incorporate perfume into our self-care rituals?

D&K: Perfume is one of the best everyday luxuries. Every time you spray, think about how it makes you feel and where the scent transports you!