Anyone for tennis? The All England championships are underway, rackets are calibrated as carefully as Kris Jenner’s new facelift, and the perfume world has just served us the perfect scent, which smells exactly like Wimbledon. Or at least, how we’d like to think it smells. It’s the work of niche fragrance brand DS & Durga, and it’s even got a name cheekier than that Athena poster.
Meet Crush Balls, a new summer edition which slams the summer vibes straight down the line and sends up clouds of joy. For SW19 vibes, the perfumers could have gone down the strawberry and cream route, but actually we’re already well served for this style of gourmands at the moment (Le Monde Gourmand Fraise Fouettée Eau de Parfum and KAYALI Yum Boujee Marshmallow | 81 Eau de Parfum Intense both do dessert berries exceptionally well, for instance).
Instead, Crush Balls hits a crisp outdoors feel, opening its game with a bouncy thwack of green grass. (If you’re forever mourning Gap’s Grass perfume, this might be what you’re been looking for).
As the fragrance develops, there’s a lively rally with rosemary, keeping the energy levels up. Finally, we’re onto the base (or baseline?) notes, struck deep and true as a blend of white cotton and yellow fuzz hedge flowers. It is, in a word: ace.
Now we’re tired out from the back and forth of bad tennis puns, we’ll take a little time out for some (hopefully) useful information. From a technical point of view, Crush Balls is a green aromatic scent, designed to be worn by men and women alike. A true game of mixed doubles, you might say. (Oh, okay, enough!)
To be serious for a second, it’s honestly one of the most gorgeous, and seriously sexy fragrances we’ve smelt in a while. Maybe it’s the vision of freshly-cut grass and skin-warmed cotton shirts it conjures up but the last time we felt this giddy, Andre Agassi still had hair and was serving for the Championship in 1992. Swoon.
Crush Balls is part of the brand’s Studio Juice collection and strictly limited edition, so if you fancy it, you might want to snap it up pronto, lest it vanishes faster than the average British wild card on the outer courts.
It’s not the only new seasonal scent that’s drawing upon the great British summer for olfactory inspiration. If your fragrance tastes run sweeter, look out for Jo Malone London’s new Raspberry Ripple perfume, which does exactly what it says on the bottle.
Alternatively, you might fancy something more far-flung. If that’s the case, your perfume passport is ready to be stamped by some of the planet’s dreamiest destinations, from Como and Capri to the Seychelles and Santorini – pure sensory delight with no risk of delays.
