The Sunday Digest 168
"Let me sail, let me sail, let the Orinoco flow."
Welcome to The Sunday Digest — a free Sunday newsletter featuring long (and some short) reads, original columns, things I’ve saved over the last week, relaxing playlists, episodes releases, exclusive product drops, and more. Yes, you can reply to this email. I’d love to hear from you.
Sunday Read: Inside D.S. & Durga’s Music-Filled Scent Lab
by Katie Stone for SSENSE
Creating a scented candle company is difficult. While I haven’t attempted to create a full-blown brand surrounding Sunday Scaries scented candles, I do absolutely love working on that side of the brand. I mean, I even own the trademark.
In the days of The Sunday Scaries Podcast, I used to recommend candles for every season. One brand that always found its way in was D.S. & Durga — a company that not only had scents that tugged at my nostalgic heartstrings, but also world’s associated with each scent as well. Their idea to do playlists for their scents is one I wish I had thought of for Sunday Scaries — and one I may steal, so just know I was upfront about it.
In this week’s Sunday Read, we go behind the scenes of that very brand. Here’s an excerpt:
What’s the relationship between listening to music and smell?
Music and perfuming are the two invisible art forms, right? You can’t see them, but they definitely have an architecture. With songs we know this, but with fragrance, it’s kind of the same thing. It’s invisible, so you have to interact with it in a way that I often think is somewhat like a precursor to interacting with things spiritually because if you have no visual, taste, or touch. A lot of it is left up to some sort of imagination or like a collective unconscious.
When I’m making a fragrance, I’m not like, “Oh, I have to listen to reggae while working on a Jamaican perfume.” They’re not one in one out. But early DS is very influenced by records. We liked to say our perfumes are like records where you have the perfume, but you have the description and the notes on the back, and inside you have the liner notes that’s even more written about it. Like, wouldn’t you want to hear Beethoven tell you all about Beethoven’s Ninth? So that was very early D.S. & Durga–just thinking about [scent] in lots of detail and making a whole world of it.
Read in full here.
Oh, and by the way, we’ve recently approved some all-new containers for Sunday Scaries candles that have made me very excited. Coming this spring.
The Sunday Haiku: So things aren’t that bad.
Inbox (360),
damp laundry in the dryer,
Traitors on TV.
New Episode › Retail Therapy 141: Pappy Van Olive Oil
Mongolia's outfits for the Opening Ceremonies, Drake's gets PE'd, when you like olive oil too much, Howlin' x Engineered Garments, Barrett's sweatpants answers for Will's sweatpants questions, a condom vinyl, Sydney Sweeney's botched SYRN launch, the most expensive bottle of whiskey sold at auction, Paris FW vs. ski trip, Babygirl Beatles, a full Traitors recap, and more.
Listen to Retail Therapy on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and anywhere else podcasts are found. You can also follow Retail Therapy on Substack.
Things I Saved This Week
My Sunday To-Do List
Unfortunately, I have to do some work this afternoon after taking a snow day on Monday. That being said, the snow day was worth it.
My laundry basket is sitting in our laundry room just staring at me.
Manchester United vs. Fulham.
I started One Battle After Another late last night and turned it off at what felt like a good spot to resume today. I will probably watch this instead of The Grammys if we’re being honest.
My wife has been buying a lot of Mexican pastries lately. I plan on making some of those go missing today.
I hope your Sunday is filled with so many minor indulgences and joy that you barely realize it’s Sunday,
Will
GGMU