Atelier Doré

You might remember the phenomenal Kavi from this post where we featured her and her husband, David, and their D.S. & Durga studio. Well, we obviously can’t get enough of Kavi so we asked her back to run down her beauty routine — fragrance obviously included :) Enjoy!

What is your morning beauty routine?

I wake up at 6, make the bed and hang with my family. David makes the best tea and he will hand me a cup of malty assam with some oat milk. I remove all my makeup at night so, in the morning, I just rub my face lightly with a warm wet washcloth. I keep a dozen of them in the drawer because I like a bit of physical exfoliation. I also use a copper tongue scraper to get out toxins. I’ll use the Caudalie Vinoperfect serum on my face, then a few drops of jojoba oil, and finally, Elta MD sunscreen. Once a week I use Drunk Elephant baby facial, and once or twice a week the Dennis Gross alpha beta peel pads. Both of them work so well to deflake the skin and smooth things out. I’m really into applying makeup as a ritual, and I tend to make time for it even when my schedule feels very hectic. The exfoliating/moisturizing cycle is important for a good canvas.

In mid summer, I wear so much less makeup – mostly because my skin is so tan by now my foundations don’t match and I really don’t need more color on my face. But I still do a full eye makeup situation.

Then I drink a giant glass of water with my Kimberly Snyder probiotics, plus calcium and vitamin D supplements. Really into bone health lately as the women in my family suffer from osteoporosis and I’m sure it could be in my future. I use Amazing Grass Greens Blend in a fruit smoothie. I’ll do a plank for as long as I can and I’m trying to work up to 5 minutes after reading about it last fall. I’m not even close! I don’t find as much time as I want for proper workouts, so I just squeeze in short bursts during the day, like 100 squats, planking, sit-ups. I do love yoga and I’d like to make it more of a priority in my life. I used to watch my grandfather do it each morning in his dhoti, ending it by standing on his head for minutes. It always amazed me.

What products do you use throughout the day and why?

I carry Weleda skin food around for dry spots and Nars Morocco lipstick or Hourglass You Make Me, both colors I can apply without looking in a mirror. I always have Lumify eye drops because, as ridiculous as it sounds, extra white eyes really make eye makeup pop. Recently I’ve gotten into this hair oil we created with Crown Affair, which takes their beautiful oil and scents it with our I Don’t Know What, and it’s really nice and smoothing.

What is your evening beauty routine?

I cleanse with Jordan Samuel’s After Show cleanser and a washcloth. I use a prescription retinol a few nights a week. I love blue cocoon by May Lindstrom for its texture and scent, like a spa. It really makes my skin feel properly balmed up and hydrated for hours. I apply a new hand cream we are about to release and drink some herbal tea to unwind, and I always read before bed, which is not usually later than 10.

What are some of your earliest memories tied to scent? 

Everything related to India, which occupies a large part of my childhood memories. We would walk around in the evening and buy jasmine garlands from street vendors and sniff them all night, so narcotic. Then place them under our pillows to get the sweet smell as we slept. Waking up 4 am with jet lag and accompanying my grandfather for morning walks in the Rose Garden in Delhi, so fragrant and dewy. Fresh tuberose nightly, on my bedside table, placed by my beloved uncle.

What are some of your favorite scents and why?

I love all flowers, maybe because of the memories described above! Flowers mean so much in our culture and rituals. The scent of the forest near Big Sur is really magical, and my heart is in the ocean, so I love anything salty and beach-y.

If someone were to buy one D.S. & Durga fragrance, which would you suggest? 

Perhaps Cowboy Grass. It was our first scent, and when we first started making it, we used a very complex tincture we made ourselves from Persian limes and rose petals. The formula has since evolved, but in our brand of storytelling it really has a unique history of its own, and the scent is really something I haven’t experienced elsewhere. It reminds me of our first intentions with D.S. & DURGA, to create interesting and specific scents. OR Rose Atlantic, balanced between floral and salty.