A new range of progressive perfumes captures the aroma of masala chai, the Arabian Sea, and even a bustling South Indian spice market
Some scents have the power to evoke memories — the petrichor emanating from the earth after the first rain might take you back to your first day of school, while the whiff of vanilla may bring to mind memories of your favourite neighbourhood bakery.
Now, city-based fragrance house Bombay Perfumery’s new line of fragrances promises to take you on a similar nostalgia-induced trip through India.
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“I wanted to create contemporary, clean and modern India-inspired perfumes,” begins founder Manan Gandhi.
Although his family has been in the perfumery business for the last 40 years, sourcing and supplying ingredients to international perfume brands, he decided to notch things up a level and start work on this progressive label in 2015.
For this line, he brought on board renowned international noses and perfumers Jacques Chabert, Alexandra Carlin, Pierre Kurzunne and Tristan Rostain, who have travelled to the country and know what modern India is all about. The range features two unisex fragrances (Chai Musk, 1020), three fragrances for women (Moiré Seven Islands, Madurai Talkies), and three for men (Calicut, Les Cayes, Sulawesi).
While the website is already live, Bombay Perfumery will officially launch on Wednesday. Here are our picks from the box of aromas.
1020
The second unisex fragrance in the line, 1020 has been created by master perfumer Pierre Kurzenne and gets its name from a Pantone shade. “Pierre wanted to create something earthy and spicy. He chose to go with ginger, which is used a lot in Indian cooking, but rarely in perfumery. 1020 is therefore built using two roots — ginger and vetiver,” shares Gandhi.
Chai Musk
French perfumer Alexandra Carlin, who is known for her work with luxury fragrance house Amouage, as well as Givenchy and Victoria’s Secret, developed this unisex fragrance inspired by a trip she made to Mumbai. “Carlin travels to India about two to three times a year, and has had chai pretty much all over the country,” shares Gandhi. “On one of her visits, she came across a chaiwallah in Juhu who added fresh lemongrass to his tea, which she’d never seen before. That’s when she knew she wanted to create a woody fragrance with chai gourmandise in it. This is how the Chai Musk came about,” he reveals. With top notes of Indian lemongrass, Madagascar ginger root, green tea, hot milk accord and sandalwood (which also has a milky dimension) making up the base, Carlin’s creation is truly an ode to the cutting chai that is synonymous with Mumbai. However, don’t worry about smelling like a tea stall, because, according to Gandhi, Chai Musk is a “very wearable, luxurious fragrance.”
Calicut
Calicut in Kerala, now known as Kozhikode, is a historically important city, having established spice trade with the Jews, Arabs, Phoenicians, and Chinese centuries ago. Gandhi, too, has travelled to the coastal state many a time in search of pepper, and loves its “beautiful, warm, spicy character,” which, according to him, is under-appreciated in the perfume world. A suggestion made to Jacques Chabert led him to create Calicut, a fragrance that — with its peppery scent and hints of cardamom, nutmeg and black pepper — could be considered a tribute to Indian spices.
Seven Islands
Whether it’s the salt-scented breeze blowing through your hair at Bandstand, or the waves rushing to your feet at Girgaum Chowpatty, the Arabian Sea is never far away in Mumbai. And Seven Islands is Bombay Perfumery’s homage to this vibrant city, a lot of which was conjured from the sea. Gandhi says, “This is a fruity fragrance with very strong marine notes. It’s fun, and perfect for the summer.” Chabert, the name behind prestigious labels like Chanel’s Cristalle, Essenzia de Loewe and Guerlain’s Samsara (in association with Jean Paul Guerlain), is the nose behind this fragrance. The top and middle notes in Seven Islands are made up of grapefruit, orange blossom, jasmine, violet, peach and frankincense, and the base note comprises oak moss, tonka bean, vanilla, musk, and cedar.
Madurai Talkies
“The Indian jasmine is considered a noble perfumery ingredient. But because we’re overexposed to it, we tend to think of it as cheap,” says Gandhi. The need to create a fragrance that shatters this impression of the delicate flower led perfumer Tristan Rostain to develop Madurai Talkies, a feminine scent that is far from overpowering.
Moire
For Moire, Carlin has made very smart use of the Indian tuberose, which is yet another flower with a cloying scent that can often get overwhelming. This sensual fragrance, according to Gandhi, is perfect for the confident, fashion-forward woman.
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