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BESPOKE PERFUME
Till date, the perfume industry, and perfumers themselves remain invisible, inaccessible and exorbitantly priced. Often the task of creating a bespoke perfume is presented as too complicated, too time consuming, too mysterious. My approach is to make things as transparent and fuss-free as possible. I have simplified the process in order to meet different needs of individuals at different budgets. There is no sampling process and the packaging is simple. (More can be on my Substack about my process).
The process kicks off with introductions and a curatorial tour of my open access digital project "Bagh-e Hind". As I take the client through five chapters of scent-translations of 17th and 18th century South Asian garden-paintings, we discuss various floral and abstract notes. This light-handed thinking exercise helps the individual narrow down the floral, fruit, wood, animalic or atmospheric facets they fancy in their perfume. Within four to six weeks, their 15ml perfume is ready.
15ml perfume/ attar: $500++
The rates go up depending on the type of natural ingredients the client would like me to use and the number of trials that may take up at my end.
Synesthesia Box: $1000++
Based on the client's budget, the scale then goes up to include custom-made decorative glass flacon, perfume-soap, a set of incense, tea or coffee.
CORPSE FLOWER
This special "singed lotus" is formulated with extracts of Pink Lotus, Tobacco, Choya Nakh (onycha seashells), Spikenard, Vetiver, Patchouli, Opoponax, Sandalwood, Hiba, Ambergris. About 98% natural perfume.
Unique editions come in 15ml glass bottles decorated with pure silver sacred objects (eyes, nose, tongue, ears). More information here.
USD 350/ 15ml flacon
INR 30,450
USD 75/ 3ml extrait de parfum
INR 5,000
NOCTURNAL JASMINE
COMING SOON
EPIPHYLLUM
This micro-batch perfume encapsulates the elusive fragrance of the rare blooming cacti flower that opens only for a single night. I registered the scent to memory and made quick notes upon sniffing several blooms that opened for a night this past June (2024). Read more here.
Key ingredients: Violet leaf absolute, Lotus abs, Green tea CO2, Beeswax abs, Tobacco abs, Sakura salicylate, Clary sage abs, Orange flower abs, Jasmine grandiflorum, Jasmine musk, Petitgrain, Elemi, Oakmoss, Nectar, Fennel, Lily of the valley
USD 125/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 10,000
SANDALWOOD FOREST
A perfume that recreates the atmospheric mist around Karnataka rainforest, home to ancient Sandalwood trees. Clarysage absolute, Peatmoss, Ocealone, Oakmoss and Labdanum form a rich forest floor base that hints at the presence of fresh spring water, dew, and low hanging clouds.
Vetiver, Petrichor, Poplar Bud absolute, Sandalwood, Agarwood, Eucalyptus, Hinoki wood and Civet create an olfactory layer that suggests the presence of wild animals amid dense trees.
Orange Flower absolute and geranium add a faint floral-leafy effect.
USD 125/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 10,000
HELIOTROPE
Decadent notes of ethically sourced Sandalwood are lacquered and brought to shiny finish with the following ingredients: poplar bud absolute, Himalayan cedarwood and costus, copaiba balsam, agarwood, ambergris and spikenard.
top notes open with a powdery accord of heliotrope and orris.
Pairs with incense on request.
USD 125/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 10,000
INDIGO & CASHMERE
A perfume that articulates on what true luxury is and what it could smell like: the scent of an antique indigo dyed kimono stored in a cedarwood cabinet, the scent of softness in the form of silk and wool.
Indigo & Cashmere makes tangible a sensuality that runs old and deep through a formulation of Hiba wood, Blue Chamomile, Roman Chamomile, Cedarwood, Valerian root, Orris, Sandalwood, Hay, Ambergris, Cashmere musk. Pairs with incense on request.
USD 125/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 10,000
SANDSTONE
This perfume is inspired by the 16th to 18th century sandstone mausoleums, forts and garden-palaces across Lahore, Agra, Delhi, and Rajasthan - and the experience of the architectural vernacular of Mughal India in this heat!
This composition has required some restraint on my part. The materials that sparkle around a hot sandy, salty, bitter Vetiver CO2, are Orris butter, Japanese Hiba, Agarwood, Cocoa, Beeswax, Carrot Seed, Ambroxan, Opoponax, and a touch of saffron.
USD 85/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 6000
MARIGOLD & CORIANDER
This concept has been a dream in my notebook since 2019. I finally stopped overthinking and composed it with CO2 extracts of marigold and coriander among other quieter ingredients; a minimalist perfume that let’s the flower be.
Not quite sweet, this is slightly green, bitter, crisp, savoury with notes of green-apple and smoothness of saffron, champaca and sandalwood. It also reminds me of sancho, a Japanese peppercorn that possesses a citrus aroma-profile.
USD 85/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 6000
NAG CHAMPA
In 2019, I was commissioned to craft a magnificent version of the traditional “Nag Champa” for patrons of Asia Society (NYC).
Together with the betel leaf absolute I made from scratch, this perfume captured the richness of the Southeast Asian landscape - the sweet-spice scents of nutmeg, calamansi lime, ylang ylang, frangipani, Cambodian agarwood and Indonesian sandalwood teleport one into an atmosphere of lush abundance.
USD 85/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 6000
COFFEE & FRANKINCENSE
The absent-minded whiff of louban incense that I had lit earlier in the day, in combination with the coffee I was preparing, unwittingly sparked an idea for this perfume! Apart from the two key ingredients -- coffee extract and frankincense, this composition has floral top notes of orange blossom and heliotrope.
USD 75/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 6000
SMOKED PATCHOULI
This is one of my early works that I reformulated once more as I have encountered no other commercial fragrance like it.
Himalayan cedarwood, juniper, and carrot seed transform the scent of patchouli leaves to a smoked whisper experienced in high altitude cedar forests of Himachal Pradesh.
This fragrance was a result of my research trip to Mandi where my friend educated us of their conservation efforts and their sustainable distillation processes of various botanical raw material while driving us on narrow, winding roads through the biodiverse forests.
USD 85/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 6000
MILKY JASMINE
A composite of three different varieties of jasmine flowers and their corresponding extracts and isolates.
This atmospheric jasmine opens with a milky "rubbery" note typical of the flower. Principally constructed with Jasmine sambac concrete and Jasmine grandiflorum absolute, the lactonic notes are crafted on a foundation of sandalwood, carrot seed, civet, treemoss, oakmoss and agarwood.
Top notes lifting this dense narcotic base will remind you of crushed jasmine garlands with hints of fragrant rice, ylang ylang and galbanum.
USD 85/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 6000
EGG MAGNOLIA
The exotic blossoms of the Magnolia liliifera have been elusive to my nose until now. The large cream-yellow coloured champaca bud that closely resembles an egg, has a "tropical" scent that I only recently understood.
Champaca + Kaempferia galanga CO2 with absolutes of mimosa, orange flower, ylang ylang, jasmine grandiflorum, Neroli bind with synthetic fruit notes of mango, banana and pineapple.
These accords deepen with resinous base notes of beeswax, honey, opoponax, labdanum, balsam, oakmoss and sandalwood. This composition is as delicate and exquisite as the flower itself.
USD 85/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 6000
PARIJAT
These parijat flowers are drowning in boozy davana, and smell as if they have been fermenting in saffron and honey.
A little on the bombastic side rather than muted and nuanced, this potent perfume has been formulated with jasmine auriculatum absolute, orange flowers absolute, saffron absolute, sandalwood, opoponax and castoreum on a heavy base of davana oil.
The result is a multi-faceted fragrance that sparkles with notes of fermented fruit, spice, woods and white flowers falling on a monsoon night.
USD 85/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 6000
MEHTAB BAGH
Little evidence points to whether this "Moonlight Garden" indeed existed through the 17th and 18th century on the opposite banks of the Yamuna where it would have apparently had the best view of the Taj Mahal, or whether it was built as a romantic garden meant to bloom at night.
However, I have been able to reconstruct this long eroded garden with tuberose, gul hina, honeysuckle, orange blossom, parijat absolute, jasmine sambac, frangipani, civet, castoreum, oakmoss, treemoss, ozone, ambergris, galbanum, patchouli, sandalwood and agarwood.
The trees are still there, the parijat flowers still fall late in the year, the Saptaparni blossoms still glint in the moonlight, the last of the tuberoses bloom for the night time pollinators like moths, bats and lizards. The humidity hangs heavy as snakes from the river slither up to the water fountain and peacocks come to hunt.
USD 75/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 5000
ROSEWATER
The classic pairing of rose and vetiver takes a delightful turn. Here, I have kept things simple by using just four ingredients.
The emerald green "ruh khus" blends with Bulgarian rose oil. A touch of lavender absolute and neroli keeps the perfume light, cool and floral.
USD 75/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 5000
ORANGE BLOSSOM WATER
This perfume centres the orange flower absolute from Tunisia. Extracts of saffron, sandalwood and frankincense scaffold the delicate fresh flowers.
Foundational materials such as carrot seed, castoreum, balsam and poplar buds further lend a sticky-sweet sensation true to the blossoms.
USD 75/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 5000
MITTI/ MONSOON
Every summer and monsoon, I formulate a new batch of Mitti or petrichor.
Mitti radiates with the familiar fragrance of thunder clouds rolling in to dispel the unrelenting heat of the summer. This is the smell of moisture in the atmosphere, of soil anticipating raindrops that have yet to arrive.
Vetiver, geosmin, violet leaf absolute, lavender absolute, oakmoss, sandalwood, agarwood, ambergris, green grass, hay, lotus and pond.
USD 75/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 5000
BANANA LEAF
The shade of a lush tropical garden after a sun-shower. This perfume smells like electric green and blue colours with litsea cubeba kicking it off with a high key chlorophyl-citrus zing, followed by a sense of roses, violets, orange flower and lotus in the distance.
USD 75/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 5000
EXPORTED MANGOES
A stall with towering crates of mangoes next to the sprawling shops of flower garlands: The scent of the king of all fruits, intermingled with delicate smells of marigolds, tuberoses and spices. This perfume comes in two versions, sweet or savoury. You may choose one or both.
USD 75/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 5000
LAVENDER ABSOLUTE
I don't like the medicinal-tarpene smell of the essential oil that we are all familiar with. I prefer the fleshy green stem and bud solvent extraction of Lavender so I constructed such a perfume. A sleek glass and steel skyscraper has been built with sturdy building materials:
Lavender absolute, Cardamom, Green Tea, Fennel CO2
Oakmoss, Benzoin, Labdanum, Saffron absolute
Purple flower notes: Cyclamen, Hyacinth, Violet, Lilac, Iris/Orris, Guaicwood, Vetiver, Elemi, Galbanum
USD 75/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 5000
DRAGONS BLOOD
Composed by dissolving fragments of dragons blood resin that originate from the Yemeni Socotra archipelago and mimosa absolute, this perfume will take a while to mature. Read more here.
The heart of this "dragon" is further fortified with elemi, beeswax, rosewood, pomegranate, geranium, sandalwood, guaiac wood, opoponax, styrax and balsam
USD 75/ 3ml extrait de parfum
INR 5000
OUTER SPACE
A perfume that brings all my interests together: Retro Sci-fi, art history and perfume! Turns out the milky way is abundant with ethyl formate, the chemical responsible for the scent and flavour of raspberries.
So, knowing that and taking details of astronauts' descriptions of a burnt charred smell on their space-suits into account, here is a perfume that smells like charred lilies with a hint of raspberries, juniper, ambergris and cashmere.
USD 75/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 5000
SAPTAPARNI
As the air turns cool and crisp with a dose of smog and the floral boom of the Alstonia Scholaris, the perfume of the season should turn to Saptaparni. Jasmine Sambac concrete, Cambodian oudh and cardamom oleoresin build the foundation of this perfume.
Other notes layered on top are: gul hina attar, smoke and tar, patchouli, oakmoss, civet, leather, fennel, sandalwood, cedarwood, honey, and hay.
USD 75/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 5000
IMPORTED CHERRIES
In the interest of affording nice things while exploring the lengths and limits of "luxury communism", I crafted this perfume to claim a personal indulgence of late - cherries, probably imported from Chile.
A fresh luxurious scent with a dark hint of carbon footprint, this perfume is formulated principally with a synthetic cherry fleuressence, ylang ylang and narcissus extract in combination with the following notes: champagne, raspberry, blackcurrant, jasmine, seaweed, oakmoss, treemoss, galbanum, tonka bean and glorious galaxolide.
USD 75/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 5000
WEARABLE ANGER
Micro-batch tuberose smoked with cedarwood.
The absolutes of Tuberose (voluptuous green vegetal) and Jasmine Sambac (burnt rubber top note) are smoked over with tar and wood to create a clean quietly smouldering perfume. Look upon this emotion as magnificent, opulent, beautiful. Read more about this perfume and its soap version.
Sandalwood, ambergris, buddhawood, castoreum, narcissus, frankincense, patchouli, vetiver, civet are crafted atop the resplendent night blooming flowers. To be worn in small doses.
USD 75/ 3ml extrait de parfum
INR 5000
LEMON CANDY
All the sweet and sour soaring sugary candy-glory is captured in this perfume! Lemon, Orange and mandarin peel CO2 with a combination of maltol, vanillin, coumarin, Tonka Bean, and a touch of styrax + tobacco absolute combine to craft a most nostalgic fragrance of childhood innocence and joy.
Pure summer sunshine in a bottle.
USD 75/ 6ml extrait de parfum
INR 5000
BAGH-E HIND
Scent Translations of Mughal and Rajput Garden Paintings
Bagh is an open access digital garden project, developed with horticulturist and historian, Dr. Nicolas Roth. Viewers can freely browse through our recreations of olfactory moments as depicted in a series of historic paintings that are informed by academic study - of art, history, literature, and botany. Browse through our exhibition catalogue filled with lively essays that offer a sensorial understanding of history, craft, flowers and scents.
INCENSE
Bagh-e Hind:
A set of Rose, Lotus, Smoke, Agarwood, Kewra
Sandalwood & Heliotrope
Nutmeg & Sandalwood
Exported Mangoes
USD 30/ 30 sticks
INR 2000
TEA, COFFEE
Cardamom
Assam black tea, organic green cardamom, 250 grams
Marigold & Coriander
Assam black tea, turmeric, black pepper, coriander, 250 grams
Dragons Blood
Assam black tea, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger, black pepper, 250 grams
Rosewater
Rose petals & hibiscus, 100 grams
Jahangir's vacations in Kashmir (circa 1600)
12 potlums of Kashmiri kahwa blended with green tea, saffron, cardamon and other spices
Mysore Sandalwood Coffee
A very special batch of boutique coffee from an estate located within the Male Mahadeshwara Hills that comes under the protection of the Karnataka Forest Department. For four decades till 2004, this rainforest region was notorious as it was controlled by Veerappan, the dreaded ivory and sandalwood smuggler. This coffee, grown in the wildlife and tiger reserve, possesses top notes of cacao, dried fruit and deep milk-curdled endnotes typical of sandalwood heartwood-oil. 250 grams
USD 35/ INR 2500
STOCKIST
Standard parcel rates (India to International) stand at $75 via FedEx. Shipping flammable items such as incense and candles is currently not possible as per regulations.
Folks based in the UK, EU or the United States, can reach out to my Stockist-friend, Fahad Mayet, an art collector based in London, who regularly receives a parcel of perfumes and soaps from me for his online shop. Credit Card payments are accepted here.
Archive
2018 - 2022
Explore previous projects
& past perfumes of the season
Atelier
Explore South Asian perfumery materials here
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