For as long as I can remember I have been interested in how things – literally, anything – smell. Growing up in India, there were smells everywhere: the scent of mangoes, papayas and bananas wafting on street corners; ginger, cloves and cardamom in chai; turmeric, cumin, nutmeg, pepper and (occasionally) saffron in food; the scent of jasmine, marigold and frangipani in temples and streets; sandalwood in Mysore Sandal Soap that I’d bathe with; and the nauseating scent of the gutters I’d walk by, and sometimes even traverse. It was only natural that I would come to love perfumes. I used to buy fragrances at airport duty-free stores (Bvlgari Aqva and Hermes Terre D'Hermes were early forays) and at the time I remember thinking these were fine. It wasn’t until several years ago when I first moved to New York, and I happened upon the discreet and intimidating storefront of Aedes de Venustas in the West Village, where you had to ring a bell to be let in, that I discovered a whole new world of perfumes, that we popularly call niche perfumery.
Linden (Tilia cordata) blossoms, Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, New York
I remember then smelling Serge Lutens’ Un Bois Vanille and Serge Lutens’ Ambre Sultan. I had never smelled anything like them before: they were distinct and intriguing; my environment fell away, nothing else existed but the ambery glows of a faraway land; I was transfixed. Even if these were not for me, they were far more interesting than any perfumes I had put my nose to. I wanted to learn more.
At that time I was too naive to not buy perfumes based on just the top notes (and this is still how many designer scents get you!), and that’s how I bought myself a bottle of Ambre Sultan (which I still do like, but never wear, because the amber turns powdery on me – not something I like very much). Slowly, over the years, I immersed myself in this world of niche perfume by reading blogs, watching youtube videos, visiting niche perfume stores around the world, but most importantly, smelling whatever I can, whenever I can.
I’m going to start writing more about perfumes on a different focused-blog I started recently called That Smells Amazing. If you’re interested in perfumes, I hope you will follow me there. Occasionally I might cross-post content here, but for the most part perfume-related content will go on there.