Hello, and welcome

Happy
and master of himself
is the man who
for every day of his life can say:
“Today I have lived;
tomorrow if God extends for us
a horizon of dark clouds
or designs a morning
of limpid light,
he will not change our poor past
he will do nothing without the memory
of events that the fleeting hour
will have assigned to us.” —Horace, Odes, Book III, 29

This website is my exploration into the world of fragrances. If you found a perfume here, then it’s because I really like it.

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.

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 they 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). 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.

Now, I explore new fragrances from local niche perfume stores, mostly Twisted Lily, and through samples from websites like Luckyscent and Scent Split and usually buy scents that I fall in love with or, at the least, like very much.

I believe there is absolutely a place for objective critique – both good and bad – and I certainly rely on many of these when evaluating new scents to try for myself, but in this space I simply hope to give you my own very subjective perspective on scents I love.

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please feel free to write in!

info@thatsmellsamazing.com