India is alive with scent; from the aromatic rose fields of Aligarh, to the jasmine fields of Tamil Nadu and the peppery spice gardens of Kerala, dozens of exquisite ingredients used in fine fragrances are cultivated in these regions, stretching over centuries, back to the time when India was famed for its art and sophisticated use of perfumery. Still, there has yet to be an exceptional fine fragrance line from India; until now.
The launch of LilaNur Parfums as India’s first luxury fragrance house, celebrates the country’s abundant flora and olfactory riches, expressed through the lens of French master perfumery. Born in Madurai and crafted in Grasse, LilaNur Parfums is India’s scented love letter to the world.
The story begins with Anita Lal and her deep fascination with the vivid colors and heady scents that punctuate everyday life across the subcontinent. She founded Good Earth, India’s leading design house in 1996 to celebrate the designs and stories of India. It has been Anita’s dream to create a fine fragrance brand based on the authenticity of Indian ingredients, modern perfumery expertise and the reintroduction of the sensual tradition of scenting with Attars; perfumed-oils.
In Paul Austin - who Anita commissioned to help her create LilaNur Parfums - she found a kindred spirit with a love for Indian flora and deep expertise in international perfumery and brand development. Formerly the Senior Vice President for the Fine Fragrances division at Givaudan, he founded Austin Advisory Group, an award-winning creative agency focused on storytelling and the senses, while on a research trip to India in 2009. LilaNur Parfums embodies his dedication to spotlighting the terroir of natural ingredients, and his admiration for the beauty, craft, and cultural traditions of India.
The story of LilaNur Parfums began in the fragrant flower fields of Southern India, where the house soon forged a deep relationship with the proprietors of Jasmine C.E., India’s largest source of floral absolutes for the international fine fragrance industry. These Indian flowers - distilled and extracted for use by the world’s most renowned master perfumers - are grown and harvested by a community of 5000 women.
Propelled by Anita’s belief that community is at the heart of culture, and at the heart of India’s floriculture are the communities of flower growers and harvesters, she established the Rosabagh Foundation. Its mission is to help sustain the livelihoods of this community by initiating various social impact programs aimed at enhancing the quality of their lives and providing access to social enterprise.
By pairing agricultural expertise and extraction know-how at the source, along with perfumery expertise from Grasse, LilaNur Parfums was able to develop each scent with an unbroken and traceable line from cultivation to creation.
The LilaNur Parfums range includes seven Eau de Parfums and three alcohol-free, oil-based scents, called Attar Absolus.
For the Eau de Parfums, four of France's most revered perfumers - Honorine Blanc, Olivier Cresp, Fabrice Pellegrin, and Clément Gavarry - each with a shared passion for the fragrance culture of India - were invited to compose a scent using iconic Indian ingredients as their muse and starting point.
Six of the Eau de Parfums have been composed around Indian ingredients such as Jasmine Sambac, Tuberose, Rose Centiolfia, Vetiver, Davana, and Agarwood. The seventh Eau de Parfum - named Incarnation - embodies the design dialogue between India and France.
Attars are a uniquely Indian scenting tradition used for centuries to scent the body and enrich the soul. LilaNur Parfums has collaborated with the Firmenich Naturals Innovation Group in Grasse to develop a modern attar formulation using a proprietary infusion process in which pure floral absolutes and sustainably sourced sandalwood are macerated together for over 100 days. The result is a collection of Attar Absolu oils that are unparalleled in their purity, intensity, and luminosity when glossed onto the skin.
LilaNur Parfums is available exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman and lilanur.com. Prices range from $275 (100ml Eau de Parfums) to $420 (30ml Attar Absolus).
“True luxury is in the details of everyday living.
It is in being surrounded by pure and natural scents and materials that have been handcrafted and thoughtfully designed to engage the spirit.”
- Anita Lal, Founder LilaNur Parfums
For more information on LilaNur Parfums, visit lilanur.com