HOMECOMING

Six homegrown perfume brands tell us about the one memory they've bottled in their first ever scent and how it paved the way for many more

- SANJANA SALUNKHE

Bombay Perfumery might have launched with eight fragrances simultaneously, but the unisex 'Chai Musk' has been one scent that has been brewing in the perfumer's mind since its inception. "Inspired by a particularly robust cup of chai that the perfumer, Alexandra Carlin, enjoyed in the suburbs of Juhu, the fragrance features gourmand ingredients that feel like home," shares Manan Gandhi, founder of Bombay Perfumery, as he tells us that the scent is like an ode to the City of Dreams - the hustle and bustle, shared journeys, stories that are exchanged and forgotten - and the one thing that remains constant through it all: Those myriad cups of chai. For Rajiv Seth, nose and founder of All Good Scents, his first ever creation bottles his favourite ingredients, and his win as he received the best perfumer's award, 2eme Prix, by the Société Française des Parfumeurs, Paris, for his creation. "The brief was $2000 flowers for the spring' to welcome the new millennium, and the scent was called 'Blossom 2000'. Today, 'Love & Joy' the first fragrance I launched for All Good Scents - you spray and enjoy is inspired by this same creation." This innovation later gave birth to coveted scents like 'Musk', 'Vetiver', and 'Jasmine'.