A couple of months ago at the Elements Showcase, I had a chance to sit down with Neela Vermeire of Neela Vermeire Créations to ask her a few questions about her trio of fragrances inspired by India. A native of Calcutta, Neela currently lives in Paris, where she launched a line of three fragrances: Trayee, Mohur and Bombay Bling. The perfumes were developed by Bertrand Duchaufour, who was moved by Indian scents and Neela’s stories. I thought that it would be interesting to share with you what motivated her to plunge into fragrance development, what it was like to work with Duchaufour and how her memories of India shaped the perfumes.

What motivated you to start your own fragrance line?

I have always been passionate about perfumes and wanted to create a few based on my past. It was more organic than simply wanting to start my own line. There was a part of me that wanted to pay homage to the country of my birthplace, India. Having very close ties to it yet living so far away, I wanted to revisit parts of my life whilst I lived there with my family and all my travels back. I wished to pay tribute and also, in a way, to reconnect with the India I had left behind. This had to be done with a highly skilled perfumer who appreciates nuances and gives the best effect without excess—sumptuous, but never smothering, since some natural raw materials can be quite heavy and rich.

I researched three broad periods for the first trio. These will be the guidelines for the future, though there are so many other periods from which to draw inspiration as well. I developed my concept and delved into the periods – not just through history books but using all that is India for me: my olfactory experiences and memories from my childhood to the present times. In a way I wanted to create three perfumes for myself but also to share with others. These perfumes are meaningful to me because it is a personal journey.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

It is rare that a movie sequel outshines the original. More frequently, the plot feels strained, the characters tired and the ideas bland. In the case of flankers, the perfume version of cinematic sequels, the same holds true. The original Chloé—the 2008 original, I mean, not the 1975 bombshell–was a lychee spiked rose that smelled simultaneously sharp and cloying. Given this inauspicious association, I did not think that its flanker L’Eau de Chloé would be different. And how wrong I turned out to be! L’Eau de Chloé is a spicy green chypre, with a bold rose note. It has enough retro glamour to wear like a full length ball gown and enough modern simplicity to feel as comfortable as a silk slip.

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What have you tried recently that you absolutely loved and would recommend? What disappointed you?

I have been enjoying a good perfume month so far, as I have been smelling new launches. L’Eau de Chloe, A Lab on Fire What We Do in Paris is Secret, Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb, Serge Lutens L’Eau Froide and Etat Libre d’Orange Fils de Dieu are the new fragrances I liked. I was not thrilled with Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Capri, but I did not have particularly high expectations for it.

Image: Yellow Magnolia by Bois de Jasmin.

“To celebrate its 190th anniversary, the Swiss watchmaker Bovet is releasing its first perfume for women at the Baselworld fair this week. With top notes of blackcurrant buds, magnolia and violets, and middle notes of rose petals, iris, ylang-ylang, jasmine and rosewood bark, the floral scent plays on Bovet’s origins in Fleurier, the village in the Val-de-Travers district of the Swiss Jura that is also known as the valley of a thousand flowers.”

From Watchmakers Push Into New Realms of Luxury, a NYT article exploring how Swiss luxury watch houses are diversifying their portfolios with perfume.

“With the unexpected aroma of melting ice caps filling my nostrils, I inhale deeply. Frozen mountains exhale an earthy scent, and in the distance, Andean condors fly. “Can you feel that?” he asks, taking the sample away so that I open my eyes. “That’s our ‘Lago Del Desierto’ fragrance. We’ve recreated the smell of the glaciers and the surrounding countryside of Argentine Patagonia.”

An interesting article from The Argentina Independent about Fueguia perfume laboratory, an outfit recreating the scents of Argentina. Thanks to Sian for a link!