Perfumes are luxurious products, and they are associated with sophistication. While most perfumes tend to be expensive, India has its fair share of cheapies that smell no less than some designer counterparts.
I have compiled this list of 5 perfumes, all of which I have tested and worn over the years, and will help you pick one for you.
U. R. Lovely from Ramsons is one of my biggest finds. The first time I had this perfume was when my friend gifted me, and later I bought another one myself.
When I wear it, I get compliments. One of my neighbours said that I smell like Bihu(a certain Assamese festival) because of how our gardens smell as orchids blossom during that time of April.
The scent is strong. It’s floral, and there’s a sweetness to it. Not fruity sweetness or floral sweetness. But the sweetness seems to be coming from the woods. As if you are crushing the dry wood, yet it is giving you some drops of sweet woody juice.
You know how cheapies smell like cheapies and you can differentiate them from high-end ones? With this one, if you know how much to spray, it smells close to a high-quality perfume.
Buy this if you have no particular preference for perfumes.
Raison D’Etre is one of the Moi range perfumes by Nykaa and one of the best in this range.
The first time I smelt this perfume was when my order from Nykaa was incredibly late for some reason, and I was a little frustrated. The whole mood changed with the first whiff of Raison d’etre. How can something be so soft and softly animalic at the same time?
Raison D’etre makes me think of light pink flower petals, but the scent is not as if you are directly taking those petals under your nose and smelling them. You have to be around a garden of light pink flowers but cannot enter because it’s holy.
The musky note in this scent got to be the softest musk I have smelt so far. In short, it is musky and smooth, and has a clean floral scent. The downside of this beauty? It’s not long-lasting, and not for everyone.
Buy this if you want something soft and precious smelling like being born into a family of riches.
Iba’s Raindrops rollerball is something that I reach out to very often during summers. It’s a tiny bottle but it’s very strong and only needs one soft swipe across my skin over my pulse points.
So what does Iba’s Raindrops smell like? To me, instantly from the dispenser, it smells like aromatic oakmoss. To the people who don’t know what an oakmoss note smells like, think of a damp earth or soil, it’s damp for a time because sunlight doesn’t reach this earth often because it’s covered by ferns. The ferns give the green notes to this scent.
There’s also some patchouli in it – but not like incense-y patchouli, think of fresh but damp patchouli. Overall, the name Raindrops sounds apt for this perfume because this is what rain in a forest smells like.
Buy this if you want something to carry without being scared of spilling. But also for the summers.
I kid you not – this scent is the floral scent we all deserve. I still wonder if this is a dupe of some perfume. Because the floral scent in this perfume smells so beautiful which I have never smelt before.
It also makes me think of two colours mixing – blue and soft purple. And that’s weird because I don’t know how these colours smell. This perfume also makes me think of the first rays of sunshine right after heavy rain when you can see a rainbow and some exotic flowers in your garden giving off a scent in the refreshed air.
But, there’s a downside to this perfume. If you are spraying it indoors and too close to your face, it might give you a headache. Other than that, I have found it to be long-lasting, more than I like for it to last.
While I don’t wear this fragrance often, I know for sure that if I find a high-quality and high-end perfume that smells like this one, I’d pay $$ value to buy it.
Moonlit Stroll by Chumbak is a gourmand scent and wasn’t my first choice when I wanted to buy a scent from Chumbak. I desperately wanted to buy Woodland Breeze following two very great reviews about it. But my luck only had Moonlit Stroll.
Moonlit Stroll is a name that doesn’t seem to be suitable for the scent – according to me. Without making it too complicated, it smells sweet but not something that you can taste in your mouth. It’s just…sweet, which comes from rich almonds and some fruit, but as if immersed in dark coffee.
The scent description mentions fresh notes which I failed to detect.
But the packaging of the perfume is what I am a fan of. The whole bottle is minimalist, with Moonlight Stroll written on it. And the box has little graphics which I think is creative.
Bonus: Palm Beach by Monet
The only reason it doesn’t make it to the original list is because I don’t have a link to offer to you for buying. This perfume seems to have a very low existence online, but if you know Monet Perfumes, it comes from that company. So you may find Palm Beach with your local cosmetic sellers.
Palm Beach is a beautiful name, and the scent makes me think of aromatic dried rose petals and dried cherries spread across a beautiful faraway beach. I think the beach part is because of how it is named. This used to be a very common perfume gift from where I come. People love it.
The bottle is a white opaque glass with a blue cap. The whole bottle with the cap is some weird triangle in shape. The smell is almost similar to the smell of mitha paan which is sold by Indian street vendors.
