The doyenne of elegant aesthetics, Anita Lal whose Good Earth, launched in 1996, is every bit the woman that Lal is, has come up with a range of fragrances called LilaNur Parfums, “born in Madurai, crafted in Grasse”. Available in Eau de Parfum and Attar Absolu categories, they come with packaging that evokes the exotic, and with equally romantic names. Think Zafran Boise or Gul Rouge. Lal chatted with t2 on the making of LilaNur Parfums.
LilaNur sounds exotic. Congratulations! What was the idea?
I’ve always had a deep love of fragrances — it runs through anything I create or any projects I am passionate about. For the longest time, I have witnessed Western fragrance brands sourcing ingredients from India and have wondered why there is no India-inspired brand telling the world about our ancient olfactory heritage, from an Indian lens. That was what led me to create LilaNur Parfums, a collection of fragrances that are centered around iconic Indian ingredients, which have been cultivated here for centuries. Every scent is inspired by a memory, evoking an emotional connection with the fragrance.
Can you tell us about the name?
The name LilaNur Parfums highlights our heritage and spirit. It represents India’s syncretic culture — ‘lila’ is Sanskrit for the illusionary celestial play of creation and ‘nur’ is an Arabic/Persian word for ‘divine light’.
Can you take us through the ideation process?
I wanted to create India’s first modern luxury fragrance house that highlights and elevates iconic Indian ingredients through exquisite scents. The alchemy of French perfumery has always intrigued me and so for the launch collection, I travelled to Grasse, the perfume capital of the world, and invited four of the world’s best-known perfumers, each of whom shares my passion for India’s fragrance culture, to create signature scents using Indian ingredients as their muse. We worked together and through multiple iterations, created a collection of stunning Eau de Parfums and Attar Absolus — each fragrance is a true evocation of India.
What was the execution process like?
While most fragrances start their journey in a lab, we began the creation process in the flower fields of Southern India, near Madurai, forging a deep relationship with Jasmine CE, India’s largest source of floral absolutes to the international fine fragrance industry. Many of the ingredients used in our perfumes were borne from a joint venture between Jasmine CE and Firmenich in Grasse, who work together to develop innovative extractions of Indian flora. Using these iconic ingredients, our French perfumers or “noses” have used their mastery to capture the essence of India through scent, honouring our journey from Madurai to Grasse.
What has been the response like so far?
The homecoming of LilaNur Parfums has been quite successful and I am very happy to see the love the brand has been receiving from the industry and customers alike. The perfumes are available for purchase at Good Earth stores at Raghuvanshi Mills in Mumbai and Khan Market in Delhi, as well as on the Good Earth website. The initial response has been very encouraging and we want to further LilaNur Parfums’ horizons in India while maintaining momentum.
The packaging looks wonderful. Can you please tell us about the design of the bottles?
India’s love for colour is unabashed, liberating and joyful. As the first fine fragrance brand out of India, the choice of colour for our LilaNur Parfums bottles — a lyrical calibration of azure, viridian and turquoise and the Rani pink on the bottle of Incarnation — is a homage to the vibrancy of India. The bottle cap has a beautiful ‘jaal’ pattern and the overall design is very much India-inspired.
What are your favourites from the range?
It’s hard to pick a favourite when you love fragrances as much as I do, but I would say Malli Insolite is the one I gravitate to most. Jasmine has always held a special place in my heart, being an iconic Indian ingredient and is such a key part of our celebrations and festivals across the length and breadth of the country. Malli Insolite features a contrast of jasmine’s lush floral notes with a modern facet of woody minerality, beautifully put together by perfumer Honorine Blanc.
What do you think is the scent of India?
There is no one scent of India — like with everything else, we are such a multifaceted country and that’s the most beautiful thing! When I think of India, I think of jasmine fields of Madurai, rose fields of Aligarh stretching to the flower valley of Uttarakhand and then down to the spices of the South!
What are your favourite perfumes in general?
I have been passionate about scents for decades and over the years, have come across so many that I love — there is no concept of favourite for me because I’m constantly discovering new scents I love.
What are your plans for LilaNur Parfums?
We plan to keep innovating and growing LilaNur Parfums both in India as well as globally. In 10 years time, my goal is for the world to think of India, just as much as France or even Italy, as the source of great olfactory riches and innovation. We have such a rich olfactive heritage and scenting rituals dating back millennia —
I think our time has come to share our fragrant history with the world.
