One of my favourite travel destinations is India and I have been there many times. I find that India is alive with a vibrancy of cultures, colours and fragrances like no where else on earth. It’s a heady mix which I find intoxicatingly seductive and just being there always heightens my sensory perception.

I have often been asked by friends and journalists which one note most symbolises India for me. There are so many aromas mixed in the air when I walk through the streets and alleyways of India that it is hard to choose. From the rich fruit and vegetable bazaars with stalls abundant with ripe fruit to fresh flowers adorning the hair of beautiful girls of all ages the fragrance of which hangs in the air long after they are gone, to sultry incense which so often fills the moist and humid air.

And yet for me there is still a crisp and fresh note which finishes this symphony of fragrance as if it were a sparkling diamond turning the intense odours into uplifting perfume. This note is patchouli which in the right setting never fails to transports me to the sub-continent.

So, what is the right setting, well, I was sure that the intensity of the patchouli had to be balanced by some freshness, so I chose bergamot and orange to give the perfume some liveliness. Under this I used a very floral heart with jasmine, rose, geranium and lavender oil to reflect the vibrancy of the colours I see in India. Then to complete this I created a base which was as mysterious and deep as the land itself, vetiver, amber and the finest patchouli I can get my hands on.

For me, India is a vast uncontrollable mystery, a land so soaked with experiences that words cannot define them. Only the power of fragrance can evoke the infinite which is at the heart of ‘Âme des Indes’. Overall, this is one of my most pleasing fragrances as it really hits the target I had set myself, I hope you agree.