Puja Fragrances: Authentic Traditional Indian Attars from Evan Healy + Draw

 

 

For years I have wondered what Mitti Attar smells like. Mitti is a traditional Indian attar made by hydro-distilling baked earth into pure sandalwood oil. If you can imagine living in an intensely hot dusty desert environment that reaches oven like temperatures every summer, then you can imagine the emotional significance of the scent of the eagerly awaited rain on dry earth. This is the perfume captured in Mitti Attar.

Mitti does indeed smell dry and dusty bringing new meaning to the word “earthy” in reference to perfume…

 

Evan Healy is a woman of simple, sophisticated taste. To be clear the fragrances offered here are not the complex blended perfumes of western culture which require the talent of a skilled Perfumer to build and construct, but the collected treasures of a traveler to India bringing her customers the wares of the Indian attar distillers, unadulterated, unblended, and undiluted. The attars are made by hydro (water) distilling fragrant flowers such as roses, jasmine or saffron captured into sandalwood or vetiver oil, and the ruhs are the pure essences of the flowers or spices without sandal or vetiver oil. Evan calls her perfumes Puja Fragrances, referencing the ancient Sanskrit word Puja which means “a ritual offering of auspicious items such as flowers, fruit, perfume and sacred ash. It is an act of showing reverence to a god, a spirit, or another aspect of the divine through invocations, prayers, chants, song and rituals”.

 

True natural aromatherapy Indian attars and ruhs have long been applied daily to pulse points or specific marma points (energetic pathways) by the Vedic healers of India to “quiet the mind and calm the spirit… soothing and calming the breath, nervous system, and heart and producing a mild euphoria”.

Attars can be applied more than once throughout the day creating a mild and beautiful aromatic sillage around one’s body bringing the healing effects of the oils to the people and animals in one’s vicinity as well as to oneself.

The Offerings…

Parijata Attar

Being an unfamiliar flower to me I was very interested to try the Parijata Attar. The scent is very bright and energetic, a lovely floral with a slight “bite” or sharp quality. Made from the flowers of the parijata tree the flowers bloom only at night dropping their blossoms at the first light of dawn.

 

 

Mitti Attar and Vetiver/Mitti Attar

Baked Earth captured in Sandalwood or Vetiver oil. Mitti does indeed smell dry and dusty bringing new meaning to the word “earthy” in reference to perfume… The sandalwood captured mitti attar is a lighter scent, the dry dusty earth being more obvious from the first impression. The vetiver mitti is heavier, the earth scent emerging over time.

Rose Attar

A delicious “steam distilled light rose” scent captured in sandalwood oil (much like a Bulgarian damask rose steam distilled oil)

Motia Attar

Beautiful night scented jasmine flowers captured in sandalwood oil.

Night Queen Attar

I would describe this as an herbaceous floral scent. Quite interesting.

Vetiver and White Ginger Lily

A spicy, energizing floral.

Saffron Attar

Known for its anti-depressant qualities saffron is an herb of the Sun. This scent is fresh, tangy, very true to saffron as we know it. An uplifting scent.

Vetiver and Rose

A very yummy almost chocolaty vetiver scent layered with rose. Lovely.

Essential Oil of Patchouli

A collector’s item for patchouli lovers. An aged patchouli the quality of fine wine.

 

sillage: gentle

longevity: good

natural or blended: 100% natural

worth the risk to buy unsniffed: Yes

references, quotations and photos: Evan Healy’s website.

Photo of Buddha by Sameer Tuladhar

https://www.evanhealy.com/products/fragrance Puja Fragrances

https://www.evanhealy.com/blog/show Evan Healy’s Blog

Evan is offering a tester sample set of all of the attars as a gift to one of our commenters on this post. Please comment to be entered in our draw . The draw ends Nov 6, 2010 at 11:59 pm

Monica “Skye” Miller, Natural Perfume & Senior Editor

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32 comments

  • Commenting and hoping that i can test some of these attars :)))  Mitti Attar is the only one i've sampled and love it.
     
    thanks, Wendy

  • Veronica Smith says:

    Honestly, I have never tried any of it,but would love the opportunity and I know my friends would to, after they admired the beautiful scent on me.
    Veronica  Smith

  • hi
    so interesting …
    another amazing flower : the blue lotus of Taj Mahal
    there is one fragrance : the etrenal love of taj Mhal by roma dameor, fabulous!

  • I've been wanting to try attars, but not knowing where to begin. I do know that I love patchouli, sandalwood and rose, so I would like to try these fragrances. The concept behind mitti attar is fascinating! I just visited Evan Healy's web site and really like her holistic approach. Thank you for having this drawing.

  • The attars sound so beautiful, especially the saffron. I was very interested in trying these a few months ago only to discover they do not sell them outside of the US. Does anyone know why that is?

  • First of all a thank you goes to Evan Healy for being a source in expanding the mind, exploration and sharing of the depth of Vedic tradition and also a thank you goes to you Monica for helping the river of knowledge flow and the combined offering.  I do not need a sample kit, as I know these very well, but wanted to just let you know that I think what you are both doing is wonderful as they help unfold ones own divinity.

  • I am so intrigued by attars but haven't had a chance to sniff any yet.  Thanks for these descriptions, I'm even more intrigued!  Please enter me in the draw.  Thanks!

  • The more I smell natural fragrances, the more I fall in love with them. I haven't had much experience with attars so far (but enough to know I enjoy them immensely) so I would love to try these.
    Please enter me for the draw.

  • Tanya LaMothe says:

    Would love to try these attars!  Would love to share with an Indian Film professor from Syracuse University visiting next weekend 🙂  These descriptions sound  Divine, yum!!!!

  • I have never tried attars, but I would love to 🙂
    Some months ago I didn't know a thing about them, but then I started to read about their amazing and unique scents and my curiosity was aroused.
    I'm dying to try the saffron attar.

    Please, enter me in the draw. Thanks!

  • Anna in Edinburgh says:

    Cripes! Just trying one of those attars would be a big reward but all of them? Well, yes please, count me in please.
    Looking at the rainy night and imagining smelling baked earth instead … 
    cheerio, Anna in Edinburgh

  • Wow, what a generous perfumer! Please enter me, I have been so curious about these attar type scents. They all sound intriguing!

  • taffynfontana says:

    They all sound lovely; earthy and full of  spirit. Thanks for the review and please enter me in the draw.

  • I first heard about attars a few months ago, and they sound intriguing. Too bad about the shipping, though.

  • Attars are so beautiful and special, I would love to be able to try these samples.  I have motia attar and it  literally moved me to tears the first time I smelled it.  Thanks for the opportunity to be entered in the drawing. 

  • These sound beautiful —  I would love to experience these attars. Thank you in advance for entering me in the drawing for the sample set!

  • Thanks for this article. I remember having trouble when trying to really understand what rose attar is, when I would read it is a synonim for Damask rose..