Attar & Perfume Oils

Attar & Perfume Oils — alcohol-free concentrated perfume oils and roll-ons, from Indian and Middle Eastern attar houses and from modern imported perfume-oil ranges.

What an Attar Actually Is

An attar is concentrated perfume oil with no alcohol in it, and that single difference changes everything about how it behaves:

• There is no top-note burst. An alcohol spray flashes off and fills a room in the first minute; an attar starts quietly and opens on your skin over ten or fifteen minutes. People used to sprays sometimes think an attar is weak at first. It is not — it is slower.

• It sits close to the skin. An attar is smelled by the person next to you rather than by a room, which for an office, a mosque, a classroom or a small car is an advantage rather than a limitation.

• It lasts a long time, often longer than an eau de parfum, because there is no alcohol evaporating and carrying the oil away with it.

• It is gentler on skin. People who cannot wear alcohol sprays can very often wear an attar.

• A 6ml bottle lasts months, because one wearing is a dab rather than three sprays.

Alcohol-free also makes attar the usual choice for anyone avoiding alcohol for religious reasons, which is why the tradition is as strong as it is in this region.

How to Apply It

Use a fraction of what you would spray. One dab is a wearing.

Touch the roller or applicator to the inner wrist, behind the ears, the sides of the neck or the inner elbow.

• Do not rub it in. Rubbing breaks the composition.

• Give it ten minutes — an attar does not smell finished straight from the bottle.

A dab on a collar or cuff lasts into the next day; test an inside seam first, because perfume oil can mark light fabric.

Keep the cap tight and store it out of the sun.

Storing It Properly

Bangladesh’s heat and humidity are harder on most products than anything else they will meet.

• Cool, dry and out of direct sunlight — not a sunny windowsill, and not the hottest corner of the bathroom.

• Keep the cap closed properly. Air and moisture do more damage over months than anything else.

• Do not decant into an unmarked container. Once the pack is gone, so are the batch number, the expiry date and the instructions.

• Keep it out of reach of children.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does it smell faint for the first few minutes?

That is normal and not a fault. With no alcohol to flash the top notes into the air, it opens slowly on the warmth of your skin. Give it ten to fifteen minutes before judging it.

Will it stain clothes?

Perfume oil can mark silk, satin and pale fabric. Keep it on skin, or test a hidden seam first.

How long does a 6ml bottle last?

Months of regular wear. Because the oil is undiluted, the amount used per wearing is a fraction of what a spray needs.

How do I know the product is genuine?

Check the seal, the batch number and the expiry printed on the pack itself rather than on a sticker over it. Everything we sell is sourced to arrive sealed and within date, and if what you receive does not match the listing we will put it right.