History of women's perfumes in India

• Use of perfumes by women in India dates back to the Vedic period, when perfumes and aromatic oils were recognized to have healing properties. The ancient Indian women are said to have scented their baths with heavy perfumes such as sandalwood, patchouli and jasmine. The attar gulab was a perfume invented by Noor Jahan, wife of Jahangir, a mughal emperor in India. Suited for all weathers and occasions, this perfume is prepared from roses.
  
  

Significance of perfumes for women in India today

• Indian women use perfumes on a regular basis to enhance their personality. The toilet of the Indian bride is regarded as incomplete without the Attar Gohar el Musk perfume. Indian women use smelling oils and aromas to heal emotional and physical problems as inhaling of some perfumes helps improve one's mood and strengthen immunity. The Hindu Ayurveda medicinal-science text Charaka Samhita contains a record of the oldest distillation of attar.
  
  

Best Indian perfumes for women

• Attar is the traditional Indian fragrant perfume oil that is pure and lasting. Non-alcoholic and natural, attars are produced from flower petals distilled in water. Some include herbs, wood, spice and resin extracts. Attars use sandalwood oil fragrance as the base. Popular attars are Zafran, Majmuha, chameli, Nargis, Jantey Firdos, Kasturi, sandalwood.
  
  Shamama is special attar that has more ingredients than classic attars, giving it a more complex incense-like aroma.
  
  Other Indian women's perfumes include fragrance oils such as sandalwood oil, Palma Rosa oil, Vetiver oil and lemon grass oil.
  
  A number of Indian brands also offer synthetic perfumes that include alcohol and aromatic chemicals in stylish bottles. They are specially tested to ensure they cause no skin irritation.
  
  

Price comparison

• Attar perfumes made of largely natural oils and materials are more expensive than those blended out of synthetic chemical mixtures sold in low concentration forms. Attar-making is a labor-intensive procedure. Moreover, the cost of its scarce natural ingredients like flower petals and sandalwood oil add to the costs. Only a few bottles of a single-attar type can be made in two weeks. However, attars continue to be popular because of their exotic fragrances. The price of ¼ oz. Majmuha attar costs $49; ¼ oz. Saffron attar Zafran costs $35; ¼ oz. of Shamama attar will cost you $35; ¼ oz. Gulab attar costs $54; ¼ oz. Jasmine attar costs $55, and ¼ oz. of Vetiver Oil costs $29. A 60 ml (2 oz.) bottle of synthetic Indian woman's perfume costs as little as $6 to $8 to $20.
  
  

Where to buy

• You can buy Indian perfumes for women in India from local perfume shops or on the internet from companies such as Lala Jagdish Prasad and Company. The best-quality attars can be obtained from local family-run shops that have been in the attar-making business for many generations. Synthetic perfumes for women from various Indian brands are available widely in departmental stores as well as online retail stores. On the internet, you may find bargains and discounts on synthetic Indian perfumes for women.