New York Times Bestselling Author Alka Joshi Enlists LilaNur Parfums for ‘The Perfumist of Paris’ Book Tour
LilaNur Parfums has partnered with New York Times bestselling author Alka Joshi to bring the scents of India described in her upcoming novel, “The Perfumist of Paris,” to life.
The brand’s discovery set, featuring LilaNur’s seven eau de parfums, will be housed in limited-edition pink packaging to match the cover art of Joshi’s third and final installation of the Jaipur trilogy, which launches March 28 and follows the journey of fledgling female perfumer Radha during the ’70s.
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The $36 set will be available via the LilaNur website, and will play a key role in Joshi’s upcoming book tour, during which she will harness the fragrances to immerse attendees in multisensorial readings, and discuss the connection between the scents and her novel.
“I wanted my book to highlight India’s contribution to the world of global fragrance, and Paul [Austin] and LilaNur’s mission are the same,” said Joshi, who initially connected with fragrance veteran Austin — who co-created LilaNur with Anita Lal — while conducting research for the novel, in an aim to accurately depict the nuanced relationship between historically Indian ingredients like Vetiver to the fragrance industry at large.
“[LilaNur] uses a line internally: ‘Before Grasse, there was Madurai,’ said Austin, who introduced LilaNur with Lal in 2021, firmly planted at the intersection of Indian ingredients and French perfumery techniques. “The discovery set provides almost an olfactory soundtrack to Alka’s probes; we hope this union will bring the story of India to life book by book.”
The seven scents included in the kit are: Malli Insolite; Rajni Nocturne; Davana Cèdre; Agar Épicé; Gul Rouge; Vettiver Mousson, and Incarnation.
“India’s fragrance culture is so strong, you cannot miss it when you’re there,” said Joshi. “I’m fictionalizing it in the book, but also incorporating much of what you actually see: women wearing jasmine in their hair, men chewing betel nut with rosewater on the streets, the scent of the jasmine oil your tuk-tuk driver is wearing wafting toward you; every single one of those serves as an ayurvedic property of one kind or another.”
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