We took Samantha Ruth Prabhu's new perfumes for a test run. Here's what you can expect

The Hindu

5 hours ago

There is a subtle shift happening in India's fragrance culture. Clean perfumes, formulated without phthalates, parabens, synthetic dyes, or chemical fixatives, are becoming increasingly popular among conscious consumers who are just as invested in what goes into their fragrance as they are in how it smells. According to a 2023 Mintel report, more than 60% of Indian consumers now actively check ingredient labels when purchasing personal care products.
Enter Secret Alchemist, a holistic wellness brand with over three decades of credibility behind it. Founded by Sumi Thadani, the brand has long created essential oil-led remedies and rituals that blend healing with heritage. In 2024, actor and wellness advocate Samantha Ruth Prabhu joined the brand as co-founder, bringing her personal ethos into the fold. Together with Ankita Thadani, Sumi's daughter and now the business's driving force, they launched clean perfumes — a category that balances botanical depth with skin-conscious formulation.
'For me, fragrance has always been part of my personal ritual,' says Samantha. 'A certain scent can ground me before a shoot or help me reset after a long day. That's self-care. But when a scent feels aligned with who I am — that's personal power. It becomes your invisible signature.' As she became more conscious of what she was putting on her skin daily, her relationship with fragrance evolved. 'With Secret Alchemist, it was about crafting something beautiful, but also clean, honest, and safe, perfume that makes you feel as good as you smell.'
Ankita echoes this ethos: 'Our formulations are rooted in the belief that well-being isn't a luxury; it's a daily ritual. Each product is a sensorial journey, crafted to align with modern lifestyles while honouring the age-old wisdom of my mother and her 35 years of research and love. I'd like to say we're modern-day alchemists, using Nature's most potent ingredients to help you feel more balanced and alive.'
Secret Alchemist's Clean Perfumes are made with therapeutic-grade essential oils, balanced with nature-identical aroma compounds only when required. These compounds are carefully vetted under IFRA safety guidelines, ensuring the result is kind to both skin and senses. Clean perfumes do not rely on heavy musks or synthetic fixatives. Instead, they are meant to evolve gently on the skin, changing with your body's chemistry, temperature, and even mood. But do they hold up in India's heat, humidity, and real-life conditions?
Test drive
To answer that, we put two of the three perfumes across two days through a real-world test in Mumbai.
We gave Rose Oud (₹999 for 100 ml) a real-world test — think humid afternoon errands, a packed Mumbai local, and getting caught in the rain without an umbrella. The scent itself has a bold opening of pink pepper and Turkish rose, grounded by smoky oud. The top and heart notes stayed for two hours before drying down into something softer and more resinous. While the drydown felt a little quicker than expected, especially for a scent built around oud, it never turned sharp or sour, which is impressive for a clean perfume navigating Mumbai monsoon.
Madurai Jasmine (₹999 for 100 ml) was saved for a sticky evening dinner out. It is a quieter scent — a creamy blend of orange blossom, Indian jasmine, and a hint of vanilla. This one sat closer to the skin but did not disappear entirely. If anything, the humidity helped the jasmine bloom in a lovely way. It did not project across the table, but leaned in gently every now and then, especially when you moved. Even hours later in the cab, it was still lingering.
Both scents hold up surprisingly well in heat and humidity. They feel fresh, do not clash with your natural scent, and will not turn cloying or chemical. That said, if you are someone who likes a fragrance that announces your arrival, these might feel a bit too subtle. They are not here to overpower.
Note: Indian skin, on average, tends to be oilier, particularly in tropical and coastal regions like Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata, due to higher sebaceous activity triggered by warm, humid climates. According to a study published in Skin Research and Technology, heat and humidity significantly increase sebum production, especially on the face and upper body. This effect is further amplified in men, who produce more sebum than women due to higher levels of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT), as noted in dermatological research from Dermato-Endocrinology. This excess oil can dilute the top notes of perfumes more quickly, especially in clean formulations that avoid synthetic fixatives and rely instead on volatile essential oils.