Niche perfume market has exploded in the last decade – there are hundreds of perfumes launched every year and new brands seem to appear every other day. It’s impossible to follow, let alone try everything, but I don’t mind – it’s not like I’ve read every book or seen every artwork in the world. I know my tastes, interests and financial limits and navigate the turbulent waters of perfumery accordingly.

For someone who has just started to explore less mainstream scents or simply isn’t as obsessively interested as I am, it can all be quite overwhelming, however. Especially considering that the prices for many niche lines have become quite ridiculous, fear of making a costly mistake can put one off the search entirely. I usually recommend taking your time, starting with some of the larger and more accessible niche lines (L’Artisan, Goutal, Malle, Lutens export range; Le Labo and Byredo of the trendier types) to explore which notes and whose style you like. But if asked which smaller niche brands I would recommend, Neela Vermeire is one of my top picks.

She is an Indian woman living in Paris and this is reflected in the scents, as they combine the inspiration from the subcontinent with the polish of Paris. The perfumes are created together with Bertrand Duchaufour, one of the best noses currently working. I have no space for the thoughtful backstories, but you can read them on Neela Vermeire Creations web site. The best way to try the perfumes thoroughly – if you can afford it -, is the discovery set with four perfumes (the latest, Pichola, is not yet included):

1. Trayee is my personal favourite, a woody-spicy-incency masterwork. The list of notes is long and eclectic, but the result is a wonderfully complex, but surprisingly calm and light fragrance. There are just enough floral and fruity notes there to keep it from being dense, but they don’t play a starring role. For me, the masterful use of spices (cardamom in particular) is the highlight of the composition, but everything here is so well blended and nicely rounded with the creamy sandalwood that it just blurs into general loveliness.

2. I have no access to Vermeire’s sales figures, but I suspect that Mohur is the crowd pleaser of the line. Be it as it may, it’s certainly one of the best rose fragrances of recent times and also the type of rose I happen to like – supported by precious woods, spices and balsams. This is not a rose soliflore and on some days, I hardly get any rose at all. Again, there is the creaminess of the sandalwood, this time enhanced by almonds. There is definitely a gourmand aspect to this one, but fortunately for me, it’s tempered by the woods. It in fact contains quite a lot of oud and it’s a compliment to the creators that I like it regardless. (There is also a pure perfume version of this, but that’s a story for another time.)

3. Bombay Bling! is, surprisingly, a fruity fragrance, a rarity among the more refined niche output. And again, somewhat surprisingly, I like it a lot. The initial blast of fruit reminds me a bit of Byredo Pulp, but while the latter just goes on like this, BB’s mango and lychee and blackcurrant give way to a more complex dry down, with a mix of spices and sandalwood (you might see a pattern emerging here). It is a happy fragrance and one of the most sophisticated fruit scents on the market.

4. Ashoka is my least favourite of the four, although it has been growing on me. I think the problem was, at least partly, that my expectations were so high and a fig-leather scent sounded so intriguing. In reality, I don’t get much leather from this, but I do smell a very clear parsley note, which is probably my least favourite herb. In my experience, the milky greenness (the fig leaf is definitely there) turns pretty quickly into a balsam-y skin scent with the old friend sandalwood making an appearance and a touch of green remaining. It is the sweetest of the four and not a bad scent by any means, just not my favourite.

I’ve been smelling this quartet of fragrances next to each other for several days now and while they all have strong personalities, there is also a clear family resemblance. These are all high quality, complex, intricate scents, woven together from a myriad of different and sometimes unlikely notes. Although interpretations vary, the thread of spices and sandalwood runs through all of them. They all seem to be shape shifters, too, smelling differently on different people and even on the same person on different days. I have also discovered, after testing them in the uncharacteristically hot Brussels, that despite the richness, they all work beautifully in the heat. Must be that Indian heritage.

Neela Vermeire discovery set includes 8ml of every fragrance listed above and can be purchased on her web site.