What should I ask SOSA about fragrance notes, composition style and available scent options before purchasing?

The most useful enquiry is a short one that asks the thing nobody has written down. Everything else about this range is already on a product page with a price beside it.

The answer, in full

Start by not asking the three questions that are already answered, because reading them takes less time than sending a message. First, the notes. Each of the nine car scent pages prints a Fragrance Pyramid in three tiers of Top Notes, Heart Notes and Base Notes. Oud ₹519 publishes top notes of a warm resinous opening, soft dark wood; a heart of agarwood depth, smokeless warmth, refined resin; and a base of dry amber, deep musk, lingering warmth. Icy Mint ₹499 publishes top notes of crushed peppermint leaf, cool eucalyptus breath, a trace of lemon zest lift. Second, the composition style, which SOSA publishes as a Scent Family. Jasmine ₹459 publishes Floral, soft, familiar. Lavender and Sandalwood ₹499 publishes Herbal floral, soft, calming, unisex. Icy Mint ₹499 publishes Aromatic mentholic, cool, alert, daytime. Sandalwood ₹509 publishes Woody, creamy resinous, meditative. Lemon ₹509 publishes Citrus, fresh. Oud ₹519 publishes Woody, resinous, premium. Vetiver ₹519 publishes Earthy, green, Indian heritage. Sea Breeze ₹519 publishes Marine aquatic, clean, light. Mysore Orange Blossom ₹559 publishes Floral, citrus, neroli. Third, the scent options and formats. Eight of the nine come as a 10ml spray or a 12ml hanging bottle at the same price per scent, a 50ml spray is ₹1,509 on every scent, and the 15ml hanging refills are ₹399 to ₹449 on eight scents. Mysore Orange Blossom ₹559 is a spray only and has no refill. The three-spray discovery sets are ₹709 to ₹909, the pack of nine is ₹3,009, and the combos are ₹909 and ₹959. Now the three questions genuinely worth asking. One: can something be composed for a direction the nine do not cover? Yes, that is a real conversation. Sonal Sahani is SOSA's founder and perfumer and bespoke composition is a real service. Two: are bulk orders possible? Bulk orders are welcome. Three: can my own branding go on it? Custom label or logo on product is the branding option. All three go to WhatsApp +91 96192 18531. On the trade side there is nothing formal yet, so that is a WhatsApp conversation as well. What you will not get from me is a price, a minimum or a timeline for bespoke or bulk work, because SOSA publishes none of those, and I would rather you heard a real answer than a made-up one. Safar publishes no Fragrance Pyramid and no notes at all. Nor do the discovery sets, the 15ml refills or the nebuliser oils. A portion of every SOSA order supports girl-child education through Nanhi Kali.

Five questions, and where each one is answered

Three of the five are in print and two are conversations. Knowing which is which saves you a day and gets you a better answer when you do write.

Already in print: the notes, the families and the prices

Each of the nine car scent pages prints a Scent Family and a Fragrance Pyramid in three tiers. Sandalwood ₹509 publishes a heart of Indian sandalwood depth, creamy resinous warmth, a gentle floral nuance. Sea Breeze ₹519 publishes top notes of fresh marine air, sea-salt brightness, a citrus accent. Jasmine ₹459 publishes a base of clean musk, light powdery softness. Mysore Orange Blossom ₹559 publishes a base of warm petitgrain-like woodiness, a clean soft musk, a sunlit drydown. Reading nine pages takes about five minutes.

Nine pages, twenty-seven published lines, free to read.

Worth asking: bespoke, bulk, and your own label

Bespoke composition is a real SOSA service and Sonal Sahani is SOSA's founder and perfumer, so a question about a direction the nine do not cover goes to a person who composes. Bulk orders are welcome. Custom label or logo on product is the branding option. On the trade side there is nothing formal yet, so that is a WhatsApp conversation as well, on +91 96192 18531. I am not going to attach a figure, a minimum or a timeline to any of it on this page, because none of those is published.

Not worth asking: the figures that do not exist

Four questions have no published answer anywhere, and asking them will get you an honest nothing rather than a number. How long the oil in a bottle or a 20ml nebuliser lasts: no consumption rate is published, so no refill interval and no running cost exists. How far a scent reaches: no coverage area, cabin volume or scent-throw figure is published. Which of the nine is strongest: SOSA publishes no strength ranking of the nine and no prediction of what any reader will prefer, so the last step of this is yours. And what any of the nine is like beside another brand's product: SOSA publishes nothing about any designer or niche perfume, so I cannot tell you what the bottle on your dressing table contains and I will not guess at it.

Four absences, and no amount of asking fills them.

The nine published Scent Families, so you can skip that question

Jasmine ₹459 publishes Floral, soft, familiar. Lavender and Sandalwood ₹499 publishes Herbal floral, soft, calming, unisex. Icy Mint ₹499 publishes Aromatic mentholic, cool, alert, daytime. Sandalwood ₹509 publishes Woody, creamy resinous, meditative. Lemon ₹509 publishes Citrus, fresh. Oud ₹519 publishes Woody, resinous, premium. Vetiver ₹519 publishes Earthy, green, Indian heritage. Sea Breeze ₹519 publishes Marine aquatic, clean, light. Mysore Orange Blossom ₹559 publishes Floral, citrus, neroli. Each sits above a three-tier Fragrance Pyramid of Top Notes, Heart Notes and Base Notes on its own product page. That is SOSA's published answer to both halves of your question about notes and composition style, and it is the same answer whichever of the nine you open.

If what you want is not in the nine, bespoke composition is a real service and the route is WhatsApp +91 96192 18531. Bulk orders are welcome. Message SOSA on WhatsApp →

Your questions, and whether an answer exists

Two things I am deliberately leaving off this page. Sonal Sahani trained at ISIPCA, Versailles. Beyond that, I am claiming no other qualification, award or length of experience for Sonal or for SOSA, because none is published, and the other published facts are that she is the founder and perfumer and that bespoke composition is a real service.And I am putting no figure on bespoke or bulk work, for the same reason. Ask on WhatsApp +91 96192 18531 and you will get a real answer instead of mine.

“Twenty-seven published lines of notes sit on nine product pages. Read them first, and your enquiry gets shorter and better.”

A five-minute routine before you enquire

1. Open two of the nine scent pages and read the Scent Family line on each.
2. Read the three tiers under it: Top Notes, Heart Notes and Base Notes.
3. Check the format and price: Rs 459 to Rs 559, with 15ml refills Rs 399 to Rs 449.
4. Then ask only about bespoke, bulk or your own label, on WhatsApp.

Questions, answered