What is attar, exactly?
Attar, also spelt ittar, is a fragrance oil made by distilling flowers, wood, roots or resin, traditionally into a sandalwood base. There is no alcohol and no water in it, so what you are buying is the fragrance itself rather than a solution of it. That is why 3 ml of attar oil lasts far longer than a 50 ml spray, and why it is still on your skin and your kurta hours after a spray has faded.
Attar perfume, perfume oil, fragrance oil: what is the difference?
The words get used interchangeably here, and mostly they do mean the same thing. Attar perfume and attar oil both refer to the oil you wear. Perfume oil is the broader term and covers blended oils as well as single-note ones. Fragrance oil is the one to watch: it often means a synthetic aroma oil made for burners and candles, not for skin. Everything on this page is a wearable oil. If you are after something to burn instead, that is our bakhoor collection.
What is in this collection
Twenty-five oils, grouped by what they are distilled from:
- Agarwood: five Hindi oud oils from Assam, Nagaland and Manipur, two grades of Cambodian oud, plus Qatar, Swiss and Indonesian. Blended oud sits on the oud attar page; the unblended wood oils are here and on pure oud.
- Musk: deer musk in Nepali, Irani and local grades, from Rs.4,500.
- Floral: Ward Taifi from the rose mountains above Taif, and Indian Rose, the Gupta Ka Gulab distilled at Kannauj.
- Green and woody: khus from Musa Nagar and an aged Qadeem grade, plus sandal and Australian sandalwood oil.
- Compounded classics: four shamama attars, two of them made to the Kannauj recipe of herbs and spices, and the easiest way into this collection.
If you would rather have oud already blended into a finished composition than wear it neat, that is what mukhalat oud and our arabic attar range are for.
Is attar an alcohol free perfume?
Yes. An attar contains no alcohol at all, which is why it is the usual choice for namaz, for Jummah and for anyone whose skin reacts badly to sprays. It also behaves differently: an oil warms up slowly and stays close, where alcohol pushes the scent out fast and then leaves. Our eau de toilettes do contain alcohol and say so on their own product pages, so there is never any guessing.
Where to start if you are new to attar
The right attar is the one you will actually reach for, and at this end of the range that means starting small. Take a 3 ml of shamama, khus or sandal and wear it for a couple of weeks before going near the ouds. If you already know agarwood suits you, a 3 ml Cambodian or Hindi oud is the honest next step rather than a 12 ml of something you have never smelled. Nepali deer musk is sold in a 1 ml tester for the same reason. If you would rather read a ranked list first, our guide to the top 10 attars in Pakistan covers the ones people ask for most.
Pure attar price in Pakistan
A pure attar is priced on what went into the bottle rather than on the bottle itself, which is why Rs.1,306 and Rs.260,000 sit in the same collection. As a rough guide at 3 ml: shamama and sandal run from Rs.1,306, khus and local deer musk sit around Rs.3,500 to Rs.4,500, Indian Rose is Rs.5,000, Cambodian oud is Rs.25,000, Taif rose starts at Rs.28,000 and wild aged agarwood at Rs.35,000. Compare the sizes before you choose, because the rate is not the same across the range. On shamama, khus, sandal, Swiss Oud, Oud 01 and Oud-e-Hindi the larger bottle works out cheaper per millilitre, and on shamama it is roughly a quarter cheaper at 6 ml than at 3 ml. On the rest the price per millilitre is flat, so there buy the size you will actually finish rather than sizing up for a discount that is not there.
Judge the cost by the wear rather than by the bottle. An oil applied a drop at a time outlasts a marketplace spray at the same price several times over, and unlike a spray it does not lose half of itself to the air. Attar is also a standard shaadi and Eid gift here, and a 3 ml presents properly without costing what a 12 ml does.
Buying a pure attar from us
We have been selling fragrance for six years and the shop is at Bahria Orchard on Raiwind Road, Lahore, if you would rather smell before you buy. Orders are cash on delivery anywhere in Pakistan and arrive in four to five working days. Anything you are not happy with can be exchanged within 15 days provided the bottle is at least 95% full, sale items excepted. For orders outside Pakistan, message us on WhatsApp and we will arrange it. Above Rs.3,999 there is no delivery charge.
Common questions about pure attar
What is pure attar made from?
Flowers, wood, roots or resin, steam-distilled into a base oil. Nothing synthetic is added, though most sit on a light natural carrier.
How long does an attar last on the skin?
A good oil is still detectable at the end of the day, and longer again on a kurta or dupatta. Musk and agarwood hold the longest.
What is the pure attar price in Pakistan?
Most of the range is Rs.3,500 to Rs.35,000 for a 3 ml, with shamama below that and wild agarwood well above it. The price section above breaks it down by oil.
Which size should I buy first?
The 3 ml, unless you already know the oil suits you. It is a full bottle rather than a sample. Do check both sizes though: on shamama, khus, sandal and a few of the ouds the larger bottle is cheaper per millilitre.
Can I wear attar for namaz?
Yes. There is no alcohol in it, which is why attar is the traditional choice for prayer and for Jummah.
How do I know an attar is genuine?
Judge it as it settles, not in the first minute. A real oil changes and softens over the hour; a synthetic one smells flat and then disappears
