A scent is a memory you can wear
Atma blends perfume from Indonesian materials: vetiver from Garut, nutmeg from Banda, jasmine from Solo. Made in small batches, given a batch number, and never remade exactly the same.
Three layers of notes, one body of air
214 materials on the bench, sixty one of them from Indonesia6 weeks of maceration before a single bottle is filled120 bottles a batch, each one numbered by hand1 person doing the blending, and that number will not grow
Four perfumes and one way to try them
Hujan PertamaMost refilled
Geosmin and kaffir lime leaf on top, Garut vetiver at the heart, cedar and Sumatran benzoin at the base. Eau de parfum at 18 percent, 50 ml. Currently on batch 11.
Rp685,000
Pasar Rempah
Lampung black pepper and kaffir lime peel on top, Banda nutmeg and Ternate clove at the heart, frankincense and cinnamon at the base. 50 ml, batch 06.
Rp725,000
Melati Malam
Sambac jasmine picked at 04.30 in Solo and driven over the same day, tuberose at the heart, Sumatran benzoin and sandalwood at the base. 50 ml, batch 08.
Rp685,000
Kabut Dieng
Mint and bergamot on top, Tambi green tea at the heart, smoked vetiver and oakmoss at the base. The lightest in the collection and the quickest to go, around five hours. 50 ml, batch 04.
Rp745,000
Four trial vialsStart here
Four 2 ml vials, the whole collection. The price comes off in full against the first full bottle you buy within six months.
Rp385,000
Three layers in every bottle, and what is in them
Eight weeks from leaf to bottle number
Materials arrive, they are not ordered from a catalogue
Vetiver from a distillers' cooperative in Samarang, Garut, in five litre jerrycans. Nutmeg from one family in Banda Neira. Jasmine picked at 04.30 in Solo and in Bandung by that afternoon, because jasmine that sleeps overnight is no longer the same jasmine.
Blending at a 1.8 metre bench
One formula takes twenty to forty trials of ten millilitres each, written by hand in a numbered notebook with a date. Trials that fail are kept too, and about half of them never do work.
Six weeks of maceration
In a dark cabinet at 18 degrees. There is no way to shorten this. A perfume bottled in week two smells like materials that have not been introduced to each other.
A 48 hour cold filter
Chilled to 4 degrees for two days, then filtered so the natural waxes in the absolutes do not cloud the bottle. About three percent of the volume is lost here, and that is exactly as it should be.
Two weeks of rest, then numbering
One hundred and twenty bottles a batch, the number written by hand on the back label along with the month of bottling. That number is what you quote if one day a batch feels different.
Why the next batch will not be the same
Vetiver distilled in March and vetiver distilled in September come from the same soil and do not smell the same. The March oil is wetter and more earthy, the September one drier and smokier. The gap is small, but it is enough to be felt in the heart of Hujan Pertama.
Large houses solve this by blending dozens of harvests into one standard profile and adding synthetic molecules to close the gap. That is legitimate work and the result is consistent. We do not do it, not because we are purer, but because at one hundred and twenty bottles a batch we do not have enough material to blend anything.
So we write the number down instead. Batch 11 of Hujan Pertama was bottled in May on March distilled vetiver. Batch 12 will use the September distillation and will be drier. If you love one and dislike the other, quote the number, and if we still have the older batch left we will send a 2 ml vial at no charge.
Hujan Pertama really is the tarmac on Jalan Progo after an afternoon shower. I did not know longing could be sprayed on.Bought batch 07
I wrote to say batch 09 felt drier than batch 06, and got back an explanation of which harvest was used rather than a denial.Melati Malam customer since 2021
The four trial vials are the most honest way to sell perfume. It took me three days to work out that my favourite was the one I least expected.First time buyer, Jakarta
Kabut Dieng was gone by the fifth hour, exactly as they write on their own collection page. I respect a seller who puts the weakness in writing.Refill customer, Yogyakarta
Hujan Pertama really is the tarmac on Jalan Progo after an afternoon shower. I did not know longing could be sprayed on.Bought batch 07
I wrote to say batch 09 felt drier than batch 06, and got back an explanation of which harvest was used rather than a denial.Melati Malam customer since 2021
The four trial vials are the most honest way to sell perfume. It took me three days to work out that my favourite was the one I least expected.First time buyer, Jakarta
Kabut Dieng was gone by the fifth hour, exactly as they write on their own collection page. I respect a seller who puts the weakness in writing.Refill customer, Yogyakarta
What people ask before ordering
How long does it last on skin?
At 18 percent, Hujan Pertama, Pasar Rempah, and Melati Malam give six to nine hours. Kabut Dieng gives around five, because its materials are light, and we cannot fix that without changing the perfume.
Why do some orders take two weeks?
Because when a batch runs out, bottles are only filled once the next batch finishes macerating. We do not hold large stock, and we will not cut six weeks of maceration short to chase an order.
Can I commission a bespoke scent?
Two slots a month at the Bandung bench. Three meetings of two hours each, a one hundred millilitre minimum, Rp9,500,000 including two finished bottles. Your formula stays with us and is never sold to anybody else.
Can you make something close to another brand's perfume?
No. It is the one request we always refuse, and at least four times a year somebody asks. If what you want is a particular scent, buy that scent.
How do refills work?
Bring or send the same bottle and the refill is thirty percent cheaper than a new bottle, for as long as you like and with no limit on how many times. We wash the bottle in ethanol and dry it for two days before filling.
Is shipping liquid safe?
Courier packaging rated for liquids with full insurance, and we replace a broken bottle without asking for a photograph of the pieces. We do not ship abroad, because perfume counts as dangerous goods and we are not yet able to handle the permits.
Come and smell it on Jalan Progo
Jalan Progo No 12, Bandung
Wednesday to Sunday, 11.00 to 19.00. The bench is closed Monday and Tuesday for blending.
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