I first came across HEIR on Instagram, and then spotted Kedara in ELLE India, which immediately made me curious about the brand. What drew me in even before I smelled the fragrances was the sheer symmetry and harmony of the brand as a whole. From the sculptural, ribbed bottle to the packaging and the visual language, everything feels incredibly considered without feeling overworked. There is a sense of balance to HEIR that I found very appealing. The fact that HEIR is female-founder-led makes the story even more exciting to me, particularly because the fragrances have been created in collaboration with the iconic and wonderfully edgy perfumer Michael Nørdstrand. It is a pretty remarkable combination of an Indian point of view with a perfumer whose work has such a distinctive personality and international perspective. And then there is Kedara. To me, Kedara smells like a magical trek through a misty forest: cool, green, slightly damp, woody and incredibly atmospheric. There is something about it that makes me imagine walking through wet earth and ancient trees with the air getting cooler as you climb. The bergamot and pink pepper give it a lovely freshness, while the hinoki, cedar and vetiver create that wonderfully earthy, forest-like quality. There's juniper in here that makes it a tad bit icy. HEIR itself describes Kedara in terms of movement, distance and the quiet reward of the journey, and I think that comes through beautifully in the fragrance. This is exactly the kind of fragrance I usually gravitate towards and genuinely love. I tend to prefer scents that transport me somewhere rather than simply smell “pretty,” and Kedara has that sense of place. It feels outdoorsy, contemplative and quietly magical without becoming too literal. As a true fragrance aficionado, I think HEIR is doing something very exciting for Indian niche perfumery. There is a level of thoughtfulness in the entire presentation - from the bottle design to the global perfumery collaboration and the compositions themselves, that feels like a significant step towards elevating the standards of what an Indian niche fragrance house can look and smell like. The brand manages to feel distinctly Indian in its origins while still speaking the language of contemporary international niche perfumery.