A bench, a fridge, sixty four bottles and a notebook of failures
Two people who met over an argument about whether natural means better. It does not.
Why we print the whole formula on the label
Vashi started in 2021 in a spare room with a set of scales, sixty materials and a notebook. The notebook is still the most important object here and most of what is in it is failures, dated and explained.
The decision that defines the studio is the label. Every bottle carries its complete material list, in order of quantity, with both the natural and the synthetic materials named. Nothing is hidden behind a phrase like fragrance or parfum.
There are two reasons. The first is that a person with an allergy or a sensitivity deserves to know what is on their skin, and in a country this small they are often somebody we know. The second is that secrecy in this trade is mostly theatre. A formula written on a label is still not something a competitor can reproduce, because proportion, quality and process are the work.
We are also blunt about naturals. Natural does not mean gentle, and several of the materials most likely to irritate skin are entirely natural. Some of what we use is synthetic because the synthetic is cleaner, more consistent and, in one or two cases, the only version that does not involve an animal or a threatened tree. We will say which is which, by name, if you ask.
The studio is two people and it will stay two people. A batch is forty bottles because that is what two people can make properly between the other work, and because a batch of four hundred would mean buying materials by the kilogram and being unable to change anything for a year.
Who is at the bench
Raufa Naseem
Trained as a chemist and keeps the notebook of failures. Writes every formula in grammes and will show you the day one and day twenty eight...
Ahmed Suhail
Runs the batches, the filtering and the Monday and Thursday van. The one who says no to rush orders, which is most weeks.
Paying, waiting and receiving
How do I pay?
By bank transfer. The order gives you a reference, and the confirmation screen and the email show the account and the amount.
The batch starts once the transfer shows, because materials are bought against it. There is no card payment here, no instalment plan and nothing that charges you automatically.
Do you post to the islands?
No, and this is not us being awkward. An alcohol based scent is a flammable liquid and classed as dangerous goods, so it does not go on a domestic flight or a cargo boat without a proper declaration we are not equipped to make.
Island customers collect on a trip to the city, or send somebody with the order reference. We say this before you order rather than after.
What happens if I am out when you deliver?
It comes back to the studio and goes out on the next run, or you collect it at an appointment.
We will not leave a bottle with a neighbour or outside a door. Scent left in the afternoon sun is spoiled, and glass left on a step is somebody else's problem to explain.
Is there an account where I can see my formulas?
No. There are no customer logins on this website, no order history page and no saved basket.
Your formula lives on a card here with its batch code, and your order reference is how we both find an order again. Ask us for a copy of your formula at any time and we will print it, because it is yours.
Appointments on Sunday to Thursday
Hulhumalé, by arrangement. There is no counter to walk into, and an appointment is an hour rather than ten minutes.