middle east: 13 posts

During my last trip to the Middle East almost three years ago, my camera broke down, and I couldn’t take a single photo. At first, the missed opportunity to capture the blazing whiteness of marble buildings, the majestic and scary beauty of the desert, and the dazzle of gold displays made me wince with regret each time I came upon another beautiful scene. But after a while, I realized that maybe my camera wouldn’t be necessary after all; the scents surrounding me were so strong and vivid that today I have no trouble recalling either the aroma of ripe dates–caramel and honey!–or the heady fragrance of cardamom and rosewater flavored coffee. And of course, the perfumes! Both the men and women I encountered were exquisitely perfumed. Smoky roses, honeyed oud mixed with patchouli, sandalwood roughed up by smoky leather… I had to fight the urge to ask every other person in the street what they were wearing.

But out of their hot desert context, some of these perfumes felt heavy and one-dimensional when I tried wearing them back home. They were still beautiful, but they required a certain mood or an occasion, and for this reason I wore them much less often than I anticipated. Similarly, Middle Eastern inspired fragrances like Montale and SoOud were compelling in theory, but in practice I rarely craved them. When Guerlain announced its Les Déserts d’Orient collection, comprised of Rose Nacrée du Désert, Songe d’Un Bois d’Été, and Encens Mythique d’Orient, I was worried that it might be overly glitzy and flamboyant for me.

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When I first heard about Guerlain Rose Nacrée du Désert, which is part of the Les Déserts d’Orient collection, along with Encens Mythique d’Orient and Songe d’Un Bois d’Été, I was only mildly curious. Had it been a part of the regular collection, I would have been more proactive in seeking out a sample, but Les Déserts d’Orient is sold at only a few boutiques, and I dislike falling in love with something this exclusive. (Can you tell where this is going?)

To make a long story short, a sample found its way to me thanks to a kind reader, and whenever I have been wearing Rose Nacrée du Désert, I’ve been experiencing minor scented epiphanies. I may be doing something as unglamorous as picking up dry cleaning, when I suddenly catch a whiff of dark roses clinging to my skin. It’s an instant dose of chic, and on most days, I desperately need it.

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A consequence of the popularity of Middle Eastern style fragrances and the need to understand the local market is that the big companies are seeking to hire perfumers of Middle Eastern origin. Firmenich is currently looking:

“We are thinking of recruiting a perfumer from the GCC countries: an Emirati perfumer, a Saudi perfumer or an Omani perfumer,” said Firmenich general manager Louis Lecoeur. “We want someone with the culture of oils and fragrances who we could train to follow the practices of perfumers today.”

More via thenational.ae

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

To be perfectly honest, I find many Montale oud fragrances to be overly brash and lacking nuance, yet I am ready to eat my words anytime I discover something that proves me wrong. Black Aoud, a surprisingly authentic Arabic style fragrance, made me forget both my distaste for the oud trend as well as for Montale. Oud (agarwood), derived from a species of Aquallaria trees affected by a fungus, has a unique fragrance, which ranges from honeyed tobacco to warm fur. Given the numerous nuances of this material, it is possible to fashion different effects, whether dusky and smoky or luminous and suave. Black Aoud exemplifies the East Arabic style of perfumery that tends towards the latter.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

One of the newest fragrances in Montale Aoud range, Steam Aoud is a scent that blends the earthy warmth of hot stones, darkness of dry roses and medicinal pungency of oud. Its base laced with sharp sandalwood and patchouli, Steam Aoud is reminiscent of other fragrances in the Aoud range. …

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