Catalogue

Arabian Perfume for Men

Every perfume marketed to men from Arabian houses, each with a verdict on how it smells, how long it lasts and what it costs.

What Arabian perfume means

Arabian perfume names a tradition and the houses that carry it, mostly from the Gulf: concentrated perfumes built around oud, musk and amber, in Euromonitor's description. Houses such as Ajmal, which began in Dubai in 1951, Rasasi and Arabian Oud made it for home markets long before it travelled, and Amouage was launched in Oman in 1983 as "the gift of kings".

It is not one smell. A Dubai perfumer told The Zoe Report that it is restrictive to think of Gulf fragrance as oud only, with big musk and rose cultures too, and leather, amber, sandalwood, saffron and vanilla are all popular. Plenty of perfumes that put oud in the name contain none, and build the effect from woody and smoky notes.

Oud, attar and bakhoor

Oud is the dark, resin-soaked heartwood of the agar tree. A healthy tree does not make it: the fragrant resin forms only after injury or attack by insects and microbes, a review in Frontiers in Plant Science explains, which is why real oud is rare. The word covers both the wood and the oil distilled from it.

Attar is the oil-based side of the tradition, with no alcohol, often distilled into a sandalwood base. Bakhoor is the scented smoke of burning oud chips, wafted over clothes and offered to a guest as readily as coffee or dates. Layering oils and eau de parfum is everyday practice, building what Vogue Arabia's beauty editor calls a wardrobe of fragrances rather than one signature scent.

The perfumes on this page were marketed to men, but in the Gulf perfume is part of grooming for everyone, and most notes, from bold florals to animalic oud, are considered unisex, according to The Zoe Report. Anything on this list can be worn by anyone.

Questions about Arabian perfume for men

What is oud?

Oud is the resin-rich heartwood of the agar tree, formed when the tree reacts to injury or infection; a healthy tree does not make it. The same word is used for the wood, burned as bakhoor, and for the oil distilled from it. Many perfumes that use the name contain no real oud and recreate it with woody, smoky notes.

What is the difference between attar and perfume?

Attar is an oil-based fragrance, distilled from plant materials into a base such as sandalwood, with no alcohol. Most Western perfume carries its oils in alcohol instead. In the Gulf the two are often worn together, an oil first and an eau de parfum over it, which is the layering the region is admired for.

Is Arabian perfume the same as niche perfume?

Not quite. Many Arabian houses see themselves as prestige houses with their own heritage rather than niche players, the in-cosmetics trade blog notes, though some, Amouage among them, are described as niche. Here, Arabian describes a house's tradition and origin and niche describes how it makes and sells perfume, so a house can be both.