TLDR;
Demi Rawling shares her favorite Middle Eastern fragrances, focusing on scents that capture the essence of the region. She includes fragrances with Middle Eastern ingredients like saffron and oud, highlighting both popular and underrated options.
- Santal Noir by Dior is a personal favorite, offering a sensual rose, sandalwood, and amberette blend.
- Reinvented's Lucid Dream balances saffron and oud with creamy sandalwood and fruity notes.
- Penhaligon's Cairo is a rich, dark rose fragrance with saffron, patchouli, and vanilla.
- Amouage Purpose 50 is a creative, woody, and resinous scent reminiscent of Oman.
- Oman Luxury's Kaden is a gourmand saffron fragrance with tonka, coffee, and boozy notes.
- Rose Darabir by Armani Privé is an iconic, strong rose fragrance with patchouli, woods, and saffron.
- Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Oud Extrait is a smooth, sweet oud fragrance with vanilla and amberette.
- The Merchant of Venice's Venezio 21 is a creamy, sweet, woody saffron fragrance.
- Nishane's Nanshe is a nuclear rose, oud, and suede fragrance.
- Emirati Musk from Khaltat Al Musk is a unique blend of dates, vanilla, and indolic musk, capturing the scent of local women in Dubai.
Intro [0:02]
Demi Rawling introduces a video about Middle Eastern fragrances, focusing on scents that represent the region. She aims to highlight Middle Eastern brands and the characteristic scents of the Middle East, which often include ingredients like saffron and oud. The fragrances selected are luxurious, opulent, and strong, embodying the essence of the Middle East.
Dior Santal Noir [1:07]
Demi's personal favorite, Santal Noir from Dior's private collection, is an underrated fragrance that evokes the Middle East while remaining wearable. It features a blend of rose, sandalwood, and amberette, creating a sensual rose scent with a creamy, skin-like quality due to the musk and sandalwood. The fragrance has a soft, addictive sweetness and a hint of smokiness, with excellent longevity and projection, lasting around seven hours on the skin.
Reinvented Lucid Dream [3:20]
Lucid Dream from Reinvented is a newer fragrance that balances saffron and oud with a smooth, creamy texture. It incorporates sandalwood to round out the fragrance, along with plum and raspberry for a touch of fruitiness without being overly sweet. The fragrance also includes floral notes like rose and jasmine, resulting in a smooth saffron scent with sweetness and creamy woodiness. Demi recommends this fragrance as it captures Middle Eastern DNA while remaining wearable even in the summer.
Penhaligon's Cairo [5:44]
Cairo from Penhaligon's is a beautifully done Middle Eastern rose fragrance, featuring rose, saffron, patchouli, and vanilla. It is a rich, plush, dark rose scent with saffron notes and a woody patchouli and vanilla dry down. Demi describes it as opulent and recommends it for those who enjoy rose, patchouli, and saffron. She also suggests Constantinople as a more approachable alternative for those who find Cairo too heavy.
Amouage Purpose 50 [7:33]
Amouage Purpose 50 is a popular fragrance in Dubai, favored for its sweetness and density compared to the original Purpose. It is an artistic fragrance with a vetiver, smoky, creamy, woody, nutty, and peppery DNA. Purpose 50 includes vanilla for an addictive sweetness, along with rose, creating a rich fragrance that reminds Demi of her travels to Oman. Despite its beauty, she notes it is not for everyone due to its artistic and challenging nature.
Oman Luxury Kaden [10:31]
Kaden from Oman Luxury is a mind-blowingly good fragrance with a dark, sweet saffron and rich DNA, bordering on gourmand. It features tonka, saffron, boozy notes, coffee, labdanum, benzoin, suede, and wood. The fragrance has a warm amber base, with the saffron providing a leathery, smoky touch and cardamom adding spice. Demi considers it the best in its category, with phenomenal longevity and projection.
Armani Prive Rose Darabir [13:11]
Rose Darabir from Armani Privé is an iconic, woody, pungent, and strong rose fragrance. It is a rose-dominant scent with patchouli, woodiness, and saffron, creating a powerful rose character without much sweetness. Demi describes it as almost a scary rose fragrance and recommends it to those who like Portrait of a Lady and Cairo from Penhaligon's.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian Oud Extrait [14:58]
Oud Extrait from Maison Francis Kurkdjian is one of the best oud-forward fragrances, featuring a rich, smooth, dark oud with vanilla, amberette, resins, elemi, patchouli, and saffron. It is a slightly resinous, very smooth, soft, and sweet oud fragrance, with the oud softened by vanilla and amberette. Demi considers it a 12 out of 10 beast mode fragrance and highly recommends it.
The Merchant of Venice Venezio 21 [17:13]
Venezio 21 from The Merchant of Venice, created by perfumer Jordi Fernandez, is a creamy, rich, sweet, woody saffron fragrance. It features praline, oud, saffron, tonka, and resins, creating a gourmand-esque saffron DNA. While there is a subtle similarity to Kaden, they are different enough to own both, with Kaden having more booziness, coffee, and sweetness, while Venezio is woodier and more saffron-focused.
Nishane Nanshe [19:24]
Nanshe from Nishane is a nuclear rose, oud, and suede fragrance, very strong and potent. It features rose, oud, and suede, creating a dry, woody scent with a smoky, soft leathery vibe. Demi describes it as smelling like wealth and recommends it to those who like Ombre Nomade from Louis Vuitton, though she personally prefers Nefs for its softness and sweetness.
Khaltat Al Musk Emirati Musk [21:13]
Emirati Musk from Khaltat Al Musk is a unique fragrance that captures the scent of local women in Dubai. It features dates, vanilla, and musk, with an indolic touch, possibly from indolic jasmine. Demi describes it as incredible and addictive, reminiscent of the fragrances worn by local women she has encountered. She recommends it, especially to women visiting Dubai, as a representation of the local scent profile.
Conclusion [23:24]
Demi concludes the video, expressing hope that viewers enjoyed the list of fragrances. She feels the selected fragrances accurately represent the Middle East, based on her experiences living in the region. She also asks viewers if they would like a video on the designer fragrances commonly worn in Dubai.