What Souvenirs to Bring from Saudi Arabia – Part One of the Top 15 Ideas for Gift Shopping, continued.
Saudi Arabian perfumed oils – Brands
Browsing through little “hole-in-the-wall” stores in Saudi souks, finding the perfect gem to take home, bargaining and haggling over prices – isn’t that a great way to take a glimpse of the Kingdom’s traditional culture? However if you are looking to purchase genuine Arabian perfumed oil, I would advise to buy it from the known sources
Shopping for Saudi perfume oil
Let’s talk about specific brands producing Arabian oil that makes a perfect gift from the Kingdom.
- Your best bet (and the most expensive choice) will be the fragrances of the Abdul Samad Al Qurashi Genuinely Saudi, with the history covering 150 years, favored by the Royals, run by the ancestors of the founder, this establishment uses the best ingredients when producing their precious fragrances. Read their story here and check out their website:
- Arabian Oud is also a fair choice. Established in 1982, it is now the world largest fragrance manufacturer that specializes in oriental oil perfumes. Their perfume book lists over 400 luxurious fragrances.
- Some other Saudi perfumeries that I’m not personally familiar with but believe they are worth mentioning:
Aldakheel Oud: they are in the market for over 25 years, with a factory located in Riyadh.
Almajed for Oud: entered in the world of perfumery 50 years ago with a factory in Riyadh.
Oud Elite: their story started in 2007 but they claim they already belong to the list of top 100 Saudi brands (I’ve noticed the “top 100” badge on their website, but couldn’t find what year they refer to). Relatively new to the market, and their website is kind of raw (nice template though!) at the moment, but their bukhoor that I have at home smells divine!
Zohoor Alreef: originally from the city of Khobar, the two AlKhaldi brothers opened their first shop in 1991, and they now have a production facility in France. I’m guessing they have rather westernized versions of perfume.
Al Haramain: established originally in the city of Mecca in 1970, back then they had a couple of shops in Mecca and Madinah. Their nowadays headquarters and the manufactory is in UAE.
Precious Arabian aromatic oil
Image source: The Traditional Craft in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia book by the author whose name I couldn’t translate from Arabic into English.
- The following perfumeries are not Saudi Arabian, but you might be tempted to step into their stores and smell some oriental fragrances, as they have outlets in the KSA representing Gulf countries in the Saudi market (there are a few cheaper options in the list that might be good for non-sophisticated perfume lovers who only start getting acquainted with Middle Eastern perfumes):
Swiss Arabian (UAE)
Rasasi (UAE)
Yas (UAE)
Ajmal (India/UAE) originally from India, but moved operation to Dubai some 40 years ago, with strong representation in the Middle East.
Asgharali (Bahrain)
Junaid (Bahrain): established in 1910
Anfasic Dokhoon (UAE): the Mohamed Hilal Group has a few different brands listed on their website, I’m curious what are Hilal and Khaltat Blends of Love are about).
I had an unfortunate incident with this particular brand. They produce a series of perfumes called “Scented Diary”, where all the perfumes in the series were called after a certain day of the year: April 2nd, August 31st, December 2nd, February 29th, January 23rd, June 15th, March 6th, May 18th, November 18th, October 10th. Well, one of the dates is the date of an event that is very memorable to me, and I thought this perfume would make a great gift to the one involved. I ordered the perfume online, and it turned out that they don’t print the actual date on the newer bottle versions, but just the name of the month. That was too much disappointing. The perfume smells great though!
Al Shaya (Kuwait)
Not only perfumed oil can be bought in Arabian perfumeries. The next post will uncover more products that can be located in Arabian perfumeries, they are definitely worth to be checked out!
