What Souvenirs to Bring from Saudi Arabia – Part Three of the Top 15 Ideas for Gift Shopping
Speaking about shopping for Arabian oils in Saudi malls, I have to mention a brand that might not fit into the list at the first sight, for being too conventional. See why.
Old school store selling Arabian oils and perfumes in Saudi Arabia
Montale perfumes.
Pierre Montale has established his house in 2003 in Paris, by opening his first Montale boutique. He spent several years in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its neighborhoods, creating special perfumes for the Royal families, actually becoming a private perfumer for the Saudi Royal Family in 2001. His iconic Black Oud was created in 1993, and Roses Musk was a bestseller in Saudi Arabia at a time (well is that a fair sign of acknowledgement!).
Pierre Montale, the French perfumerist who worked in Saudi Arabia
Image source unknown
Pierre Montale came back to Paris after his Middle Eastern adventure inspired by the Arabian fragrances and started working on what is called the first French line dedicated to “the wood of gods”. Montale only uses aluminum bottles for his Montale branded perfumes, as he believes they protect the essences and contribute to their development.
After some customers started complaining about the aluminum bottles (they wanted to be able to see the content of the bottle) Pierre Montale created his Mancera line in 2008, with regular glass bottles and lighter fragrances.
Montale collection presented in the Parisian boutique
Pierre Montale is known to be a controversial perfumer due to a couple of mysterious stories that are spoken around him, although those who personally know him say that he is a very descent and humble person, and a genius.
You might get intimidated by the number of fragrances in the collection. To date, the Montale perfumes number about 107. This was the main reason for rumoring about him not being the actual person who developed all the fragrances in his line.
The second myth was created after some dishonest person from UAE started selling fakes under the name of Montale. The rumor developed into a story about a Palestinian entrepreneur, Ammar Atmeh, based in the United Arab Emirates, who was the actual author behind the Montale perfumes and used a “Pierre Montale figure” as a French-named “lux” front store for his perfumes (this myth is busted).
Don’t expect “100% natural ingredients” like in genuine Arabian oils, on the opposite, the Montale scents were created to relate to authentic Arabian aromas like a colored high-resolution photograph is related to an oil painting. Who said a photograph can’t be beautiful?
The Mancera line doesn’t seem to be represented in Saudi Arabia, whereas Montale products can be found in major KSA malls.
Mancera collection presented in the Parisian boutique
Read Pierre Montale rare interview here. He is known for not giving any interviews and being inactive in the social media scene as if he doesn’t care about publicity.
Besides, in the Saudi malls you can also purchase products of another Arabian (Omani) house Amouage. Oman is a close neighbor of Saudi Arabia and historically shares much in common.
Amouage store in Le Chateau Shopping Mall, Jeddah
If wearing Arabian perfumes oils sounds too exotic, regular fragrances inspired by the Middle Eastern aromas might be an equally good choice.
