How Amouage Is Tracing A Line Through The Past With Its New Collection of Attars
The Omani luxury perfume house has reimagined a regional treasure for modern-day fragrance aficionados
Bazaar Arabia sat down with Renaud Salmon,Creative Director of Amouage, an Omani luxury perfume house founded 40 years ago by Qaboos Bin Said, the late Sultan of Oman, as a way of preserving the Sultanate’s time-honoured tradition of perfumery.
“It’s a very different experience from an eau de parfum,” explains Renaud as he shares his expert insight into how the attars are, at their very core, essential oils derived from nature – think flowers, spices and plants – and in a league of their own when it comes to scent.
Why are they more precious than, say, you standard perfume?
Unlike eau de parfums, they do not contain alcohol. This gives the attars a different scent profile – they are more concentrated and do not diffuse to the same degree. In fact, an attar can last over 12 hours on the skin.
“It is more gradual, but at the same time it is very intense,” Renaud notes.
Applying an attar is a somewhat personal, intimate experience. They are applied directly on the skin and typically on the pulse points; however, because they are not in diffusers, the wearer can control the quantity they apply and be selective about the area.
The Inspiration Behind The Collection
The six scents are each inspired by various regions in Oman. From the Hamra Mountains to the ancient village of Ulya, each location has its own mythical overtone bestowed upon it by centuries of history.
“I am not trying, as the Creative Director of Amouage to romance a post card of Oman,” Renaud says. “I am trying to observe in a very respectful way, and I’m trying to come up with a proposal and I’m trying to understand how it resonates with people at Amouage, with local people, with international people… .”
The creation of attars is an ancient practice in the region and, for Amouage, introducing them into their line of products, is a way of conserving the authority of tradition while also harnessing new innovations and techniques in perfumery.
When asked about the alchemy of the attars, Renaud explains, that they have very subtle nuances, intentionally mirroring the many layers of Oman, which he says “is a complex, multifaceted place.”
For Renaud, perfumery is about the mixing of scents to create one that we recognise, such as rose. “That’s the beauty of perfumery, perfumery is not something literal, perfumery is an art and perfumery is a way to combine smells.”
Words of Wisdom On Layering…
Renaud suggests layering two attars, or an attar with an eau de parfum. He recommends applying one attar to one wrist and another to another wrist. Layering, for Renaud, is less about mixing two scents than about wearing two at the same time. For him it is a luxury to be able to catch a whiff of one scent at one point throughout your day and then another later on.
Dedicated To The True Perfume Enthusiast
Amouage caters to a curiosity and a desire to embark on your own journey of discovery through fragrance. “We are not catering to a specific audience or age or gender, it is really about if you genuinely and generously love perfume, then you will appreciate Amouage because, you are going to understand what is behind the surface,” Renaud says.
The attars can be purchased individually or in a set; for more information, visit amouage.com
Lead image caption credits: Dress, POA, Kristina Fidelskaya
Photography: Mazen Abousrour. Styling: Seher Khan. Model: Mellyna Chassy at Women360. Hair: Tanya Mahri. Make-Up: Rebecca Doney. Creative Director: Marne Schwartz. Executive Producer: Jesse Vora. Studio Manager: Ines Guendouz. Video: NineSeven1 Media. With special thanks to Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort.
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s March 2022 Issue.