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My deep-rooted love for beauty can largely be traced back to my Palestinian dad particularly, his infatuation withcolognes.
Channing Smith/Allure
I may never be able to physically visit my father’s West Bank hometown, Ein Yabrud.
My father’s fascination with aromas is far from peculiar to Middle Easterners.
Middle Eastern fragrance is ancient.
Perfume is engrained in the region’sspiritual practices, too.
& Durga’s Notorious Oud Eau de Parfum.
Byredo
Byredo Oud Immortel Eau de Parfum
Nordstrom
D.S.
& Durga
D.S.
“Oud itself is extremely expensive and reserved for special occasions or for religious instances,” she says.
The region’s ingredients and formulations have evolved.
Catto says Mediterranean-based countries are more aromatically influenced by their coastal climates and prefer “nature-inspired” notes.
“Consumers [in the Levant region], they love summer scents,” Catto says.
Both Louis Vuitton and Christian Louboutin have created fragrances in ode to the region’s relationship with perfumery.
In 2021, Christian Louboutin also released a fragrant homage to Egypt as an ode to hisrecently-discovered Egyptian roots.
French perfumer and noseFanny Balwas the lead perfumer of this fragrance, which was namedLoubiprince.
