How perfumes are made in the UAE: Inside the ‘liquid gold’ world of oud and beyond

An old Greek myth about perfumes still wafts through time, the story of how fragrance changed the life of a sailor named Phaon. One day, he ferried the deity Aphrodite across the sea. When he realised who she was and refused payment for the passage, she thanked him by giving him a perfumed ointment. When he applied it, he became young and beautiful, and love was no longer a lost game. Fragrance brings hope. It is also power, and history is scented with the might of perfumes. Perfumes have existed in records, tales, myths and legends, almost acquiring a hypnotic enchantment around them. Get updated faster and for  FREE:  Download   the Gulf News   app now -   simply   click here . Legend often has it that Egyptian queen Cleopatra greeted Mark Antony on her barge with sails soaked in fragrances. It was political power, diplomacy and a tool of love. A mesmerising fragrance extended far beyond the superfluous ideals of vanity; she had laboratories of skilled perfumers concocting aromas from essential oils, resins from flowers, herbs, spices or oils. Myrrh, frankincense, cinnamon and rose, often blended into a base of olive or almond oil.  The truth is, the love affair with frankincense had already begun before 1500 BC, and humans had already discovered the beauty in the resin tears of frankincense trees.  They slowly made their way to the outside world and formed the foundation of the incense road, according to researcher Elise Vernon Pearl, the author of Scent: A Natural History. And as traders discovered frankincense and myrrh, they made every effort to bring them out from the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. And by 200 AD, it was one of the most important trading activities of the ancient world. Arabia was shipping more than 3,000 tons of incense to the Mediterranean world. And so began, the world's romance with perfumes began and never ceased. Perfume carries mythology and status, but its creation is just as complex as its trail through history. As dedicated UAE perfumers explain, behind every bottle lies an elaborate process involving extraction techniques, chemistry, ageing and balance. In the Gulf, especially, perfumery is an art, and a technical craft, molded by climate, trade routes and some of the world’s rarest ingredients.  Why fragrance is deeply woven into Gulf identity And centuries later, the Gulf still smells of oud, musk, amber and bakhoor.  In the UAE, fragrance is not merely a cosmetic. It’s not just for vanity. It fills homes before guests arrive. It clings to kanduras and abayas after Friday prayers, and stays in a room, even after the person has left. It’s ritual, hospitality, memory and identity. And this identity is reflected in the form of oud, which is often called ‘liquid gold’ in the perfume industry. Ammar Nabeel Adam Ali, Assistant to CEO at Swiss Arabian Perfumes, explains the story of oud: It originates from Agarwood trees, of which there are different types, including Malaysian oud, Indian and Cambodian. “Pure oud is quite expensive, priced higher than gold per gram,” he says, adding, that that this is due its complex extraction process, and the tree from which it is extracted. “Not every tree can produce oud, and the quality can differ based on the age and infection of the tree. This extraction process takes a long time, and yields are limited.” The long, painstaking journey of oud  The romance around oud, however, begins with damage. The resin forms when Aquilaria trees become infected by mould or fungi, forcing the tree to defend itself by producing a dark, aromatic resin. That resin-soaked wood is what eventually becomes oud oil.  Founder of homegrown perfume brand Willbance, Chandrashekhar, explained the painstaking process behind it: “Natural Agarwood formation is a slow process that can take up to 10 years or more to reach the desired quality and resin density.”  To harvest it, he added, “Farmers injure the tree by scratching it with nails, screws, or hatchets to harvest the resin. This damaged or infected resinous wood is separated from the healthy white wood.” The chips are then ground down, soaked for days, sometimes weeks and fermented before extraction begins.  The process takes even longer when nature is left undisturbed, explains Dubai-based perfume connoisseur and collector Mariam Kandeel. “The process of forming an ‘infected tree’ takes 7-12 years when forced by humans, and if it is naturally infected, it takes 20-50 years; the latter results in a rare and expensive one with an animalic note in it.”  Yet, this scarcity deepens the mystique. Kandeel explains that the human-made oud needs 200 kg to produce 1 kg of oud oil, while the naturally formed oud needs 50 kg to produce 1 kg of oud oil. Arabian fragrances are generally different in terms of their richness and depth. These fragrances tend to use specific traditional ingredients as a base, such as oud, amber, musk, and saffron. In this region, it is not only the type or notes of perfume, but also the form. In Arabian perfumery, there is a big focus on burning incense on the clothes, and on applying oud oil as well in the full perfuming process.... Ammar Nabeel Adam Ali Assistant to CEO at Swiss Arabian Perfumes How oud became the scent of the Middle East  An ingredient so rare that has melded with with centuries of trade history, is unsurprisingly embedded into the cultural DNA of the Gulf.  Kandeel shares more about the history: “The Arabian Peninsula was a trading hub, especially for traders from India heading to the Levant, serving as a bridge linking East and West,” Kandeel said. “Oud and silk were exclusive to the royals and the rich. It also has a spiritual reference as it became part of Friday prayer rituals.”  Moreover, the climate also plays a role in cementing the region’s scent preferences. In soaring Gulf temperatures, lighter fragrances vanish quickly.  As Chandrashekhar adds, oud is more than a scent. “The Middle East’s climate is a major factor. Light, citrusy, or floral scents evaporate almost instantly in 40°C+ temperatures. Oud is a heavy, high-molecular-weight base note.”  This preference for depth and longevity, became one of the defining distinctions between Arabian and Western perfumery.  “Arabian fragrances are generally different in terms of their richness and depth,” says Adam Ali. “These fragrances tend to use specific traditional ingredients as a base, such as oud, amber, musk, and saffron.” The rituals surrounding Arabian perfumery Yet, Arabian perfumery is also seeped in rituals.  “In Arabian perfumery, there is a big focus on burning incense on the clothes, and on applying oud oil as well in the full perfuming process,” Ali says.  He described the many forms Oud takes in the region: First, there are pure oud chips from the tree. This is burned with charcoal and applied on clothes or to perfume the house. “There is also Oud Muattar, which is perfumed oud chips. Here, oud chips are soaked in perfume and macerated upwards of 30 days. Another popular form is dehn el oud, which comes in the form of small bottles of oil. This is pure extract taken directly from the oud chips.”  Moreover, Arab perfumery also believes in intricate layering. There’s an architectural approach to scent-building.  “Arabs believe in layering all their perfumes with oud oil and using incense (Bakhoor) for clothes,” Kandeel says. The art of balancing perfumes How does a perfumer know they’ve crafted a fragrance that lasts long enough to become a memory? It’s an art to build scents that lasts over time. There’s a rigorous process to it. For starters, synthetic ingredients, experts stress, are not shortcuts but essential tools in that process. It might sound like a problem, but they’re essential in perfumery, Ali explains. “They help produce certain notes that may not exist as natural extracts. For example, the aldehyde notes, although synthetic, allow for a clean, fresh, soapy feel to the perfume. Similarly, there are synthetic ingredients used to recreate marine or aquatic notes.”  In many cases, synthetics also help make fragrances more accessible to consumers. “Where natural essences may be difficult or expensive to obtain, some brands opt for cheaper synthetic alternatives to keep the perfume within their budget,” he adds. But creating a perfume is rarely about choosing between natural and synthetic ingredients alone. Instead, perfumers work to strike harmony between the two.  Anis Abdul Razak, Co-Owner of the Rasasi Group and Founder of Canéza, says  modern perfumery exists in careful balance between the natural and synthetic worlds. “Natural ingredients are valued for their richness, depth, and character, while synthetics play an important role in enhancing stability, improving longevity, and enabling entirely new scent profiles,” he explains. Arabian perfume production always considers projection, silage, and longevity, with a preference for natural ingredients. Arabs believe in layering all their perfumes with oud oil and using incense (Bakhoor) for clothes... Mariam Kandeel a Dubai-based perfume connoisseur and collector Inside the architecture of a perfume  A perfume’s structure is almost musical. Some notes burst forward immediately and disappear within minutes, while others emerge slowly and stay for hours. Perfumers carefully structure fragrances to create movement, contrast and longevity.  As Razak explains, a perfume is typically structured in three layers. Top notes are the first impression of a fragrance, they are light, fresh, and evaporate quickly, often within the first 10 to 15 minutes.  Middle notes, also known as heart notes, form the core of the fragrance, giving the perfume its main character. Base notes appear last and last the longest, providing depth, warmth, and longevity. A perfume is typically structured in three layers. Top notes are the first impression of a fragrance, they are light, fresh, and evaporate quickly, often within the first 10 to 15 minutes. Middle notes, also known as heart notes, form the core of the fragrance, giving the perfume its main character. Base notes appear last and last the longest, providing depth, warmth, and longevity. Together, these layers are carefully balanced to create a fragrance that evolves over time.... Anis Abdul Razak founder at Caneza And nowhere is that contrast more profound than in the seasonal perfumes worn across the Gulf. For instance, summer perfumes are usually lighter, airier, Ali says. “You could have light florals, or fresh Fougeres. They are built around ingredients such as bergamot, citrus notes, marine or mineral accords, aldehydic, clean, soapy  notes.”  In florals, summery perfumes could have orange blossom, lily and jasmine, while winter fragrances lean into density and warmth. “Winter perfumes usually have a heavier base, with tonka, vanilla, leather, and other notes,” he explained.  Even evaporation becomes part of the art form. “Citrusy notes are usually top notes, because they evaporate almost immediately and allow the perfume to be diffusive. Other notes like Sandalwood usually sit in the base of the fragrance, because it gives structure to the rest of the perfume and lasts longer, adding richness to the base.” Perfumery as both art and instinct  Even after extraction, formulation and testing, the final stage of perfume-making remains distinct. Two perfumers can work with the same ingredients and create entirely different scents. Some things go beyond chemistry. Maybe, they’re emotion translated into smell.  “There is no hard and fast rule to which ingredients work well together and which do not,” Ali says. “This is all up to the creativity of the perfumer.” Abdul Razak echoed that sentiment: “As the founder of the brand, I see perfumery as both an art and a science. Deciding which ingredients work together comes from a deep understanding of raw materials, how they interact with one another, and how they evolve over time on the skin.” Some ingredients naturally complement each other, while others are intentionally combined to create contrast and depth. “The final blend is rarely created at once. It usually takes several rounds of refinement, where balance, harmony, and the intended mood of the fragrance are adjusted until everything comes together.” And yet, even after all that precision, something intangible remains. A perfume fades. But what it becomes never fully leaves. Also In This Package Lakshana is an entertainment and lifestyle journalist with over a decade of experience. She covers a wide range of stories—from community and health to mental health and inspiring people features. A passionate K-pop enthusiast, she also enjoys exploring the cultural impact of music and fandoms through her writing. Get Updates on Topics You Choose