It is a trend that is here to stay: intense, warm fragrances with a pronounced presence of spices and oud. But what led the West to fall in love with so-called oriental perfumes?
The terminology is not without controversy. At a time when the Western world has fully embraced the intensity of exotic scents, some argue that the term “oriental”, when applied to perfumes, should be replaced – amber being the most popular alternative. The reasoning behind this is that “oriental” is considered outdated and reductive, grouping together more than half the world into a single category – East versus West. It implies that Europe is the centre of the world and that the “orient” is merely something distant and exotic. Controversies aside, the truth is that rich, long-lasting perfumes are now the preferred choice for many, both men and women (another recent shift: fragrances are no longer seen as gendered, but that is a debate for another time…).
Regardless of what we call them – oriental, Arabian, amber-based – the fact remains that our senses (and our skin) have never been as captivated by deep, opulent scents as they are now. After an era – the 1980s and 1990s – dominated by fresh, citrusy bestsellers like L’Eau d’Issey and One by Calvin Klein, followed by more floral, romantic compositions like Miss Dior and Chanel Nº5, we have reached a moment in history where even teenagers desire fragrances once associated with their grandmothers’ dressing tables: Opium by Saint Laurent and Poison by Dior, to name just two examples.
Several factors have contributed to this shift in global olfactory preferences. Firstly, the increased accessibility of perfumes produced in distant countries, now just a click away. As we well know, niche oriental fragrances are easy to find online and can be delivered to our doorstep from the other side of the world in no time. But before the online purchase, there must be motivation, and here, social media plays a significant role, as it does in almost everything nowadays. On social media, accessible versions of so-called oriental perfumes have gone viral, offering intense scents in “luxurious” packaging (velvets, gilding, rigid boxes as if they were safes). Suddenly, everyone can access the exoticism and refined aromas that were once exclusive to a privileged few… and indeed, they can. Of course, a 40€ Arabian perfume cannot have the same purity of ingredients as one costing 300€, but with technological advancements, even budget-friendly fragrances now boast impressive longevity. They may not be exact dupes, but they are compelling alternatives.
The presence of oud (an Arabic term for wood, referring to a rare resin extracted from a tree native to South-East Asia, particularly Bangladesh, Thailand, and Indonesia) on someone’s skin has even become a direct indicator of their ability to travel, an increasingly important status symbol, perhaps even more so than the car one drives. The democratisation of intercontinental flights and the constant flood of social media videos featuring globetrotters exploring India or Dubai have created a new desire: to bottle exoticism – if only aspirationally – inside a sophisticated perfume flacon.
