Scentsational Trends in Dubai

Perfumes and scent overall, play a monumental role in this region in both men and women. One of the global leaders in supplying flavors, fragrances, cosmetic active ingredients, raw materials and functional ingredients, Symrise, attended BeautyWorld Middle East and explains the details that go into crafting the perfect perfume.

Key ingredients that go into making a perfume

Pierre-Constantin Guéros – Perfumer, Scent & Care Division, SYMRISE: “We use over 2000 raw ingredients to make a perfume, which are either natural ingredients that can come from grains, flowers, branches, wood or roots. Symrise also creates synthetic molecules that let us create scents such as pure water, waves, the scent of a setting sun. These make part of a more ‘imaginative’ scent, so we cannot use natural raw ingredients and must create our own. We have over 2000 ingredients on our palette, but each perfume usually requires approximately 500-700. They are each constituted of a unique mix of raw and synthetic ingredients.”

The West versus the East

CUIR-VELOURS
Pierre-Constantin Guéros: “There is an enormous difference between the two. First, in the Middle East, we have a perfume culture that revolves around very strong fragrances and scents. In the Western market, it is a mix between marketing and the scent of the fragrance itself. In other words, buyers, in Europe for example, buy a perfume based on the name and the brand, because they associate with the brand message. In the GCC, the perfume and the scent itself is much more important that the brand name. Normally, the quality of the fragrance oil that goes into perfumes in the GCC is of much higher quality than those in Western countries. There are obviously preferred smells and ingredients that are preferred based on the specific country or region. For example in the Middle East, we see a preference for ingredients that are local like the Oud and the amber.”

Top Tips to Buying Perfume

Pierre-Constantin Guéros: “A perfume, just like a story, has a beginning, a middle and an end – you need to wait till the ‘end’ of the perfume, or what is called the ‘base note’ to see if a perfume is right for you. A perfume is made to reflect the personality of the individual wearing it, which is why it is advised to wait for the ‘base note’, which is the scent remaining after you spray after 6 to 7 hours, because that is what will be left on your shirt, your pillows and on all your personal belongings.”