With so many scents out there, it can be hard to decide which one to select. We spoke to Phil Darby, marketing director for Zohoor Al Reef about making perfumes more personal.
From Arabic ouds to designer eau de parfums, fragrances have an enormous appeal globally. Although the wide range of makes and the number of different application methods provides for all sorts of tastes, it can also make it extremely difficult to pick your personal favourite.
“People express themselves with fragrances”, Phil explains, “Just as they do with the clothes that they wear or other things that they buy.” This self-expression feeds the sense of urgency with which the perfumes’ market produces new scents — people want to feel as though their scent is a marker of their personality and they don’t want to feel like they have to share it with too many others.
This is why Zohoor Al Reef, a parfumerie originating in Saudi Arabia, but with an ever expanding presence in the Gulf, strives constantly to produce fragrances that are unique. They are even able to work with their clients to create personal oils.
The Zohoor Al Reef concept is very particular — they want to blend the modernity of some Western perfume styles with the identity and traditions of the Middle-East. The company has around 300 essential perfume oils in its repertoire, many of which have a distinctly Arabic feel to them, but to create their eau de parfums, these oils are processed and refined by French manufacturers and blended with other scents to produce intense, modern and unique fragrances.
“It is often the case that scents attenuate during the maceration process, but our decision to choose prestigious French manufacturers prevents this,” says Phil, “So these products can be depended on for their high quality.”
The concept of personal and enduring fragrances has been key to informing one of Zohoor Al Reef’s recent ventures. Understanding that women love to commit to a scent, Faisal and Waleed Al Khaldi, co-founders of the company, worked with their French perfume house to create Le Verger Shop — a sub-division of the Zohoor Al Reef brand, which creates top-to-toe products based on some of the most popular scents in the company’s collection.
As Phil describes: “Le Verger Shop consists of 11 collections, with 12 to 14 products in each. The hero of each range is one of our most sought-after eau de parfums. Once you have selected a scent which suits you, you can then find access to the full kit of works inspired by that scent. You can commit to this one smell and apply your signature fragrance from top to toe, in the form of creams, body wash and more.”
Although Zohoor Al Reef has had enormous success in Saudi Arabia and is beginning to make a name for itself elsewhere in the Gulf, they are certainly not being shy when it comes to further plans for expansion. “We expect to be Gulf wide in the next five years,” says Phil, “But there is more in the pipeline. We are already beginning to get enquiries from Asia and Europe.”
If you would like to have a look at some of the head-to-toe products available, head down to one of the Bahrain City Centre, Seef or Ramli Mall stores and talk to one of the helpful Zohoor Al Reef staff.
