Fakhar Eau de Parfum 100ml

Few bottles have done more for this house's reputation among men than Lattafa Fakhar Eau de Parfum 100ml, which has spent years being recommended as the cheap answer to fragrances costing five times as much. The opening is crisp and slightly sweet. Apple leads, green rather than baked, bergamot sharpens the edges, and ginger brings a dry, peppery heat that stops the fruit from reading as juice. It is a brisk, clean start and it signals the character of the whole thing.

The middle is where the quality shows. Lavender gives the herbal spine, sage adds a dry bitterness, juniper berry a cool resinous bite, and geranium its green, slightly metallic lift. Four materials that could easily have turned soapy, and instead they stay sharp, which is the difference between this and the dozens of cheaper attempts at the same idea.

Underneath, it softens without going sweet. Tonka bean brings a soft, powdery warmth with the faintest bitterness in it, amberwood adds a dry resinous glow, cedarwood a pencil sharp dryness, and vetiver the rooty, earthy finish. The base is the reason it lasts.

And it does last. Eight to ten hours is normal, with firm projection for the first two, so a light hand is advisable. It carries best in cool weather but holds up in spring, and it works for the office, dinner and everything in between. It is marketed to men and worn almost exclusively by them. From 2022, it remains the first bottle most people try from this house. If you want to understand why this house grew as fast as it did, this is the bottle to smell first.

The releases that took the Lattafa name beyond the Gulf were Yara and Khamrah, but it is workhorses like this one that keep the brand on the shelf.