Spirit of Dubai – Every Facet of a City
SPIRIT OF DUBAI was born on 2 January 2015 in The Dubai Mall – the luxury line of Nabeel Perfumes and the life's work of Asghar Adam Ali, who still composes every fragrance of the brand himself. Each scent stands for its own facet of Dubai – the desert, the coast, the skyline, the heritage of horse breeding – translated into composition rather than postcard imagery. At SNUD in Vienna-Josefstadt you can smell and test the fragrances and take a sample home with you.
What makes Spirit of Dubai special to us?
We love that a single signature carries across three collections by now, without the fragrances feeling alike. It is not about oriental heaviness for its own sake, but about contrasts – bright and resinous, light and opulent, modern and traditional – renegotiated in every single bottle.
Who are Spirit of Dubai's fragrances for?
For everyone who loves oriental perfumery or wants to discover it for the first time. If you like it fresh, start with Bahar or Abraj; if you are after florals, with Roeya or Narjesi Fleur; and if you love leather, spice and depth, with Meydan, Rimal or Baz Cuir.
From a shop in Aden to Dubai
Asghar Adam Ali entered the perfume trade in 1969, aged sixteen, with a small shop in Aden, Yemen, and later moved to the United Arab Emirates. That he still composes every fragrance of the brand himself is rare in an industry that usually works with changing external perfumers.
How broad this one signature is shows in the fragrances themselves: Bahar is aquatic, fresh and citrus, Marsa gourmand, woody and floral, Oud animalic, woody and spicy.
Attar tradition and French structure
Ali combines traditional Khaleeji attar craft, the layering of mukhallats and the burning of bukhoor, with the clearer structure of French perfumery. In 2015 the line won two Luxury Packaging Awards in London, one for the bottle and one for the gift box – an early sign that the work here goes into the whole object, not just the scent.
At SNUD you will find the fragrances as Eau de Parfum, including Turath, Ajyal, Sama, Abjar Bois and Durra Ambre.
