Al Jazeera Perfumes

Al Jazeera Perfumes is a Qatari perfume house that began in 1998 by building a library of perfume oils. In 2002 it opened its first shop for rare fragrances in Doha, and more branches followed as word spread. Its own pages do not name a founder. The Moodie Davitt Report, a travel retail trade paper, calls it a Qatari brand and names Ahmed Essa Al Hashemi as its general manager.

The house says its perfumes are created by French perfumers and made with raw materials from large French suppliers. It names Dominique Ropion, Paul Guerlain, Sophie Labbé and Fanny Ball among the perfumers it works with. It says the bottle and box matter as much as the scent, so most perfumes come in ornate packaging meant for gifts. Its shops also sell oud wood, perfume oils, bakhoor and gift boxes, and some perfumes by other brands.

In Doha it has its own shops, about two dozen of them on its Qatar branch list. For a visit with some atmosphere, go to the Al Jazeera Perfumes gallery in Souq Waqif, the old market, or the gallery in Msheireb. Malls with a branch include Villaggio in Al Aziziya and Al Hazm in Al Markhiya. On its Qatar site the perfumes cost 500 QAR each, for bottles of 60 ml to 100 ml depending on the scent. Start with Malachite: the trade press names it a best seller, and it is an easy first read of the house, orange oil over cashmeran, sandalwood and patchouli.