Arabian fragrance is built differently from Western perfumery. Where a designer house leans on citrus and clean musks, the Gulf tradition is built on oud, rose, saffron, amber and vanilla, at concentrations that mean a few sprays last the day. This collection brings together 270 of those fragrances, with 139 available right now.

New to this and not sure where to start? Read our guide to the 10 best Arabian perfumes, which ranks them with notes, longevity and prices, or our beginner’s guide to choosing your first Eastern perfume.

The three safest first buys. Rasasi Hawas is the fresh aquatic that converted more people to Arabian fragrance than any other bottle. Lattafa Yara is the creamy tangerine and vanilla everyone recognises. Afnan 9PM is the sweet amber that sells out repeatedly.

Shop by style. If you already know what you like, these are the quickest routes in: Oud & Woody for agarwood, sandalwood and smoke; Amber & Oriental for the warm, resinous and spiced; Sweet & Gourmand for vanilla, praline and dessert notes; Floral for rose, jasmine and orchid; and Fresh & Citrus for the lighter, warm-weather end.

Shop by house. Lattafa is the largest and best known, home to Khamrah, Yara, Asad and Fakhar. Ahmed Al Maghribi is the Dubai house known for unusually smooth oud and largely original compositions rather than interpretations. Rasasi built its reputation on the Hawas line. French Avenue makes Liquid Brun and the Vulcan range. Riiffs and Khadlaj cover the richer gourmand end, Fragrance World and Maison Alhambra the accessible interpretations, and Ard Al Zaafaran the traditional attars and oils.

Why these last longer. It is not marketing. Arabian houses typically use a higher fragrance oil concentration than Western designers at the same price, and many of the bottles here are extrait de parfum rather than eau de parfum. Extrait carries more oil and less alcohol, so it projects more quietly at first and then outlasts an eau de parfum by a clear margin. Two or three sprays is usually enough.

What oud actually is. Agarwood, the resin a tree produces when infected by a particular mould, and one of the most expensive raw materials in perfumery. Traditional Hindi oud is deep and animalic; Cambodian and Malaysian varieties are lighter and sweeter. If harsh oud has put you off before, Oud Lavender and Oud and Roses are the gentlest ways in. Our guide to the best oud perfumes covers the style properly.

Shopping for someone else? The men’s, women’s and unisex collections narrow it down, though it is worth knowing that oud and rose have never been gendered notes in the Gulf and most of these wear comfortably either way. The Lattafa Pride gift sets give five 20ml bottles in one box, which makes a straightforward present.

Every bottle here is genuine, sealed and batch-coded, backed by our authenticity guarantee and shipped free and tracked from our UK warehouse.