Spicy Perfumes
Spice notes give a fragrance heat and edge. Black pepper and pink pepper add lift at the opening; cardamom brings a cool, aromatic quality; cinnamon, clove and nutmeg sit warm in the heart; saffron — the most important spice in Arabian perfumery — is leathery, slightly medicinal and instantly recognisable.
Saffron and the Gulf style
Saffron paired with rose and oud is the defining accord of modern Middle Eastern perfumery, and it has crossed into Western niche work too. If you have smelled Baccarat Rouge or Rasasi Hawas, you have smelled what saffron does to a composition.
Who spicy fragrances suit
They tend to read as confident and adult. Spice works particularly well in cooler weather and in the evening, where the warmth has room to develop. Paired with wood, spice produces some of the most durable men's fragrances made; paired with gourmand notes, it stops sweetness from becoming cloying.
