Ne nous oubliez pas: an open letter to middle eastern fragrance houses from a chypre lover

To whom it may concern,
Permit me to congratulate you on your success in taking the world by storm these past few years as more Westerners have come to know about your creations and fragrance offerings. No longer are your masterful fragrances blanket-judged as ‘oud’ or ‘for Arabs only’, but the world has come to know that your perfumes are accessible to every type of fragrance lover… well, almost every type, and that is my reason for writing this letter to you. On behalf of Chypre lovers, I would like to petition that you do not forget us as your perfumers work on new 2023 releases.

First of all, I would like to defend the market of Chypre admirers as being worth your while. Chypre lovers are some of the most faithful and loyal perfume lovers you could ever target in a campaign of longevity. I will support this claim by reminding you that some of the longest lasting classic perfumes are chypres. Take for example Chanel no. 5 launched in 1921 and still going strong today even with the younger generation, Sisley’s Soir de Lune released in 2006, Chanel no. 19 first marketed in 1971, the eternal Guerlain's Mitsuoko which entered the fragrance market in 1919, the incredible signature Jean-Louis Scherrer launched in 1979, the collection staple Aromatics Elixir first marketed in 1971, the modern best-seller chypre CK One first launched in 1994… the list goes on, and if a fragrance produced by a Middle Eastern house will have any hope of finding a place in the fragrance hall of fame, then dare I say, it will have to be a Chypre.

Furthermore, it could be rightly assumed that Middle Eastern fragrances are ‘niche’, not often crowd pleasing, intense, artistic and discoveries of their own. Are these words not often associated with Chypre fragrances? In addition, are Chypre fragrances not often dolled out by niche fragrances houses? Would it not be a stellar marketing tactic to take advantage of this golden opportunity while still being regarded as somewhat niche, to cement your place in this particular market.

I will admit that although there is a paucity of middle eastern chypres, there is not a stringent lack. I have come across a few modern offerings to name Ajmal’s Evoke for her, which played safe on the patchouli and oakmoss for a modern audience. The house of Rasasi have not been neglectful by releasing an even softer take on a modern chypre in Adorable EDP and a much bolder attempt with Safina, Swiss Arabian’s Shadha paid worthy homage but the lack of a citrus opening dimmed its glory. If there are more, you will have to forgive me for not having access to their information.

On the other hand, I will be the first toadmit that in the grand scheme of profitability, shelling out chypre fragrances might superficially appear to be a move where the costs will outweigh the benefits… but I invite you to conduct a cost-benefit analysis to test this assertion in hopes that you will find that the data does not support this claim.

In conclusion, the world is buzzing about middle eastern fragrances- Lattafas, Al Haramains, Rasasis, Swiss Arabians, Afnans, Nabeels, etc. The spotlight is on the East… will you take this opportunity to launch into this new and rather ancient market? Will you dare?

Hoping that the 2023 perfume releases will reveal a favourable response to my open letter.

Sincerely,

Lieselotte.