Egyptian Perfumes ....I'm in Heaven!



Wood and mother of pearl divider

The first time I was in Egypt I experienced what it was to discover how perfumes were made and how the process of smelling different perfumes was all about.  However, today I acquired a deeper understanding of the process “Egyptian” style.

 

 



Ahmed "The Nose"

I arrived at the Perfume showroom and factory via Mohamed (I’m telling you the man knows everyone and everything in Cairo!).  A beautiful place full of colorful perfume bottles, crystals, wine decanters and glasses, mother of pearl and wooden furniture, just gorgeous!

 

and the Lesson begins.....

I had the great fortune of having this process taught by what perfume industry insiders call “The Nose”.  The Nose is the man/expert in distinguishing the different essences from flowers, herbs, fruits, etc  to combine them into a perfume.  He can smell a perfume and tell you if it has jasmine, musk, gardenias, violets, peach, etc, and be able to create a perfume for you based on the smells you like. 

Coffee

Ahmed, “The Nose” is the third generation in his family business of over 40 years.  He told me how they capture the flowers, fruits, herbs, crush them to extract the oils, then they place them underground to maintain an even temperature for approximately 60 days and then separate the oil from the liquid to create these wonderful and absolutely intoxicating Egyptian perfumes or essences as they call them.

The first perfume test



Ahmed than began to explain the different flowers and blends to make the perfumes in the marketplace such as Jadore, CK, Addict, Cool Waters, Chanel, etc. In doing so, he asked what my favorite smells were and I told him I loved Jasmine, Vanilla and Lang Lang.  He then began mixing the oils together and placing them above the knuckles of my fingers.  After every couple of tests, he would ask that I smell the coffee grounds he had placed in a plate to erase the smells and begin again.  Sort of like cleaning the palate but in this case, it was the nose palate.  He proceeded to



 


Fascinating!

do his magic and created two wonderful perfumes to my taste that I am bringing back home. 

In addition to the perfumes they make, they also create beautiful Egyptian glass perfume bottles that are delicate and the intricate designs and colors on them are just stunning.  They do everything in house, grow their flowers, create the perfumes and manufacture the hand blown glass bottles.  It truly was an amazing time I spent getting to know the Bendari family.  Hmmmm I see an Amoura perfume in the future, most definitely!

 

 

Mohamed Bendari

Traveling Redheaded Lady....:)