Best Cartier perfumes in Saudi Arabia

The 2020 Parfum is Mathilde Laurent's modern take on the 1992 Pasha, which was a classic lavender and patchouli fougère. She kept the fougère shape but pushed it toward wood and resin: sandalwood, balsam fir, benzoin, labdanum and tonka bean, with a boozy liquor note running through the middle.

It's rich without, which suits a Saudi wedding or a winter evening in Riyadh when the temperature finally drops. The bottle borrows from the watch too, down to the blue sapphire cabochon. It sits well beside the heavier bottles in our wedding perfumes for Saudi Arabia.

Edition Noire, from 2013, is the fresher Pasha. Nathalie Feisthauer mixed citrus and mint with watery notes, black pepper and cloves, then set them over cedar and amber, with iris, violet and heliotrope softening the middle.

It's the easier Pasha for daytime, and the matte black bottle, shaped like the original and inspired by a Cartier pencil, looks sharp on a desk. More daytime picks are in our office perfumes for KSA.

Déclaration is the oldest bottle here, created by Jean-Claude Ellena in 1998. The heart is where it gets interesting for Saudi noses: Guatemalan cardamom, ginger, pepper, cinnamon and juniper.

Bitter orange and bergamot keep the opening bright, while vetiver, tea, cedar, leather and oakmoss give it a dry finish. It's spicy without being heavy, so it works for daytime visits in summer as well as a majlis evening. It also earns its place next to the classics in our men's perfumes for Saudi Arabia.

L'Envol Parfum has one of the shortest pyramids you'll find: honey on top, guaiac wood in the heart and amber at the base. Mathilde Laurent released this Parfum version in 2019, and the honey reads warm rather than sugary.

Guaiac wood gives it a smoky edge that sits well next to oud at a Saudi dinner table. Projection is above average, so a few sprays are enough for a whole evening.

La Panthère Parfum is the richer 2020 version of Cartier's panther perfume. Mathilde Laurent built it around gardenia and osmanthus, with apricot for softness and patchouli with moss for a chypre edge. Musk finishes it. The bottle carries the panther's face, with black details on this version.

It holds up through a long wedding night and makes a strong bridal gift. For more feminine picks, see our women's perfumes in Saudi Arabia.

Baiser Volé, French for stolen kiss, is Mathilde Laurent's 2011 study of one flower: the lily. Citrus lifts the top, and lily fills the heart, while green lily notes keep the base fresh and powdery rather than heavy.

It's a calm, clean floral for family visits and daytime gatherings, and gentle enough for women who find most perfumes too strong.