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Still Selling After Forty Years: Classic Perfumes For Men In Saudi Arabia
Written by Ibrahim Abdul Salam
|Jul 31, 2026
|10 minute read
The classic perfumes for men that Saudi shoppers keep reordering are mostly French, mostly older than the people buying them, and mostly built on a structure the industry stopped making around 1996. That is not nostalgia talking. It is what the reorder data looks like.
I wore each of these five for about a week, in Riyadh, between an office, a car and a couple of evening gatherings, and the differences between them in heat turned out to matter far more than the differences on paper. Here is what held up and what did not.
THE ONE EVERY DAD OWNED
The 1982 fougere that half of Riyadh grew up smelling.
THE MAJLIS EVENING SCENT
Anise and lavender that fills a room without shouting.
THE FRIDAY SOAP-CLEAN PICK
Green herbs over honey, the closest thing to a barbershop in a bottle.
THE WINTER WEDDING SCENT
Loud, animalic, and completely unlike anything released this decade.
THE SUMMER DAYTIME PICK
Mint and sea salt, the only one here built for real heat.
THE ONE EVERY DAD OWNED
Guy Laroche Drakkar Noir EDT Men 100ML
| Key specifications | |
|---|---|
| Design House | Guy Laroche |
| Perfumer | Pierre Wargnye |
| Release Year | 1982 |
| Volume | 100ML |
| Concentration | EDT |
| Fragrance Family | Aromatic Fougere |
| Gender | Men |
| Projection / Longevity | Moderate / 6 to 8 hours |
| Occasion | Daily Wear and Evenings |
| Best Before | Recommended use within 36 months of opening for optimal quality and freshness. |
| Age Group | 30+ |
| Season | Autumn and Winter |
| Scent Sillage | Moderate |
| Notes | Top: Rosemary, artemisia, lavender, basil, lemon verbena, bergamot, lemon Middle: Coriander, carnation, cinnamon, juniper, jasmine Base: Leather, sandalwood, fir, amber, patchouli, oakmoss, vetiver, cedar |
If you grew up in a Saudi house in the nineties, you have smelled this one, probably from your father's dressing table.
Pierre Wargnye built it in 1982 around a sharp herbal opening, rosemary and lavender over a lemon snap, and then dropped it onto leather and oakmoss so the whole thing sits close and dark by hour two. On my skin it ran about seven hours in an air-conditioned office, projecting hard for the first forty minutes and then settling into something much quieter.
The honest problem: this is not the bottle your father owned. Drakkar Noir has been reformulated more than once and the mossy weight that made the original famous is noticeably thinner now, so vintage collectors will grumble.
Taken on its own terms it still works, and it works best from October through March, in a majlis or an office, where the leather has room to sit. In July, in a car parked outside, it gets heavy fast.
THE MAJLIS EVENING SCENT
Azzaro Pour Homme EDT For Men 100ML
| Key specifications | |
|---|---|
| Design House | Azzaro |
| Perfumer | Gerard Anthony and Richard Wirtz |
| Release Year | 1978 |
| Volume | 100ML |
| Concentration | EDT |
| Fragrance Family | Aromatic Fougere |
| Gender | Men |
| Projection / Longevity | Heavy at first, then moderate / 7 to 9 hours |
| Occasion | Evenings and Special Occasions |
| Best Before | Recommended use within 36 months of opening for optimal quality and freshness. |
| Age Group | 30+ |
| Season | Autumn and Winter |
| Scent Sillage | Heavy |
| Notes | Top: Lavender, lemon, caraway, basil, clary sage, bergamot, iris, star anise Middle: Vetiver, cedar, patchouli, sandalwood, juniper berries, cardamom Base: Oakmoss, leather, amber, musk, tonka bean |
Two sprays. That is the entire instruction manual for Azzaro Pour Homme.
Gerard Anthony and Richard Wirtz put this together in 1978 and the opening is genuinely loud, star anise and lavender arriving at the same time with caraway underneath, which is the part people either love immediately or need a week to accept. It calms down after about twenty minutes into a woody, mossy warmth that hangs around for the rest of the night.
It is dated, and I do not think that is a flaw so much as a fact you should know before you buy. This smells like 1978 and makes no apology for it.
Where it earns its place is a winter majlis or a family wedding, over a thobe, when the room is cool and the scent has somewhere to travel. Skip it for daytime in Jeddah humidity, because the anise turns cloying in heat.
THE FRIDAY SOAP-CLEAN PICK
Rabanne Pour Homme EDT For Men 100ML
| Key specifications | |
|---|---|
| Design House | Rabanne |
| Perfumer | Jean Martel |
| Release Year | 1973 |
| Volume | 100ML |
| Concentration | EDT |
| Fragrance Family | Aromatic Fougere |
| Gender | Men |
| Projection / Longevity | Moderate / 6 to 8 hours |
| Occasion | Daily Wear |
| Best Before | Recommended use within 36 months of opening for optimal quality and freshness. |
| Age Group | 30+ |
| Season | All year, best in cooler months |
| Scent Sillage | Moderate |
| Notes | Top: Rosemary, clary sage, Brazilian rosewood Middle: Lavender, geranium, tonka bean Base: Oakmoss, honey, musk, amber, tobacco |
This is the oldest fragrance on the list and, to my nose, the easiest one to wear.
Jean Martel released it in 1973 and it opens green and slightly bitter with rosemary and clary sage, then a honey note comes up underneath the lavender and turns the whole thing soft and soapy. The tobacco and oakmoss in the base keep it from going sweet. Longevity sat around six hours on me, with the last three staying close to the skin.
The honey is the sticking point. If shaving soap and old-fashioned aftershave are not your thing, you will find this fusty rather than clean, and no amount of good history will change that.
For a Friday, after jumu'ah, walking into a family lunch, it is hard to beat. Worth knowing that the house officially dropped the Paco and now trades as Rabanne, so the bottle you receive may carry either name.
THE WINTER WEDDING SCENT
YSL Kouros EDT For Men 100ML
| Key specifications | |
|---|---|
| Design House | Yves Saint Laurent |
| Perfumer | Pierre Bourdon |
| Release Year | 1981 |
| Volume | 100ML |
| Concentration | EDT |
| Fragrance Family | Aromatic Fougere |
| Gender | Men |
| Projection / Longevity | Heavy / 8 to 10 hours |
| Occasion | Evenings and Special Occasions |
| Best Before | Recommended use within 36 months of opening for optimal quality and freshness. |
| Age Group | 35+ |
| Season | Winter |
| Scent Sillage | Heavy |
| Notes | Top: Aldehydes, coriander, clary sage, artemisia, bergamot Middle: Patchouli, carnation, jasmine, vetiver, geranium, orris root, cinnamon, lavender Base: Civet, musk, leather, honey, oakmoss, amber, tonka bean, vanilla |
Kouros is the one that will start an argument in your own family.
Pierre Bourdon finished it in 1981 and the base is where the trouble lives: civet and honey sitting under leather and oakmoss, animalic in a way that almost nothing on the market attempts now. Above that there is a soapy aldehyde opening and a proper floral heart with carnation and jasmine. It lasted past nine hours on me and I could still smell it on the collar the next morning.
One spray. Maybe two if it is cold. Three sprays of Kouros in an enclosed room is genuinely antisocial and I have watched it happen.
It belongs to winter evenings, weddings and late gatherings, ideally where there is air moving. Do not put this on before a long drive with the windows up.
THE SUMMER DAYTIME PICK
Davidoff Cool Water EDT For Men 200ML
| Key specifications | |
|---|---|
| Design House | Davidoff |
| Perfumer | Pierre Bourdon |
| Release Year | 1988 |
| Volume | 200ML |
| Concentration | EDT |
| Fragrance Family | Aromatic Aquatic |
| Gender | Men |
| Projection / Longevity | Moderate / 4 to 6 hours |
| Occasion | Daily Wear |
| Best Before | Recommended use within 36 months of opening for optimal quality and freshness. |
| Age Group | 25+ |
| Season | Spring and Summer |
| Scent Sillage | Moderate |
| Notes | Top: Sea water, lavender, mint, green notes, rosemary, calone, coriander Middle: Sandalwood, neroli, geranium, jasmine Base: Musk, oakmoss, cedar, tobacco, ambergris |
Same perfumer as Kouros, seven years later, and about as far from it as you can get.
Pierre Bourdon released Cool Water in 1988 and effectively invented the fresh aquatic category with it. Mint and a salty sea-water accord open it, geranium and neroli hold the middle, and cedar with musk closes it out clean. It is the only fragrance on this list I would wear at two in the afternoon in June.
The trade-off is performance. Four to six hours is realistic, less if you are moving around outdoors, so plan on a top-up after lunch.
That is exactly why the 200ML bottle makes sense, and why it stays one of the most reordered men's fragrances in Saudi Arabia. If you want one classic that actually fits the climate you live in rather than the climate it was designed for, buy this one first.
Every bottle on this page ships across Saudi Arabia
Browse the full men's range, or pick up a boxed set if you are buying for someone else.
Buying it as a gift instead? The perfume gift sets section is the easier route, since the boxed versions of several of these come with a matching deodorant or shower gel.
FAQs
Are classic men's perfumes still worth buying in Saudi Arabia?
For most of the year, yes. Older fougeres like Drakkar Noir and Azzaro Pour Homme were built with heavy oakmoss and leather bases that hold up well in cooler Riyadh evenings and in air-conditioned rooms. The catch is summer. Between May and September, a dense fougere on skin in direct sun can turn sour within an hour, which is why Cool Water is the one from this group I would keep in daytime rotation.
Which of these lasts the longest?
YSL Kouros, comfortably. It ran past nine hours on my skin and left a trace on clothing the next day. Azzaro Pour Homme comes second at roughly seven to nine hours. Davidoff Cool Water is the shortest at four to six, which is normal for an aquatic EDT and part of why the 200ML bottle is the sensible size to buy.
Are these the same formulas that were sold in the eighties?
No, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something. Every fragrance here has been reformulated, mostly because IFRA restricted or capped materials such as oakmoss and certain musks. The character survives, the weight usually does not. If you remember a bottle from 1990 and buy one today, expect it to be lighter.
What does aromatic fougere actually mean?
It is the family four of the five perfumes on this page belong to. A fougere is built on a lavender opening, a coumarin sweetness usually from tonka bean, and an oakmoss base, and the aromatic part means herbs sit on top, things like rosemary, sage and basil. It is the structure behind most classic men's fragrances made between 1970 and 1995.
By Ibrahim Abdul Salam, Fragrance Specialist. I wore each of these five for roughly a week in Riyadh, across office hours, car journeys and evening gatherings, and the longevity figures above are what I measured on my own skin rather than what the boxes claim.
Reviewed by the V Perfumes fragrance team. Published July 2026.
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