Best Unisex Perfumes in Saudi Arabia

Notes: Top: Amber, Spices, Vanilla. Heart: Oud, Tobacco Leaf. Base: Sandalwood, Sichuan Pepper, Tonka Bean, Vetiver.

Every unisex list in Saudi Arabia starts here, and for good reason. Oud Wood was built by Richard Herpin in 2007 to make oud wearable for people who had never smelt the real thing. Saudis have smelt the real thing, which is why they treat it differently: as the polite daytime oud you wear to the office in Riyadh when a drop of dehn al oud would be too much for the meeting room.

The structure is simple. Amber, spice and a touch of vanilla up top, then oud and tobacco leaf, then sandalwood, Sichuan pepper, tonka and vetiver. It is creamy rather than smoky, and it reads the same on a thobe as on an abaya, which is what makes it a bottle couples end up sharing.

In Riyadh's dry heat it stays close and lasts most of the working day. In Jeddah's humidity it opens up more and you will want one spray fewer. If you want to see how it stacks up against the Arabic houses, read our guide to the best oud perfumes in Saudi Arabia.

The oud you can wear to work in Riyadh and gift to anyone in the family without a second thought.

Notes: Top: Lemon, Pink Pepper, Sicilian Bergamot. Heart: Angelica, Cedar, Galbanum. Base: Agarwood Oud, Musk, Sandalwood.

Royal Oud is the dry one. Where most oud perfumes lean sweet, Creed's 2011 release by Olivier Creed and Julien Rasquinet goes in the other direction: lemon, pink pepper and Sicilian bergamot up top, then angelica, cedar and galbanum, then a base of oud, sandalwood and musk. It smells like a grand wooden majlis with the doors open.

That dryness is why it works for both men and women in Saudi Arabia. There is no vanilla to make it read feminine and no heavy smoke to make it read masculine. It is clean, woody and quietly grand, which suits a Founding Day dinner in Riyadh as well as a family wedding in Dammam.

It is lighter than the name suggests. Expect six to eight hours in Riyadh and closer to five in Jeddah's humidity. Two sprays on the neck, one on the wrist and let it be.

The oud for people who find most ouds too sweet, and a gift that suits a father as well as a daughter.

Notes: Top: Lavender, Nutmeg. Heart: Oud. Base: Musk, Patchouli.

If Oud Wood is the polite oud, Oud for Greatness is the confident one. Initio launched it in 2018 with lavender and nutmeg over a big, clean oud and a musk and patchouli base. It is loud in the first hour, then settles into a warm woody hum that is still there when you get home from a Riyadh Season concert at Boulevard.

It is one of the few Western ouds that Saudi men who wear real oud oil respect, and Saudi women have adopted it just as fast because the lavender keeps it cool and modern rather than heavy. On skin it is closer to a fine mukhallat than to a designer oud.

Longevity is the reason to buy it. A single spray at Asr will carry through dinner and past midnight. It appears on our list of the best long lasting fragrances for men in KSA, and it earns that place for women too.

For anyone who wants one spray to last a full Saudi day, from the morning school run to the last majlis.

Notes: Top: Bulgarian Rose, Strawberry, Violet. Heart: Turkish Rose. Base: Agarwood, Amber, Caramel, Cedar, Vanilla.

Oud Satin Mood is the rose and oud that Saudi Arabia was waiting for a Paris house to make properly. Francis Kurkdjian released it in 2015 with Bulgarian rose, violet and a flash of strawberry on top, Turkish rose in the heart and a base of oud, amber, caramel, cedar and vanilla. It is plush, sweet and slow, like satin over wood.

Rose and oud is the oldest pairing in the Gulf, which is why this bottle feels familiar on the first spray in Riyadh or Jeddah. The difference is the finish. There is no rough edge to the oud and no sharpness to the rose, so it works on a man in a winter bisht and a woman in an evening abaya equally well.

It is a natural Eid gift between spouses because both can wear it. Women who lean towards rose should also look at our roundup of the best women's perfumes in Saudi Arabia for more in that direction.

The rose and oud that suits both sides of the family, made for cool Riyadh evenings.

Notes: Top: Cognac. Heart: Cinnamon, Oak, Tonka Bean. Base: Praline, Sandalwood, Vanilla.

Angels' Share is the gourmand on this list and the one that gets the most questions in store. Benoist Lapouza built it in 2020 around a warm, rich opening, then cinnamon, oak and tonka bean, then praline, sandalwood and vanilla. On skin it smells like a spiced dessert cooling on a winter table.

Saudi noses take to it instantly because it sits in the same warm sweet space as the dessert-style Arabic mukhallats, just with a French polish. It is fully unisex: the cinnamon and oak keep it from being a girl's vanilla, and the praline keeps it from being a man's tobacco.

This is a cold weather scent. Wear it from November to February in Riyadh, or in the air conditioning year round. In Jeddah in August it will be too much within an hour. The 50ml is the sensible size because two sprays is the limit.

The sweetest bottle here, and the one that disappears fastest from Riyadh shelves every winter.

Notes: Top: Bergamot, Saffron. Heart: Agarwood Oud, Bulgarian Rose. Base: Amber, Oakmoss, Sugar, Tonka Bean, White Musk.

Arabians Tonka is a Paris house doing a Saudi wedding scent, and doing it loudly. Montale released it in 2019 with saffron and bergamot on top, oud and Bulgarian rose in the heart and a base of tonka, amber, sugar, oakmoss and white musk. The projection is enormous. One spray fills a car, two fill a majlis.

It is unisex in the Gulf sense: the saffron and oud read masculine, the sweet tonka and rose read feminine and Saudi men and women have both claimed it. If you have ever admired a scent trail in a Riyadh wedding hall and could not name it, there is a fair chance this was it.

Montale is French but built its name on Arabic materials, which is why it sits so comfortably next to local houses. For the home-grown versions of this style, read our list of the best Arabic perfumes in Saudi Arabia.

For the wedding season, when you want the whole hall to know you arrived.

Notes: Top: Bergamot, Rosemary, Violet Leaf. Heart: Amber, Labdanum, Myrrh, Olibanum, Orris, Vanilla. Base: Agarwood Oud, Cedar, Leather, Patchouli, Sandalwood.

Interlude Black Iris is what Amouage did when it wanted a version of Interlude that women could claim as easily as men. Pierre Negrin composed it in 2020: bergamot, rosemary and violet leaf on top, then a heart of orris, myrrh, olibanum, labdanum, amber and vanilla, and a base of oud, leather, sandalwood, cedar and patchouli.

The iris is the key. It gives the smoky Interlude idea a cool, powdery softness that reads as elegant rather than heavy. On a Saudi man it smells like a refined evening scent for a National Day dinner; on a Saudi woman it smells like a modern take on her mother's oud and bakhoor.

Amouage is the Gulf's own luxury house, so it carries weight as a gift in Riyadh and Jeddah in a way Paris names sometimes do not. Men who like this direction can find more in our men's perfume range.

A Gulf house, a collector's scent and one that both halves of the family will reach for.

Notes: Top: Bergamot, Cinnamon, Nutmeg. Heart: Dates, Mahonial, Praline, Tuberose. Base: Akigalawood, Amberwood, Benzoin, Myrrh, Tonka Bean, Vanilla.

Khamrah is the Gulf house answer to the sweet spiced gourmand trend, and it has been one of the most talked about bottles in Saudi Arabia since its 2022 launch. Cinnamon, nutmeg and bergamot open it, dates, praline and tuberose carry the heart and a base of vanilla, tonka, benzoin, myrrh, amberwood and akigalawood keeps it going for most of the day.

The dates note is what makes it Saudi. It smells like the tray that comes out with the Arabic coffee, and both men and women here have adopted it as a daily winter scent. Projection is strong for the first three hours, so one spray is enough for the office and two for a family gathering.

It is the bottle on this list that gets bought in multiples for gifting because everyone recognises it. Men who want more in this sweet spiced lane should look at our roundup of the best men's perfumes in Saudi Arabia.

The everyday sweet spice that half of Riyadh already wears, for good reason.

Notes: Top: Bergamot, Black Currant, Sicilian Lemon, Spicy Notes. Heart: Fruity Notes, Patchouli, Water Jasmine. Base: Cedar, Leather, Moss, Sandalwood, Vanilla, White Musk.

Cedrat Boise is the fresh unisex bottle Saudi Arabia buys for summer. Pierre Montale composed it for Mancera in 2011: Sicilian lemon, bergamot, blackcurrant and cold spices on top, a fruity heart with water jasmine and patchouli and a base of cedar, leather, moss, sandalwood, vanilla and white musk. It is bright, a little sweet and very clean.

Fans of Aventus will recognise the shape, minus the pineapple and the smoke. What matters more here is that it survives Jeddah. The citrus does not turn sour in humidity and the musky base hangs on through a Corniche evening. In Riyadh's dry heat it feels even crisper.

It is the safest daily scent on this list for a woman who does not want florals and a man who does not want oud, which is exactly what unisex should mean. The 120ml bottle also makes it the best one to share.

The bottle to keep by the door for Jeddah summers, when everything else feels too heavy.

Notes: Top: Bergamot, Juniper, Lemon, Pepper. Heart: Incense, Orris Root, Pine needles. Base: Amber, Sandalwood, Vanilla.

Gypsy Water is the quiet one, and it belongs on the list because not every Saudi buyer wants to be noticed from across the room. Jérôme Epinette built it for Byredo in 2008 with bergamot, juniper, lemon and pepper on top, then incense, orris root and pine needles and a soft base of amber, sandalwood and vanilla.

It smells like clean skin and a wooden box that once held incense. That makes it a rare thing in the Kingdom: a scent that works in a Dammam office, at a family lunch and on a flight, without anyone asking what you are wearing. Men and women wear it in the same way, close and personal.

Longevity is modest, around four hours, so it is a scent you reapply rather than one you set and forget. Women who want the same quiet style with a floral turn can browse our women's perfume range.

For the days when you want to smell good to yourself and to no one else in particular.