The House of Qasida

Qasida is a classical Arabic ode — a single poem that opens in the desert, travels, and ends in praise. It is one of the oldest forms in the language, and it is built the way a fragrance is built: an opening that catches you, a middle that carries you, and an ending that is what you actually remember.

We named the house after it because that is how these eight were composed.

Made in the Gulf

Qasida is the flagship collection of FAAN Perfumes, a family perfumery working in the United Arab Emirates since the late eighties. Thirty-five years of blending sits behind every bottle — long enough to have learned which shortcuts are worth taking and which ruin a fragrance.

Each composition is built the traditional way: on real oud, resin and absolutes rather than thin reconstructions, then left to macerate before it is bottled. It is slower and more expensive. It is also the difference between a fragrance that opens well and one that still smells like itself six hours later.

Eight movements

The collection is deliberately small. Eight fragrances, each with its own character, none of them a variation on another. Sahm is dark, woody and built for an entrance. Purity is quiet and close to the skin. Dunes is smoke and leather; Bakhur is the most traditionally Arabian of the eight. Queen and Senses go the other way — fruited, floral, warm.

There is no flanker, no seasonal reissue, no fifteenth variation on the bestseller. If we add a ninth, it will be because it belongs.

The bottles

Every Qasida is 200ml — roughly twice a standard designer bottle. The glass is weighted, the caps are hand-finished, and the plates on the front are cast from Arabic script. They are made to sit out on a surface rather than be hidden in a cupboard, and to be refilled into a traveller rather than replaced.

In the United Kingdom

Qasida is now available directly in the UK, shipped from within the country rather than flown in per order. Free UK delivery on orders over £50, dispatched within one to two working days, and fourteen days to change your mind on anything unopened.