Experience the art of fragrance: Sheikh Majed Al-Sabah’s innovative perfume house, The Fragrance Kitchen (TFK), launches in the UAE, exclusively at Bloomingdale’s-Dubai.
Exclusively in the UAE, Bloomingdale’s-Dubai invites everyone to experience the art of fragrance with Sheikh Majed AI-Sabah’s innovative perfume house, The Fragrance Kitchen (TFK). Inspired by his ‘East meets West’ philosophy, Sheikh Majed has conceived TFK’s scent collections by uniting traditional aspects of Middle Eastern perfumery with the unrivaled expertise of a laboratory in Grasse, the world’s perfume capital.
Sheikh Majed credits Tom Ford – with whom he worked closely while opening Villa Moda’s Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent boutiques – as an inspirational force behind TFK. Arabian Wood, a perfume Sheikh Majed blended upon Ford’s request as an exclusive scent for the 2009 opening of Kuwait’s Tom Ford boutique, became a bestseller and lauded as original because of its elegant aroma. A rich yet light Eastern-inspired scent involving precious woods, exotic flowers and spices, Arabian Wood is now a part of the exclusive Tom Ford Private Blend Collection.
Sheikh Majed’s grandmother has also influenced TFK’s direction because, at the heart of its scents, are rare ingredients, indigenous to the Gulf Region, from which she has always created her own perfume at home and also taught him to do so. These include agarwood or oudh, extracted from the dark resinous heartwood of southeast Asian evergreens, and rose taif, the delicate yet intensely perfumed Damask Rose. Precious oils derived from such plants and flowers have proved integral to Middle East perfumery since the 9th-century, when Arab philosopher and chemist Yakub AI-Kindi, sparked the custom of creating scent by publishing the first fragrance recipes in his seminal text “The Book of the Chemistry of Perfume and Distillations”.
“My grandmother taught me how to mix oils from the souk and source precious ingredients from India,” explains Sheikh Majed. Centuries-old family perfume recipes, he adds, “are closely guarded secrets” among Middle Eastern families and “handed down through generations. I have hundreds.”
The allure of his own custom blends also became evident to Sheikh Majed, when, after flaunting them at the ready-to-wear shows in Paris and Milan, he was periodically stopped by his fellow front-row fixtures and asked the same question. “‘What are you wearing?'” he recalls.
A laboratory in Grasse has analyzed, executed and bottled TFK’s three unisex perfume collections.
The first is the ‘Signature Line’ of unisex scents which are versatile and their numeric names reflect the philosophy that they are meant to be worn “just like ready-to-wear every day,” explains Sheikh Majed.
The ‘Exclusive Line’ features opulent scents which are narrative-driven. “It is almost like my diary,” says Sheikh Majed, explaining that the perfumes he has composed for this collection evoke his memories, journeys and personal experiences.
“If TFK is to be in Dubai, Bloomingdale’s is THE PLACE to be!” exclaims Sheikh Majed. TFK’s shop-in-shop can now be found in the UAE, exclusively in the newly re-launched Fragrance Hall at Bloomingdale’s-Dubai, The Dubai Mall.
TFK Fragrance List
Signature Line (100 mL, AED 455 each):
3 Wooded Musk. The finest masculine scent associating the freshness of citrus, the impact of floral notes and the sweetness of wooded and amber notes.
Notes – Top: Lemon, Rosemary, Petitgrain; Middle: Geranium, Lavender, Pineapple; Base: Wooded, Amber, Musk
4 Floral Cyprus. A modern Cyprus floral fragrance combining a brilliant floral accord with woods and solar notes.
Notes – Top: Bergamot, Orange, Mandarin; Middle: Rose, Jasmin, Violet; Base: Patchouli, Vetyver, Salicylic notes
6 Fruity Floral.A dynamic fragrance composed of a mix of fruits and flowers enveloped by musks.
Notes – Top: Orange, Grapefruit, Apple; Middle: Jasmine, Powder, Rose; Base: Musk, Wooded, Amber
8 Wooded Floriental. Flowers and citrus develop their fragrance on a cocoon of sandalwood, musk and vanilla.
Notes – Top: Bergamot, Mandarin, Green notes; Middle: Jasmine, Rose, Violet; Base: Vanilla, Sandalwood, Musk
9 Aromatic Fern. The sensuality of the dry-out of this fougere accord is enlightened by the aromatic notes.
Notes – Top: Citron, Pineapple, Wormwood; Middle: Nutmeg, Ocean notes; Base: Musk, Leather, Amber
18 Hespéridé aromatique. Fresh and shining, this fragrance mixes perfectly the citrus with aromatic notes.
Notes – Top: Bergamot, Lemon, Wormwood; Middle: Pineapple, Basil, Rose notes; Base: Amber, Leather, Wooded
25 Fruity Floral. A young and sparkling fruity accord.
Notes – Top: Lemon, Grapefruit, Orange; Middle: Apple, Violet, Rose; Base: Wooded, Musk, Salicylate
28 Fruity Floral. Sparkling top notes are followed by a sensual freshness coming from the mix of Jasmine and rose. All based on a velvet background.
Notes – Top: Orange, Mandarin, Grapefruit; Middle: Jasmine, Anise, Rose; Base: Musk, Wooded, Vanilla
33 Wooded Floriental. This creation around the patchouli as an invitation to travel. Notes – Top: Aldehyde, Bergamot, Lemon; Middle: Rose, Cedar, Sandalwood; Base: Patchouli, Vanilla, Musk
35 Wooded Oriental. Duality between the fresh green / spicy top accord and the dark ambery bottom.
Notes – Top: Mandarin, Bergamot, Mint; Middle: Cardamom, Jasmine, Nutmeg; Base: Musk, Tonka bean, Amber
Exclusive Line (100 mL, AED 715 each):
Arabia
Mukhalat. The strength of agar wood in association with the sweetness of roses.
Notes – Top: Rose; Middle: Sandalwood, Amber; Base: Oud, Patchouli, Musk
At Your Own Risk
Fruity Chyprus. The intense personality of davana illuminated by patchouli and citrus notes.
Notes – Top: Juniper berry, Lemon, Orange; Middle: Davana, Fir balsam, Elemi; Base: Patchouli, Musk, Amber
Gone with the Smell
Chypre Floral. A fresh and natural bouquet of various flowers surrounded by a velvet bottom.
Notes – Top: Aldehydic, Thrush, Green notes; Middle: Rose, Jasmine, Carnation; Base: Patchouli, Musk, Vetyver
Kuwait
Floral Cyprus. A floral Chinese tea embellished by ginger and the warmness of patchouli.
Notes – Top: Ginger Bergamot, Orange Middle: Rose, Tea, Ylang; Base: Musk, Patchouli, Vetyver
Naughty Patchouli
Cyprus Aldehyde Flowers. The elegance and richness of the patchouli illuminated by flowers.
Notes – Top: Ylang, Mandarin, Aldehyde; Middle: Jasmine, Powder, Rose; Base: Musk, Patchouli, Sandalwood
Scent in a Bottle
Mukhalat. Original oriental spices mixed with a bouquet of flowers which gives an animalic musky signature.
Notes – Top: Aldehyde, Green Notes, Safran; Middle: Violet, Ylang, Rose; Base: Animal, Amber, Musk
Son of a Rose
Floral Spicy Musk. The dynamism of the fresh spices is sublimated by the musky powdery dry-out.
Notes – Top: Lemon, Pink peppercorns, Black pepper; Middle: Powder, Rose, Geranium; Base: Amber, Musk, Wooded
War of the Roses
Mixture of pure oud and pure rose. Spicy saffron note illuminates the rosy heart and the musky dry-out.
Notes – Top: Saffron, Orange; Middle: Rose, Lily of the valley; Base: Musk, Sandalwood, Amber
Fly Me to the Rose
Fruity Floral. A cocooning floral fruity fragrance.
Notes – Top: Blackcurrant, Grapefruit, Apple; Middle: Jasmine, Rose, Violet; Base: Patchouli, Musk, Amber
Musky Ever After
Musky Floral. A luxurious floral heart supported by the sensuality of musk and ambery notes.
Notes – Top: Bergamot, Green notes; Middle: Jasmine, Ylang, Rose; Base: Musk, Amber, Wooded
All TFK fragrances are available in the exclusive TFK shop-in-shop in the Fragrance Hall in the Beauty Department on the Ground Floor in Bloomingdale’s-Dubai, The Dubai Mall.
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