Come to Dubai

Oriental perfumery in Belval Plaza. Oud, musk, amber, vanilla and spice, in compositions that are more concentrated than most high street fragrance and built to develop on the skin over a day rather than announce themselves and fade.

Three things on the shelves: the perfumes themselves, concentrated perfume oils applied directly to the skin, and home fragrances, diffusers and essences.

The oils are the interesting part. They can be layered, one over another, which means you can build a scent nobody else is wearing. The shop is set up for exactly that: you test, you compare, you go back to something you tried twenty minutes earlier to see what it has become.

Which makes for a pleasing coincidence in this building. Belval Plaza now has a tea house where you open the tins and smell before choosing, and a perfumery where you do the same thing with oud. Two shops a few doors apart, both built on the idea that some things cannot be bought from a photograph.