ASCENT TO THE TOP


A niche brand that started from a lifelong passion, London-based Thameen Fragrance has made a significant impact on the luxury perfume industry


It takes a special scent to permeate the perfume market these days. With a reported 4,000 new fragrances and brands launched every year, only 10 per cent still exist 12 months later. But Basel Binjabr, founder and creative director of Thameen Fragrance, knew this when he launched his company in 2013 in London. “Everyone thinks that launching a new perfume on the market is easy,” he says. “The reality is that it’s very tough.” Unfazed by this competitive market, Basel was


determined to create something that stood out from the crowd. Thameen, meaning “precious” in Arabic, is exactly that. The contemporary, oriental fragrance brand launched with five signature scents and has captivated consumers, the press and the luxury perfume industry since.


PHENOMENAL RECEPTION “No matter how much time and investment you put into creating a new brand, it’s always difficult to assess, or plan for, the reaction after its launch,” says Basel. “But the response to Thameen has been phenomenal. It’s taken us a little by surprise.” Given its unique approach, it’s perhaps less


surprising. For example, Thameen only makes use of the finest ingredients. “When large fashion brands decide to launch a new perfume,” says Basel, “they give a price bracket to the perfumer, which limits what they can put in them. In contrast, I don’t specify a single price for ingredients. I simply want the very best for each fragrance.”


As a result, Thameen create perfumes


filled with rare, exquisite scents – Taif rose from Saudi Arabia, for example, and cedarwood from Lebanon – with all oil extraction done using traditional techniques. The company also eschews the usual mass-market commercial approach. Instead, Thameen was launched exclusively at just one high-end store – Selfridges, in London and Manchester – as well as online via its website. “It was important for us to find a stockist that shared our values and our ethos,” says Basel. Each scent tells a story, like “Amber Room”


– a heady fragrance that blends amber, Italian bergamot, Turkish rose and cedarwood. The scent is inspired by the Amber Room, a chamber that once existed in the Catherine Palace, near St Petersburg, which was opulently decorated in amber panels, gold leaf and mirrors.


UNIQUE BACKGROUND Basel’s background is unique in industry terms. Neither a trained “nose” nor a celebrity launching a scent, he grew up in Saudi Arabia with a genuine passion for perfume that was passed to him by his father. “He loved rose oil,” says Basel. “For him, it was a treasure. I used to visit markets with him to find the best-quality ones. A lot of people didn’t know the difference, but my father did.” Having bought his first perfume at the age of 12, Basel had collected more than 60 by his mid- twenties. He then carved out a successful career


STRIVE FOR PERFECTION 218


as a businessman (a career he continues today), and he’s now passing on his passion to the next generation of the family. “I give my children their own scents,” he says, “but, every two to three days, they’ll randomly select one from mine.” Soon, there will be even more to choose from.


Thameen’s second perfume line is due out later this year, as well as extensions of existing ones, which include perfume solids and hair fragrances. In fact, Thameen is soon set to have a market


presence like never before. With a niche, luxury store signed up to sell its fragrances in Kuwait, Munich, New York, Paris, Moscow and Dubai by the end of 2016, this special perfume brand is making a real mark in an overflowing market. www.thameenfragrance.com


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