Amid the hustle and bustle of the souks of old Dubai, scent makers mix and match their potions to create fragrances customized to their customers’ tastes. Wander with me to Yusuf Bhai, both the name of the shop and Dubai’s artisanal perfumer, and watch the potion masters, Yusuf and his son Bilal, combine essences and extracts to create a bottle of your new scent.

THE PERFUME SOUQ

The 2 most popular souqs in Dubai that every tourist and resident have on their radar are the Gold Souq and Spice Souq. Just a few steps away though is another incredible market that is almost entirely dedicated to perfumes.

There are many stores that sell mimicked perfumes of famous brands or classics at a reduced price. Think Chanel No. 5 and Opium by YSL. But you also have stores that have scent makers. Experts who mix and match different oils, essences, and extracts to create perfumes customized entirely for you.

TEEB EMIRATES PERFUMES

I came across a store called Teeb Emirates Perfumes. This place is owned by a lovely perfumer, Yusuf Madappan, who is originally from Kerala India, and has been living in the Gulf region for over 30 years. While growing up, Yusuf was fascinated by the process of perfume-making.

His entire family were in the perfume business selling branded perfumes, but he wanted to create their own brand and make it more affordable for people to buy. So he joined a factory to learn the tricks and tools of the trade. He’s now been making perfumes for 30 years ever since, experimenting with thousands of ingredients.

Yusuf tells me he’s made a few perfumes for the stars including Gwen Stefani, and more recently, Portuguese footballer Ricardo Quaresma. Apparently he didn’t know who Gwen was until she posted a video in store on social media. Customers came in showing him the video, and he wondered ‘Which Stefani?’. Love it!

Many of his loyal customers are the royal family, Zabeel Palace, Gulf residents from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman, and UAE residents.

YUSUF BHAI

His new shop in Deira is where he and his son Bilal create their works of art. Located just a few minutes walking distance from Teeb Emirates Perfumes, is the new shop Yusuf Bhai. Google Maps link here. The closest nearby parking is the Gold Souk Parking Building which I suggest you park your car in for sanity’s sake if you’re driving as this area can be quite busy!

Inside the store, you’ll find a section dedicated to single origin scents which include cinnamon, ambergris, and lemongrass. They even have cupcake and cookie scented perfumes that give a creaminess similar to that of a decadent dessert. Yusuf describes this section as a perfume buffet, where you can pick your favorite individual scents.

The other section is where all the magic mixing happens. They’ll ask you what your favorite scents are in your daily life or even what perfumes you like to use to get a sense of your taste. They’ll also ask when you’re intending to use it for, day or night. If day, floral might be more refreshing. If night, perhaps a woody or musky alternative. This serves as a great starting point to creating the perfect scent. Then, they start mixing varying quantities of oils and other ingredients until they’ve acquired the scent they’re looking to make. I tried it on by spraying it on my wrist, allowing the fragrance to heat up and reveal itself.

It takes about 15 minutes to make a bottle of perfume so it’s relatively quick to get while you wait. I was told that the perfume needs to be stored in the fridge to chill for a few days to ensure the scent’s lasting power. 

Out of curiosity, I asked Yusuf and Bilal what sort of unusual scents or requests they’ve received. Apparently a customer wanted to mimic the scent of cigarettes (no comment!) and another customer asked for the woody aroma of newly printed money. I learned that real money is made of cotton, silk and linen, so they used extracts to create a similar scent.

I’d highly recommend a visit to their new store. It remains a family run business and both Yusuf and Bilal are incredibly dedicated and proud of the work they do. Their mission is to liberate perfumes, and return to the nurture of quality rather than image, something they feel is slipping through the fingers of the luxury industry. I love the new scents they’ve created for me and will definitely be back for a refill!

Website: www.yusufbhaifragrances.com. Operating hours are from 10AM until 10PM, Saturdays to Thursdays; 5PM until 10PM on Fridays. Contact No.: +971(52) 558 8702.

INCASE YOU MISSED IT

Here’s an IG reel video of my recent visit.