Ard Al Zaafaran Bakhoor

Bakhoor is not stick incense: it is wood chips soaked in perfume oils and resins, burned for a few minutes on charcoal or in an electric burner. Ard Al Zaafaran offers around a dozen versions here, including Oud Mood, Ameerat Al Arab and Yara, which take up the house's flagship fragrances.

How to use it, in practice

Two methods. With charcoal: light a tablet until it glows red all over and stops crackling, place it in a burner (mabkhara), then put just two or three chips on top. With an electric burner: place the chips on the plate; the heat is gentler and the smoke less dense, with no charcoal to manage. In both cases, diffusion lasts five to ten minutes — bakhoor is burned in small quantities.

The precautions that matter

• Ventilate during and after: the smoke is dense and a closed room saturates quickly.
• Never leave a lit burner unattended, or within reach of a child or a pet.
• Place it on a heat-resistant surface, never on a tablecloth or unprotected furniture.
• Pass the burner under hanging clothes: the fabric keeps the scent for a good while.

Which fragrance to start with

Bakhoor Oud Mood is the most requested: a frank woody oud, the one to choose for a first time. Ameerat Al Arab plays a more floral, ambery card; Yara has a gourmand profile, softer and easier to live with indoors. The 40 g suits occasional use, the 80 g regular use.

The brand's eaux de parfum and mists are gathered in the Ard Al Zaafaran collection, to find the same scent on the skin.