Where did your love of fragrance come from?

Mona: I’ve always loved fragrance since the first time I smelled it on someone. When I was 12, I found my mother’s old bottles of jasmine perfume and they made me instantly feel so good when I tried them. When I got my first teenage job at 14, my money went towards buying perfume. After moving to Dubai, my love for it exploded. In the Middle East, it’s such a huge part of our culture – perfume’s applied at every step of your day, we’re constantly topping it up.

Huda: Also, it’s so hot out there! If you don’t make sure you smell good, odds are that you’re gonna smell bad. In the West, you don’t always want people to smell your perfume before they see you – it’s kind of the opposite in the Middle East, but it’s more like you want your scent to linger on someone after you hug them, or once you’ve left the room. I was always into perfume – I’d spray maybe two spritzes of J’Adore by Dior as a teenager in the US, and that was it. But in the Middle East, I’d feel like a hot sweaty mess, so I got into perfume even more. It’s about working with your natural scent (including sweat!) to create a unique fragrance, rather than trying to mask it.

Mona: I was really surprised about the culture of layering when I came to the Middle East. People put on five to ten perfumes like it’s no big deal, and they’re creating their own unique blend by doing so. I started experimenting with layering, and sometimes I’ll even put on up to twenty perfumes in one go. People often ask me what fragrance I’m wearing, and I’m like, “I can’t really say, it’s my own cocktail!” It makes me feel really special and happy to have my own personal blend. I tried combining all of my favourites in one bottle once, and it smelled terrible – there’s definitely something in the process of layering that creates such a beautiful final effect.

So, how do people layer scents there?

Mona: You’d start with oud and musk in the places you sweat from, so they mingle with your pheromones and the scent intensifies as the day progresses. Then bakhoor (incensed wood chips) are burned and passed along your clothes and hair so they can absorb it all. Then you might dab perfumed oil behind your ears. This entire process can take up to an hour – putting on perfume is definitely the longest step in my beauty routine!

How KAYALI’s Huda and Mona Kattan launched a cult fragrance brand together