The World’s Youngest and First Arab Award-Winning Perfume Designer
Introducing Omar Al-Qattan from Kuwait, the world’s youngest and first Arab perfume designer whose enchanting scents tell captivating stories. With a passion for creativity and innovation, he weaves olfactory tales that resonate with audiences worldwide.
Hi, please introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Omar Al-Qattan. I am a marketing graduate from CBA, Perfume Designer with 13 years of experience, and the first Arab and youngest perfumer with an award winning perfume from Paris.
Tell us about your education.
I started in the perfume industry when I was just 10 years old and then got into marketing in the first year of high school.
How did you come to the world of perfumes and the desire to become a perfumer?
By fate, I mixed two perfumes unintentionally then realized that I’ve came up with a third scent. That’s when the spark ignited.
If you had to select a perfume you created to represent you, which perfume would it be?
That would be OQ I (coming soon)
What kind of training did you go through to further pursue this passion?
Do trial and Errors, attending various courses in and out of Kuwait, learned under one of the best Perfumers, who designed perfumes for Queen Elizabeth II.
How do you get your inspiration? What inspires you?
My inspirations are derived from certain memories and my inspirations are usually based on what achievements I aim to accomplish.
What is it that inspires, excites, and moves you, not related to the world of perfumes, but that really influences your creativity?
To excel in every field I enter.
Which creation was the biggest challenge for you?
Lounge: Created during Covid, since we weren’t able to travel, I wanted to be able to travel through time by the sense of smell and have that joyful and blissful feeling of comfort the moment you enter, sit, and wait in the airport lounge for the final call to your gate.
Tell us all about the award you won in Paris as the first Arab and the youngest perfumer in the world winner?
At the end of 2020, during Covid as a contestants, we were required to send a small sample of 2ml and write the background story of our creations, which was difficult considering the unavailability of shipping companies and inability to explain the perfume story, idea, and inspiration face to face rather on paper. This was considered one of the most difficult competitions as we only had to use essential oils (natural), which means no musk and other oils that always help in increasing the perfumes diffusion and silage.
How would you describe an “intense” version of a scent? How does it differ from an original eau de parfum version?
The intense and the EDP are exactly the same, the only difference is the intense has a higher oil concentration than the EDP.
What is a perfume for you?
An artistic reflected expression; in a form of scent and story, based on a certain message in terms of a special moment, memory, time, or even an imaginative creative concept.
How long does it take to create a fragrance from creative brief to finished product?
It could take from 30 minutes up to a year or two. It depends on various factors.
The industry has pushed the ideas of masculine and feminine, and perhaps a small amount of unisex between, do you think the consumer is ready for something without these labels?
Unfortunately not, till this day marketing plays a huge role in selling fragrances. We would have to change the concept of marketing and advertising of these product first to be able to reach to a higher level of perfume taste and understanding.
When did you launch your own brand and what are your plans for it?
Launched it in 2018 unofficially and in 2022 officially. One of the plan is to become one of the leading niche brand in the GCC and be able to help other niche brands grow.
What do you choose and wear in your private life?
Mont Blanc Star Walker, Armani Pour Homme, and my perfume OQ I.
You are now educating through your social media, what is the response?
Alhamdulilah. So far, the support has been positively more than expected, which reflects the audience’s high understanding of the market and exquisite taste in both content and art.
How do you manage to transcribe words, an inspiration or a memory in a perfume?
Through the perfect execution of both marketing and perfumery.
What are your plans for the future?
To support Arab brands in growing and proving that as Arabs we always had and will have the upper hand in any field.
Finally, tell me something about yourself that others may be surprised to know about you?
During 2018, I had an accident and now my nose doesn’t function properly as before.
Your message for us at CP magazine.
Thank you for this opportunity and I hope the light is shun on more of the Arab youths useful talents and craft.
