ARABIA

Arabs take their scent very seriously. In fact, intermediaries who arrange an Arab marriage will often ask to smell the alleged candidate, and if they do not smell well, they reject the marriage. Perfumes are only used, however, in private situations, when a woman is in the company of other women, or of her husband and close family. To Arab women, wearing perfume in public or in the company of men is to act like an adulteress. In the United Arab Emirates, musk, rose, and saffron are first rubbed over the entire body (which must be scrupulously clean). Hair is perfumed with a blend of walnut or sesame oil and ambergris or jasmine. The ears are scented with Khamriya, a blend of aloe wood, saffron, rose, musk, and civet. Ambergris and narcissus are among the scents used on the neck, sandalwood in the armpits, and aloe wood on the nostrils.