Lattafa Asad Eau de Parfum — 3.4oz/100ml

Pineapple, tobacco and coffee. Asad is one of Lattafa's biggest sellers and it's easy to hear why from the note list alone.

How it wears
Pineapple opens it, cut hard with black pepper so it never reads tropical, and tobacco arrives underneath almost immediately. That combination — bright fruit against dry leaf — is the whole hook, and it lands in the first ten seconds.

The heart brings coffee and patchouli, with iris smoothing the join. The coffee is roasted rather than sweet, which keeps the fruit in check.

It finishes on vanilla, amber, dry wood, benzoin and labdanum — warm and resinous, and considerably softer than the opening suggests.

On the comparisons: Asad gets held up against several expensive fragrances, most often Dior Sauvage Elixir. I'd rather you judge that yourself than take my word for it — what I'll say is the pineapple-and-tobacco opening is distinctive enough to be worth owning on its own terms.

Cooler weather, evenings, though it's versatile enough for daytime at one or two sprays. Marketed to men and wears that way.

• Top: Black pepper, tobacco, pineapple
• Heart: Patchouli, coffee, iris
• Base: Vanilla, amber, dry wood, benzoin, labdanum

Note: Lattafa also makes Asad Zanzibar, Asad Elixir and Asad Bourbon — all different fragrances. This is the original 2021 Asad.

What you're getting

• 100ml / 3.4 oz eau de parfum
• Factory sealed in the original box
• 2021 release

Sourced from a vetted supplier I test-order from myself and check against the same five authenticity signs I use on everything I sell.