This Unusual Scent Is Set To Reach Cult Fragrance Status In 2025

Words by Olivia De Courcy

In the world of fragrance, how do you create a scent that stands out? OLIVIA DE COURCY discovers how one creative director translated a journey of joy into an evocative fragrance masterpiece.

The Inspiration

“My brief to a perfumer is always a place and an emotion,” explains Clara Molloy, co-founder and creative director of Memo Paris. “Fragrance is like a time traveller: it takes you to another place, to another part of your life, to someone you loved – instantly. It’s something you don’t see, but it’s very powerful.”

Creating a homage to Abu Dhabi was inspired by a family trip and a feeling of joy. “There is a cultural part of the region that really touched us: the people, the food, everything came together. It gave me a true moment of joy,” says Molloy.

The result? Memo Paris Abu Dhabi EDP, a Harrods exclusive that conjures up the magnetic pull of vibrant Abu Dhabi.

The Hero Ingredient

“The brief [to Mylène Arlan, the perfumer] revolved around a date market, where there must have been 1,000 dates – and I love dates. We worked on the fragrance for a long time. I wanted something not overpowering, which you might expect coming from the Middle East. I wanted something sweet, but not too sugary. We call Abu Dhabi an Enchanted Date. I love the fact that a date is also when you meet someone – an encounter.

The starting point of the fragrance was the idea of bringing Abu Dhabi to life as a scent, conceived in part as a tribute to the Al Sadu artisanal weaving of the UAE. “I showed Mylène the Sadu textiles and immediately she began the idea of weaving the different important facets of Abu Dhabi as a place.” This included the dates, of course, but also “a greenish wetness from the mangrove, which made her think of a wet vetiver. She showed it to me, and it was beautiful,” Molloy adds, “It all came together, and from there it was about the dosage [of the different scents] when you mix all of them together to create the main perfume itself."

Notes of Abu Dhabi

Saffron and cardamom – which add fragrance to Arabic coffee – are both key elements of daily life in the capital city of the UAE, with the latter ingredient being one of the top notes in Memo’s Abu Dhabi fragrance. “I always say, ‘I don’t go into the kitchen’ because that’s not my part,” explains Molloy. “I tell a story. The story I told Mylène was in the date market, but she could have gone somewhere else. And she did, because she added plum.

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