Raza Askari

Master Perfumer & Co-founder, House of Watan (Dubai)

Raza Askari has spent more than a decade with his hands in raw materials, composing fragrances from the House of Watan factory in Dubai. He has overseen thousands of formulas, and his work has gone into more than a billion bottles produced for some of the world's most recognised fragrance houses.

He thinks in accords, not marketing copy: why a note lifts or collapses, how a real oud accord is layered so it keeps unfolding on skin, and why the cheap version of anything usually falls apart within the hour. He started House of Watan to put that factory-floor knowledge directly into people's hands.

When he writes here, it is the same voice he uses on the bench: precise, honest, and happy to tell you when something is not worth your money.

Specialty

Oud and amber composition, longevity and projection, raw-material sourcing, and the chemistry behind why a fragrance behaves the way it does.