from gallivant founder nick steward
The Ar Riyād story
Riyād means gardens and meadows in Arabic and even in this megacity I found cool, quiet corners and verdant courtyards, havens in the middle of this huge kingdom. This parfum evokes the languorous heat of late afternoon, a warm welcome into a hidden garden with the famous Saudi hospitality
SCENT STORY
warm hospitality in an elegant, shaded garden
This parfum (concentrated at 36%) opens with vervain oil – bringing a sparkling golden feeling on skin – alongside bergamot, bitter almond and ginger (a special CO2 extraction) for a refreshing dry, spicy elegance.
The heart of this composition is bursting with an opulent orange blossom. I wanted to evoke the whole flower, at its fullest and most sensual in the end-of-day heat. There is also a hint of clove as well as nutmeg and ylang ylang from the Indian Ocean – imagine its petals floating in a copper basin; cumin from the spice routes further east.
And the base of the composition celebrates a love for rich earthy patchouli, a “blond” tobacco (in a playful nod to shisha smoke), along with the chic luxury of olibanum and gourmand vanilla.
Rich, grounding, gourmand
AR RIYĀD PARFUM 100ML
Meet the maker
For the creation of the Ar Riyād parfum, Nick worked with Céline Perdriel. Based in Paris, Céline has become the go-to-perfumer for an innovative and contemporary style of perfumery rich in classical and historical references. Her compositions are clever, considered and bursting with a genuine love of perfumery and its emotional pleasures.
Says Nick: “People I know well in the perfume world, people whose judgement and taste I trust, kept saying to me: you must meet Céline – you two would really get on. And it turns out people were saying the same thing to her. And they were right! We hit it off straightaway."
Adds Céline : “If you insist on seeking out the best, the most beautiful raw materials, truly the most fitting ingredients for the particular perfume you’re creating, then you’re on the right path to create beautiful memorable scents. You don’t need to cheat with gimmicks. I like to create something chic, natural and timeless – so it felt like an easy fit working with Nick.”
