Reine de Saba

Sheba was a kingdom in the area that is now Yemen. The Queen of Sheba is Biblical figure, said to have lived in the 10th century BC. She appears not only in the Old Zestament, but in the Qur’an and in ancient Ethiopian legends as well. She is the namesake and inspiration of the brand Reine de Saba: a story and a country firmly situated in the “Frankincense belt”, and thus intimately intertwined with the world of perfume and its ancient origins.

So it comes as no surprise that many of the brand’s creations have an oriental touch and are notable for a certain well-balanced opulence.

The still young brand Reine de Saba was founded by Habib Al-Sowaidi. The name might well be unfamiliar to many readers, but to industry he is very well known, indeed, regularly lending his expertise to high-profile perfume projects, often in the Arab world. Having served as an evaluator and concept creator for a wide variety of brands Habib Al-Sowaidi draws on a vast wealth of experience and was in the position to recruit the most acclaimed noses and master perfumers for this project. From Dominique Ropion to Alberto Morillas and Maurice Roucel, as well as many other stars of the scene, they’re all on board.

The striking bottle was designed by none other than Serge Mansau. During the course of his career the now deceased sculptor and designer created perfume flacons for almost all of the renowned fragrance houses. His customer catalogue is a veritable Who’s Who of the perfume greats: Hermès, Armani, Givenchy, Kenzo and Versace, to name just a few.

Each scent in the collection is notable for its well-nigh perfectly balanced formulation. Despite the wide variety of creations/creators, the sum total is a unified whole with nary an outlier scent in the mix.

Different creations, everything seems to be of one piece and none of the perfume creations seem out of place.