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How to apply attar
Attar is oil, so a drop is enough. Here is where to put it, how to make it last, and what not to do with a concentrated oud.
Attar is not sprayed. If you treat a bottle of oil like a department-store mist you will use too much, stain a shirt, and decide oud is “too strong” when the only mistake was the method.
The rule is simple: a drop on warm skin, then wait. The scent is meant to rise with you, not announce itself from the doorway.
Where to put it
Inner wrists: one drop, then touch the wrists together. Do not rub hard; you grind the opening off.
Sides of the neck, just below the ear. Heat there carries the oil without putting it on your collar.
The centre of the chest, under a shirt, if you want it closer to you than to the room.
A drop in the beard, if you wear one. Hair holds oil well. Keep it off the moustache if you are about to eat.
Skip clothes unless you know the fabric. Attar oil can mark silk and some wools. Skin is the right place for what attar actually is.
How much is enough
One drop for a day at home or the office. Two if you are going out and you already know the attar. Three is almost always too much, especially with oud.
If you can still smell it strongly on yourself after ten minutes, other people can smell it from further away than you think. Oil sits. Give it time before you add more.
Making it last
Apply after a shower, on clean skin, once you are dry. Moisturised skin holds oil better than dry skin — a plain unscented cream is enough; a second fragrance underneath will fight the attar.
Do not expect the opening to be the whole story. A good oud will shift over a few hours: incense or wood first, then a quieter trail. That change is the point, not a fault. If you want something that smells identical from first spray to last hour, that is alcohol perfume. See oud versus perfume.
Storing the bottle
Keep it closed, upright, away from direct sun and heat. A drawer or cupboard is better than a windowsill.
Wipe the rim after you pour so the cap does not glue itself shut.
You do not need to refrigerate it. Cool and dark is enough.
We pour small sizes because that is what people finish while the oil is at its best. When a batch is gone we wait for the next one rather than stretching what is left.
We are not open for orders yet. Join the launch list for the first batch, or read how attar delivery in Toronto will work.
Keep reading
- What is attar?
Attar is perfume oil, not alcohol spray. Here is how it is made, why it lasts on skin, and how it differs from the oud you see in department stores.
- Oud vs perfume
Most “oud” on a shelf is alcohol perfume with a woody accord. Here is how that differs from alcohol-free attar, and how to tell which you are buying.