Almas Anfar Kathuria shares her Gen Z perfume playbook covering scent wardrobes, gourmand picks, collectability, and accessible luxury.
Almas Anfar Kathuria is a widely heralded entrepreneur, third-generation perfumer, couture designer, philanthropist, and owner of the Northern Warriors cricket franchise. Born in Mumbai, she represents the third generation of a fragrance family whose business began in 1950 under her grandfather, Haji Anfar Ali, before her father, Shahid Anfar Ali, expanded the company throughout the GCC from 1988.
She currently leads the relaunch of Al Anfar Perfumes and directs ventures spanning fragrance, couture, beauty, pageantry, hospitality, philanthropy, and professional sport. Her perfume perspective evokes this very particular relevance in the UAE, a nation famous for serious fragrance culture and shoppers surrounded by oud, musk, amber, florals, gourmand blends, luxury boutiques, and elaborate gifting traditions. Now Kathuria is zeroing in on younger fragrance fans hungry for choices that match their personalities, aesthetics, budgets, wardrobes, and ever-changing vibes.
Almas Anfar Kathuria Says Pick The Personality First
Forget beginning at the perfume counter by hunting for a single bottle expected to represent every version of you. Kathuria’s fragrance philosophy leans heavily into personality, originality, humor, color, and visual storytelling. That means shoppers can think about the character they want their perfume to channel before worrying about finding one forever favorite. Playful today? Pick accordingly. Dinner plans tomorrow? Switch lanes completely. Perfume becomes another part of styling yourself rather than an automatic finishing spray.
Her thinking also places fragrance alongside fashion and accessories. Different clothes already call for different shoes, bags, jewelry, makeup, and styling choices, so scents can receive exactly the same treatment. Fresh profiles can work for daytime dressing, richer blends can match nights out, and sugary selections can satisfy days demanding something extra. Kathuria has connected outfits and occasions to fragrance choices, putting personality ahead of rigid perfume rules. The takeaway for younger shoppers is deliciously simple: dress your fragrance shelf like you dress yourself.
Stop Expecting One Perfume To Handle Every Assignment
The signature scent concept has serious competition. Kathuria has spoken about owning several perfumes, specifically pointing toward options such as strawberry, caramel, espresso, and chocolate oud. Each bottle can serve a separate assignment instead of forcing a shopper to squeeze every plan, outfit, personality, and vibe into a single fragrance. Suddenly, picking perfume resembles opening a closet and deciding what works for that particular day.
This is also why smaller formats become especially interesting. A seven-day mini fragrance concept has been explored as part of this direction, connecting individual scents to different days and moods. Mini bottles invite experimentation without demanding the commitment associated with larger formats. They also lend themselves naturally to collecting, gifting, displaying, testing, and swapping between favorites. For shoppers tempted by several scent personalities at once, minis can transform indecision into the fun part.
Dessert Belongs On Your Perfume Menu
Chocolate. Strawberry. Caramel. Espresso. Chocolate oud. Those names sound ready for a dessert counter, yet Kathuria sees serious fragrance potential in exactly that kind of instant sensory reaction. She has said she personally developed these concepts because she wants fragrance to surprise people before the first spray. The names already spark curiosity, which gives gourmand perfume an immediate personality before anyone even discovers the composition.
Chocolate oud packs an especially punchy contrast. Oud holds enormous significance in Middle Eastern fragrance culture, while chocolate plants the concept firmly in gourmand territory. Espresso borrows instant café familiarity, strawberry serves recognizable sweetness, and caramel practically announces indulgence by name. These profiles offer younger shoppers an easy entry point because the references are instantly understandable. Choosing perfume suddenly sounds less intimidating and far more like ordering whatever craving currently wins.
Your Perfume Shelf Deserves Serious Main Character Status
Kathuria also understands that younger fragrance fans encounter perfume visually. Packaging, branding, bottle design, names, color, presentation, and unboxing appeal can influence the entire experience surrounding the juice itself. She has spoken about collectability and people sharing unboxings, comparing favorites, and talking about their bottles. That places perfume squarely in lifestyle territory, especially for shoppers whose purchases often become part of vanities, shelves, handbags, outfits, photos, gifting rituals, and social content.
A collectible fragrance shelf also changes the emotional logic of buying perfume. The goal shifts from finding a universally appropriate bottle toward assembling options capable of expressing several sides of your personality. One bottle can be cute. Another can lean dramatic. Another can scream dessert. Another can satisfy an oud craving. A perfume collection becomes less like duplication and more like having a cast of characters ready for different assignments.
The UAE Gives Gen Z A Massive Scent Playground
The UAE is practically built for this perfume mentality. Oud, bakhoor, amber, musk, florals, luxury fragrance boutiques, gifting traditions, personal grooming, hospitality, and perfume shopping already occupy significant cultural space throughout the UAE. Al Anfar’s fragrance universe includes oud, amber, floral, musk, and modern gourmand profiles, placing Kathuria’s latest ideas at an interesting intersection between established regional scent culture and younger collecting habits.
For shoppers, that means there is plenty of room to experiment. Someone drawn to traditional Middle Eastern perfumery can explore oud-forward choices, then pivot toward espresso, caramel, strawberry, or another gourmand personality depending on the outfit or occasion. Perfume can complement a dinner look, sit proudly on a vanity, travel in a handbag, become a gift, or earn its place in a growing collection. The UAE’s fragrance culture already offers the playground. The fun lies in deciding which scent personality gets picked next.
Almas Anfar Kathuria Says Luxury Should Still Feel Reachable
A massive fragrance wardrobe sounds exciting until the price tags start attacking the bank account. Kathuria has specifically addressed affordability, saying younger customers deserve beautiful fragrances without emptying their wallets. That idea directly supports her collector mentality because several bottles become far easier to explore when each purchase avoids becoming a huge financial decision. Accessible luxury therefore becomes part of the perfume strategy rather than a side conversation about pricing.
So what should younger perfume shoppers actually chase? Personality. Variety. A scent that works with the outfit rather than fighting it. Gourmand notes that sound irresistible enough to taste. Bottles worth collecting. Smaller formats that encourage experimentation. Prices that leave room for another favorite. Kathuria’s fragrance direction throws the old one-bottle mentality out of the spotlight and hands perfume lovers a far more exciting question every morning: what does today smell like?
Three New Fragrance Names Are Arriving in October 2026
A fresh era of fragrance begins this October with the debut of Maison Umama, Florayne, and Scent Charms. Created for a generation that treats scent as a form of self-expression, the three brands will introduce playful blends inspired by sweet gourmand notes, blooming florals, and unapologetically pink aesthetics.
Each fragrance is designed to feel indulgent and distinctive while remaining within reach, giving scent lovers something they’ll want to wear, display, and collect. With bold identities and plenty of personality, these newcomers are ready to make their mark when they launch in October 2026.
