Anfas

Anfas is a niche fragrance house based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, founded by the Emirati perfumer Asim Al-Qassim. It builds its perfumes around Arabian heritage and the rituals of hospitality, pairing traditional materials such as oud, amber and saffron with contemporary perfumery. The name comes from the Arabic أنفاس (anfas), the plural of "nafas", or breath — a reference the brand uses to describe scent as something tied to memory [1].

The company trades online as Anfas Collection and reaches customers in what it describes as more than 40 countries, both through its own website and through international niche retailers [4]. The house remains active, with new releases listed for 2025 and 2026 [1].

Anfas was created by Asim Al-Qassim, an architect by training whose interest in art, music and culture led him into perfumery. Editorial profiles by the niche retailers Jovoy Paris and Fragrance Passion describe him as the first certified perfumer in the United Arab Emirates, a description Zhor Parfums echoes in calling him "the Emirati pioneer of certified perfumery" [8][10]. According to the company, the project grew out of a wish to translate Arab hospitality and heritage into scent; in an interview published on the brand's journal, Al-Qassim links the founding to a message from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan about Emiratis serving as exemplary ambassadors abroad, and frames the work as spreading "a message of love and kindness to the world" [4].

The founder's name appears in two transliterations of the same Arabic name, عاصم القاسم. The brand's homepage and Facebook page use "Asim Al-Qassim", while its own journal interview and the Fragrantica database render it "Asem Al Qassim"; both forms are used by the brand itself [2][4].

Anfas does not state a founding year on its own pages. The Fragrantica database records its earliest release in 2014 — a since-discontinued fragrance named "Salam 2014" — which places the brand's first commercial year around that date, though the company itself has not confirmed it [1].

The house presents its perfumes as narrative objects rather than single accords. According to the brand, the collection embodies "the spirit of Arab hospitality", evoking open tents, the welcoming cup of Arabic coffee and journeys by camel. Al-Qassim has said the work is drawn from "the environment in which I've grown", and describes Anfas as a bridge between past and present that blends Middle Eastern references with global perfumery. The company lists its core values as tradition, heritage, craftsmanship and luxury, and uses the taglines "The Essence of Arabian Home" and "Oasis of Aromas".

Sat at a luxury price point — most bottles fall roughly between €245 and €425 — Anfas is positioned alongside other Gulf houses that entered the international niche market in the mid-to-late 2010s, part of a wider revival of oud and bakhoor in fine fragrance.

Anfas works almost entirely in fragrance, spanning personal perfume and home scent. Its perfumers have included Al-Qassim himself and the Spanish perfumer Christian Carbonnel, a collaboration noted in the Fragrantica listing and across several retailer profiles [1]. Recurring materials across the range include oud, amber, saffron, bakhoor, rose, cedar and musk, often set against gourmand notes such as coffee and chocolate.

The catalogue is organised into collections, among them Collection 2017, the Fosol Collection and the Essence of Arabia (Watan) home line. A signature release, Aya, is an extrait de parfum built on pomegranate and bitter orange over cherry and rose, closing on cedar, amber, chocolate and musk; the company describes it as a scent of spring and renewal. Other named perfumes include Shaghaf, Sa'adah, Green Gaya and Ghala, the last marked as the newest release on the official site.

The total number of fragrances attributed to Anfas varies by source, reflecting an evolving catalogue rather than a firm figure. Fragrantica lists 25 across five collections, including six discontinued scents [1], while individual retailers stock smaller subsets and the brand's own site shows around seven active products at a given time.

Anfas has been profiled by several niche perfumery retailers that double as editorial sources. Jovoy Paris carries the house and credits Al-Qassim as the first certified Emirati perfumer; Zhor Parfums hosts an exclusive release, "Dari Exclusively For Zhor"; and the Fragrantica database maintains its designer page and the attribution to perfumer Christian Carbonnel. No formal awards are recorded in the available sources.

Anfas is active. It operates a direct-to-consumer store at anfascollection.com and is stocked by international niche retailers including Jovoy Paris, Zhor Parfums and Fragrance Passion in the United States. New fragrances dated 2025 and 2026 in the Fragrantica timeline indicate continuing activity, and the brand reports distribution across more than 40 countries spanning the Middle East, Europe and the US [1][4].