Shams El -Mutwalli Dubai

A niche perfumery in Dubai, founded by Emirati Amna Sultan Al Habtoor, recently began selling their scents in Japan at Isetan Shinjuku, a department store in Tokyo.

Although the perfume brand is rooted in the UAE, Al Habtoor has expanded to Japan due to her prevalent fascination with Japanese culture and the country’s overall ‘essence.’

“Japan’s essence to me is in its natural beauty, rich culture and history, its legacy of distinctive gardens, sculpture and poetry. It’s also in its people, their generosity, respectfulness and kindness” Al Habtoor told Arab News Japan.

The entrepreneur shared how her first visit to Japan left an undeniably impression and even inspired the creation of one of her scents, No. 4 Hassaku.

With the introduction of her perfumes in the Japanese market, Al Habtoor does plan to incorporate more Japanese aromas in the making of her fragrances.

In her opinion “Japanese fragrances tend to be floral, fresh, powdery and sometimes woody, a combination that usually makes a romantic fragrance” she said.

The decision to grow the brand into foreign territory does stem from Al Habtoor’s ties to Japan growing up, which she describes as “twofold.”

On the one hand, she was very much influenced by Japanese anime, video games and fashion but from a business perspective, she shared how her “family acquired the official UAE distribution for leading Japanese car manufacturer, Mistubishi in 1983, so the Japanese business acumen was always part of my surrounding” she said.

Making her mark in Tokyo this year is only the beginning as Al Habtoor plans to grow further within Japan as she has done in Dubai.

Arcadia began in 2016, after 7 years of working in line with the family business, Al Habtoor decided to turn her passion for perfumery into a successful business.

The first edition included 10 fragrances “focused on the art of nostalgia.”

Al Habtoor designed a brand with a solid ethos centred on the art of memories, and reminiscing.

Building on this she stressed how “Arcadia’s ethos is to create fragrances that trigger certain memories, whether happy, whimsical, dark or painful” she told Arab News exclusively.

Customers can opt to choose from the brands bestseller including: No. 1 Royal Orchard, No. 2 Splinter, No. 9 Vanilla Pod, No. 11 Jinx, and No. 18 Bête Noir.

The extensive collection of scents upholds the brand’s mission by offering an array of fragrances that feel uniquely familiar.

Although the brand has recently made its breakthrough in Japan, it is already well established in both Dubai and Saudi Arabia.