Issued on: 06/11/2022 – 14:06Modified: 06/11/2022 – 14:04
Damascus (AFP) – One whiff of a perfume is all Syrian perfumer Mohammad al-Masri needs to recreate the scent of a luxury model — with out the label and for a fraction of the associated fee.
Dozens of consumers flock day by day to his tiny retailer, nestled within the historic market of Damascus’s outdated metropolis, many flashing images on their telephones of high-end perfumes they need to replicate.”All I’ve is my store, and this nostril I’ve been coaching since I used to be 15,” the 55-year-old informed AFP, pointing at his face. “I haven’t got an enormous workshop or high-end tools.”After 11 years of brutal struggle and financial dislocation, most Syrians battle to afford life’s naked requirements, not to mention fragrance.Before the struggle, Masri would principally concoct costly oriental fragrances, with heavy notes of oud, a candy and woody scent, like his household has accomplished for a century.
Customers flock to the tiny retailer in Damascus’s outdated metropolis, many flashing images of high-end perfumes they need to replicate LOUAI BESHARA AFP
But after Syria plunged into battle, demand for reasonable imitations of premium brands skyrocketed and Masri’s store partitions are stuffed with footage of world-famous perfumes.”For younger girls, fragrance is crucial, it is like meals or water,” stated 24-year-old buyer Cham al-Falah.”I used to purchase Western perfumes however I can now not afford them as a result of imported merchandise have gotten more and more laborious to come by in Syria,” she stated whereas ordering a perfume imitating her favorite Italian fragrance.Although Damascus has been spared the worst destruction of the struggle, which started after its authorities repressed peaceable protests, the native foreign money has misplaced virtually 99 per cent of its worth on the parallel market.Syrian workers and civil servants reportedly make roughly $25 a month on common — 1 / 4 of the value of a bottle of imported fragrance.
After Syria plunged into battle, demand for reasonable imitations of premium brands skyrocketed LOUAI BESHARA AFP
Masri sells his fragrances for about six {dollars}, drawing in a circulation of purchasers from all walks of life.Ahmad Dorra, 60, travelled from the mountain city of Zabadani, a 50 kilometre (30 mile) drive away, to purchase 5 bottles of fragrance for his household.He watched as Masri lined up dozens of vials on a desk — essences of jasmine, Damascus rose, musk and different fragrances used for his concoctions.”I do not know a lot about Western brands,” the farmer stated, “however I belief (his) nostril”.
© 2022 AFP
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