São Paulo – Attraction, confidence, modernity, mystery, sensuality, and elegance. In perfumery, these words represent more than their literal meanings: they are associated with fragrance families and notes that are increasingly linked to a type of scent growing in popularity among Brazilians—“Arab perfumes.” One of the latest launches in a market increasingly crowded with imported and domestic options is Essencial Safran, introduced by Natura at the beginning of the year.
In an email interview, Natura’s exclusive perfumer Verônica Kato said that perfume consumption patterns are changing worldwide. Consumers are increasingly valuing rare ingredients and rich traditions in a context where Arab perfumery and “opulent” fragrances are gaining prominence.
“Brazil accounts for a large share of this audience. We’re responsible for around 40% of the global audience for hashtags related to ‘Arab perfumes’ on platforms such as TikTok, and searches for the term on Google Trends grew by more than 60% in 2025,” Kato said.
The perfumer describes the characteristics of Natura’s “Arab ingredients collection,” which includes Essencial Safran, Essencial Oud, Essencial Oud Vanilla for Women and Men, Essencial Oud Especiaria for Women and Men, and Essencial Mirra. These products feature a high concentration of essential oils and fit into richer, more intense olfactory profiles. Their compositions bear the hallmark of the Brazilian company by combining ingredients from the Arab world with those drawn from Brazil’s biodiversity.
Essencial Safran for Men, for example, combines saffron and Amazonian ishpink in its heart notes—the stage that emerges after the initial scent fades—and sandalwood and amber in its base notes, which form the foundation of a fragrance. Essencial Oud for Women, meanwhile, blends the sweetness of Bahian vanilla with the intensity of oud wood.
“Overall, the sensations we seek to convey with this collection are intensity, desire, and sophistication,” Kato says.
Bringing the two traditions together was the greatest challenge in creating Natura’s fragrances because the company’s goal was not simply to replicate an aroma or concept.
“We didn’t want merely to layer ingredients on top of one another, but rather to create a truly distinctive and memorable signature,” she says.
“This insight helped us transform the trend into a territory that is genuinely Natura’s. The Essencial brand’s olfactory signature combines some of the world’s rarest ingredients with exclusive ingredients from Amazonian biodiversity, while reinforcing our pioneering role in bringing Arab-inspired fragrances to Brazil by uniting science and our commitment to Amazon sustainability with Arab opulence,” Kato says.
The creation of these products, the perfumer explains, reflects changes in the habits of Brazilian consumers. Women traditionally preferred floral fragrance families, while men tended to favor classic fresh woody scents.
Essencial Safran was developed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a city that, Kato’s believes, “represents the contemporary cradle of Arab perfumery, combining centuries-old tradition with luxury and innovation.”
The company does not disclose market data, but the perfumer points to one figure that reflects the results of the investment. “I can say that Essencial Safran achieved more than 90% consumer approval, which reinforces that we are on the right path to establishing this platform as a permanent and strategic pillar of our portfolio.”
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
