Fragrance house

Aj Arabia

Aj Arabia was established in Abu Dhabi in 2011 by Ali Aljaberi, who left the corporate world to create the perfume house. Its first fragrances reached the market in 2014. In January 2016, the house was rebranded as Widian, a name derived from the Arabic word for valleys and connected to the Liwa and Al Ain valleys; its formulas, bottles, and reference numbers remained unchanged. Based in Abu Dhabi, the privately held business is owned by AJ Arabia Enterprise. Its concept brought French perfumery techniques together with Arabian olfactory heritage, combining oriental materials with floral and fruity elements from around the world. The bottles and visual language were inspired by the domes and intricate lines of Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. At launch, the range was organized into Black and Gold collections and used numbered fragrances rather than conventional names, with the Gold Collection oriented toward oud and amber. Introductory fragrance I belonged to the Black Collection and was co-created by Ali Aljaberi and Jean-Claude Astier.