FAAN Amjad Honour vs FAAN Qasida Bidaya: which FAAN perfume should you buy?

FAAN Amjad Honour is one of our best sellers in the Amjad line. FAAN Qasida Bidaya is the only Extrait in the Qasida line. Same concentration, same listed seasons, same moments. That leaves the scent itself to decide.

Quick verdict

• Honour: louder, smokier, richer. Frankincense and oud with a resin and vanilla base.
• Bidaya: warmer and calmer. Saffron up front, vanilla and leather at the end.
• Price: no difference. Both cost 44.99 euros.

Amjad Honour vs Qasida Bidaya: notes side by side

Shared by name: saffron, cardamom, benzoin and vanilla. Honour keeps saffron in the heart, with rose and patchouli around it. Bidaya puts saffron at the very start, with bergamot and cardamom, and leaves the middle to opoponax and cedarwood. Opoponax is a sweet, balsamic resin related to myrrh, and it gives Bidaya its soft, resinous centre.

The first hour and the dry-down

Honour opens with frankincense, elemi and cardamom, then lemon and Sichuan pepper add light and tingle. Within the hour, saffron, rose and orange blossom soften the smoke. The dry-down is vanilla, amber, oud, ambergris and benzoin, dark and sweet.

Bidaya opens with saffron, bergamot and cardamom, which is brighter and more peppery than the smoke of Honour. The heart is quiet: opoponax and cedarwood. Over the next hours the base takes over, vanilla bean, benzoin, leather and white musk. The leather is soft and the vanilla is not sugary. The tagline, saffron, resin and vanilla beginnings, fits.

Strength and staying power

Honour is rated 4 out of 5 for projection and 5 out of 5 for longevity. Bidaya is rated 3 and 4. Those are our ratings, not lab numbers. Both are Extraits, so both need fewer sprays than an Eau de Parfum: two or three for Bidaya, and two for Honour is already noticeable. Honour is the louder one by a full point.

Season, occasion, audience and price

• Season: both autumn and winter.
• Moments: both evenings and special occasions.
• Audience: both listed as unisex.
• Price: 44.99 euros each for 200 ml, about 0.22 euro per ml.

Nothing in the listing separates them except strength. This is a rare case where the choice is purely about how the scent feels on you.

Who should pick which

Choose Honour if you want a scent that makes itself known, if you like incense and oud, or if you want the longest-lasting bottle at this price. Choose Bidaya if you want saffron and vanilla without the smoke, if you work in a room where a big scent would not go down well, or if leather appeals to you more than oud. If you are still unsure, read about saffron in perfume, then which FAAN perfume to choose, or look at all FAAN perfumes.

FAQ

Do Honour and Bidaya smell similar?

They share saffron, cardamom, benzoin and vanilla, so they sit in the same warm, spicy family. Honour is smokier and deeper with oud and ambergris. Bidaya is softer, with leather and opoponax.

Which is better value?

They cost the same. Honour lasts a little longer by our ratings, Bidaya is gentler to wear.

What if one of them is sold out?

Ask to be notified on the product page. Delivery takes 3 to 6 working days in the Netherlands and 5 to 8 working days in the rest of the EU.

Related reading

• FAAN Amjad Honour review: notes, strength and when to wear it
• Saffron in perfume: what it smells like and which FAAN bottles use it
• Which FAAN perfume to choose: a simple guide