Is FAAN Qasida Sahm for women? What the notes say about who can wear it

FAAN Qasida Sahm is a 200 ml Eau de Parfum in the Qasida line. We are an independent retailer, and we keep the label as the product page states it. This article reads the notes, so you can decide for yourself.

Short answer: it is listed For him

The audience field on the product page says "For him". Compare that with Qasida Senses, which is listed "For her", and with bottles like Qasida Signature that are simply unisex. Labels are a starting point. They tell you what the bottle was designed around, not who is allowed to wear it.

What the notes say, not the label

• Top: mango, lemon, pink berries, ginger, raspberry, green mandarin and bergamot. This is a bright fruit basket with a dry bite from ginger. Nothing here is tied to one gender.
• Heart: blue coumarin, jasmine, cedar, dry woods, cardamom, lavender and clary sage. Jasmine is the flower, lavender and sage are herbal and clean.
• Base: oud, nagarmotha, musk, amber, leather accord, vetiver and wolfwood. This is the dark, woody, slightly smoky part.

The accords listed are fruity, aromatic, woody and oud. If you like fruit on top of wood, you will probably like the whole arc. If you want a floral-sweet dry-down, you may not.

How to wear it as her: sprays and placement

Sahm has projection 3 out of 5 and longevity 4 out of 5. A few practical points:

1. Start with two sprays, one on the chest and one on a scarf or collar.
2. If the oud feels strong on skin, put the second spray on clothes instead. Fabric keeps the fruit and softens the base.
3. Wait an hour before you judge it. The raspberry and mango fade, the jasmine appears, and only then the leather.

The first three hours, step by step

At the start, the mango and raspberry are juicy and the ginger makes them sharp. Within half an hour the fruit steps back and lavender and clary sage give a clean, herbal feel. Blue coumarin, a soft hay-like material, smooths the join between fruit and wood. By the third hour you mostly smell cedar, dry woods and the oud with leather and vetiver under it.

So you wear three scents in one. If you only like the fruity opening, that is a fair reason to look at Senses instead. If the woody finish is what you came for, Sahm gives it to you without a lot of smoke.

Occasions where it works

The product page lists autumn and spring, and daily wear and evenings. That fits a crisp morning, an office with one or two sprays, and a dinner in a jacket. It is less natural on a very hot afternoon, when the oud turns heavy.

If you want it softer or stronger: neighbouring bottles

• Softer and more floral: Qasida Senses keeps the fruit (pear, raspberry) and adds peony, damask rose and vanilla. It is rated 3 for both projection and longevity.
• Drier and more leather: Qasida Dunes has pepper, cypriol and leather with no fruit at all, projection 4 and longevity 4.
• Calm and powdery: Qasida Al-Badr is iris, sage and cedarwood.

Our guide to choosing a FAAN perfume lines them up by taste, and the full range shows all fourteen.

FAQ

Can a woman wear Qasida Sahm?

Yes. Nothing about the notes is gendered. The label says "For him", the nose decides the rest.

Does Sahm smell sweet?

The opening is fruity, with mango and raspberry. The ginger and lemon keep it dry, and the base is oud and leather rather than sugar.

What if Sahm is sold out?

Use the notify option 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 after ordering.

Related reading

• FAAN Qasida Sahm described note by note
• Oud in perfume and the FAAN bottles that use it
• FAAN perfumes for women