Layering FAAN Amjad Honour with FAAN Qasida Queen: frankincense meets cherry

FAAN Amjad Honour and FAAN Qasida Queen are both loud, warm bottles for cold evenings. Honour is one of our best sellers. The advice below is ours: FAAN does not publish layering pairs, and what works on one skin may not work on another.

Why layer Amjad Honour and Qasida Queen, and what it aims for

Both bottles are projection 4 out of 5, both are listed for autumn and winter, and both end in vanilla and amber. Both also carry orange blossom and patchouli. That overlap is why they can sit on one skin without a fight.

The aim is a darker, sweeter evening scent: Honour's resin and smoke with Queen's dark fruit on top. Think incense and cherry liqueur, not a new perfume.

What each brings

Honour brings the depth and the long hold. Queen brings the fruit, the coffee and the sweetness.

Order, sprays and spacing

Start small. With two loud bottles, three sprays in total is a fair opening.

1. Spray Honour on the chest, one or two sprays. It is the heavier, longer-lasting bottle, so it goes down first.
2. Wait a minute, then add Queen on the neck, one or two sprays.
3. Put nothing else on the wrists. Do not rub.
4. Keep the two on separate spots at first, so you can still tell what each one is doing.

Test on a paper strip or a card before skin. Spray each bottle on its own strip, hold them together, then try the pair on a forearm for a few hours.

What you should smell at one hour and at six

At one hour: the first bright layer has gone. You should smell clove, cardamom and pepper together, with dark cherry on top and frankincense behind it. Rose, saffron and jasmine start to show.

At six hours: the fruit is fading, and the base takes over. Vanilla, amber, benzoin and coffee make a resinous, sweet scent, with oud and ambergris as a dark floor. This is the good part. On clothes it can hold through the night.

Where it clashes or turns heavy

• Spice stacking. Clove, cardamom and Sichuan pepper in the opening can get sharp together. Fewer sprays fixes it.
• Patchouli twice. If your nose dislikes patchouli, doubling it makes it louder.
• Too much sweetness. Vanilla in both bases can turn thick. Keep Queen to one spray if so.
• Heat. In a hot room or a warm month, this pair becomes cloying. It belongs in the cold.

Wearing it: season and occasion

The listed seasons for both are autumn and winter. The listed moments are evenings and special occasions for Honour and date nights for Queen. That is where this pair belongs: dinner, a party, a winter night out. Not the office, and not the daytime.

If you only own one of them, read the Amjad Honour review and amber in perfume to understand what each brings, then see the full range or the Amjad collection guide.

FAQ

Do I need both bottles to try this?

Yes. Both come in 200 ml, so buy only when you are sure. If either is sold out, ask to be notified on the product page.

Which goes on first?

Honour, because it is the heavier and longer-lasting one. Then Queen over it.

Is this layering from FAAN?

No. It is our suggestion based on the notes and ratings.

Related reading

• Amber in perfume: what it smells like and which FAAN bottles use it
• FAAN Amjad Honour review: notes, strength and when to wear it
• FAAN perfumes for a night out