The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Vetiver Cigar arrived in 2021 from perfumer Shatha Alzaabi, whose work for SJA Perfumes centers on compositions built around distinct material contrasts. The name points to the fragrance's central tension: green, earthy vetiver placed beside the darker register of tobacco. Basil, black pepper, and peppermint introduce the idea with freshness and bite, while cade oil, leather, cedar, oak tree, and frankincense build a dry, smoky architecture around it. The composition stays deliberately grounded, using woods, resins, spice, and tobacco rather than sweetness to create its sense of depth. On skin, the opening reads sharp and herbal, with peppery coolness over a grassy vetiver core.
The unusual part is how neatly opposites share the same space. Peppermint brings a cool, brisk snap, yet cade oil and leather pull the composition toward char and hide. Vetiver gives the heart a dusty green grain, while tobacco and oud make the drydown feel dense and familiar. Musk and sandalwood soften the edges without removing the contrast. It's a study in texture: airy at first, mineral in the middle, then warm and close to the skin.
The evolution
The opening arrives cool and alert, with basil, black pepper, and peppermint cutting through the air. Cedar, oak tree, leather, cade oil, and frankincense then take over, replacing brightness with a drier, smoke-edged structure. As the fragrance settles, vetiver and tobacco become more prominent, joined by oud, sandalwood, musk, and the earthy depth of cypriol oil or nagarmotha. The surprise is how the fresh beginning doesn't vanish entirely. It survives beneath the smoke, lending the drydown a green clarity instead of making it uniformly heavy. The listed notes place Vetiver Cigar within a category of fragrances noted for above-average projection and longevity, though the shape of that performance varies from wearer to wearer and with skin chemistry.
Cultural impact
Vetiver Cigar is a fragrance from SJA Perfumes, created by perfumer Shatha Alzaabi and released in 2021. Its material list runs from green vetiver and tobacco through oud, sandalwood, musk, and incense, giving the composition a dry, smoky, woody character with very little sweetness. The scent opens with basil, black pepper, and peppermint, then settles into leather, cedar, oak tree, cade oil, and frankincense. The listed notes place Vetiver Cigar within a category of fragrances noted for above-average projection and longevity.
The House
SJA PerfumesSJA Perfumes is an Emirati artisanal fragrance house founded by perfumer Shatha Alzaabi and based in Abu Dhabi. Since its establishment in 2015, the brand has carved a niche by drawing on regional olfactory traditions, from bakhoor-style incense compositions to oud-forward and tobacco-leaning blends. Collections such as Tobacco (2015), Suyufi (2015), Danah (2020), 11:11 (2020), Empty Quarter (2021), Yuzu (2021), Vetiver Cigar (2021), and Old School (2021) reflect a range that moves between Gulf heritage references and more unexpected thematic directions, including a citrus-forward Yuzu and a cigar-and-vetiver study.
The Creator
Shatha AlzaabiAlzaabi favors compositions that balance Eastern richness with Western structure. Her white-floral bouquets have drawn particular praise for their precision, suggesting a careful hand with jasmine, tuberose, and similar heady materials that can easily tip into excess.
