The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
His Affair arrived in 2020 from The Dua Brand, a house that has carved out a distinct space in the fragrance market by approaching well-known designer compositions with a reformulator's eye. His Affair marked the brand's entry into a woody aromatic register, a green-citrusy composition that pays clear homage to Ralph Lauren's Romance for Men while standing firmly on its own merits. The fragrance channels the lavender-rose-pine character of late-90s masculine fragrance with an editorial discipline, presenting the nostalgic profile through a modern extrait concentration that rewards the wearer with extended performance. The result is a study in restraint and intention: nothing extraneous, nothing rushed, just a careful reconstruction of a familiar scent done with deliberate hands.
What makes this composition interesting is its density on the herbal side. Pistachio leaf and pine tree bring a slightly bitter, resinous undertone to the blend, lending it a textural weight that cuts against the powdery softness of typical lavender-centered compositions. The cardamom-saffron pairing adds warmth without tipping into oriental territory, while the inclusion of celery and ginseng in the top tier introduces a vegetal snap and an earthy root note that keeps the opening from reading as predictably fresh.
The evolution
The first ten minutes are green and loud. Basil, celery, and pine arrive together, sharpened by ginger and the snap of blackcurrant. It smells like cracking open a wooden box of dried herbs in direct sunlight, bracing, almost medicinal, but with a fruit-edged sweetness underneath. Lavender and geranium settle in by the half-hour mark, softening the edges. The middle phase is where the saffron and cardamom warm things up. Rose and lily lift the blend out of the purely herbal register, and pistachio leaf adds a faintly nutty, slightly bitter green that keeps the whole thing from going sweet. The drydown is where this fragrance earns its place. Oakmoss, patchouli, vetiver, and musk arrive in a slow fade that takes the better part of an evening to complete.
Cultural impact
His Affair sits in a specific lane: the woody aromatic fougère that was a staple of late-90s masculine fragrance, now revisited through a contemporary lens. It draws on the clean, green-spicy vocabulary that defined an era of masculine perfumery, when lavender, pine, and resinous bases dominated the category. The extrait concentration gives the composition weight and staying power, allowing the herbal and floral elements room to develop gradually across the day. For someone drawn to classic masculine profiles with a modern sensibility, the fragrance offers a way to engage with that legacy without literal reproduction.
