Khaleeji

Afnan Perfumes

The performance powerhouse

Afnan is the UAE fragrance house that broke into the global mainstream off the back of one scent: 9PM. Founded in 2007 by Imran Fazlani, a self-taught nose who spent fifteen years in retail before launching his own brand, Afnan now operates in over 120 countries with a catalogue that runs from the citrus-bright 9AM through to the warm-spicy 9PM and the projection-heavy Supremacy line. The brand sits a notch younger than Lattafa or Rasasi but has built a reputation for consistency that many older houses have struggled to match.

Est. 2009
UAE
Mass
19 fragrances
8.0/10 avg
4 families

The Founder's Story

Imran Fazlani founded Afnan in 2007 after fifteen years working directly with retail customers — selling perfumes, observing what people gravitated to, and noticing the gaps. He is not a trained perfumer in the formal sense, but he describes himself as the nose of the brand, working closely with contract perfumers to direct the creative output. Fazlani is now Founder, Chairman, and Managing Director of Afnan Perfumes LLC, and was awarded the UAE Golden Visa in recognition of his contribution to the country's fragrance industry. His son Zaid Fazlani serves as CEO, leading the marketing and operations side of the family business while Imran focuses on creative direction.

A
Afnan group · UAE

Heritage & Timeline

Afnan launched in 2007 with a focus on the GCC market, then spent its first decade building distribution through authorised partners across the Middle East, Europe, Russia, Australia, and Africa. The 9AM and 9PM range — launched in the late 2010s — became the brand's commercial breakthrough, with 9PM positioned as a more accessible alternative to luxury-niche gourmand-spicy compositions. Supremacy Silver was a finalist at the BeautyWorld Middle East Awards 2020. Today the brand operates from its own UAE manufacturing facility, distributes to more than 120 countries, and runs its own retail presence in major UAE malls. The company maintains direct creative control through Imran Fazlani's continued role as Chairman.

Signature Style

Afnan straddles Khaleeji tradition and Western-style designer formats. The 9AM line leans crisp and aromatic; 9PM leans rich and warm-spicy; the Supremacy line aims for designer-class projection at mass pricing. Imran Fazlani is openly honest that some Afnan scents are designed in dialogue with popular existing fragrances — he describes the practice as understanding the market — but the catalogue includes a meaningful share of original compositions. Quality control is notably consistent, with the brand investing in its own production facility specifically to maintain formulation discipline. Performance is reliably above price point.

Iconic Fragrances

1
9PMwarm apple-cinnamon-vanilla masculine, the breakout scent
2
9AMlighter, crisper daytime counterpart
3
Supremacy SilverAventus-register masculine, BWME finalist 2020
4
Supremacy Not Only Intensedeeper, more projection-heavy Supremacy variant
5
Rare Tiffanyoriental-floral feminine
6
Highness Atlanticaquatic masculine

Did You Know?

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Imran Fazlani is largely self-taught — he learned fragrance through fifteen years of direct retail customer work, not formal perfumery school.

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Afnan was awarded the UAE Golden Visa, signalling government recognition of the brand's national-industry contribution.

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In a famous 2022 Fragrantica interview, Fazlani openly addressed the clone question — saying his fifteen years of market exploration informed each Afnan release, and that to understand a great perfume is to be able to interpret it.

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Supremacy Silver was a finalist at the BeautyWorld Middle East Awards in 2020.

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The 9PM line was so popular it spawned a 9PM Rebel, 9PM Elixir, 9AM, and Asad-versus-9PM TikTok rivalry that has been viewed millions of times.

Where to Buy in South Africa

Widely available at Takealot, Skins SA, dedicated fragrance e-tailers. R450-R900 typical for hero scents.

All Afnan Perfumes Fragrances(19)