Lattafa Raghba Eau de Parfum 100ml – Unisex Oud & Vanilla Perfume

Lattafa Raghba is the sweet, smoky Arabian Eau de Parfum that built the brand’s reputation. Launched in 2014 and still one of Lattafa’s best sellers, it layers sugar and vanilla over agarwood (oud), sandalwood, incense and musk. The effect is a warm tobacco-vanilla glow — which is why it is so often bought as the affordable answer to Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille. Raghba (رغبة) is Arabic for “desire”, it is fully unisex, and this is the 100ml Eau de Parfum spray at £18.

Lattafa Raghba at a glance

Lattafa Raghba notes

One honest note about the notes. Lattafa’s official list for Raghba is sugar, vanilla, agarwood, sandalwood, incense and musk — there is no tobacco note in it. The tobacco you smell is an accord: sweet vanilla and sugar sitting on smoky oud and incense produce that dried pipe-tobacco effect. That is exactly why the Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille comparison works so well without Raghba copying its formula.

What does Lattafa Raghba smell like?

Picture pipe tobacco curing on a wooden mantel, a vanilla candle burning beside it, sugar crystallising in dark resin, and incense smoking quietly in the corner. That is the first ten minutes.

Opening (0–30 min): vanilla arrives warm and creamy, sugar behind it. It is sweet and unapologetic, but the smoke underneath keeps it from turning into dessert. Fresh bottles can read a little sticky and syrupy in the first few weeks — this settles.

Heart (30 min–3 hrs): agarwood pushes forward with dry, smoky depth and sandalwood adds a creamy edge. This is the phase where the Tom Ford comparison becomes obvious, and the phase most people fall for.

Dry-down (3 hrs+): incense deepens into a resinous warmth and musk smooths everything into a velvety trail that sits close but refuses to disappear. Warm, smoky, sweet — and remarkably expensive-smelling for the money.

Is Lattafa Raghba for men or women?

Both. Lattafa lists Raghba as a fragrance for women and men, and in practice it is one of the most genuinely unisex Arabian perfumes on the market.

Men tend to wear it in autumn and winter as an evening signature — the oud and incense give it enough weight and smoke to read masculine. Women wear it for exactly the same reason, usually leaning on the vanilla-sugar side of it. Sweet oriental fragrances have always been shared in Middle Eastern perfumery, and Raghba is a textbook example: nothing in the composition is gendered.

Practical difference: if you want it softer and sweeter, spray on skin after moisturiser. If you want it smokier and louder, spray on a coat or scarf.

Raghba, Raghba For Men and Raghba Wood Intense — which is which?

This is the single most common mix-up, so here it is plainly. These are three different fragrances, not three sizes of the same one.

So if you searched for “Raghba for men” hoping for the sweet vanilla-oud one that everyone talks about — this classic bottle is the one you want, and it is worn by men constantly. If you specifically want the fresh lemon-and-iris Raghba For Men flanker, that is a separate fragrance we do not currently stock.

How close is Raghba to Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille?

Close in character, not identical in construction. Both are built on sweet vanilla and sugar over smoke and warm wood, and both leave the same cosy, boozy-tobacco impression in a room.

The honest differences: Tom Ford has more layered cocoa, dried fruit and spice, and it evolves through distinct stages over the wear. Raghba is more linear — what you smell at hour one is broadly what you smell at hour five. Tom Ford is smoother and better blended. Raghba is sweeter and blunter about it.

Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille 100ml is £320 at Selfridges. Raghba is £18. Even at 80% of the effect, the maths is not close. Full side-by-side against every Tom Ford original in our Lattafa Tom Ford alternatives guide.

If you want the smokier, less sweet end of that idea, Lattafa Khamrah Dukhan and Lattafa Dream of Haze both push the tobacco harder.

How long does Lattafa Raghba last?

Spray it Friday morning and your scarf will still carry it on Monday. Raghba is one of the strongest performers Lattafa makes.

• On skin: 6–8 hours consistently, often more.
• On clothing and hair: 24 hours and well beyond.
• Projection: heavy for the first 2–3 hours, then a close warm trail.
• Sweet spot: two sprays. Three is the ceiling — this is not a fragrance that rewards over-spraying.

Maceration tip: Raghba is well known for improving in the bottle. A fresh bottle can smell sharp and syrupy for the first few weeks; left to rest for a few months it mellows noticeably — smoother, rounder, less sticky. If your first spray feels harsh, give it time before judging it.

The Raghba bottle

Bronze-brown glass in a heavy rectangular block, a gold-tone cap and gold Arabic and Latin lettering across the front, finished with a gold band at the shoulder. It is deliberately old-school Arabian — no pastel gradients, no gimmicks. Alongside the perfume, Lattafa also boxes Raghba with a matching 50ml deodorant spray in some markets, which is why you will see two bottles in a lot of listing photos.

Our review: what two weeks with Raghba is actually like

We wore Raghba through a Southampton winter wedding, a Sunday family dinner and a Tuesday business meeting. Three things stood out.

It fills a room. At the wedding, two sprays were doing work across a table. This is not a subtle fragrance and it does not try to be.

It stays. The cashmere scarf from the wedding still smelled of vanilla and smoke the following Friday, unwashed.

It is very sweet. The business meeting was the one wear we would redo — one spray on a jacket would have been plenty. In a closed meeting room, two is a lot.

Verdict: at £18, one of the few fragrances where the value argument is not really arguable. It is loud, sweet and seasonal, and it will not suit anyone who dislikes gourmand smoke. Everyone else should own a bottle.

When to wear Raghba

Ideal for: autumn and winter evenings, weddings, formal dinners, Eid and celebrations, and gifting anyone who loves warm sweet oriental perfume.

With care: the office — one spray, on clothing, and skip it entirely in small meeting rooms.

Avoid: hot summer days. Heat pushes the vanilla and oud forward hard. Try Lattafa Fakhar or Lattafa Yara in warm weather instead.

Lattafa Raghba price and sizes in the UK

Raghba is £18 for the 100ml Eau de Parfum here, with free tracked UK delivery and no minimum spend. That is the standard full-size bottle and the one almost everyone buys.

Lattafa does not produce a 30ml Eau de Parfum of Raghba — if you have seen a small bottle listed, it is usually either the 50ml deodorant spray from the gift set or a third-party decant. Some sellers also list travel atomisers filled from full bottles; those are not official Lattafa sizes.

Lattafa Raghba FAQs

What does Raghba mean? رغبة is Arabic for “desire” or “longing”.

Is Lattafa Raghba an Eau de Parfum? Yes — Eau de Parfum concentration, 100ml (3.4 oz) spray.

Does Raghba contain real oud? It contains an agarwood (oud) accord, which is standard across the price bracket. It reads as smoky, dry wood rather than the barnyard-heavy natural oud you get in far more expensive Arabian attars.

Is Raghba a Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille dupe? It is the closest widely-available alternative in character. Same sweet-smoky impression, simpler construction, roughly one-eighteenth of the price.

Is Raghba good for beginners? Yes, with one warning: it is strong. Start at one spray and build up.

Authenticity and UK delivery

Every bottle of Raghba at Royal Scents arrives sealed in its original box with the official Lattafa holographic authentication label. We source through authorised channels only — no testers, no unboxed stock.

Free tracked UK delivery on every order with no minimum spend, dispatch within 24 hours, and 30-day no-questions returns.

Add Lattafa Raghba 100ml to your bag today — £18 with free tracked UK delivery.