Which Hawas Should You Buy? Every Rasasi Hawas Compared

Rasasi has released so many Hawas fragrances that the line has become genuinely difficult to shop. What started in 2015 with one aquatic has grown past a dozen bottles, and the names give almost nothing away. Ice sounds like a cold version of the original and mostly is. Tropical sounds tropical and delivers. Malibu sounds like coconut and contains none. Elixir sounds like a richer Hawas and shares nothing with it at all.

This guide sorts them out. Every fragrance below has been checked against Rasasi’s published pyramids and Fragrantica, because third-party note lists for this line are wrong more often than they are right, and we have found the same pyramid printed on three different products by three different retailers.

The short answer

Buy the original Hawas first. It is the most versatile, it has the best track record, and it tells you whether the house style suits you. From there, go to Ice if you found it too sweet, Fire if you want something considerably bolder, Tropical if you want a summer bottle, and Elixir if you want a cold weather gourmand that happens to carry the same name.

Hawas, the original

Apple, bergamot, lemon and cinnamon over watery notes, plum, cardamom and orange blossom, finishing on ambergris, musk, patchouli and driftwood.

Ten years on, this is still the benchmark. The opening is fruity rather than citrusy, the heart carries a dense sweetness that a lot of wearers describe as bubblegum, and the base turns salty and warm in a way most fresh fragrances never manage. Eight to ten hours is normal.

The sweetness is the only real caveat, and it is the reason half the flankers exist. If it appeals, the original Hawas remains the best value in the line.

Hawas Ice

Apple, Italian lemon, Sicilian bergamot and star anise over plum, orange blossom and cardamom, on musk, amber, driftwood and moss.

The one people argue about most. Ice takes the same skeleton and sharpens the top with cold citrus and a twist of star anise. It genuinely reads frozen for the first few minutes, and then it converges with the original as the plum and orange blossom arrive.

Our honest position: own one or the other, not both. Hawas Ice is the better summer bottle and the better choice if sweetness puts you off. Otherwise the original does more.

Hawas Fire

Clary sage over Egyptian jasmine and marine notes, on amber, mineral notes and ambergris.

The boldest thing in the range and the biggest projector. Rasasi publishes an unusually short list here, and wearers consistently report a jammy red fruit accord that appears nowhere on the box, which tells you something about how these lists are compiled.

What you actually get is sweet fruit over salty mineral freshness, drying into warm amber. It is loud enough that over-spraying is the most common complaint, so two sprays is the sensible starting point. Hawas Fire suits cold weather and evenings rather than the office.

Hawas Tropical

Coconut water, fig leaf and ginger over coconut, fig and mint, on sandalwood, tonka bean and musk.

The best summer bottle in the line, and the one that breaks furthest from the Hawas template. Fig leaf gives a green, stem-like freshness, the coconut reads as coconut water rather than suntan lotion, and mint keeps the whole thing cool. Wearers describe it as a coconut and melon mojito, which is fair.

Performance is the reason to choose it over designer tropicals, since most of those fade by lunchtime and Hawas Tropical does not.

Hawas Malibu

Pineapple, orange and grapefruit over orris, amber and lavender, on tonka bean, musk, patchouli and cashmeran.

Ignore the name. There is no coconut and no sun cream here. Malibu opens tart and fizzy on pineapple and grapefruit, then does something none of the others attempt: it turns powdery, with orris and lavender giving it a cool, almost cosmetic quality before the cashmeran and musk soften everything.

It is the most grown-up of the fruity flankers and the one that works best outside summer. Hawas Malibu is worth trying if fruity fragrances usually feel too simple to you.

Hawas Sapphire

Guava, blackcurrant and bergamot over orange blossom and sandalwood, on musk, tonka bean and ambergris.

The newest of the group, released in 2026 as a collaboration edition rather than a standard line release. Guava and blackcurrant give it a juicier, more tropical opening than anything else in the range, and the orange blossom and sandalwood heart pulls it somewhere more refined than the fruit suggests. Opinion is still forming, and the opening divides people, so give it twenty minutes before deciding.

Hawas Elixir

Mugwort, bergamot and spearmint over dark chocolate, lavender and benzoin, on white musk, tonka bean and vanilla.

The odd one out, and the most interesting fragrance Rasasi has put the Hawas name on. There is nothing aquatic in it. It is a cool herbal gourmand: spearmint and bitter mugwort opening into dark chocolate, with lavender bridging the two and vanilla warming the finish.

Buy Hawas Elixir if you like gourmands but find most of them too sweet. Do not buy it expecting a stronger version of the original, because it is not one.

The rest of the line

Rasasi has kept going, and the newer releases are worth knowing about even where we do not stock them. Hawas Black takes a pineapple and grapefruit opening into patchouli, cedarwood and oakmoss, and it is the darkest of the fruity ones. Hawas Atlantis is the closest thing to a repeat, sharing almost the entire pyramid with the original, so there is little reason to own both. Hawas Viper goes somewhere else entirely with saffron, tobacco, coffee and raspberry. Hawas London runs saffron, pink pepper and pear into rose and frankincense, and Hawas Highness is an oriental floral built on jasmine, violet and rose over cedar and vetiver.

The pattern is clear enough: Rasasi releases fast, the names are unreliable guides, and the note list matters far more than the label.

Rafan, which is not a Hawas

Worth a mention because it gets lumped in. Rafan belongs to Rasasi’s Duo Collection, not the Hawas line, and it is the quietest fresh fragrance the house makes: sea salt and ginger over seaweed and vetiver, on cedarwood and oakmoss. Where Hawas projects, Rafan sits close and clean. If you want something for shared offices and long days rather than for making an impression, it is the better choice.

How to choose

First Hawas, or a gift: the original. Safest and most versatile.
Hot weather: Tropical, or Ice if you prefer citrus to coconut.
Maximum presence: Fire. Nothing else in the line projects like it.
Office and quiet wear: Rafan, or Malibu once it dries down.
Autumn and winter: Elixir for gourmand, Fire for bold.
Something different: Sapphire for tropical fruit, Malibu for powder.

A note on buying Hawas

Hawas is popular enough to be widely counterfeited, and marketplace listings are where most problems arise. Two checks are worth running on any bottle: the batch code on the base should match the code on the box and should be cleanly etched rather than printed on a lifting sticker, and the atomiser should deliver a fine even mist rather than a wet jet. A fake will also collapse within an hour or two, which is the opposite of what this line is known for.

Buying from a stockist that handles its own inventory removes the guesswork. Every bottle in our Rasasi collection is genuine sealed stock, shipped from our own UK warehouse with free tracked delivery.

Frequently asked questions

Which Hawas fragrance is the best?

The original Hawas is the best all-rounder and the right first purchase, with the strongest reviews and the most versatility. Fire is the best if you want maximum projection, Tropical the best for summer, and Elixir the best for cold weather.

What is the difference between Hawas and Hawas Ice?

Ice sharpens the opening with Italian lemon, Sicilian bergamot and star anise, making it colder and less sweet for the first few minutes. After that the two converge, sharing most of the same heart and base. Most people are happy owning one.

Is Hawas worth the money?

Yes. Longevity of eight to ten hours with strong early projection is normal across the line, which is why the range has kept its reputation for a decade at a price well below the designer aquatics it competes with.

Which Hawas lasts the longest?

Fire and Elixir are the strongest performers, both comfortably exceeding a full day. The original and Tropical follow closely. None of them are weak.

Is Hawas a men’s fragrance?

Most of the line is marketed to men, though Elixir and Sapphire are sold as unisex and Malibu wears neutral. The fresh, fruity profiles are not strongly gendered, and plenty of women wear the original.

Why do Hawas note lists differ between websites?

Because retailers copy each other and mistakes propagate. We have found Tropical’s pyramid published under Elixir, and the original’s pyramid published under both Tropical and Fire. Always check against Rasasi’s own listing or Fragrantica.

How many Hawas fragrances are there?

More than a dozen and the number keeps rising. The core group most people choose between is the original, Ice, Fire, Tropical, Malibu, Sapphire and Elixir. Beyond those sit Black, Atlantis, Viper, London, Highness, Exotic and others, several released within the last year. Rasasi expands the line faster than most houses expand anything, which is why the names have stopped being a reliable guide to what is inside.

Which Hawas is best for summer?

Tropical, for the coconut, fig and mint. Ice is the alternative if you prefer citrus to coconut, and it is the better choice for offices and enclosed spaces. Avoid Fire and Elixir in real heat, since both amplify considerably.

Which Hawas is best for men?

The original is the most conventionally masculine and the most widely worn. Ice and Rafan suit anyone wanting something cleaner and quieter, and Fire is the choice if presence matters more than subtlety. Most of the line is marketed to men, though Sapphire and Elixir are sold as unisex and wear that way.

Which Hawas Should You Buy? Every Rasasi Hawas Fragrance Compared