Nishane | The Scented Hound

August 15, 2022
by The Scented Hound 2 Comments

Zenne by Nishane

WHAT I SMELL: Zenne opens with a waxy grapefruit and blackcurrant with just a touch of green stem. It’s just the right amount of lush without being overly sweet. Before long, a vanilla infused rose makes it way in along with an almond undertone which gives the perfume a confectionary vibe. Then all of the sudden a rhubarb note makes it way in, giving the perfume even more of a confectionary or dessert feel. And underneath it all sits the vanilla that keeps the gourmand aspects of the perfume firmly set in place. In fact, there’s even a bit of a meringue that ties all of the dessert or pie aspects together. After quite some time, the florals move forward to help soften the perfume, but the vanilla remains and as such, it keeps Zenne in the dessert store. Unfortunately, to me, smelling of a pies can become very tiring.

From the Nishane website:

Is a tribute to beauty, energy, self-confidence, and flirtation. Inspired by the female character in the traditional shadow puppetry, Zenne will teleport you to the enigmas of the paradise gardens full of joy and romance with a deliberate mix of the fruity and floral accords along with vanilla, ambergris and musk at the base.

TOP NOTES – grapefruit – blackcurrant – rhubarb

HEART NOTES – turkish rose – gardenia – sandalwood

BASE NOTES – vanilla – ambergris – musk

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Rhubarb pie…with meringue on top.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE ZENNE: sweetened, filling, persistent

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT ZENNE: No written reviews found.

BOTTOM LINE: If you like gourmand confectionary fragrances this might be for you. To me it smells lovely for a few minutes, then it just seems to wear out it’s welcome. But I have never been much for gourmand scents in the first place so my love or lack of love for Zenne is not too shocking.

Bone Rating: 2.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Fruity Floral Musky
Nose: Jorge Lee
Classification: Unisex
Expense: Approximately $240 for 50 ml perfume extrait.

August 12, 2019
by The Scented Hound Leave a comment

Hacivat by Nishane

WHAT I SMELL: At first sniff Hacivat opens with a quiet and slightly chalky bergamot topped with a soft and lightly sweetened pineapple with hints of citrus. I thought the perfume would go on loud, but instead it’s beautifully muted and contained. Along with the sweetened notes, there’s an underlying smell of pencil shavings that gives the opening some depth. The perfume stays in this mild sweetness for some time and that’s perfectly fine with me, because it’s incredibly calm and reassuring in it’s essence. After some time, the citrus makes way for the woody. Now it’s time for the perfume to grow as every minute it seems to build with a warm and lightly floral cedar. What was soft and reassuring in the beginning is now bolder and rather masculine with a patchouli note that seems to dominate. Here the perfume turns to a slightly sugared, but rather flat wood. After a great while longer, the perfume begins to project and dry with some powder. Overall, Hacivat’s development to me was a mixed bag: the opening was incredible, the middle stage had me worried, but in the end the perfume begins to redeem itself with a softness that’s rather elegant and again, rather reassuring. But as I say that, out comes a soured note that leaves me a little cold.

From the Nishane website:

Is a tribute to elegance, kindness, competence, and love of art. Inspired by the traditional shadow play character, this eau cypre will help you live in your best dreams by the everlasting sparkles of its joyful structure made of the stimulating notes of pineapple and bergamot backed with the genuine woody notes. Enjoy being loved!

TOP NOTES – bergamot – pineapple – grapefruit

HEART NOTES – jasmine – patchouli – cedarwood

BASE NOTES – clearwood – oakmoss – dry timberwood

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Ambivalence. I love it…I like it…I don’t like it. Every sniff leaves me with a different feeling.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE HACIVAT: secure, even-tempered, safe

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT HACIVAT: BL’eauOG, That Luxurious Feeling

BOTTOM LINE: As mentioned above, every time I wear this perfume I get a little something different from it, but the one consistent aspect is that I kind of like it, but am not anywhere near loving it. And that to me that’s rather disappointing.

Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Citrus Chypre Woody
Nose: Jorge Lee
Classification: Unisex, but leans masculine
Expense: Approximately $240 for 50 ml perfume extrait.

June 22, 2015
by The Scented Hound 16 Comments

Afrika-Olifant by Nishane

WHAT I SMELL: Afrika-Olifant opens like an interesting incense and smoky mystery. I can’t help think of a wrestler walking through clouds of smoke at a WWE event as they walk in the arena. It’s spicy, rather sour and in your face without being heavy-handed. However, there’s a primal male sexuality that’s powerfully overt. The perfume screams SEX. After a few minutes, the leather makes it way in, but as if like a stranger snuck in through the back alley, come up behind you and you feel their presence but can’t see them. That initial rush of smoldering sex, starts to tone down after 10 minutes, but that doesn’t mean the perfume is any less provocative or subdued. The animalic, smoky, spiced and civet laden creation smolders like burning embers. The heat is there and if you get to close you’re going to get burned. After 30 minutes, the musk comes to the forefront, adding another layer of pure sex. Yes…this perfume is all about sex. And as I try to find in my mind descriptors, I just end up back with “damn this is pure sex.” In the end, Afrika-Olifant dries out to leave this layer of burning ash hinting at the power that came before but is now subtle, subdued, but still all that magnetic.

From the Nishane website:

Stimulates hidden desires… The fragrance opens with frankincense and myrrh. As animalic notes castoreum and civet settle down, leather and oud dominate the battlefield. Timid and audacious at the same time…

TOP NOTES: ambergris, frankincense, myrrhe, labdanum

HEART NOTES: castoreum, civet, leather, oud

BASE NOTES: muscenone, thibetone, muscone, civetone

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: As you can see from above, this perfume is all SEX. So many images conjure in my mind, but I’ll go for the G-rated version: the power, the leather, and the viral men of 300!

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE AFRIKA-OLIFANT: smoldering, sexy, primal

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT AFRIKA-OLIFANT: Fashion Lifestyle, Pierre de Nishapur

BOTTOM LINE: Afrika-Olifant is not an office scent and it’s not a fragrance for going on a picnic. It is for wearing when you’re out on the prowl or if you want to create an aura of mystery. In the end, the perfume leaves just enough of a trail to leave those around you wondering where that incredibly sexy smell is coming from. This is my first introduction to the Nishane line, a niche brand from Istanbul, but it won’t be my last because they have some incredible varying perfumes in the line. Duft Bluhten, an beautiful magnolia and gardenia creation is the polar opposite of Afrika-Olifant, but equally as wonderful. Actually, the pretty floral is probably more my style than this perfume which would be on my full bottle list if I was still single and needed to add a layer of testosterone to my Saturday night bar hopping wardrobe.

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental
Nose: Jorge Lee
Classification: Classified as unisex, but to me, this is completely masculine.
Expense: $230 for 50 ml parfum extrait. Sold exclusively at Twisted Lily in the U.S.