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.