Top Notes 
Bergamot
Green notes
Blue ginger
Pink pepper
Heart Notes 
Cardamom
Blackcurrant
Turkish rose
Base Notes 
Vanilla
Benzoin
Ambergris
Patchouli
Sandalwood
Cedarwood
Musk
05/04/2025
Omnipotato
276 Reviews
Omnipotato
Top Review
16
The memory of Ani
Nishane Ani is an important fragrance. For those of Armenian descent like me, many boycott all Turkish products. They believe that all Turks are to blame for continuing to deny the genocide committed against the Armenian people in 1915. So how much more rare that a perfumer of Armenian descent, Cécile Zarokian, has collaborated with a Turkish brand based in Istanbul, Nishane, to create a perfume?
Ani represents unity in a substantial way. Part of Nishane’s “No Boundaries” collection, Ani attempts to mend one of the most contentious borders in the world, the one between Turkey and Armenia. In ancient times, the town of Ani was a hub of culture and religion in the Ararat plains. The “City of 1000 churches” was home to over 100,000 people and was one of the most important cities in the Kingdom of Armenia. Today, it is little more than ruins, and is located well within the borders of Turkey. A few hollow churches with their crosses removed stand as a testament to the invasion of this city by Ottoman forces.
Today, Armenians consider Ani as part of our heritage, even though it has not been in our borders for hundreds of years. It is little more than a memory. “Ani” in Turkish also happens to mean “memory,” and this scent was created in memory of one of the founders’ friends who had recently passed away. The memory of cities like Ani and the memory of the Armenian Genocide still scars relations between Turkey and Armenia. This scent, a coming together between Armenians and Turks, gives me hope that scars can be healed, and that forgiveness can begin and denial can end.
Well, with all that out of the way, let's talk about the actual fragrance. At its core, Ani is sweet creamy vanilla, and that is apparent from first spray — the other notes are there as modifiers or just decorative. There is a substantial citrus component in the opening, which Ani X takes even further, but here it simply leads into the spicy heart of the fragrance, which features cardamom and ginger. The few hours you get of this spicy accord resting on a bed of creamy woody vanilla makes this fragrance hard to beat as my favorite vanilla scent of all time. Despite the large number of base notes in the pyramid, the drydown is not complex: a cedarwood/sandalwood-vanilla that just lasts and lasts, slowly fading away, like the monument frozen in time that is the city of Ani.
Ani represents unity in a substantial way. Part of Nishane’s “No Boundaries” collection, Ani attempts to mend one of the most contentious borders in the world, the one between Turkey and Armenia. In ancient times, the town of Ani was a hub of culture and religion in the Ararat plains. The “City of 1000 churches” was home to over 100,000 people and was one of the most important cities in the Kingdom of Armenia. Today, it is little more than ruins, and is located well within the borders of Turkey. A few hollow churches with their crosses removed stand as a testament to the invasion of this city by Ottoman forces.
Today, Armenians consider Ani as part of our heritage, even though it has not been in our borders for hundreds of years. It is little more than a memory. “Ani” in Turkish also happens to mean “memory,” and this scent was created in memory of one of the founders’ friends who had recently passed away. The memory of cities like Ani and the memory of the Armenian Genocide still scars relations between Turkey and Armenia. This scent, a coming together between Armenians and Turks, gives me hope that scars can be healed, and that forgiveness can begin and denial can end.
Well, with all that out of the way, let's talk about the actual fragrance. At its core, Ani is sweet creamy vanilla, and that is apparent from first spray — the other notes are there as modifiers or just decorative. There is a substantial citrus component in the opening, which Ani X takes even further, but here it simply leads into the spicy heart of the fragrance, which features cardamom and ginger. The few hours you get of this spicy accord resting on a bed of creamy woody vanilla makes this fragrance hard to beat as my favorite vanilla scent of all time. Despite the large number of base notes in the pyramid, the drydown is not complex: a cedarwood/sandalwood-vanilla that just lasts and lasts, slowly fading away, like the monument frozen in time that is the city of Ani.
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