4
When you hope the name sells
REVISED: This review was previously written only a few months after Nishane launched the X collection as well as Hacivat Oud in the summer of 2023. I have updated it in April 2025 to reflect on the experience I've gathered with the scent across 10+ wears.
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I think it is a fair assessment to state that Hacivat Oud could've been the biggest niche release back in 2023, at least in terms of prospect and/or expectation, and certainly for the premium niche price point.
The scent opens similar to the standard fruity chypre profile that everybody knows from scents like Aventus, Morning Chess Eau de Parfum etc. However, the fresh-fruity parts are accompanied by a creaminess that definitely is not there in the original Hacivat. The scent does not feature any prominent oud, instead it is built towards a very prominent patchouli that initially smells quite harsh to the point where it reminds me of turpentine (used for mixing paints and varnishes). In the dry-down, Hacivat Oud goes more in the minty-camphorous direction, but the patchouli is accompanied by the same style of vanilla that Nishane used in both versions of Ani, esp. in Ani X. Due to the sweet-minty touches in the base, I am partially reminded of Clive Christian's "Anniversary Collection - 150: Timeless | Clive Christian".
My biggest issue with this release, even in April 2025 which is 2 years after the scent's launch, is the fact that this is a 50ml €525 (April 2025: €555) fragrance released in the same line with sophisticated-smelling fragrances like Nefs, Shem, and Mana. I can objectively say that this criticism panned out well as Hacivat Oud trades for 60% off retail in the grey market, albeit this criticism does apply to Shem and Mana too. Needless to say, the scent doesn't justify addition to Nishane's Prestige collection, given its profile. Having recently gathered some experience with the original Hacivat, I can say that neither of them blend well on skin, but the structure having more facets leads to this scent being rated better.
To conclude, it doesn't smell like Hacivat or Aventus as there are more nuances to this product. The brand opting to name this Hacivat Oud felt like a gamble on the original Hacivat's name generating sales and I believe that gamble didn't pay off for Nishane in one of the rare cases where a premium price point flanker falls short of any expectations.
---
I think it is a fair assessment to state that Hacivat Oud could've been the biggest niche release back in 2023, at least in terms of prospect and/or expectation, and certainly for the premium niche price point.
The scent opens similar to the standard fruity chypre profile that everybody knows from scents like Aventus, Morning Chess Eau de Parfum etc. However, the fresh-fruity parts are accompanied by a creaminess that definitely is not there in the original Hacivat. The scent does not feature any prominent oud, instead it is built towards a very prominent patchouli that initially smells quite harsh to the point where it reminds me of turpentine (used for mixing paints and varnishes). In the dry-down, Hacivat Oud goes more in the minty-camphorous direction, but the patchouli is accompanied by the same style of vanilla that Nishane used in both versions of Ani, esp. in Ani X. Due to the sweet-minty touches in the base, I am partially reminded of Clive Christian's "Anniversary Collection - 150: Timeless | Clive Christian".
My biggest issue with this release, even in April 2025 which is 2 years after the scent's launch, is the fact that this is a 50ml €525 (April 2025: €555) fragrance released in the same line with sophisticated-smelling fragrances like Nefs, Shem, and Mana. I can objectively say that this criticism panned out well as Hacivat Oud trades for 60% off retail in the grey market, albeit this criticism does apply to Shem and Mana too. Needless to say, the scent doesn't justify addition to Nishane's Prestige collection, given its profile. Having recently gathered some experience with the original Hacivat, I can say that neither of them blend well on skin, but the structure having more facets leads to this scent being rated better.
To conclude, it doesn't smell like Hacivat or Aventus as there are more nuances to this product. The brand opting to name this Hacivat Oud felt like a gamble on the original Hacivat's name generating sales and I believe that gamble didn't pay off for Nishane in one of the rare cases where a premium price point flanker falls short of any expectations.