Ferah

Nishane's headquarters are located right on the border between Europe and Asia, namely in İstanbul, and this is exactly what Nefs reflects for me. Anyone who has ever been to İstanbul or has spent time in the city will certainly know the Dolmabahçe Palace (Dolmabahçe Sarayı in Turkish), which is located on the European bank of the Bosphorus in the Beşiktaş district. To me, the fragrance smells exactly like this: majestic, noble, elegant, exquisite and powerful.

The Dolmabahçe Palace combines European styles with traditional Ottoman elements. For example, chandeliers and marble columns meet Ottoman ornaments and room concepts. for me, Nefs is not a typical oriental fragrance. Even according to the official description by Nishane itself, the fragrance is supposed to combine Eastern and Western notes as well as tradition. I therefore find the comparison to the Dolmabahçe Palace very fitting and beautiful :)

Nefs lasts a very long time and the sillage is also very strong, as with pretty much all of Nishane's other fragrances. The bottle is beautiful and makes a very high-quality impression. The pattern always reminds me of honeycombs. Not at all inappropriate, as the honey is very present here at the beginning. But that doesn't seem to be intentional, especially as the other fragrances in the collection (Mana, Shem and Hacivat Oud) have the same pattern.

I really love everything about Nefs, except the high price. But I'm happy to accept that because I love this fragrance so much

When I was in İstanbul this year in February, I was looking for presents for my family the day before I left. So I walked through İstiklal Caddesi in the Beyoğlu district in the evening, a well-known and crowded street with lots of stores. The lights of the "Şekerci" (literally translated as sugar merchants) shone on every corner, which I initially avoided. My family already had enough Turkish sweets and I wanted to bring something special with me.

As I was walking away from the main road at some point, it suddenly started to rain heavily. Looking for a roof, I discovered another one of these stores in a quiet alleyway, away from all the hustle and bustle. The sweet smell of warm honey, strong spices and tea irresistibly lured me in its direction. The rain was getting heavier, and suddenly the thought of not going in seemed completely nonsensical to me.

A few seconds later, I was standing in the middle of the store, soaking wet and with a burning glass of Çay in my hand, which the sales clerk immediately pressed into my hand, completely overwhelmed. I was surrounded by lokum, Şekerleme, baklava, helva, salep, honey, chocolate, nuts, sweet spices, dates, dried fruit, coffee, more lokum, more honey and more dates. My senses were completely flooded - the extremely sweet scents, the colorful displays and the hot glass of Çay in my hand that brought me back from dreaming to reality.

I took advice from the sales clerk. He insisted that I try everything and I quickly realized that I would not leave the store empty-handed. And so it was: half an hour later, I left the store with a kilogram of lokum. And I also felt like I had gained a kilogram just from all the testing.

The fragrance immediately reminded me of this store. Admittedly, I don't know much about fragrances, but I wanted to share this story with you that I directly associated with the fragrance :)