Turkish perfume: the best perfumes and brands to know

If you are going to Turkey or thinking about what to order as a gift for your friends who are visiting there right now, read our review of the most interesting Turkish perfumery. We picked up three brands, acquaintance with which we highly recommend!

Nishane brand in 2012 registered parents Mert Guzel and Murat Katran. The name in translation means “symbol” and reads “NishAnE”. At first, businessmen produced traditional cologne, home fragrances and candles.

However, quite quickly, Mert and Murat decided to switch to selective perfumery: already in 2015, they presented the first line of 16 fragrances, each more interesting than the next. Nishane’s creed: remember your roots, but forget the existence of borders.

The brand’s portfolio contains several series for all tastes: there are fragrances dedicated to traditional Turkish shadow theater and the usual oriental exoticism (the spice bazaar, the life of the sultans); compositions that stage traditional floral notes in a new way; perfume inspired by the books of Saint-Exupéry. The price of Nishane perfumes is quite high – from 200 euros per bottle, but all their perfumes are distinguished by amazing durability and sillage.

What to try: Mūsīqá Oud with multiple facets, Ani of breathtaking femininity, creamy and powdery Nanshe.

In 1885, a young French pharmacist, Jean Cesar Reboul, visits his father, who is building a road in Trabzon, falls in love with Istanbul on the way, gets stuck in the Beyoglu region, and opens one of the first pharmacies in Turkey there.

There he met his future pupil Kemal Muderrisoglu: a local boy admired Rebul so much that he learned French perfectly, just to work with him. And when he himself became the owner of this pharmacy in 1938, out of love for the boss, he renamed it Pharmacie Rebul.

It was under Kemal that the company began to transform from a pharmacy into a perfumery: he released a lavender cologne, which became a staple for gentlemen in Istanbul.

The Via Pera pharmacy is still open today, having retained its surroundings – it now sells Atelier Rebul skincare products and perfumes. The pride of the brand are the fragrances for the home and the absolutely ingenious candles. And the brand’s arsenal has several dozen perfumes and toilet waters – for men, women and unisex. The brand’s perfumers work on traditional floral, spicy and resinous notes, creating luminous, deep and iridescent fragrances. Above all, at very affordable prices.

What to try: Istanbul’s flagship perfume (there is also a candle with its aroma, very fresh!), saffron-amber n°94, curious Allium Of Cappadocia with notes of mountain onion.

This brand, adored by the Turks themselves, will celebrate a century of fruitful work next year. In 1923, Eyüp Sabri Bey opened a “consumer goods” store in Ankara, selling mainly low-budget casual clothes. Dreaming of expanding the assortment and offering his customers something that could brighten up the hard life of workers, he travels to Istanbul and learns the art of making cologne from a salesman. species.

In fact, this is how cologne entered Turkish life – Eyup gave away free bottles. The Turks quickly got used to it and soon bottles of Sabri’s cologne were already in every house.

Today, Eyup Sabri Tuncer produces children’s cosmetics, creams and household chemicals. They are sold in Turkey literally on every corner, but Eyup colognes do not lose popularity. Instead of a simple lemon column, the company now produces several permanent lines and makes limited editions with unusual ingredients. The company creates really interesting compositions from floral, citrus, fruit and spice notes. The price of a large bottle (150 ml) of cologne is only 18 lira!

What to try: colognes from the Istanbulun Kokaluri (Smell of Istanbul) series, dedicated to individual sites of the city – these fragrances can compete with niche ones, although they are of inferior durability, the classic light Cesme Limonu, fig lactone-wild fig.

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk: Pexels, social networks