Nishane: Inside Istanbul's First Niche Perfume House (and 4 Bottles to Start With)

Most niche perfume houses trace back to Paris, Grasse, or Florence. Nishane is the exception. Founded in 2012 in Istanbul by Mert Güzel and Murat Katran, it was the city's first niche perfume brand, and for years the only Turkish house with a global following. Katran had spent years exporting steel across the Gulf and fell for oud on those trips. Güzel brought the creative eye. Neither of them is a trained perfumer. Instead, they work like directors: they write the concept, choose the perfumer to execute it, and reportedly spend around 11 months getting a single fragrance right before it launches.

That process shows. Nishane doesn't release single bottles so much as chapters in a themed collection: Collection Rumi, the Shadow Play Trilogy, Collection Imaginative, the No Boundaries Collection. The brand now sells in more than 120 countries, but it still reads like a small house with a point of view rather than a factory chasing trends.

We carry four of its extrait de parfum releases as decants: 1, 3, 5, and 8 ml, so you can meet the house before committing to a full bottle. Here's what's actually in each one.

Hundred Silent Ways (2016)

This is the Nishane most people mention first, and probably the easiest entry point if you like warm white florals. Top notes are tuberose, peach, and tangerine, moving into a heart of gardenia, jasmine, and orris, then settling into vanilla, sandalwood, and vetiver. It reads as a creamy white bouquet with a skin-warm vanilla base rather than anything sharp or soapy, which is why it gets compared to a more grown-up, less powdery take on white floral perfumery.

Try Hundred Silent Ways as a decant

Wulong Cha (2015)

Perfumer Jorge Lee built this one around actual oolong tea (wūlóng chá is Mandarin for oolong tea), and it's the most unusual bottle of the four. Bergamot, orange, tangerine, and litsea cubeba open it up citrusy and bright, then the tea and nutmeg take over in the heart before fig and musk close it out. Fragrantica classifies it as aromatic green, and that's accurate: it smells like steeped leaves and citrus peel rather than a straightforward gourmand or floral. If you've never smelled a fragrance built on tea instead of flowers or fruit, this is worth sampling just to expand your reference points.

Try Wulong Cha as a decant

Hacivat (2017)

Also by Jorge Lee, Hacivat opens with pineapple, grapefruit, and bergamot before moving into cedar, patchouli, and jasmine, and finishing on oakmoss and woody base notes. Fragrantica files it as a citrus chypre woody, which lines up with how it wears: a bright, fruity opening that dries down into something drier and more structured. One thing worth knowing if you're comparing notes online: Nishane released Hacivat Oud and Hacivat X in 2023, both distinct fragrances from the original 2017 Hacivat we carry. Make sure you're looking at reviews for the right one.

Try Hacivat as a decant

Ani (2019)

Ani comes from perfumer Cécile Zarokian as part of the No Boundaries Collection, and it's the most gourmand-leaning bottle in this lineup. Bergamot, blue ginger, pink pepper, and green notes open it, cassis and Turkish rose and cardamom fill out the heart, and the base stacks vanilla, benzoin, sandalwood, cedar, patchouli, grey amber, and musk. It's built around vanilla as the anchor note, and it's become one of the more talked-about vanilla releases in niche perfumery over the past few years for exactly that reason: it's a spiced, rosy vanilla rather than a flat, sweet one.

Try Ani as a decant

Why start with a decant here

Nishane isn't sold in most department stores, and full bottles run well into three figures. That's exactly the kind of gap ScentPrint exists to close: you try the actual formula in 1, 3, 5, or 8 ml before deciding whether a specific Nishane story is one you want to wear daily or just visit occasionally. If you're not sure which of these four fits your taste, our scent finder quiz can help narrow it down, and the full lineup lives in our Nishane collection.

Sources: Fragrantica, Hundred Silent Ways, Fragrantica, Wulong Cha, Fragrantica, Hacivat, Fragrantica, Ani, Nishane official, About, BeautyMatter, Nishane's Global Ascent.