Nishane Nanshe Extrait de Parfum

Nanshe takes its name from a Sumerian goddess associated with water, dreams, prophecy and social justice, and Nishane says the fragrance is meant to reflect the kind, compassionate and wise attributes of that figure. It sits in the house's Abundance Collection. This kind of sourcing is characteristic: Nishane, working out of Istanbul since 2012, tends to build its collections around literature, myth and regional history rather than around abstract moods, and its perfumes generally deliver on the reference rather than merely borrowing it. Here the reference is watery and mineral. Nishane lists bergamot, carrot seed, cardamom and yuzu at the top; water fruits and flowers, rose absolute, jasmine sambac absolute and ylang-ylang in the heart; orris, powdery notes, musk, patchouli and sandalwood at the base. Carrot seed is the material that makes it interesting. It is earthy, slightly root-like and faintly sweet, and placed next to citrus it gives the opening a damp, soil-after-rain quality instead of the usual bright fizz. The heart is a genuine rose, not a fruity-rose shortcut, with jasmine sambac adding an indolic warmth and ylang giving it body. Then the orris takes over and the fragrance turns properly powdery, iris and musk and sandalwood, with patchouli grounding it. Floral, woody and powdery is how the house classifies it, and that is exactly what it is. It suits people who want a rose that is serious rather than pretty. The powdery drydown reads elegant and slightly formal, and it is more convincing in cool air than in heat, so a Cape winter evening gives the orris room to breathe. Wearable by anyone, though it will read feminine to most noses. As an extrait it performs accordingly: seven to ten hours is typical, with sillage that is noticeable for the first two hours and intimate afterwards. Orris-heavy compositions cling well to fabric, so a spray on a scarf extends it considerably. No perfumer is named on the product listing, and none is invented here.