There are certain perfume effects I enjoy in smaller quantities. These are the ones which generally have fans of restraint and ones who love as much as they can get. I am on the side of restraint when it comes to powdery ingredients. I think they can have a dramatic influence when used in judicious and balanced quantities. When they are overdosed it is like being lost in a giant powder puff. Nishane Nanshe takes the path of restraint.
Mert Guzel (l.) and Murat Katran
What powdery ingredients can do is provide a stark contrast to more flamboyant ones. It can soften some of that extravagant nature. Creative directors Mert Guzel and Murat Katran collaborate again with perfumer Cecile Zarokian on Nanshe. Their last perfume together was 2019’s remarkable Ani. This heads in an entirely different direction. The name comes from the Sumerian goddess of fertility among other things. The symbol of that was rose. The creative team uses the rose as the core of a powdery accord which is wrapped in earthiness.
Cecile Zarokian
On top the grounding comes through carrot seed. Mme Zarokian allows the sweet, rooted quality to be contrasted with yuzu and cardamom. The tart citrus finds a potent contrast in the carrot seed. The heart is where the powder accord is constructed. Using rose absolute and orris the potential for a powderstorm is here. Instead Mme Zarokian dials back on the natural ingredients and titrates in small amounts of synthetic powdery notes. When you use the naturals exclusively you kind of get what you get. When you do what she has done here you create a powdery foundation with rose and orris which is given a shimmering expansiveness through the synthetics. What makes Nanshe so enjoyable is what fills in that space. A very earthy patchouli and an austere sandalwood. The patchouli is as present as the central powder accord. It fills in underneath as it expands to keep it firmly planted in the sandalwood foundation.
Nanshe has 16-18 hour longevity and average sillage.
The balance in Nanshe is ideal. Each accord makes space for the other. In the end you have the earth covered in a gentle fall of powder.
Disclosure: This review was based on a sample I purchased.
–Mark Behnke
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