Coca Rocha for Italian Vogue 2012 Haute Mess, Photo Steven Meisel

I love candy.  I love, love, love it.  I like the magical “open it and see!” quality candy has.  Unwrap it and it transports you to a wonderful place where everything is Good and more importantly, delicious. Perfume is like candy; good perfume, anyway.  A great scent can transport you instantly into another land, where everything you experience is wonderful, magical and perfectly tailored to your tastes.  You don’t have to know anything about scent to appreciate it; you just show up and it does the rest.  Unlike a museum visit, say, where you feel you have to buy the headphones and keep up with the group.   A perfume bottle has one simple, instructional sentence:  Spray Me.

But back to the candy part.  I love perfume that is candy-like – soft and sweet and delirious.   A scent that is feminine but not girly.  I love vanilla, for instance, or anything powdery, or with an ambery drydown.   I think there are times that I’d rather eat my perfume than wear it.

So you can imagine my delight when I explored Nishane, (the first niche perfume line hailing from Istanbul; Michelyn wrote about this brand as one to watch in her Esxence report) and fell for #10 (the line has 16 extrait de parfums) DUFTBLÜTEN.  DUFTBLÜTEN is German for scent blossoms, and this is a modern floral chypre perfume masquerading as delightful confectionery.

Mila Kunis for Cosmopolitan.com

The notes are gardenia and magnolia at the start, like rich buttercream that then slide into osmanthus and Indonesian patchouli.  Rich, fruity spices!  There is the comforting sugared feel of osmanthus blossom with the dry bite of patchouli and incense that keep this from becoming treacly.  This is no American candy bar – this is candy written in a special language you have no time to decipher.  The finish is a rich, damp oakmoss, like those savory seaweed treats from Japan.  DUFTBLÜTEN is hypnotic and light, like a day meandering on the beach boardwalk with a bag bursting with salt-water taffy tucked in your pocket.  I loved it immediately.

For those of you who have yet to experience Nishane, Guest Contributor Berkan Basoglu reviewed Munegu for CaFleureBon in April.  Munegu is as dry and woodsy as   DUFTBLÜTEN is savory, floral and sweet.  As I go through all 16, I am finding that Nishane makes wonderfully brambly, earthy scents that hold nothing back.  This is a style of perfumery that you carry into the house like pine needles trailing behind you after a forest walk, or that can stick to the sides of your mouth after you’ve had a sumptuous dessert.   The notes are round and full-blown, yet the sillage stays around the body if not the skin.

Osmanthus candy and osmanthus collage MC

DUFTBLÜTEN is a delight, with the apricot taffy notes of the osmanthus tempered just enough by the oakmoss, incense and patchouli to add depth without careening into too much dank, drippy hippy territory.  The feel is a light, sweet, herbal candy you can chew on for hours happily as you wear it. Longevity is excellent… gee my skin smells delicious.

Disclosure: From my personal collection

Pam Barr,  Contributor

Art Direction, Michelyn Camen Editor in Chief

Photo: Murat Kutran and Mert Guzel (Berkan Basoglu at Esxence 2015, also editor of his blog Gurme Kokular

Editor’s Note: I have been corresponding with Creative Director Murat Katran, who along with co founder and Creative Director Mert Güzel have been globe trotting ever since the line’s debut in Milan.   According to Murat DUFTBLÜTEN is a top seller particularly with “confident career women who love the combination of osmanthus and incense”. Nishane is available exclusively in the US at Twisted Lily Boutique in Brooklyn, just call Anna  (347) 529-4681 or visit the store at 360 Atlantic Avenue.

Photo-Michelyn

Thanks to Nishane Istanbul we have a draw for a registered ÇaFleureBon reader reader worldwide of the Discovery Kit of 16 x 2ml of each fragrance

or

50ml of DUFTBLÜTEN.

To be eligible please leave a comment with what appeals to you about Pam’s review. (Is there a coincidence her last name is Barr?), where you live, your choice should you win and if there is a Nishane Instanbul perfume you are looking forward to trying. Draw closes June 12, 2015

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.