Description
“This feeling of an ancient city, but with a freshness, a modernity. An old luxury and a new confidence. Sometimes clichés are in the popular imagination for all the right reasons. This is the meeting of two continents andtwocultures.Coffee, creaminess. Leather. Suede. Spices. Incense. Waking up in Moda, crossing the Bosphorus and a balmy night in Karaköy.
An ambery, woody, spicy fragrance. A fresh aromatic head, with notes of bergamot, cardamom, red thyme. A woody, aromatic heart, with lavender absolute, Egyptian geranium essence, patchouli heart and sweet myrrh (opoponax) essence. And basenotes of sandalwood, vanilla, tonka bean, amber and musks” — press release of the brand. Istanbul was launched in 2017. The nose behind this fragrance is Karine Chevallier.
tonyavedn1 – :
Very nice scent, reminds me of pure havane. It is niche quality, well blended. cannot pick out any individual notes just a nice cozy scent great for the fall months.
wert221 – :
BLIND BUY WORTHY. Reminds me of a more niche vanillic version of givenchy pi with a touch of hermes voyage. Absolutely gorgeous stuff. Creamy delicious vanilla and tonka.
gruk85 – :
Istanbul rounds out my sampling of the first six offerings from Gallivant Perfumes, and Istanbul is clearly the most cold-weather-friendly of the lot. Like Amsterdam, it’s primarily resinous but also has sweet elements (vanilla, tonka) and a spicy mix of geranium, patchouli, lavender, and mostly regionally interestingly, cardamom. The result is a blend that’s very agreeable and does not hit the extreme highs and lows of sweetness and spiciness; it flirts with being a gourmand while never quite being fully so. It also seems to be a nod to the currently-popular rose/oud combo fragrances without being on itself.
Surely the superlative performer of the line, Istanbul boasts strong projection with only a few weak squirts of the atomizer samples on each arm, and boasts superior longevity to pretty much the rest of the line, and certainly this adds to its value, making the $95 for 30ml pricing for a full bottle seem more palatable than it otherwise might.
For my money, on scent alone, Berlin remains my favorite of the line, but certainly, Istanbul is in the mix, and certainly is the winter choice.
7 out of 10
TERMITRR – :
This is very nice, a warm fougeriental, yes, I made that up. Woody spicy amber with vanilla and lavender, it has a masculine touch but is very unisex. I find it very warm and comforting. I don’t get the cold alcohol thing like others have mentioned and that makes me wonder if there is a batch out there that was too new and had not macerated long enough. Nothing ground breaking here but it is an enjoyable fragrance.
sjava.d – :
super~nice:)
bolat56 – :
this smells like something that shouldn’t be a perfume.
it smells great, totally not for me, but it smells like something that should be a soap or a body wash. there’s something unnervingly sweet about it, hard to pin down.
it’s resiney, it’s vanilla-ey and a smidge gourmand, but by and large, it just doesn’t feel like something that should be a perfume.
it’s an amazing scent, not sure it works as a perfume…
9unlim – :
I tested that fragrance in Merz apothecary in Chicago, IL – btw the best niche place you can find in Chicago !
Anyway I liked it so much I was dreaming I need it one day!
And today Eduardo my friend from work have give me a little present!
I cant believe I have it !
Eduardo usually gives for me a little bit to use so I have like 10 ml to enjoy!
What I can say a sweet – tonka and opoponax and Cardamon… for some reason.. the cardamon style reminds me – Black Jade form Lubin …serisuly.. I am 100% sure ..they got insporation by Lubin!
ZADROT #1 – :
This smells great but in no way is it original. It pretty much smells like at least half a dozen ambers. Ambre Precieux,Ambre 114, Ambre Russe and Blue Amber to name a few. It projects just enough and longevity is excellent but the price tag for a 30ml bottle is $160! You can get 3x as much for a few that I listed at half the price.
vitechik – :
Violinplayah hits the nail on the head. I thought I would love this perfume based on the notes and the concept, but it smells cold. When I inhale this perfume, I picture those old western facade towns used in films. There’s no depth. What a shame. The first of the line that I’ve tried, and I’m not sure I want to continue to delve. Seems heavy on the aromachemicals.
ko-tamara – :
This is an amazing creation! It was love at first sniff. Initial blast of spicy freshness and the dry-down is a very comforting tonka vanilla. I am not sure about projection but I keep on getting whiffs of myself and thinking what smells so fabulous. This is a great offering from a great line. And the best part is the cute 30 ml size – perfect!
VelikiiSayan7 – :
Of the Gallivant perfumes I have tried this is my favourite. The initial scent is a combination of leather, smoke, spice and vanilla all mixed in together. It is not a scent for those who like to smell of fresh flowers. There is a sultryness to it though not grubby. It lasts well on my skin eventually fading to a scent that is like caramel. I find myself sniffing my wrists. This is going on my list of favourites. I could happily wear this during the day or at night but for me living in the northern hemisphere definitely a winter perfume.
igo70 – :
This is amazing in every aspect. Smell, uniqueness, and performance are out of this world. It’s in that vein of dark, creamy, and spicy genre but completely different than all of them. Remember this, never trust negative reviews on Fragrantica because these same people leave negative reviews on fragrances that haven’t even been released on here. Buy a decant and be ready to be amazed. I sprayed the inner bend of my arm 9 hours ago and I’m still surrounded by a scent cloud. This is absolutely stunning.
Biealy – :
There’s a weird nose burner here – it’s the same sensation as smelling rubbing alcohol. From the notes, I would have bet that this would be a winner for me, but what should smell rich and warm comes off as cold and sterile as a doctor’s office.
shower22 – :
Huh, upon initial smelling it reminded me of Tom Ford Noir. Just checked if it was just me because I saw no one else mentioning it. If you compare these 2 you can see that there are a lot of similiar notes. Why does no one mention this? Will definitely put this into the “reminds me of” box.
It’s heavier on the vanilla compared to TF noir. I don’t own TF noir so I can’t really compare the quality of the ingredients or their similarities and differences.
GamFumndiusia – :
The fragrance of Istanbul portrays, in its creative concept, the meeting of civilizations and cultures, all in one place. The old Constantinople was once a major trading center and stage for battles, earthquakes and empires. It is also known for its shadowy side and for depicting it as scenery for vampires and horror tales. And even before I speak about the composition, I can say that it is, without doubt, the most mysterious of the four initial creations of the Gallivant House.
It has notes of bergamot, cardamom and red thyme in the output. In the body of the fragrance were combined notes of lavender absolute, Egyptian geranium, patchouli and opoponax. And notes of sandalwood, tonka bean, vanilla, amber and musk, in the base.
On the skin, Istanbul is not a nocturnal perfume, although it is the most suitable for this purpose. Although it has spices and denser notes, such as sweet myrrh (opoponax) and vanilla, do not think that it is an opulent scent or that it was made for ballads. It is an oriental fragrance with an exaggerated dose of lavender, which keeps all the others controlled, as if it were a dome around the olfactory pyramid.
When the fragrance is applied on the skin, immediately appears a sweet and resinous cardamom, different from the spicy that many know. There is also a comfortable nuance of suede, which comes from the leathery facets of thyme. With the passage of time, the myrrh gains more prominence and makes way for the base, creamy and sweet, without being gourmand. Here, the tonka bean is the boss, not the vanilla. And all this, as I’ve said before, remains trapped by a bubble of lavender, which never dissipates.
In terms of projection, Istanbul is not as explosive as Tel Aviv or London, but exudes non-stop and without bothering other people around. The evolution is fast and from the moment the base is reached, the perfume remains unchanged until the end. The lasting on me was very good and, particularly, among the first Gallivant releases, this was the one I liked the most, followed closely by Brooklyn.
VDVS – :
Light but nice fragrances from what youd expect from Istanbul. I wish the sillage was greater but that doesn’t tale away from the quality ingredients. I will need to try this on again for a more quality review, but so far am a little disappointed,
Stalker-911 – :
Definitely an all around scent! My first and only thought was, this is a lighter version of Noir Exquis but more refined or retooled if I may say ! I’m not yet that impressed but only because I haven’t giving it time to work on me… I do feel that my attitude will change about this scent! Its a very good fragrance from start to finish and the longevity is very good and I will continue to work with this fragrance and review it again but it’s a blind buy worthy scent by the end of the day!!!