Meaning “black eye”, this fragrance is a tribute in fragrance form to one of the stock characters in Ottoman Empire shadow plays, Karagoz, who plays the traditional, hearty peasant to Hacivat’s educated statesman character. Despite Hacivat’s constant efforts to civilize Karagoz, he remains joyfully honest, straightforward, and witty.
Karagoz, the fragrance, is as pleasantly down-to-earth as the character it emulates. Although it features the same pineapple as in Hacivat, Karagoz’s treatment of it couldn’t be more different. Where Hacivat is dark, crisp, and elegant, Karagoz is hearty and rustic, with a rich array of harvest fruits, herbs, and sunburned grass notes framing the juicy tartness of the pineapple. It is at once fresh and outdoorsy, but also waxily sweet with hay and amber. Despite the rude cornucopia of harvest notes, though, Karagoz turns out to be very modern in feel, thanks to the dry, quasi-industrial oud note in the base that drapes the scent in a rich, metallic shimmer. Like the shadow play character, Karagoz has a booming, fleshed-out presence that’s very difficult to ignore. Wear it on a night out and see how attention it garners.
