Colognes are historically common perfume types that have been used for a long time to refresh and smell nice. One of their characteristic features is that they contain a large amount of alcohol. Accordingly, Turkish people use cologne pretty frequently to freshen up and kill bacteria and germs collected, especially on hands.
With that being said, it has also become a cultural and traditional part of the society to offer cologne to house guests whether during holidays or usual occasions. This conventional attribute to colognes turned out to be a great success for cologne brands in Turkey to grow their business by producing new fragrances and products.
First known production of cologne in Turkey is by a man named Ahmet Faruki, who brought the idea during the Ottoman Empire. His attempt to produce local colognes created a business that led to a workshop and a large cologne store. Faruki, whose colognes reached the level to compete with those coming from Europe, started to return home with awards from the international exhibitions.
Another cornerstone of the cologne in Turkey was Eyup Sabri Tuncer, the founding father of a successful brand named after him. His company has over 90 years of history in the country, evolving over time as the leading household brand. One of the brand’s trademarks is that it has a large number of aromatic varieties, including floral, ambery, spicy, and fresh scents.
We have been witnessing tough times due to coronavirus cases that started in the early days of 2020, which turned us into panic buyers of countless cleaning and sanitary products. And, it seems that our cleaning habits have reached an entirely new definition. Even though we feel like the pandemic status is never going to change in the next couple of years, we can still try to get through these days with little damage by adapting ourselves to a different routine.
We believe one thing you can enjoy during this commonly protective phase is trying the Turkish colognes with quite different scents. They also usually come in a glass bottle which is perfect as a gift to give your loved ones.
There are many shops around Istanbul that sell colognes and oriental perfumes that will remind you here. One of them is Atelier Rebul which sells high-quality colognes in attractively designed packaging in the varying scents of green tea, grapefruit, lavender, amber, redbud, mandarin, and even lemongrass and honey.
Another shop you can get your nose dive into catchy scents of colognes is a brand named Pereja, which sells more affordable products compared to others. You can find their stores in the popular areas in Istanbul like Kadikoy and Uskudar.