Hundred Silent Ways

I discovered this fragrance almost a year ago. Since then, I've got it as a gift for my birthday and got way more experience with it now. The opening is mesmerizing to me. Extremely bold, potent. Fruity, creamy, slightly woody and very white floral forward. The opening can be polarizing, but it's in my top 5 ever, it's that good IMO. After the opening, the fragrance settles on a creamy vanilla and floral base, I don't feel like there's really a mid section. It's creamy from the sandalwood, sweet, vanillic. The florals bring a twist that makes this very unique, with a noticeable orris. Overall, it's very comforting to me and I love it. This is a feminine leaning fragrance, especially in the opening. After the opening, I think it's more unisex, but it definitely leans "feminine" as far as marketing standards go. I still rock this as a guy, it's not too girly at all, it's very much a refined niche fragrance. Perfomance is ridiculous. After a year, I've only used like half of my little sample. The juice is so thick that it sprays very little each time, so despite having worn it a lot it just doesn't go down. It is extremely strong. Very potent, loud, opulent. It lasts forever. As of writing this comment, I sprayed this 18 hours ago. When I move my arm a bit, it still radiates and projects the scent right into my nose. I used my bottle too, one spray was enough to be extremely noticeable. Spray with caution. Overall, for the price is just unbeatable really. Extremely high quality, top notch performance .. Yes please. This is the type of perfume that we need. Oh and the comparisons to Black Opium, I just don't see it. Yeah it's SOMEWHAT similar. But man this is just so, so much better. Way better quality, performance can't even be compared, this is also way more refined. Nah, it's like comparing a 20.000 to a 150.000 bucks car. The 20.000 is very nice, but it's just not in the same league as the 150.000 one.

The sweet silence of decadent love. It opens sweet with tuberose and peach (a very velvety, creamy peach, not sirupy, not saccarine, probably we have some lactones with a majority of Gamma-Undecalactone here) that conforts me and at the same time brings me instantly in a "decadent mood" (damn tuberose, you are always the same). In the heart we have the white flowers, powdery and soft, thanks to some iris accord in the backgroud. I like a lot the take on white flowers on this fragrance because they are not overdosed (and do not bring with them any indolic nuances that can be present when you overdo jasmin and gardenia and on a sweet fragrance they can lead to unpleasant offnotes), their fruity nuances are used masterfully to underline the peach. Tuberose is still very present in the heart of the fragrance btw. The whole life of the fragrance has the same mood, the long drydown is not different, warm, sweet, vanilla sandalwood (hello sandanol!), even if the notes change the mood stays the same, resigned, conforting, with some melancholy. I must admit that I liked wearing this a lot, and even if it is labeled and sold as "feminine" due to the sweetness, I can't see a single reason why a man shouldn't use it. Four seasons, long lasting, day and night, it can be a signature scent and doesn't require any special condition to be worn, sillage is not owerwhelming, kinda okish but more on the "close quarters" side. Price is ok. A side note: the name is inspired by a line of the sufi poet Rumi "I closed my mouth and spoke to you in a hundred silent ways" (13th century).

I ordered a sample of this after hearing good things. I liked it immediately, but it wasn't love. I oscillated. I didn't like that it was compared to Black Opium. And something about it reminded me of LVEB too. It is linear, yes and I want to say it's not groundbreaking, but there's nothing quite like it. It's a beautifully reliable and consistent performer. I can't imagine a day I wouldn't enjoy wearing this. It's sweet, full, round, creamy, rich. Instantly comforting. Hard not to like. It's been a slow burn for me. Even thought I wasn't in love, I found myself reaching for the sample daily over everything else. And when it was finished I found myself longing to wear it again. Smelling it on the sleeve of a sweater, it is beautiful at every stage. The sweetness, the vanilla, the sandalwood. It's a crowd pleaser, but don't hold that against it. It's so well blended, high quality, comforting, and wears and dries down beautifully. I don't find it similar to Black Opium, it's much higher quality and fuller. Addictive, delicious, likeable, warm, welcoming. The price tag is hefty, but is it really when you compare it to the world of once great brands now acquired, diluted, and reformulated by Estée Lauder that sell at a similar price point? I don't think so. In the end I bought a bottle. I don't want to live without it in my life.

I'm really tired of the vaguely (and in some cases, overtly) snobbish reviews looking down on this fragrance for being fruit forward and for resembling Black Opium. Fruit is a beautiful smell, particularly when done right. It's done right here. Black Opium is popular and not niche, to be sure, but it's well composed and popular FOR A REASON. Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I have to say that Hundred Silent Ways is beautiful and worthy of celebration on its own. The orris, sandalwood, and vetiver beautifully anchor the white flowers, fruit, and vanilla. It never veers too sweet or screechy thanks to that anchor. The fruit, white flowers, and vanilla sing beautifully together. This is lovely, contemplative, happy perfume. A wonderful olfactory meditation on Rumi's poetry. I'm pleased to have it in my collection. For me, this resembles Ormonde Jayne Tolu as much as it resembles Black Opium. The vetiver plays a similar role to the clary sage in Tolu. The peach has a similar brightness to the amber. This is a scent worth reconsideration from those who've dismissed it, and it's a scent worth trying for those who enjoy complex fragrances that are also upbeat.

I really love this one - what a sweet, fresh opening that caught my attention! One of the best openings I've experienced - mind you, I haven't smelled that many perfumes compared to others on this site. I've gotten compliments on it but my boyfriend said it "smells nice and peachy, but just like... expensive shampoo". And I think he's right about that - because I have a sample, it was worth a try for me, but I'm not sure the price tag is justified. Don't get me wrong, I love Nishane in general, and this perfume - fruity at the top, that continues longer than expected for a top note - and fresh but cozy as it dries down - but I think this miiiight still be overpriced. Would love to try out similar ones because damn if that opening didn't make me want to try other perfumes just to get that feeling again! I think this works best for me between late winter to end of spring - agree it's not much of a summer scent, but I think it could fit in during the colder seasons from the cozy vibe but pop of freshness that reminds you of sunnier days. Don't really get the Black Opium comparison from the few times I've smelled it... maybe I'll give it another try.