Turkish designer teams up with perfume guru for Valentine's Day

Famous fashion designer Hakan Akkaya and perfume designer Bihter Türkan Ergül have joined forces ahead of Valentine's Day. Akkaya and Ergül launched two perfumes named "Black Iris" and "Artemisia" on Feb. 9 with the participation of many public figures. Black Iris is the representation of Hakan Akkaya's personal tastes. While the main fragrance is based on the black iris, the flower used by the pharaohs, the perfume also perfectly blends together bergamot, lavender, burnt vanilla, amber, wooden chips and cedar scents. Black Iris is a unisex perfume which Akkaya aimed to compliment both sexes with the spicy and flower touch of the perfume. Akkaya said the theme of the perfume is not only the love between lovers but also the love for family: "My slogan is 'the biggest love is the family love.' Buy a present for your family on Valentine's Day."

The second perfume is called Artemisia. Hakan Akkaya said he was inspired by his sister's strong spirit while designing Artemisia. Artemisia is a fresh perfume for women that includes lemon, lavender and sweet basil scents. Sandal, leather, amber, oak, vetiver, jasmine, amber, cedar, floral motifs with woody and marine base notes are also included in the perfume.The perfumes are presented in black bottles that look alike. They are in the form of "extrait de parfum" which is more intense than "eau de perfume" with 33 percent essence. Explaining that he is allergic to synthetic perfumes, Akkaya said they used natural ingredients and essence in these perfumes and most of the essences are of a natural source.An important thing about these perfumes is that they are made in Turkey and Akkaya and Ergül worked with Turkish producers like Seluz Chemistry and Turkish perfume bottle designers.

'Haute Couture' perfumes

Perfume designer Bihter Türkan Ergül, who initiated World Fragrance Day with the support of the Culture and Tourism Minsitry and UNESCO, said Hakan Akkaya wanted to make a perfume that includes a contrast among strong, sweet, floral and fresh notes. She says Akkaya wanted the perfumes to also include high quality natural essences that can be used anywhere and anytime.

The aim of appealing to a broad audience committed them to determine an affordable price. So, to attain these goals, they worked on 600-700 formulas for three years before creating their final perfumes.Ergül further said that one of the reasons they started to make perfumes was to make people happy. "In cosmetics, it is easy to make beautiful fragrances. But the most important thing is to feel and touch people's spirits, to make people smile and to improve their life quality." She mentioned that Turkey has existed on societies centered on perfumes inherited from the Hittite, Babylonian, Sumerian, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman civilizations. "So, we benefit from the archive that came down to us from these civilizations," she concluded.