Istanbul: haul.

Last Thursday morning I flew to Istanbul for a couple of days of dancing, sightseeing, eating and most importantly- shopping. As we were staying in the old town we were within walking distance of the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and….grand bazaar! On the first day we walked past what looked to me like a perfume shop where you could make your own fragrance, intrigued I walked in. The man explained to me (although to be honest I was completely lost for about 5 minutes) that it wasn’t any ordinary perfume shop, but a place where you could buy pretty much any mainstream designer fragrance but for a fraction of the price. Now I’ve heard of fake watches, handbags and sunglasses before but never perfumes, but that’s the thing, the quality and scent of the fragrance didn’t smell any less than their more expensive (and legit) counterparts! What made it appealing was that the perfume was put in a simple but cool looking glass bottle with ‘gold’ lid. I tried a sample of Chanel Allure and sure enough it smelt exactly like the real thing. I quickly then snapped up Chanel Chance for my sister, Dior Pure Poison and Chanel No.5 for my mum, Chanel Allure Homme for my boyfriend and then Kenzo Amour for myself as well. I hadn’t tried the ‘real’ Kenzo perfume before but it was a musky scent of vanilla and jasmine which I instantly fell in love with.

Perfumes bought, next up was jewellery, there are an overwhelming amount of jewellery stores in the old town so I had to be quite selective. I chose a little silver ring and a selection of bracelets both for myself and for presents. You can’t go to Istanbul and not buy either a silk or cashmere scarf so I chose a black and rust coloured one for myself, ethnic looking whilst still fitting in with my usual look, so that I can wear it here in London and a purple leopard print pashmina for my grandma.

Other little trinkets that we bought included cute little jewellery boxes and some beautiful little compact mirrors with beading embellishment. My final buy was my most exciting- a pair of paisley printed harem/pyjama trousers which I intend on saving for the warmer months to pair with a plain vest and some gladiator sandals. Needless to say packing to come home was not easy, especially as my boyfriend then bought 2kg worth of Turkish delight /bakhlava and insisted on packing it in my case!