Picture a white screen lit from behind and two flat figures cut from camel or ox hide, held on rods and moved so they seem to argue. That is Turkish shadow theatre, and its comic double act is Karagöz and Hacivat. UNESCO put the tradition on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009. A perfume named after one half of that act sounds like a joke until you smell it.

The house behind it is Nishane, founded in Istanbul in 2012 by Mert Güzel and Murat Katran. Katran had been an export manager in the steel business who found oud while travelling the Gulf, and Güzel had founded a luxury hotel chain. They met at a friend's birthday in 2010 and paid for the house themselves. The word means mark or symbol. They describe themselves as creative directors rather than perfumers, which is honest, and they choose a story before they choose a perfumer. I like that nishane starts with a story you could retell at dinner, and leaves the nose to someone else.

The trick is to smell the stories in the order they were told. Hacivat Extrait de Parfum is the obvious start: the brand calls it a chypre, Fragrantica lists pineapple, grapefruit and bergamot on top with cedar, patchouli and jasmine, then oakmoss below. Ani Extrait de Parfum is named after the ruins of Ani and inspired by the folk song Sarı Gelin, and the brand lists blackcurrant, Turkish rose and cardamom in its heart. Hundred Silent Ways Extrait de Parfum is a tribute to Rumi and leads with tuberose, mandarin and peach. Wulong Cha, Fan Your Flames, Nanshe, Ege and Tuberoza complete the set, so you can smell them all in one sitting.

Hair holds scent for a long time and gives it off every time you turn your head, so a hair perfume is a gentler way to wear a scent that might be strong on skin.

The house has taken three of its best-known scents and given them a second life for hair. Wūlóng Chá, Hundred Silent Ways and Hacivat each come as a Hair and Body Oil, for a slightly richer finish on the ends and the shoulders. Ani, Hundred Silent Ways and Tuberóza each exist as a Hair Perfume, and Wūlóng Chá does too, which gives you a light way to try scents that are more imposing in extrait form. Sultan Vetiver Extrait de Parfum is the one loose extrait in this group, and the name tells you what it is about.

I like the oil on clean, slightly damp lengths after a shower, and a single spray of the matching extrait on the inside of the elbow. The two read as one scent at two volumes.

What I would skip: a scented hair oil right before a long stay in the sun. Fragrance and heat can be a lot on the scalp, and a light mist is kinder.

Your nose forgets what it started with, so smell no more than three niche scents at a time and go back to the first one last. The return visit tells you which of them you actually liked.

Byredo is the easiest place to begin, and three of its bottles do quite different jobs. Mojave Ghost Eau de Parfum, Gypsy Water Eau de Parfum and Alto Astral Eau de Parfum have names that read like titles of short films, and that is a fair guide to how the house works. Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Baccarat Rouge 540 Extrait de Parfum launched in 2015 with saffron, jasmine, amberwood, ambergris, fir resin and cedar, and it is the bottle people tend to ask about when you walk past.

Amouage's Guidance and Existence I save for evenings out. D.S. & Durga's I Don't Know What is the playful name on a serious shelf, and Kilian Paris's Old Fashioned with cedarwood is the cocktail-hour one. Next to these, Nishane's extraits feel like a slightly more literary corner of the same world.

What I would skip: testing five bottles on your wrists in a department store and deciding at once. Take a strip home, sleep on it and let the drydown decide.

Oud can be animalic and smoky, so the first time, wear it on your clothes and not on your skin. On fabric you can learn it slowly, without committing your whole day to it.

Liberty London's Ianthe Oud Eau de Parfum and House of Bō's Infinitoud Eau de Parfum are where I would sniff first, because their names promise something a little literary. Fabbrica Della Musa's Oud Tuareg Extrait de Parfum is for when you want the full concentration, and Montale's Oud Sapparot with pineapple makes the point that oud does not have to be solemn. Kayali has two to look at, Oudgasm Café Oud and Oudgasm Vanilla Oud, and you can guess from the names which way they lean. Dolce&Gabbana's Velvet Desert Oud and Borntostandout's Oud Candy Extrait Extreme complete the picture for a taste that runs more indulgent.

Katran found oud while travelling the Gulf, so it is a fitting note to end on, and a reminder that the house started from a real taste and not a trend report.

What I would skip: a strong oud at a small dinner table. It fills a room faster than you think, and your neighbor has to sit with it, which is a lot to ask over one course.

Hacivat is where I would begin, because it has the best story and the clearest character of the house. Pineapple and oakmoss is an unusual pairing, and once you know it you can spot it across a room.

Then, if it suits you, add the hair perfume in the same scent and stop there. Nishane asks you to care about the story behind the bottle, and the shadow puppets are a good reason to. A flat figure on a screen, a light behind it, and suddenly the whole room leans forward. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Mykonos Perfume and Khadlaj Island Dreams, from a Family Perfume House in the UAE.