Olibanum

[Shirel]

Representative of the Path of Shin, connecting Hod (Splendour) with Malkuth (Kingdom), and is one of the primary ingredients in Abramelin incense and oil. In some traditions, olibanum is also a perfume of Tiphareth (Beauty), and is integral in assisting in helping one connect with their higher self. Our olibanum represents purification by fire, and possesses all the generous, expansive, radiant qualities of Sol.

Eep, first reviewer well here I go! Please be advised that I'm testing this only a few hours after it arrived.

First of all, this is the thickest BPAL oil I've yet to see, it's a bit sluggish in the bottle and slightly sticky when I put it on. Get a wand cap for this one!

Wet: Mmm... this is kinda syrupy and lemony without being really lemon at the the same time. It actually reminds me of when I was a kid and I used to mash the cola and lemon flavoured ice lollies together to make slush. If I left it too long and it started to melt this is what it's smell (And feel a bit) like. I added on a bit more as it was really a dab from the cap and now it smells a bit sharper and more like lime then lemon.

This also takes a realllly long time to absorb in the skin. Ten minutes later and I can still see it there.

Dried down: This still smells lemon-limey but devolped a kind of... deeper note? The throw isn't too strong on me and I really have to huff my wrist to smell it but the syrup part smells deeper and less cola-like now. Maybe it's because I was resting my wrist on a wooden desk but it smells slightly woody as well .

All in all, this will be a pretty nice layering scent, even though the throw isn't strong. I'm also curious about how this will age, if it gets any thicker they'll be no way of getting it out the bottle! Edited September 15, 2013 by Shirel

[JazzieCazzie]

I gobbled this one up because a) I find many of the blends I like include Olibanum though I had no idea what it was and when I looked it up, it was a form of frankincense which is one of my biggest notes of win!

 

IN THE BOTTLE: As Shirei noted, this is unbelievably thick and syrupy in its consistency, something I almost never see except when it's a SUPER aged blend and then usually in a resin (Penitence and Ahathoor come to mind). The main hit I get is resin but there's something unusual about it, which makes me think of construction sites or something. Not bad, just unusual.

 

Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: It's resiny, ever-so-slightly metallic, and very sharp and clean. I think in another thread from a Will Call, perhaps, someone noted camphor and that could be it. Oddly, I don't get "frankincense" at all on this. More of some sort of slight floral/herb blend.

 

DRYDOWN: I still can't put my finger on notes, probably because it IS a note, but it's massively evocative of something from my childhood involved with school. It could be the cleaning solution (though I'm not calling it soapy or icky-cleaning, more ... industrial). Or if it's indeed a resin, it could be because the nursery school I went to was in the basement of an Orthodox synagogue.

 

OVERALL: I like this a lot but would not wear it alone as a single note. I think it would be a great note to layer with other blends and that's what I plan to do with it.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 4.

[Invidiana]

Deep, dark and resinous. This is a cousin of the original Frankincense SN, but a bit sweeter, which I personally prefer. I wouldn't call it church incense at all, even though a lot of people have that perception of frankincense. It has woody and smoky undertones, but the smoky aspect is more like woodsmoke than church incense smoke. A little sharp in the wet stage (attributing that to the fact that it's fresh and age will change things), it mellows out to a smoky-sweet resin, shadowy and mysterious, the scented equivalent of an antique veil. I can't wait to see how this ages, it's going to be amazing.

[windbourne]

As everyone else has noted, it's really thick and sort of gloppy. I got a decant of this to test and it's a wee bit hard to apply only a tiny bit (unless you use just the end of the wand) because it just blorps everywhere. Pretty cool.

 

My impression of this is more piney and woody, with a vanilla-like sweetness. It reminds me a bit of sniffing the underbark of Ponderosa Pines. As it dries, it mellows a bit and some of the sweetness fades. The throw is not inconsiderable, but it did fade pretty quickly on me. Late drydown reminds me of sap or other tree-related gumminess, and it stayed sticky until quite late in the game. A bottle of this is not in my cards, but I'm pretty happy to have tested it.

[VioletChaos]

In the Bottle: Yup. That's the sharp, tangy almost-lemon/ almost-turpentine scent of a good, thick frankincense, alright!

 

Wet On Skin: Yes, it's as sticky and thick as all have mentioned- my advice is TEST SPARINGLY. The scent is going in the pine/ turp direction at this stage.

 

Dry Down: MUCH more mellow. A soft, slightly woody resin. I'm surprised, actually- frankincense tends to be pretty aggressive on my skin.

 

In All: Low throw, this one stays close to the skin. I can see using this for layering purposes, for sure, to add grounding to a foodie scent, for instance, or depth to a sugary floral. I'd also wear this alone, especially when spending some quality alone time for meditation or revive purposes. I'm curious to see how it ages!

 

[doomsday_disco]

In the decant: Frankincense.

 

Wet: Strong frankincense with a slightly menthol-like quality.

 

Dry: It pretty much stays the same. It's very strong and woody. It reminds me of an old wooden chest or an old bookshelf.

 

Verdict: Not really my cup of tea, but I'm glad to have tried it.

[mymymai]

ITB: Resinous and woodsy - gorgeous! It reminds me of pitch in the forest surrounded my faint impressions of frankincense and something with a slight menthol tone to it.

 

Wet: Gosh, this is interesting. It reads as camphor, menthol, lemon, cedar, and sweet frankincense all at the same time.

 

Dry: It's warmer and sweeter ( a resinous sweetness) once dried down. There is a faint powdery tone to it, the like soft remnants of burned incense.

[MCS4096]

The second I opened the bottle I realized this is the primary component in what was one of my very first bpal purchases-- Midnight Mass 2008

 

I remember being blown away by that blend; it's incredibly realistic sweet woodiness that reminded this Oregon native of putting her nose against the soft bark of a tree and inhaling deeply.

 

Just beautiful.. I am so glad I was able to buy a bottle off a forum member after missing it's take-down date.

[cuervosueno]

I'm a bit of a frankincense aficionado. I tend to be snobbish about it, because it's a scent I really, truly love, but I also base my love on something I've discovered is hard to capture in perfume: what I love best is the smell of frankincense when it is burning, which is, admittedly, different from the scent of a frankincense essential oil, for example. I once bought a whole bunch of eo samples so I could see what the difference is between the different origins, too, so I'm pretty serious about my frankincense! I like a good frankincense note to have that bright citrus-y topnote and still be resiny, and yes, since it is a resin, it should have bit of an evergreen pitch to it too. I'm looking for all that, though I'm quite aware that as an EO, for example, it can be darker, more medicinal, and missing that bright top note that I enjoy while burning the resin.

 

Most people don't interpret it in a way I like. I've usually, in fact, found the lab's frank notes not quite to my taste, as they seem more similar to the EO variety than to the burning resin note. So I didn't even rush out to buy this when it came out. But then I read some reviews and noticed the people talking about the citrus like top notes, and thought,hmmm...I might need this!

 

I was able to get a partial decant, and am so glad I did! This is brighter to me than the lab's usual frank note. It's got some of the citrus topnotes I enjoy, and under that, that lovely bright resin, which is almost sharp at times, like pitch from a pine tree. It does smell like a tree, and yet not like wood to me, but like the sap it comes from. It is quite lovely and quite true to the way I think the burning resin smells, and while it isn't as heady as a sudanese frankincense that I have from another perfumer, it is lighter, brighter, more true. I suspect I need a bottle.

 

Also, thought I'd pass this on: I was trying to remember the difference, if there was one, between frankincense and olibanum. I couldn't. So I looked it up and found this useful link, which notes that olibanum is from a different version of the boswellia than regular frankincense, and I was super interested to note that regular frankincense should have a lemon scent, while olibanum should have an orange top note. Personally, I can't smell the difference--I just read it as having a citrus topnote--but I found it interesting anyway. I may have to go and sniff my EOs and see if I can see the difference between the frankincense and olibanum!

 

But for now, I will say this is a lovely version of the resin, and is what I wished for (but didn't get) in Hope and Fear Set Free. I would happily wear this alone, so I'll try and track down a bottle of it.

 

 

[milo]

First off, this is the first bpal oil that is THICK, it reminds me a lot of the texture of pine sap actually. The smell of it too, is really reminiscent of pine sap. Interesting, and I like to smell all the single notes, I do love and wear some, but this is really not my style to wear as a SN. I do have Golden Priapus, which reminds me of this, and I do wear that often, but this is one of those SN's that really do smell better blended I would think. It does turn a bit smoky after a bit, like smoky pine sap. Neat!

[zankoku_zen]

This is definitely a *thick* oil.

 

It smells like mentholic, slightly lemony frankincense. It smells resinous and a bit piney on wet. And occasionally, I get a musky undertone to it.

 

Golden, resinous, woody.

[Monster]

This oil is incredibly thick and sappy. I love the labs olibanum and am thrilled to have a decant. This is a rich, piney, resinous scent with a cooling menthol note when sniffed up close (it clears my sinuses) and dries to a smoldering church incense on my skin. I agree with Milo, this reminds me a lot of Golden Priapus. I bet this will age beautifully. Love! I'm going to track down a full bottle for sure.

Edited March 5, 2014 by Monster

[porcelina]

omg. so there is definitely some olibanum (which i just learned is also known as frankincense!) in midnight mass because that was the first thought i had when i sniffed this. it is a gorrrrrgeous, resinous, woody sweet scent. there is a teeny touch of smokiness. it wears on my skin like a beautiful incense, but a pure resin incense, sticky and heavily-scented. i cannot stop sniffing my hand; this is too good. it is complex enough to wear as a standalone scent but, like almost all the SNs, would layer amazingly with another blend- i am thinking vanilla, other resins, leather, etc.

[sammy]

Recently I noticed that a couple of my favorite BPAL blends had frankincense in common...Hope and Fear Set Free and Om Gam Ganyapataye Namaha. I knew I had to track down a bottle of Olibanum Single Note and I got incredibly lucky when I was able to arrange a swap with a lovely forumite for one.

 

Olibanum SN is very similar to the frankincense note in those blends. As a single note there is a slightly woody and a smoky characteristic that really stands out, as others have mentioned. It's resin-y and so spectacular. Someone else suggested wand capping this and that is exactly what I did because it does indeed have a sap-like consistency.

 

I've worn it by itself and will continue to, it is really amazing by itself. I have used it to deepen the frankincense notes in Om Gam and Hope and Fear Set Free. It's wonderful for tweaking things when I want a bit more frankincense. It will be a lot of fun layering with this single note. I may eventually need to track down a backup!

Edited January 3, 2015 by Sammy

[Aveya]

What a weird scent! I got this one on a whim in a forum sales, because I've seen this note pop up in a few blends I kind of like. I was curious. DID NOT until just now realize it's also Frankincense. That makes loads of sense! I recently went through a bout of frankincense scents and this is most certainly in that family.

 

So, when I was in school desks were metal with wood tops.

If you were to take, say, a lemonhead, suck on it for a few moments. Toss it into your desk wet. Then take some cough drops, upend them into the desk. Throw in a 20 year old math book, wooden rule with a metal edge (for use as a weapon, later), and then toss in a plastic pencil sharpener (full, with both pencil AND crayon shavings), then add some puffy stickers on your Lisa Frank binder and toss that in too, then shake your desk violently. Leave to sit over a blistering hot weekend, then come back on Tuesday (teacher's conference Monday, of course) - stick your head in the desk, and inhale DEEPLY.

 

That's this.

 

Apologies to those that love this scent. I can NOT get over the quirky nature of this. I've found scents that do amazing things when blended together, but won't be a scent I wear on it's own.