Olisbos

[fairnymph]

OLISBOS
As for old flames and lovers-they're none left.
And since Milesians went against us,
I've not seen a decent eight-fingered dildo.
Yes, it's just leather, but it helps us out.

The ancient Greeks sure weren't shy about taking care of business. The port city of Miletus was once famed throughout the Mediterranean as a source of excellent stone, wood, and padded leather dildos. This scent is the celebration of an age-old pastime: polished wood, well-loved leather, and olive oil.

Old leather (!!!!!), aka Dead Man's Hand style leather, some sort of delicious fruity-tart-citrusy note, and a deep wood note - oak, or mahogany, or maybe a sandalwood, or a mixture? Definitely smells polished. But instead of olive oil, I'm getting some sort of delicious fruit. Not that I'm complaining!

Ohhhhh myyy godddddd I missed you so, old delicious worn leather. *rolls around like a cat with catnip* Still that delicious citrusy note, though it's somewhat smothered by the leather which is first and foremost - I think it's got to be sweet orange. Yes. This is like Dead Man's Hand layered over Gaiman's Orange with an extra jolt of fresh squeezed OJ. Which may sound strange but it is DELICIOUS. The wood is much lighter on my skin, and sort of musky, so I'm guessing it's either sandalwood or oak, as those are the nicest, sexiest woods on my skin. Still no olive oil, unless it's super fruity oiive oil!

Not much morphing here - maybe a little fading of the OJ, but otherwise not much. This has fantastic throw (much like Dead Man's Hand) and I'm really surprised by how faint (and thus unidentifiable) the wood is. I'm leaning towards white sandalwood because it's so light and because this has a musky sort of feel to me, as white sandalwood often does. I completely took a random chance on this bottle and it was a brilliant risk. I am huffing my arm here!

Yeah, this is really not a morpher. After a couple hours it's Dead Man's Hand with hints of orange juice and musky sandalwood. All which I adore so it's pretty much a slightly feminized, even more delicious DMH. I am over the moon! Great throw, but it does fade fairly quickly.



I have now tried 6 Lupers, and all but one have been fabulous.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Mmmm… heavanly. The wood and leather are beautifully blended and quite strong. I’m guessing the oil is that soft thing that helps the scents smooth into each other. I’m in love already. Wet: It is sweeter than I expected, and the leather has a citrus edge to it. I can’t stop sniffing this. As is warms, the oil and wood reasert, but it stays sweet rough new cured leather dominant. Dry: The citrus effect calms down along with the leather generally, allowing the leather/oil to balance ouyt nicely. I’m really pleased with this one. It laasts at least twelve hours.

[iiinterstate]

In the bottle: Leatherrrrrrr. Yum.

 

On me: Oh man, this is good already. I can pick out the olive oil, but it doesn't go cloying on me like it did in Hanerot Halalu. After a few moments the wood comes out and blends smoooothly with the leather.

 

After awhile: Leather is definitely the primary note in here, and its great. I'd say this blend is gender neutral and FABULOUS. I generally like the lab's leather note even more after it has had some time to settle, so I'll probably be buying another bottle of this to age. This might knock Western Diamondback into second place on my list favorite leather blends

[ralenth]

Bottle: Aged leather with a bit of bright citrus.

 

Wet: At first, Olisbos is sunny fresh orange juice spilled on well-worn leather. Blasphemy, true, but kind of fun.

 

Drydown: As it dries, the leather asserts itself. Oh, swoon, it does smell like a citrusy Dead Man's Hand, but the throw is far less. The olive oil peeps in a little bit, but it hangs out in the background.

 

Dry: Very faint, but definitely a leather-clad optimist. Olisbos will definitely give you a spanking and smile cheerily all the while.

 

Overall: I knew I would love this. My only qualm is that it is so faint that I feel like I might bathe in it.

[musichappens]

This actually reminds me of the scent that hits you when you walk into a furniture store: freshly polished end tables and leather couches. The olive oil seems to be hanging out in the back along with a very faint citrus-type of scent. I can't really see myself wearing this, but I think it would be awesome as a HFO.

[Saya]

I agree, this does smell a bit like a furniture store, very interesting. A unisex blend with the primary scent of wood, secondary scent of leather and just a hint of olive oil. Even though it's a wonderful, unique blend, it's not something I'd want to smell like. Typically I love leather scents, but this one isn't grabbing me.

[PeshaRocha]

Love it!

 

Very light, dry leather with a backdrop of light wood that's been well-oiled (polished), just like the description. Yes, a high-end furniture store smell, as others said. Clean scent, light throw, very long-lasting on me. If you don't like heavy leathers, you might give this one a try.

[penemuel]

A very pretty leather scent that starts out with a brightly polished wood scent mixed with the leather. I don't really get any olive oil, but there is a kind of oiled polish scent in there. This is an old, well worn leather, the kind usually described as "buttery soft." The wood scent is a rich bright wood (I'd also say maybe oak? I'm not all that good at recognizing different wood notes yet -- other than cedar (which it definitely isn't), teak and birch (and this doesn't seem to be either of those).)

 

After about half an hour on me, though, the oiled polish and wood fade and the leather seems to be all that remains. It's still a lovely, lovely leather scent, but since I managed to get my hands on Dead Man's Hand this past summer, I think I will skip a bottle. Damn, this is pretty though! *sits on hands to keep from adding it to the list*

[greenranger]

The olive oil is strongest at first, and then the leather shows up.

 

Um. This isn't a dry leather or a dry wood. I suppose it is the olive oil, but, it smells, shall I say, wet? Smooth and wet leather and wood.

 

 

[LadyMedb]

This is a gorgeous leather scent, bitter and sweet. I don't really smell olive oil but something more like grapefruit juice or orange rind. It works perfectly on both my guy and me, and it's really entrancing. I recommend this to anyone who wants to smell leathery but not dirty or inaccessible, and also to anyone who likes uncomplicated, short note lists.

[megank4]

This smells exactly like it says, starts out very much wood and olive, then morphs to more of a leathery olive scent.

Sadly, not my thing. Would be nice for a man though I think.

[thekittenkat]

All three scent notes are present and blending somewhat. Not sure what the wood note is, but it's probably a light wood. The leather is well-worn indeed and very much a soft note. The olive oil is light and clear, but still very much olive oil. It's a unisex scent to me, and could be worn when one wants a scent, but not a complex one.

[loladae]

I bought this because I love all three notes, but unfortunately this particular leather note isn't for me-it's like the one in Western Diamondback. It's too sharp. So, it smelled aweful in the bottle but completely morphed on my skin! Very olive oil-y, thank god. I don’t smell much leather, but maybe some polished wood. It smells so familiar, but I can’t replace it. The olive oil is that same, terrific olive oil from Hanerot Halalu, deepend by the darker leather and more complex by the polished wood.. It really takes over the blend which is fine by me. I want to keep it and see how it ages, or if it grows on me. I actually really like it.

[fiddledragon]

Sadly, this leather was one that doesn't work on me. It was a very sharp, polished, black shoe leather scent. The wood went very dry and the olive oil almost disappeared, so on me is was Essence of Shoe Store, complete with cardboard boxes for extra authenticity!

[edenssixthday]

Olisbos - If you've ever travelled around the Western/Southwestern U.S., chances are you've stopped into a souvenir shop that sells handcrafted and/or mass-produced wooden carvings and other wooden objects, along with leather goods such as wallets, souvenir Native American headpieces, boots, etc. Olisbos smells exactly like those stores -- all wood and polished leather. It so evocative of my many travel all over places like Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. I love this scent -- it's the leather many of love from Dead Man's Hand, and a nice, light wood note, with the hint of something slightly sweet behind it, which must be the olive oil. This is a beautiful scent. It doesn't strike me as feminine in the least -- it's something I'd rather smell on a dude. On a sexy cowboy kind of dude. It has a nice level of throw and really, really long wear-length.

[Dymphna]

IN THE IMP: Soft, worn leather, which I love, but there's a high-pitched chemical scent, too. I didn't realize that the "polished wood" note meant furniture polish, but I think that's what this is. It's citrusy, but with a screeching chemical twang, almost metallic. Not so much as a hint of olive oil.

 

WET: Oh, yeah, this is leather and furniture polish. Ugh. It's no longer "almost metallic" now, it's almost like biting into a sheet of foil. Did I mention that metal notes give me a headache? Yeah.

 

DRY: Oh, hey, there's the olive oil. It's mixed with the furniture polish and gone rancid. Good times. Yeah, I'm gonna go wash this off now.

[topaz]

In the bottle: an orange citrus note, wood and a hint of leather.

 

Wet: The citrus note dominates but I can still smell wood. There's a local store called "The Village Merchant" that sells all sorts of trinkets but it is a beautiful historic home with wood floors. The wood smells like this store-I guess aged wood?

 

Dry: the citrus backs down and now I'm sitting in a comfy old leather recliner in the old house and all the wood is freshly polished. This is an oddly cozy scent considering the symbology. I'd say this one is very unisex.

 

I like it

[Dark Alice]

This smells like the leather from a freshly made whip! It's alluring, dark, and dangerous but definitely not work appropriate. I think I will keep this one around....

[Invidiana]

By all accounts this was not supposed to work on me. I was fearing The Great Ancient Towering Cedar of Doom, De Sade Leather of Doom, Pledge-style wood polish and the greenish smell of fresh olive oil which I'm generally not too fond of.

 

WRONG.

 

This turned out to be the most wonderful fruity (?!?!?!) leather on me with a light woody background. The leather was not that uber-masculine leather at all as opposed to De Sade; it was actually the muted type of leather you find in U; more of a black leather than U's brown leather but still really melow and "well-loved" as the description states. I also sense a slight bit of spice? This could possibly be from the wood itself (sandalwood possibly? Other pleasant woods that aren't cedar?) or from the "polished" note--I don't know what they used to polish wood back then but probably some really great-smelling oils if I'm going by what's in here. I'm thinking possibly orange oil because there seems to be a cirtus touch to the fruitiness. Whatever it is, what seemed like a melange of wrong turned out so right on me...I need a bottle.

[sirensea]

As strange as this sounds, the scent of this one almost immediately reminded of my summer spent riding horses and working at a stable. It smells like very broken-in leather and the soft scent of warm, summer air, especially after a rain storm. The citrus loans a slightly bitter, but sweet edge that is reminiscent of all of the cleaning liquids and plastic buckets/tools that were kept inside the office and main area.

 

Olisbos wasn't what I expected it to be, but it sure jogged a wonderful memory, and I'll be keeping my decant for that reason alone.

[ow1goddess]

This for me is one of the ones that smells too much like the inspiration...it's got a sweaty, gym-locker-room smell that is an immediate turn off for me. I think it's olive oil, weirdly enough...everything I get with that goes weird in some unexpected way.

 

In bottle/wet: Funky. Smells like something well-used in a biological sense.

 

Dry: Fainter, quiets down to something not so bad as the wet smell but still makes me think I need a shower everytime I catch it.

[naturalcyber]

I'm getting brand new leather rather than old and also the citrus-fruity scent that other people are getting. Just a touch of wood underneath--which is weird because I tend to amp a lot of woody notes. Now I'm curious which wood it is...

 

The citrus was strongest wet but it stays when dry.

 

Good enough to keep for me, but I doubt I'll get a bottle because the new leather is very sharp and I'll only occasionally wear it. I may kick myself if aging softens the leather up but ah, well. That's life.

[starfish327]

well this isn't going to be much of a review, but my boyfriend says this smells...scarily true to the theme.

[fairestrocza]

In the Bottle: old, well cared for furniture, and olive oil

 

Wet on Skin: sweeter than I expected

 

While Drying: This is a very odd smell. At this phase (this time around) it smells like my friend's brand new leather couch.

 

After a Little While: This has some major throw. There is an odd combination of impressions - old leather wallet, furniture store, warming olive oil in a pan, sitting on a brand new leather couch…

 

Later: Not much change from earlier phases. Throw is still very strong. A long time later, this calms down to a more easygoing oiled leather scent.

 

Final Thoughts: I think this is a bit much on me. I preferred it on The Boy. It is interesting conceptually, but not something I want to wear as a personal scent. This is better than leather scents usually are on my skin, but still a bit much.

Olisbos earns a 3/5 on my skin.

 

ETA: Time did not increase my opinion of this blend. I have several friends who were quite entranced with Olisbos, and they ended up with my stock. I asked for the empty bottle back because I loved the artwork, but even opening the box where it was stored was enough to put me off. I ended up giving away the empty recently. I think it was the olive oil that hit me the wrong way. (It turns out that I am not a huge fan of leather either, even when it agrees with my skin chemistry). Ah well, more for those who love it.

Edited January 22, 2011 by Rocza

[angelicruin]

This is sharp on my skin. Smoke, leather, & wood on me.