Olibanum Gardenia

We all love a good niche fragrance and Olibanum Gardenia by BohoBoco is most definitely that. I blind bought this about seven months ago and on first spray didn't like it at all. It felt flat and one-dimensional, dry and a bit stuffy as if struggling for air. Months of maturation in the bottle has absolute transformed this though, into something very unique and incredibly beautiful. I started my fragrance journey not a fan of incense / olibanum fragrances but Amouage and Matieire Premiere have changed my view and it seems possible it isn't just this juice that has matured in the last seven months: I think my nose has as well. What we have here is a surprisingly bright and not-at-all-stuffy incense note from the olibanum turned almost to a medicinal cola vibe by the vanilla, lime and floral accords. It is now incredibly wearable and is the sort of creative niche perfumery I really do enjoy but do not indulge myself enough of. The refinement is off the charts here, I think because of the way this fragrance sings to me. It is all about that dark hotel speakeasy, extremely strong sipping cocktail sort of vibe. It evokes secrets, liaisons, secret liaisons, wordless trysts and extremely high end hotel fragrance. It isn't a million miles away from the kind of thing you get piped into the major Las Vegas casinos in fact. I've always loved that MGM Grand signature scent and it is not like that but certainly adjacent. The drydown is a joy. It settles into an absolutely incredible skin scent. Whilst you could never call this a daily wearer, Olibanum Gardenia is a bold but workable choice for the office and I think unisex, leaning slightly masculine for whatever that is worth. If Louis Vuitton released this with some oud in the base people would be losing their minds over it. Actually I think I would be losing my mind over it hahahahaha Even so, this fragrance isn't one of BohoBoco's better known bottles and I would say is something of a hidden gem in their lineup and generally. My feeling is people will sniff this off a tester strip and maybe not give it the ten minutes on the skin to warm up and settle into the drydown, because it does require that. I absolutely do recommend this one. Give it a squizz next time you see it, it's such an interesting fragrance. Three Word Summary - Secret Hotel Mischief Layering combination - Musc Nurasana by Crivelli as a base layer, this on top. Outfit suggestion - black shirt, black jeans, black suede designer penny loafers and a black face Zenith El-Primero moonphase style watch on a leather strap. Scent - 9/10 Drydown - 9/10 Sillage - 8/10 Bottle/packacking - 7/10 Performance - 7/10 40/50

The opening reminds me of old-school hand milled soap for linens. It's quite sharp but creamy at the same time. I don't particulary detect the coconut and gardenia but I guess they add to the creamy feeling. This lasts for about 15-20 minutes on my skin with quite strong projection. Then, all of a sudden, it quiets down drastically and moves into a slightly smokey, resinous incense with a touch of sweetness. I wish this part was a bit more noticeable and lasted longer on my skin as I find it to be really gorgeous! Although it is an incense perfume, it has a light, airy quality to it which makes it perfect for all-year-round wear. I would maybe avoid it in the height of summer.

Fruit Punch Incense! Does have the Avignon incense but with a floral fruitiness. The notes make sense for the amber incense aspect but they don’t capture the other half of this fragrance which is a fun floral fruity twist. Reminds me of of a tropical Southeast Asian island in the evening. Very clean and modern however, something like entering an outdoor lobby for a high end hotel. Incense burning, floral perfumes in the air, tables of refreshments and fresh fruit. Relaxing and romantic but also exotic and shimmering. This is so beautiful and I rate it much higher than 3.7 This one has definitely inspired me to go check out more from the brand!

Tropical incense is a bold concept, but imo it has absolutely been executed well here, wether you like it is another question. As for me, it makes me feel like a missionary in the caribbean in the early 1700s! Pretty evocative in that sense, I can't help but picture the worlds of pirates of the caribbean and AC black flag, imagining what it'd smell like to enter a church in those worlds :,) I think this won't feel out of place in summer

like going to church with wet hair that still smells of shampoo. reminds me of girlhood in catholic school. ecclesiastical mischief. also kinda smells like a tiki drink! One of my favorites in my collection

Remind me of Dior new look 2024 but a bit darker and smokier , projection and longevity are so good

Ecclesiastical mischief, as @pistachioreo aptly put it, is probably the best possible description of this fragrance. The opening is a struggle for me, since lime and neroli somehow equal toilet cleaner to my nose, only the milky undertones disrupting that image at times. It's bright, effervescent and (for me) annoying. The first drydown takes the citrusy disaster down a notch, while adding incense and a hint of labdanum. It still isn't rooted in reality, somehow, and therefore doesn't cease to weird me out. It creates the kind of curiosity that makes you poke an aching tooth with your tongue. So you smell it again and again, and it's still weird, yet addictive. Then cedar wood and resins give the thing roots, while sandalwood finally rounds the lime-neroli into something resembling gardenia. This second drydown resembles the ecclesiastical mischief to me. It's playful, unashamed and built on a stuffy seriousness that lends itself nicely to this gentle, measured mockery. A saving grace that rises unexpectedly out of (for me) the boring and the unpleasant.

Well this one is a pleasant surprise It’s a very rare combination of the notes it states And what a great idea it is I would’ve loved it even more if it had better performance Resins and white florals especially gardenia or I’d say a better choice would’ve been tuberose I can’t even imagine what it would become I really enjoyed it but the performance is a major factor to me so it’s a sad pass

Tested it on my skin today - it's mostly a very nice, smooth and very wearable incense. The incense note is definitely predominant to me, but not too harsh, as it can often be with incense heavy fragrances. The fragrance is quite linear, but pretty long lasting. I wouldn't mind owing a full bottle, even though it's not the first fragrance on my "want it" list by any means.

That’s an unusual combination. I love olibanum, but I hate gardenia haha the combination smells like a very unusual soap with some pine notes. So for me it’s quite soapy, slightly sweet, a bit green and quite piny (almost smoky at some point). I actually like it, but it’s not an easygoing fragrance for sure. My ig: scent.guide

🕊️ Jerusalem, 1185 ☀️ A lemon grove, midday. Between the trees, incense smoke – a procession in white, bare feet on warm stone. Resin, cedar, silence before something big. @the.scent.files

It's a special scent. It smells like oudy, incense, with amber and a citrusy note. It's very special. While it has a cool lemony feel, it also has a warm incensey feel at the same time. it smells like Omani lemon after quarter hour, which is kind of like Myts by Amouage. It has a nice finish notes that includes resin and labdanum, which is a little bit oudy, smoky. عطر خاصی هست. بوی عودی کندری که آمبر هم داره و در کنارش یه نت مرکباتی مانند داره رو میده. خیلی خاصه. در عین حال که طبع خنک داره برای لیمو، طبع گرم کندر رو هم در همون زمان داره بعد یک ربع بوئی شبیه لیمو عمانی پیدا میکنه، یعنی یه جورهائی شبیه میتس امواج. نت پایانی خوبی که شامل رزین و صمغ لابدانوم هست، داره که کمی هم عودی، دودی هست

this opens with lime, neroli and incense. a little odd but not in a bad way at all. i like it. then i get a lot of labdanum. if i inhale deeply i get more of the cedar. the cedar, incense and labdanum get quite strong, it becomes a pure incense/resin on me that leans more trad. masculine. i get no gardenia here. it does remind me of avignon but is heavier. i like this but was really hoping for a strong gardenia/incense combo!

soapy, sharp, wearable incense with floral backbone. strong projection and sillage. not my favorite from the house, but the notes are pretty spot on, so if you like this DNA, you'll enjoy this. 8 hours wear, at least - this one sticks around for a while and settles quite nicely.

This fades very fast, under 30 minutes. I'm using a sample from their discovery kit. The amber element isn't very good. Normally, I go crazy for amber. The drydown is a bit soapy. Don't blind buy.

Testing this blind, it just never settled into something I'm impartial about and leans into something I just don't like. While the opening has a brief moment of interest, being a bit more bright, it settles into a musty (not musky) dry leather with a floral backend that just never finds its stride. I get the sense of myrrh or incense in here and looking at the notes now some things are explained. I wish the lime was more pronounced, and I get absolutely no coconut (not even sure I would want to either). I'm surprised the combination of notes leads to something that is reminiscent to me of tough cowboys from the 70s with no creativity, sense of humor, or somebody in their life with better taste. While it's longevity is commendable and there's a sense of quality, it smells like somebody I don't like. Like I walked into a conversation I'm not suppose to, leaving me feeling uncomfortable, with a sense of dread, and all out of sorts.

I purchased a sample of this. I was truly disappointed as I was really excited about a blend of gardenia and incense. Nope. While I can smell the Olibanum, the gardenia is absolutely nonexistent. I have actual gardenia enfleurage and compared them on strips because when I sampled it on my skin it was "where the hell is the gardenia?"; I had the same reaction to on the strip. My best description of this scent would be spray yourself with Heeley's Cardinal, then pour a tropical/tiki drink on yourself. The fruity notes were cloying and I found they didn't go well with the church incense vibe. It's a shame, I was so excited about this and really wanted to love it. :(

Wow, the labdanum really comes out swinging at first in this, but it quickly changes to have a lot of strange contrasts between fresh and resinous notes. I was hoping in trying this, that the sandalwood and resins would be a bit stronger, but alas that's not my experience. The resulting fragrance is just kind of weird - definitely not something I would want to wear/buy.

Clean, yet a little funky/skanky -- that might be the lime/coconut. The oily labdanum is more floral than I'm used to. It is a good example of incense/frankincense, but I don't necessarily enjoy it.

After a fresh, fleeting and sparkling opening of lemon and neroli in which I do not perceive the coconut, a predominant note of frankincense appears, not too heavy but resinous and with soapy hints. Honestly I don't perceive the floral heart of gardenia, which I think would add extra originality to the composition. It is a linear and cozy perfume to enjoy in the winter months. I like it but not enough to buy it since I have other options based on incense that are also nice and, perhaps, I like to wear more, for example Secretos de la Madrugá by the Spanish brand Tertia Sensu, very similar although more aromatic and with a somewhat more ecclesiastical incense. It has good projection and lasts more than 14 hours on my skin. If you find a scent that you love within the perfumes of this house, they do not disappoint at all in terms of performance. Scent 8/10 Duration 10/10 Sillage 7.5/10 Quality/price 5/10 Versatility 7/10 Packaging 7/10 Would I buy again? I did not buy it