Oliban

Chic, urban incense. Oliban is a very elegant and understated fragrance. It's not at all a heavy church-incense, nor is it overtly aldehydic or a sweetened vanillic amber. It is a much more abstract concept. More perfumey than other niche incenses but nothing designer-like either. Balanced, lightweight, airy and versatile. The star player in Oliban is frankincense, but it is rendered in a way which is not as straight forward as one would think. The incense here is 60% waxy and 40% aromatic. It's rests on a base of an abstract and airy tobacco, outlined by an almost invisible ambergris. The bottle in the store had a prominent raspberry-rose side note which was lovely, but somhow not present in my bottle, or on my skin. The waxy feel of the incense is a bit unusual to me, it is sort of honeyed but without sweetness, it "reminds me of" - "without smelling like" beeswax. Oliban feels gentle and effortless. it never shouts, it's never a demanding wear. Perfect for those winter days when you put a nice coat on but you dont want to dress up too much, but you do want to smell sophisticated and elegant. Oliban references the sacred resin of Frankincense without taking you to church. It's an easy reach for the holidays when you need something inbetween those grand scents for the more important days. I really enjoy this little charmer!

I’m a sucker for anything with incense in it, regardless of its setting. Put incense together with the sensual, soft, rosy, plummy, honeyed woody base that Keiko Mecheri uses and the result is magic, at least for a little while. Oliban starts off with a strong, almost smoky olibanum, aka frankincense, accompanied by a sweet plum note. The first half hour had me convinced that I need a large decant of this perfume. As the drydown progresses, the scent starts to stick close to the skin. The incense notes fuse into the whole so that it becomes a skin scent in the best possible sense of the term. Somehow, many of Keiko Mecheri’s perfumes have a drydown that is exactly the way I would like my skin to smell - velvety soft suede, dewy rose petals, Japanese plums, musk that hovers just between clean and animalic, and just a touch of incense. This drydown phase lasts for a few hours, but at the end it transforms into a dry, soapy note, the dregs of the tobacco accord, and what I could swear is sandalwood. The sillage is moderate in the beginning and low toward the end. The whole progression from start to finish takes about 5-7 hours. I do like this perfume, but I would like it better if the opening lasted longer and if the drydown at the end were not so stark. I'll stick with my sample for now.

This may be my favorite incense fragrance ever. Perfectly unisex, slightly sweet, smoky and spicy, with great longevity and silage. Most importantly, it's not too "churchy", quite the feat given the heavy oliban. You can grasp something sacred,, but I don't feel like I'm sitting in mass! Nope - too sensuous for that! I definitely oversprayed but my husband isn't complaining. He said he could smell it on his shirt from when I hugged him and he loved it. Now my 6th Keiko, it has knocked Myrrhe et Merveilles out of the #1 position out of the ones I own from her collection. Never been so happy to see the cool weather coming!! EDIT 9/23/2023 - While still at the top of my favorite incense scents, it's been knocked off the top stop by Ford's cruelly discontinued "Sahara Noir". "Oliban" is a not so distant second.

Very much a rose-focused incense fragrance: half Russian Orthodox church; half Japanese tea house. Gorgeous opening and a very subtle, slow drydown, sending out waves of rose and woodsy scent with a soapy rather than cloying sweetness. Unfortunately this fragrance is overpriced and I had problems with Keiko Mecheri's US website. Having sent me a link to purchase a full bottle they repeatedly ignored my subsequent requests for a sample. Then I stumbled across the excellent KlipShop site (based I think in Lithuania) which offered a decant at a great price. Mmmmm ... this is very much a new Love.

Fantastic masculine/unisex woody and smoky rose. Warm, balanced, and attractive smell. Yum. Very smooth, soft, without any sharp edges. Perfect composition, simple but right to the point. The rose isn't obvious here, anyone can pull it off. Soft insence, woods (slightly sandalwood-y), a touch of tonka (for a warm fluffy feel), a touch of slightly salty ambergris. There's a considerable amount of cedarwood, which creates a masculine edge, however, Oliban might bloom on women's skin as well. I'd love if my significant other would wear it as his evening perfume. It's irresistible