Afrika Olifant

Do not let the listed notes scare you off, for Afrika-Olifant is anything but a blood-thirsty animal. It's a tamed, gentle, docile beast, misjudged by many from the distance. Even I was reluctant of approaching this creature, believing it would bite me harshly. But I was terribly wrong, and now I cannot stop coming back to it to pet it. Upon first spray, I get an addictive warm, ambery sweetness from the labdanum, accompanied by an ever-so beautiful blend of spicy and balsamic accords, with a bitter undertone, enveloped in light smokiness - all attributes of the unmatchable myrrh. The frankincense adds more to the warm, balsamic accords, while also unleashing a dominant resinous scent, which is just magnificent in combination with the rest of the ingredients. The ambergris further aids the ambery-warm section of the composition, while also bringing a musky accord somewhere in the background. Simply put, a delightful resinous-forward opening. You'd be inclined to believe that the dry down is where the beast starts growling and showing aggression. Notes like castoreum, civet, and oud are hardly beginner-friendly. But the intensity of these notes in Afrika-Olifant make it probably the best starting point for anyone discovering animalic fragrances. There's just a subtle animalic base, overpowered by the resinous, ambery, sweet opening. There's no sign of a fecal odor, which can sometimes accompany animalic notes and/or oud; all I get is warm, musky, and sweet animalic scent. Hardly any leather either (to my nose, at least), which is anyways rather difficult to point out on its own in a warm and sensual blend like this. Once the resinous sweetness from the opening begins to settle down, the base notes - civetone, muscenone, muscone, thibetone - offer a calming and soft finale. All of these brought together just make for a musky, warm finisher with an animalic tonality. To me, the way everything comes in play just evoke two words in my mind: elegant sensuality. Or, to keep the gentle beast metaphor alive: tamed animal. There are unfortunate downsides to owning such a creature, however. But these don't apply to most out there. The sample I obtained of Afrika-Olifant could be part of a bad batch, which would explain the rather disappointing performance I get on my skin compared to many others out there rating it highly in longevity and projection. So keep that in mind; I might be an unfortunate exception, either because of a bad batch or because of my skin chemistry. Nonetheless, I get about 6-7 hours of longevity at the very best, which is fine, but I do wish it extended to at least a solid 10 hours. For projection, it's decent for the first half an hour to an hour, sitting somewhere around 1 foot and a half to 2 feet of sillage. But after that, it rapidly declines, becoming a skin scent by the 3 hour mark. Quite disappointing, for I was very hopeful that I would get the expected performance here. Seems that "a gentle beast" fits as an even better description than I imagined. Yet again, if you were to judge Afrika-Olifant just by its note pyramid without actually trying it, you'd struggle to find a social occasion where you could confidently wear it. But well, things are turning out quite the other way around. I would wear Afrika-Olifant nearly anywhere, aside from leisurely or as a daily (money would be the problem, primarily). Sure enough, I'm speaking for myself here, for if you get better performance out of this one, its versatility could take a hit. Still, it won't make you smell like an animal, even with good projection, for the terms "gentle" and "tamed" many reviewers use refer to the understated animalic accord of the fragrance, and not necessarily to its soft projection. In my case, it applies to both. Afrika-Olifant rapidly made its way onto my wish list, and if it weren't for its poor overall performance on my skin, a full bottle would've been a priority. The dominant resinous and sweet aspects of it, with that tamed animalic base that added some depth overall, made me fall in love. It's smooth, it's sensual, it's delightful, contrasting an expected pungent, rough, barnyard odor if we were to judge just by its notes. So in conclusion, never judge an animal by its fierce, menacing aspect. It can turn out to be the exact opposite. Presentation: 9/10 Scent: 8/10 Longevity: 6/10 Projection: 5/10 Versatility: 7.5/10 Value for Money: 7/10 Overall: 7/10

Syrupy sweet. Mild with a large scent bubble. Slightly floral. Some people will call it animalic. But I do not know what the fuss is all about. It is a good scent if you are dressing up. And no, it does not remind me of any animal. Some people have very strange reactions here on fragrantica, " As soon as I learnt it has animalic notes, I started gagging". Another one on fragrantica said for a different fragrance, "This one smells like toilet soap, so I started gagging". These are apparently the people who gag for no apparent reason. Animalic notes does not mean it smells like animal or barnyard or animal excrement. Animalic notes in fragrances are often quite mild and smell gentle and sweet. This one is a mild fragrance which has a massive scent trail or sillage. It is very pleasant. But it is not very bold or masculine. I am a guy and I like it. But it can be worn by even a girl or a woman, especially when dressing up for an occasion. Edit: This smells like a light and airy banana chewing gum, if that makes sense. It is very light, sweet, somewhat fruity like a banana and reminds me of time when I was a kid and used to watch scooby doo. There is no animalic vibe but something comes in a while in small wafts, that smells like a dirty aromatic hair oil. But it is only secondary note and disappears soon. But the banana chewing gum vibe remains throughout. With a scent trail of pure sweetness. Edit on Jan 31, 2024: @machitidzeluka19 Did not even care to smell the fragrance. He looked up the notes; decided that the world should become vegan and then took it upon himself to dissuade the people from buying the fragrance. But the problem is, it has stopped projecting on me now in heavy winters. Even red tobacco, which I once hated because of its intensity, now projects mildly and I am loving red tobacco. On the other hand, this one doesn't project even for 5 mins now. My skin is usually cooler even in summers. That is why I can easily pull off winter fragrances even in summers. This plus I hate summer scents. All of them smell like some lemon, lime, some oceanic notes (I am not a sea person). I guess I need something stronger, like red tobacco or perhaps oud ispahan for winters.

Nishane has crafted one of the finest oriental fragrances that I've put my nose on with Afrika Olifant. This easily could have been so skanky and oppressively animalic with all of the animal notes and oud used, but the blending is so good that it really just comes off very refined and classy. First of all, AO is much muskier on my skin than leathery. The leather note is present, don't get me wrong, but not in the way that it is in Tuscan Leather or some of the classic 80s mens colognes, for example. The leather here acts more like a glue that holds the animalic notes together (with support from oud in this "glue" role). Many fragrances would use the leather + oud as the centrepiece in this kind of scent, so it's very interesting to see them used in this supporting role. I'm really surprised that more folks aren't talking about the intensity of the ambergris in this composition. To me, the real stars of Afrika Olifant are the ambergris and civet, with hints of castoreum peaking out from time to time; and the ambergris in this is so gorgeous and complex (which leads me to think that it is the real deal, rather than ambroxan), lending an exotic sweet/salty/aquatic facet to the fragrance. There is quite a bit going on with this one, but I really don't find it to be very challenging to wear, I can see how some folks could. Longevity with this is definitely beast mode, lasting over 12 hours on my skin, with projection being above average but nowhere near enough to choke out a room. Nishane really crushed it out of the park with this one, top shelf quality for quite a good price from discounters, very very addictive. Edit: Now that the weather has cooled down I’ve revisited AO, and the leather and castoreum are MUCH more prominent. Such wonderful blending that this is muskier on warmer days and more leather on cooler ones. In the cold this smells like a Middle Eastern shoe store run by beavers. One of the best fragrances money can buy, hands down. 10/10

Olifant Afrika opens with a warm, almost inviting scent reminiscent of burning incense. The myrrh and olibanum create this dark, warmth that still feels welcoming. Ambergris brings in its musky undertones, while labdanum quickly takes the spotlight with its leathery, slightly smoky feel. Altogether, the opening gives off this impression of leather being gently heated. As it transitions into the mid notes, castoreum intensifies the composition, blending well with the animalic civet. The leather here is so intricately woven with everything else that it’s hard to pinpoint its exact role it just exists, binding the elements together. The oud is beautifully done it’s not that stinky, pungent oud but rather adds a subtle woodiness to the blend. In the base, the synthetic civet carries over from the mid without any dramatic shift, supported by musk that simply amplifies and grounds the remaining notes rather than standing out on its own. I’ve seen someone saying that Olifant Afrika is trying to be a hardcore animalic leather fragrance, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. If that were the intention, the creator would’ve swapped out those warm resins like myrrh and olibanum for sharper contrasts something like citronella in the opening, cumin in the heart, and a proper Cambodian oud in place of the current oud not Assam oud, though, because that would result in something overly skanky. To me, Olifant Afrika comes across as a quietly confident beast. It doesn’t crave for attention but instead exists with calm, confidence. It’s charming without trying to be, and while it does have a sexual, slightly dirty undertone, it’s not some untouchable taboo more like an understated, intimate kind of lust. Definitely not for beginners. I don't add projection or longevity because I believe that this can be highly subjective. Depending on preference or skin type but sure I get 6 hours out of it.

Upon its initial spray you are met with Castoreum, which is used to create Afrika Olifant's Leather note. At the same time you're hit with a moderate dose of Civet. Its this combination that gives people the false illusion of an animal enclosure at a Zoo. ...and with its Leather & Civet opening you get a soft resinous spice from the combination of Myrrh & Olibanum along with an ambry sweetness coming from the Labdanum. But its more of a powdery amber than it is a syrupy amber. Theres also a Phantom Floral accord that smells like Jasmine. Not the indolic aspect of Jasmine. But rather, its pretty white floral character. The Oud here is soft, but you can smell it. It smells Earthy like wet soil & wood. The Musk note in the dry down gives the impression of clean soft white Kitten Fur, that over time transitions into a brown Lions Fur. The Castoreum creates the exact same Leather note thats used in Christian Dior's "Leather Oud" & "Oud Ispahan". Which smells like Raw Cowhide Leather. Not an Elephant. That being said Afrika Olifant would not at all be challenging to lovers of those two fragrances. What Afrika Olifant actually smells like is Nishane's answer to "Oud Ispahan", with a phantom note of white florals used in the place of Rose, & Myrrh & Olibanum used in the place of Cinnamon. Its a fragrance that smells beautiful in the air. Whether on warm Spring & Summer Nights or in the Cool Fall & Winter air. Projection is just slightly above average, but the Sillage trail is heavy, & this fragrance lasts on skin for well over 12 hours, & days on clothes. You take a name like "Afrika Olifant" & then people see the notes of Castoreum & Civet, & the hyperbole reviews flood Fragrantica, Basenotes, & YouTube. Theres nothing to fear with this fragrance. Especially if are an experienced collector. 10/10 Fragrance.