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.

Hands down my favourite fragrance of all time! It has very high quality ingredients and the skill from the perfumer is very apparent. The scent mixes classy deep oriental notes of myrrh and smooth sweet resins complemented with gorgeous animalics like civetone, Oud and other musk molecules. It has a perfect contrast between classy, sophisticated and “dirty”, sexual animalic. The first hour or so you get the beautiful interplay of myrrh with its rich resinous and cherry cola facets, olibanum and labdanum coming through that are complemented by civet note. After that the fragrance starts to morph into a more deep, dark smoky, leathery oud that gives it great balance and contrast to the sweetness of the opening. It's impossible to do it justice by merely describing it, because I can't find words to properly describe all the beautiful nuance of this fragrance. It's also a very unique fragrance that is unlike others. The closest one that I have tried is Felino from Carner Barcelona, but it lacks the classiness, sweetness, nuance, complexity, refinement and darkness of Afrika-Olifant. It performs reasonably well for a fragrance and it behaves like and extrait de parfum, meaning that the projection is relatively subdued and it stays close to you (which isn’t a bad thing with this fragrance) but the longevity is easily 10+ hours depending on the skin type. I believe this would work well also on darker skin. This fragrance is easily a masterpiece and a classic, but it’s an acquired taste that will not appeal to everyone and may confuse certain people. It’s a fragrance that screams self-assuredness, sophistication, high status but also sexual nature. To wear this you would have to be dressed up and very confident and self-assured. Nishane please don’t discontinue this one! It would be a great mistake!

Afrika Olifant By Nishane is an animalic civet themed fragrance. Now dont let that scare you off because this is actually a very elegantly put together perfume. Top notes are a blast of ambery incense from the ambergris and labdanum et al. This fades quite fast, leading into the animalic castoreum and civet notes supported by a really nice leather and oud combo. All these notes are quite distinct and identifiable but somehow come together quite harmoniously so kudos to perfumer Jorge Lee. The base is pretty much a slightly powdery musk and civet as mentioned in the note list and is very pleasant and enjoyable. I personally feel sometimes the mistake perfumers make with civet themed perfumes is that they pair it with spice notes like cumin, caraway n nutmeg, taking the frag instantly into " The armpit of a sheep herder who has not bathed in a month territory" thus rendering it pretty much unwearable in any place with warm weather without being the recipient of rude comments from all who smell you. So thankfully, none of that here. To sum up, Afrika Olifant is a slightly powdery musky civet balanced out with oud and leather. Probably one of the easiest civets I have sniffed in a long time. It is the monsoon season here right now and I have no problem pulling this off on cooler days. Now does that make this a crowd pleaser and blind buy worthy? No, not really as this takes a bit of experience with ouds and civets to truly appreciate so someone purely into compliment magnet freshies wont really like it. I dont mean to sound snobbish but it is what it is. As always do sample and test if you can but if you are a seasoned traveller on the Oud roads, do yourself a favour and check this out. A civet/Oud done right. 8.5/10

Just blind bought this. Will update once it arrives. Update: it’s here. I will give my quick first impressions (from tester strip). This is incredible and not at all what I was expecting. It smells like a very rich and deep cherry cola with a sweet rubbery accord. I’m not getting many animalics at all, but it’s definitely not a conventional perfume which is why I can understand people who dislike this scent. Actually, scratch that. I do get animalics, but it’s not a fecal, cheesy, or pissy type of animalic to my nose. It smells like a wild Savannah where the grass is dry and fragrant and you can detect animals, but not in a way where it smells like an elephant pooped everywhere. Obviously this is a first impression on paper, but it’s rivaling amouage silver oud right now for my favorite dark animalic perfume. Im super excited to give this a bunch of wears! It’s been 10 or so minutes and when I smell it and close my eyes, it really does resemble an elephant enclosure. However, it still is more so of an animalic hay rather than a fecal animalic. Here is my review after wearing on skin: to most simply describe the smell of Nishane’s Afrika-Olifant, I would tell someone that it smells like the inside of a brand new shoebox, mixed with an amber cherry cola, and both of those are sitting in an elephant enclosure. Those are the three main aspects that I get from this perfume, and it’s incredible. I stand by what I said with my first impressions. It’s not animalic in a fecal or cheesy way, but rather in a dry hay/barn-ish way. This is gorgeously artistic and really well done. I’m wearing it with Amouage’s silver oud right now and I’ve been smelling my arms for hours and hours on end. 9.8/10.

When I purchased this perfume, I expected to experience something intense and pungent. I was half right and half wrong. correct part. Definitely heavy and dark. Rich and sensual. A unique and exclusive experience. And the wrong part... No, it doesn't stink, it smells far more classy and inviting than I imagined. This is not the smell of a zoo. Of course it doesn't smell like elephants. Very animalistic, but I imagine a soft, glossy, sharp-eyed black cat's fur. This perfume clings to the skin very well and stays for a long time. just a small amount is enough. I got a small spray bottle of 2ml but feel that even 1 push of that small spray is still too much. Like the old parfum vials, I want to dot it in just a tiny amount. It's very animalistic, so I think the market is for men, but I think it's also good for women. If this scent wafted from a woman, it would surely be very bewitching. At least, when I smell this scent on my own skin, I find it very musky, slightly sweet and sensual, and my husband felt the same. These are my impressions when I put it on my skin. Perhaps this is a perfume that is very skin-dependent. When I sprayed it on Mouette, it was just a pungent, aggressive, beastly scent. Anyway, this is a work of art in fragrance. I don't think I would use it on a daily basis, but it's a scent that should be experienced. P.S... Be careful not to use too much. I accidentally put on too much of this today and instead of a beautiful black cat a zoo appeared. Since the name of this perfume is Afrika Olifant, this may be the original scent of this perfume. But if you don't want to wear the scent of the zoo, I think you'd be better off just using this perfume sparingly.

I wanted to write a review later, after at least a day of wearing it, but I just can’t keep quiet! I’m in total LOVE. I can’t stop yelling about this beautiful frag. I thought I will never find anything for myself with close notes and vibes like my beloved Furyo, but I’ve accidentally bought a decant of Afrika Olifant, just to try it as the pyramid seemed perfect (most of my fav notes). And I got a pure masterpiece! It’s dark, thick, rich, masculine. Have you ever been to Egypt and visited those market streets? Not cheap junk shops, but serious antique stores. Castoreum isn’t truly natural as in vintage Furyo, of course, but it sounds as art anyway. I consider this frag the best leather frag so far. There’s rich camel leather oiled with myrrh, dark and occult. It’s the smell of far shelves in rarely visited store of ancient artefacts. It has sweetness, but it’s not mawkish nor sugary - just that occult oily and even a bit spicy. But I’ve found two minuses for myself: sillage isn’t great (I personally prefer it when the odour fills the whole room) and the bottle isn’t that mysterious and dark occult like the frag is itself. But I’ve just got a thought of buying a custom bottle to transfuse this perfection into it... Anyway, if you like “beast mode”, masculine frags or occult atmosphere or at least castoreum and myrrh are your fav notes - you won’t regret even blindbuying this art in a bottle.

This fragrance is just AMAZING!It is the beauty and it's the beast altogether morphed into a masterpiece concoction. I never should have liked a fragrance such as this. But it has got me mesmerized. This is an animalic scent. Even if you do not like animalic scents, you will end up appreciating this. You may not end up buying a bottle however still hold it in your highest regard. This is the type of animalic scent which just screams SEX with bold capital letters. It is not an office scent. And it is not a first date scent. This is basically a scent you wear when you want to send the olfactory message that you are down to F*ck hahaha. My apologies, I did not want to sound rude but this fragrance just brings it out hahaha. Let's say you are in a long term relationship or married for many years and your love life turned into a routine. You just have to one day spray this fragrance before your significant other returns back home, and they WILL KNOW what time it is!!! :-D I would say this is bolder masculine counter part of Salome Papillon Artisan Perfumes. While Salome is still sexy and classy with a mature teasing naughtiness to it. Afrika Olifant is right to the point, no beating around the bush force of sexy. Before I never quite understood why people pegged musk and animalic notes as sexy. However This one ( and also Salome) made me understand why.

Amazing! I love this smell! Many thanks to the Tommelise YouTube channel for making me hip to this masterpiece! And to Nishane in general! I received a decant and started cautiously by merely spraying one teensy spray on my wrist. At this amount, it actually smelled like some of the slightly skanky oud-rose combos I have. I’ve never smelled Leather Oud but this does resemble Oud Ispahan which I have sniffed...so I bet this has to be similar in general. It’s not listed but there’s gotta be some citrus and/or rose in there. When I moved to spraying two and a half sprays on my neck it was much stronger and such a fun experience. At the strongest, skankiest moments the smell reminded me of when I’ve heated propolis resin on an electric incense burner, with a kind of olive smell. That olive smell I’ve also noticed in a lot of Ajmal oud mulhallats as well (Shams and Lail O Lail). I actually feel that this is simply a nice oud perfume. A little edgy but not nearly as nasty as say Rasasi Jurrah or Ajmal Fatinah. Overall I’d say this smells like the slightly skankier western synthetic oud perfumes, plus nuances of pollen, olives, leather, and especially propolis...with citrusy freshness at the beginning. It’s sour but not bitter.

I am an older woman who exclusively dates younger men and I have found my perfect cougar fragrance! The dirty animal opening immediately puts me in the right headspace for prowling, and the oriental notes make me feel like a long-forgotten goddess of a remote jungle tribe. I have read so many of these reviews and the consensus seems to be that this a big, manly, "balls hangin low" kind of scent, but it never occurred to me that it could be for men--when I ordered the sample set I assumed they were all feminine or at least unisex. On me, it smells elegantly, mysteriously, dangerously feminine. I never wear it during the day esp not at work, but when I go out with it on I always get compliments. I've been on a perfume discovery journey for years, collecting hundreds of samples, learning about notes and formulations, keeping spreadsheets, and collecting feedback from anyone and everyone --and this is My New Scent. It is by far my favorite perfume ever and I would encourage more women (especially confident women who know they are sexy and are very comfortable in their own skin) to try it. It's filthy and naughty and powerful and wonderful

This is a very smooth fragrance, that wants to be very animalic, but it's not! The animalics here are tamed and restrained. The smoothness comes from the high quality resins used. By the way all the animalics in it are synthetic, as they want you to believe that they used natural civet since they list a synthetic civet, but that's not the case. Natural civet is way more potent and radiant, so all the notes here are synthetic. 🏭 Overall it's very smooth and musky, with an leathery undertone from the castoreum, and that carnal sexy aura from the animalic notes. Animalic notes bring that sexy carnal allure that awakens our basic instincts which are still primal despite how much we have evolved as a species. ✨🐆 Afrika Olifant tries to be a hardcore animalic leather fragrance like Hard Leather by Laurent Mazzone 👑, but instead it's a smooth fragrance with tamed animalics and a smooth leather accord which is supported by the leathery nuances of castoreum. 🦫 A video review is also available on my YT ▶️

#1438 in my "Tour de Fragrance" In a word: "delicious." Animalic and churchy at the same time. I love everything about this scent. Powerful olibanum, ambergris and myrrh combination that's leathery and woody, but comes off yummy with a sweetness akin to Amouage "Jubilation XXV". Absolutely right up my alley. I you like scents like Orto Parisi "Cuoium", Boadicea "Complex", Naomi Goodsir "Corpus Equus", this will be a "must have" for you. Certainly is for me. Long lasting, strong projection, with a sweet muskiness that makes it a good date scent, not something for business wear or in tight spaces. Wouldn't inflict this on the car pool or your fellow elevator passengers in an office building. It'll draw compliments for sure, but more than a minute or two in tight quarters it could get obnoxious. More a night time scent. I would probably wear this on dinner dates, especially outdoor dining.

Ignore the hate. But this isn’t for everyone. If you’re into real Ouds and musks, you’ll love this. If your nose has adjusted to those challenging openings, honestly this isn’t that challenging. Yes, to someone who is accustomed to designers and sweet and fresh niche scents this is like smelling Darth Vader. But if you’ve explored Amouage’s and the like, this will be up your street. There is a slight sweetness in it so that it doesn’t become overbearing. This doesn’t smell like Silver Oud but it has the same vibe. Silver Oud from Amouge has the same element. In fact Afrikan Olifant reminds me a lot of silver Oud. Dark, deep, anamalic and “challenging” to the uninitiated. I agree with the others that this may be the best from the house. I didn’t expect a scent like this from Nishane. But I’m glad they did it. Cold dark nights only. Batman would wear this. Not Bruce Wayne. Batman.

Wow. ..Was my first reaction to Afrika Olifant, not because it was the best smelling thing I ever sniffed but because of the combination of cloyingness with a blast of animalic notes in the opening. Its dark, bold, and so daring. I would say its a polarizing scent. I happen to love it! As it dries down a fruity note is very detectable mixed with leather, myrhh and incense. Incense not listed but I smell it in there dude. Very long lasting and really good projection! I would wear this anytime of year but it is definitely suited for fall and winter. Spring ...you can easily pull this off. Overall I think that a person that has the right skin chemistry will love this as much as I do, as well as the right personality. A must try if you like a daring niche scent.

I don't find this faecal or stinky, it's more like a cosy exotic barnyard, warm, damp hay, animals, some honey and a teensy touch of something floral in the dry down, and most of all RESINS! For me this is an incense perfume. I find it easy to wear but then my bar is already low as I have loads of really stinky perfumes, pure oud oils, etc. I don't find anything that difficult to wear except badly made shite. This is becoming a firm favourite. It feels like a distant cousin of Absolue Pour le Soir to me. Update: wearing it on a chilly December day, it's incredible. I do smell like a farmyard, and it is a soup of synthetic animalics, but it's dosed and balanced perfectly so as not to be obnoxious, cloying or too loud. The best perfume from this house IMO.

God I love this frag so much. I cannot get enough! I keep smelling myself to catch a good whiff. It’s one of those. My mom also fell in love and stole my bottle. My two younger sisters however do not care for it. My other sister is on the fence but thinks it’s nice. Says it reminds her of Chanel no 5. I don’t particularly notice a resemblance, but possibly picking up the animalic aspect. To me, it opens with a full-bodied sharp frankincense and resinous amber, with civet and castoreum beautifully following. It’s a cozy, warm, inviting kind of vibe. Yes it’s bold, but I don’t find it suffocating or overwhelming. Not a safe blind buy - I discovered this in a sample set on surrendertochance and was captivated. Immediately got a FB. Love love love!

The note pyramid had me expecting something pretty raunchy but it turns out that Afrika Olifant is dirty in a polite and wearable way. The first half hour is the best and most interesting part. The varied notes mentioned above all seem to explode out at once: a little leather, something ambery sweet, a touch of parched oud, and soft animalic purrs and growls float about and all play together nicely. On one hand it's instantly recognizeable as animal and, on the other, it just registers as something delicious and earthy. It dries down to the very same dry oud scent as Amouage Opus V, however this one less intense. I would not complain if I got this for Christmas. It's a sexy beast that is also cute as a button. 4 out of 5.

A unique fall / winter fragrance with excellent projection and performance. I've never quite smelt anything like this, and came across it only when the folks at Twisted Lilly sent me a free sample with my order of Hacivat (the Aventus killer). EDIT: bought a bottle and have been wearing it for the past few weeks. Put simply, this is superlative. It's a dirty, daring frag - full of civet, musk and frankincense (with just a hint of leather) - in the same vein as a Kouros or Antaeus, but less sweet and powdery and more audacious (and this is coming from a Kouros devotee). If you're willing to pivot away from the safe winter frags (Tuscan Leather and the like), this one should definitely be on your short list! 10/10

Do NOT! Buy this if you’re in anyway new to fragrance. Do NOT! Buy this if you want compliments. And absolutely NEVER buy this if you don’t like animalic fragrances. This fragrance is a work of art. Soft frankincense and myrrh open as sweet and sticky laudanum comes in through connecting with a heart of Castorium and a black smooth leather. The leather is tangible and rich like a high quality jacket you can smell the bumps in the surface of it as if you’re gliding your hand across it. Civet and castorium come in and add a raunchy dirty scent while at the same time being sophisticated and refined. 8.5/10 don’t buy it. Seriously if you’re not a pretentious wanker like myself you will hate it.

This a very smooth resinous leathery fragrance with soft tamed animalic nuances. It has that unmistakable carnal animalic aura that is present during sex which is why most animalic fragrances are described as "sexy" and "carnal". Definitely a masterpiece and a must-have if you appreciate niche fragrances. I personally wish it was much more animalic as the animalic notes here are very tame and play more of a supporting role than the main role. They support the main resinous leathery aura of the scent profile. I ended up buying 3 bottles of it since performance is weak and you must overspray to get the full aura. A video review is also available on my YT ▶️

Whew! This is a boss man scent right here! No, this fragrance is going to get you loads of compliments. No, this fragrance is going to pick up all the ladies (except for the boss women). Wearing this fragrance lets everyone around you know that you are the one who carries the big stick. When someone around you catches a whiff of this, they may wrinkle their nose at first, but there is something alluring about this that will make them want to come back for more. You wear this there isn't anybody going to smell remotely like you. This is a fantastic fragrance, dare I say masterpiece. I will own a full bottle of this in the near future.

I've been one of the lucky ones to try Afrika Olifant on my skin and all I can say is hands down. Nishane have managed to craft something that I can only describe as animally beautiful, indeed the animalic smell is there but mixed in a way that far from being offensive is truly appealing, in fact my girlfriend told me this one is her favourite from all the fragances from Nishane I've tried (being all of them very unique and special: Spice Bazaar, Sultan Vetiver, Suede et Safran) and I must confess that wearing Afrika Olifant feels so warm, nice and elegant (maybe like having a second furry skin covering mine?)

I’ve owned Afrika Olifant for a couple of months now, and it’s climbed up in my ranking of animalic perfumes (and perfumes in general). Rubbery, DR. Pepper fizziness, resinous sweetness, and, of course, that animalic funk that can be described as the funk of an elephant enclosure from the Zoo. It’s really gorgeous, and although it’s not the easiest wear, it’s surprisingly tame in the air. Being an extrait, I don’t think the projection is too wild either. Afrika Olifant is the perfect perfume for animalic lovers who need a more “animalic daily wear” if that’s a thing. 9.7/10, super slept on

“Love” emoji is not enough to describe this. This is -love- plain and lowercase as basal as it sounds. An unrequested universal unspoken love. The love i have inside for nature and for Earth itself. love and above all respect. This is not for being sexy, for impacting socially, for some kind of errand or affair. This is for ME. The smell of my deepest purest feelings for being alive. Omfg. Also smells a bit like sweetened black olives?? But who cares! Feelings and feeling supreme and part of everything that is holy can be goofy like that. But at least they are and were REAL.

Safari Kouros. Take kouros and imagine that in a "deep afrika nature" way, Or imagine you in deep india wearing kouros while ridin a elephant lol, you lost the flowers and soap clean vibe, but you still have the incense-leather-wood thing. Very high quality juice and very wearable if you like the genre, longlasting 12+hrs, moderate 6/10 projection; 100% for man, sex panther from anchorman lol; Pricey. is it worth it? maybe yes but kouros cost 3+ time less so make your sample before buy because, even if theyre not similar or have same DNA, they can be redundat in some aspects

I was flying from the sabiha gokcen airport in turkey and i smelt a few fragrances ther and tjis was the one i got, its definetly not that easy of a wear but holy cow this is good. it opens up very ambergris heavy but the dry down is what i really liked, the drydown is very musky with dried fruits and castoreum with a slight sweetness from tje dried fruits, most fragrances with a leather accord are either headache inducing or is doing too much but the leather in this is gorgeous, 10/10 once in a lifetime fragrance 🔥💯

I'll make it simple. 1. No, it's not like Dior's Leather Oud 2. Yes, it's animalic. Clear as day skanky close to the cage Zoo smell. 3. Yes, it's leathery but not overwhelming. 4. It's really really greatly blended 5. All things related to performance are great. 6. It's only wearable it you have the confidence to wear it. If you are shy to leave that animalic leathery trail it will not be useful. 7. Only blind buy worthy if you are a fan of animalics, otherwise it might be a shock. Cheers.

First of all, ignore all the nonsense about this being fecal and nasty smelling. The people making those claims have serious hygenic issues and don't know it. This is a very smooth ambery scent with what animalic there is, being musky and well blended into the myrhh and frankensense. This stuff smells ancient. I could imagine smelling this over 3,000 years ago on a Pharoah or used as some annointing oil in some exotic temple. I love it.

As a helpful reference for those interested, once the (Kouros/Antaeus-style) opening settles down after a few minutes, this is a lot closer to Cuir Cannage than it is Leather Oud. I'm not really sure why Leather Oud is even so high up on the "Reminds me of" list. Also, so long as you are responsible on the sprayer, it's not offensively animalic by any stretch of the imagination. It's a very refined fragrance without many sharp edges.

It smells exactly like I expected it to by it's name, kind of what I'd expect elephants on safari to smell like, a bit fecal animalistic. Didn't last long on my skin, turned into a sweet skin scent rather quickly like a lot of fragrances, but as they say.. things aren't beautiful because they last. Update: actually much longer lasting than initially thought and never turned sweet on me again, I take it all back..i love you

Best expression of animalic and leather I have tried. I think this is a master perfumer's work because not only is each stage of opening, heart and drydown smoothly transitioning, each stage also carries the right expectations for the theme of African elephants. This is likely a beautifully written migration story. Supremely satisfying through and through. Also, try this on skin. On paper, it smells like elephant dung.

My experience is so vastly different... The top comes off as a screechy wet Comet scouring powder. Then it falls into a combo carburetor cleaner-grease-petrol and new vinyl upholstery. A sooty garage floor. There's a wax there as well. Every once and a while a whisper of the mechanic swings in. It's kinda sexy. It is unusual enough for me to quite like it. I don't wear scents for anyone other than myself, so it works.

Stinky as fuck I love it. it’s what I paid for there’s a minority of people that pretend this is only a mild animalic I disagree to me nose it’s pretty stinky. Not particularly fecal or urinious but nonetheless animalic. Few people here comparing this to kourous has literally 0 resemblance kourous is child’s play compared to this unlike what other people say the stank here is not subtle it’s in your face

Opens up like a diaper that got shit in, in a northern European forest + dark resins. Knocks me in the face everytime despite loving it. Drydown is sexy civet and resins + hint of hairy chested castoreum. Overall smells like dark resins, hot skin, sex with your girlfriend from behind and magic. Longevity is 18 hours with heavy sillage and trail, but projection isn't beastly, as far as I can tell. 9.5/10

Get a foxy New World grape note with some animalic and sweetness. Like it but on reflection very fruity. Leather like a dusty elephant. Reminds me of being on the savannah plane in Africa with all the notes present. Like it. Reflection on drydown an animalic dusty, dusky drydown with some spicy peppery notes. An African savannah journey as I can only imagine should be. Beautiful scent experience.

I was sceptical when I read the notes to this one but I had to try it out! Got myself a sample and I genuinely believed I wouldn’t like it. Sprayed it on and boom! I might be in love. I might need to rethink what I actually want in a fragrance. I might need to get a full bottle. This smells dangerous. This is art. It makes me want to think, contemplate. I love it.

This one is a masculine fragrance which may be a little ‘odd’ at first, but the dry down is amazing. It radiates confidence and class. There is a persistent spicy waft that radiates every now and again. I used it in small doses, so it only lasted a few hours on the skin. However, it still smells on my shirt. I highly recommend this. Rating: 9/10

This is super strong, dark, sweet and elegant fragrance. It feels like able to penetrate glass bottle, but on the skin this beast appear to be gentle and elegant. Real dark African elephant! On the skin it plays complicated game for several hours, then lasts forever as an expensive cigar smell. Amazing value, amazing creation.

I have ridden all three recognized species of elephants--and while I can confirm that this scent does not smell any of them--I would certainly not wear this scent while riding one. This is an amazing animalic and pungent scent. I wouldn't wear this one to the polo club either.

That’s a veeeery powerful incense scent with lots of animalic nuances. Beautiful though! I like how it blends into this slightly sour musky scent with a lot of soft yet slightly skunky undertones. Actually it’s quite a sensual scent! My ig: scent.guide

This is quite a stunning perfume, very animalic and fairly sharp with lots of musky, leathery and resinous beauty: long lasting ambergris, olibanum, oud, castoreum and civet. It feels very natural and carnal, and slightly but not too dirty :)

Love it ! Besides what most are loving about this beautiful fragrance, I so appreciate the NISHANE DNA I smell in this as well most other compositions by the House of Nishane Istanbul. Great work ! Works very well on cold days

Very difficult to describe the smell of this beast of a frag. It reminds me of Amouage Interlude. I most definitely encourage anyone to purchase this one.

provider : so how many animalic elements you want to include in AO? Jorge Lee: . yes. Ps n: I love it !

Anyone knows what's the difference between the gold label (Cape Town) and silver label ( Istanbul)?

True masterpiece! Not for the faint of heart! Do check the notes before blindbuy lol

Exactly as advertised. Beautiful, animalic, dark, warm, sophisticated. Love.