Oliban

#1397 in my "Tour de Fragrance" The Orthodox Church sanctifies its spaces by burning frankincense, symbolizing prayers rising to God. This is that level of olibanum. Wildly strong, with some wood behind it, but the olibanum is so overwhelming you can barely pick out the sandalwood. I got this as a decant from ScentSplit, and I expected it to be churchy, but I wasn't expecting this. I am definitely ordering a full bottle (this goes for between $130-$150 fro 100 ml), but I will probably use this for layering and not by itself. In that aspect it's like Reminiscence "Oud" which is so oudy I will not wear it by itself. I have many scents chosen for strong olibanum and sandalwood notes: Xerjoff "Shunkoin", Paco Rabanne "Invictus Victory Absolu", Abdul Samad Al Qurashi "Safari Extreme", Carolina Herrera "CH Pasion for Him", Montale "Bakhoor", Issey Miyake "Nuit d'Issey Pulse of the Night", S.T. Dupont "Noble Wood", Lubin "Idole" Nicolai Parfumeur Createur "Sacrebleu Intense", Risala "Special Blend." None approach this level of olibanum potency and projection. I'm told many Spirit of Dubai scents have very potent olibanum notes, but I will probably never be willing to spend $500-$1000 for any scent, no matter how amazing. But this stuff. Even if you hate it you should get a decant just to experience it. Absolutely not safe for tight spaces. I'd wear this for an outdoor dinner date. Go easy. Lasts all day.

Phaedon was a native from old Greece. Young man, he was taken prisoner during the battle between Sparta and Elis. While serving the meal in the house of his master, he answered to a question from Sócrate, who bought and made him his disciple. A scent hunter and collector of memories, Phaedon built simple and beautiful fragrances, through notes collected on his travels, such as Freesia from South Africa, Woody incense from Awaji, peppers from Egypt, essence of Malaga from Andalusia, etc. Grisens is a cologne with an extremely natural content, which transmits the feeling of a pure perfume made in the oldest perfumery standard, when were used only natural ingredients and the fragrances “resting" inside tanks/bottles, until becoming relics. There's not much mystery or complexity in its creation, since it is a very linear scent. It is, from the beginning to the end, incense. Its notes are incense, sandalwood and wood. But the incense dominates! It’s a trip to a spiritual ritual – whatever is your religion – surrounded by many incenses on all sides. But it is a less "smoky" incense than some that I have already felt. It’s definitely established in the territory of unisex fragrances and, I believe, should not vary if used by women. I just avoid excess, in their case. Median/low projection with long lasting. Made for incense lovers.

This fragrance has very strong spicy and woody notes. Although it's unisex, I prefer this on a man. Frederic Malle Monsieur is very similar though I think Oliban smells a touch more bitter. Great longevity!

Like smelling burning wood on stone from far away. Dark, but curious enough to sniff the air and step toward it. Inviting, natural, and sticky with spice. Nights of winter, ashes from incense.

A very nice incense fragrance but quite simple. How can you go wrong with incense, wood and sandalwood though. Good longevity and sillage.

i don't understand this perfume at all the only thing i get is strong alcohol that turns into BO edit after an hour: ok i love this fuck

Absolutely wonderful, linear incense/woody fragrance, lasted on me just fine (~6 hours) Creamy, resinous, rich balmy texture

This is straight-up Palo Santo smoke. I only wish it would last more!

Creamy sandalwood and soft resin incense - not churchy. Nice and light, quite simple. I think this would be good on anyone, and it feels just right for fall but would work year-round. Extremely short-lived, which is disappointing.

Incense and wood. Interesting because the woods used, unlike for example in Dior Homme, are warm, not chilly as Jude Law's eyes. Lasts about four hours on my skin.

First Impressions: A very promising rich, smooth, smokey frag but as it dries down the Iso E Super is the main thing I notice when I get wiffs.

It smells a lot like Palo Santo smoke, but unfortunately my nose is picking some pickles scent on top of it.

Testing Phaedon GRISENS essentially blind, with no knowledge even of the house's name (my sample vial indicated only "Grisens"), I first detected citrus, then vetiver, then a kind of vague greenishness. After a few minutes, the incense quality of this composition settled in, and I felt that there was some sort of blanketing base--musk? labdanum? a combination of the two?--to which the incense became attached. It smells rather nice to my nose and also has a kind of comfort scent effect. GRISENS is primarily an incense perfume, but I think that its texture is less dry than most of the others I've tried, and I do not believe that the notes listed above are complete. I find this composition to be slightly more masculine than feminine, but it's definitely still firmly situated in unisex territory and worthy of testing by any incense or woody perfume lover.

Anytime I see a new straight-forward incense composition I get so excited but I've to say that Grisens left me somehow unsatisfied. If you're already familiar with fragrances such as Josef Statkus EDP, Herve Domar Diamant Noire and Dior's Mitzah (yes, I said it), there's nothing new to experience here. Grisens is a straight-forward incense/sandalwood/cedarwood compositiion with the addition of a subtle minty hint on top. Less sweet than the Herve Domar, more minimalistic than both Mitzah and the Josef Statkus but overall it still results like a starving to death love son of the aforementioned fragrances... Close to the skin, weak lasting power. Nice but without the ability to stand out in this crowded territory. Rating: 6.5/10

This is one of the fragrances I am currently sampling from a discovery set. It is yet another fragrance from the set which surprise me a bit as my subscription was aimed to include fragrances for HER. And this fragrance by all means is very beautiful frankincense, strongly masculine especially in the dry down. It is obviously not for me, however I am sure that hubs would love it. If you are after classical incense/sandalwood/woodsy aroma go for it. Everything is very well blended. Someone below mentions E super, I can not find even a trace of it. Yep, overall very pleasant fragrance, nothing in it to be disliked.

This is a dry, woody and masculine incense perfume of little interest. Maybe if it weren't quit so hot today I would get more subtlety but as it is it's very linear and the vetiver adds a soapy green note to the incense which I'm not enjoying.