Ian

[kakiphony]

Y’know, for a zombie, you’re alright. A flicker of hero worship, tempered by naivety and an innately kind nature: shaggy leather, sweet rum absolute, and patchouli.

In the decanted imp: High, sweet, and boozy. It's not exactly straight-up rum -- there's something woodsy under it and maybe a little wet leather -- but the sweet booze is definitely dominant.
Wet on skin: Immediately less high and sweet, and more rounded than it was in the imp. The leather is actually the immediate top note on me, and it's a wet, slick leather rather than the old/dry/rubbed down leather I often get from other bpal leather scents. This is more an Wilson's Leather Shop in the mall than a worn leather jacket. The booze is still very present, and now it's very much rum as the sweetness it lends is very sugar-like (this is dark rum, not white rum, but not spiced rum...)
Early dry down (about 20 minutes): This is an early morpher and it starts to dry down and become a skin scent very quickly. After about 20 minutes the leather has settled down and mellowed out so that it's becoming that worn leather jacket (brown, not black, and the liner is long gone, so the unfinished inside flakes off on sweaters), and the booze is mellowing to become less about booze and more about sweetness. The patchouli is underneath it all at the heart, and it seems to be my favorite type of patchouli -- the one that turns into a cross between spicy cookies and the inside of a cedar chest on me.
Late dry down (1 hour+): Most of the changing Ian did happened very early on my skin. After an hour, it's very similar to how it was after 20 minutes, just a little fainter and closer to my skin. A dry, woody patchouli heart rounded out and sweetened by top notes of worn leather and a little sweet booze. It's the perfect character scent. You can absolutely imagine a sweet, shaggy guy who has been wearing the same leather jacket for years (which has had more than one drink spilled on it and spent its off-days balled up in an incense filled apartment) smelling like this.
Final verdict: What strikes me most about this scent is how playful it is. It's not deep dark and masculine (which leather and patchouli could easily be!), but rather light-hearted and a little sweet, but with a deep heart.

A few weeks ago, the people who live next-door to my 3-year-old nephew cut down a bunch of trees. He salvaged slices of the stumps and has been playing with them in his play structure/fort. He pretends they are bread and makes me "sandwiches" that are apparently composed of chocolate syrup, blueberries and catsup. There is something about this scent that reminds me of being up in the fort with him and eating those imaginary sandwiches. It's a little dirty, with wood and bugs and boy, but also sweet and innocent and joyful. Winner. I suspect that, long term, I'll love This Is Your Wilderness more because it's going to age so well, but this is an immediate use love.

Reminds me of: Mary Read (but this is lighter), Jolly Roger

[zankoku_zen]

Ian is a giant hit of rum and soft brown leather, and sweet patchouli.

 

Do you see where I am going with this?

 

It's a rum version of Badgers/Hellhound on the Trail but manly.

 

So you Badgers/Hellhound fans, show up and show Ian some love.

[tinyvulture]

In the vial, it's leather and butterscotch! (Well, actually it's rum. My nose confuses rum with butterscotch often, like in Baron Samedi.) Very faint patchouli...mostly weathered, dusty leather mixed with a sweet, buttery rum. Very appealing, this Ian. Over time, the other notes fade out and it's mainly leather.

[hieromante]

This one doesn't work on me, at least not yet. It has a bit of a wintergreeny cast and I can't abide wintergreen, even if it's not really there. Sooo...I dunno! I'm likely to trade this one off to someone who can lurve it if it doesn't shape up.

Edited August 2, 2014 by hieromante

[Allumina]

Ian you are delicious and I'm so glad I snagged an imp. Leather mixed with sweet, yummy booze. At first I got a lot of strong leather, but it fades into a close skin scent dominated by the sweet booze with a hint of leather. I want to roll in this stuff.

 

This reminded me a lot of Goblin, but with leather instead of patch.

[porcelina]

i can't stop sniffing; ian is so intriguing. i love the leather and rum combination, omg. this kind of rum note does not often work on me and can be kind of weird and foodie BUT i think the patchouli here is helpfully stopping that from happening! so instead i have a delicious leather note with a big hit of sweet rum and quietly earthy patchouli. mmmm.

[Alistair miles]

Ian starts as a butterscotch candy the quickly morphs into a sexy mix of leather and patchouli with a hint of sweetness. I absolutely love it.

[miamaslegi]

171: IAN
Only Lovers Left Alive
"Y’know, for a zombie, you’re alright. A flicker of hero worship, tempered by naivety and an innately kind nature: shaggy leather, sweet rum absolute, and patchouli."

In bottle: Sweet, sweet rum with a hint of leather. No patch in sight.

Wet: Starts out with a shot of sweet, buttery rum (which I like a LOT). A soft, worn, brown leather is hiding just underneath with only the faintest breath of a gentle, non-dirty patchouli.

Dry Down: The sweetness of the rum is backing off a bit with the leather coming more to the forefront. The patch is coming out, too. It's more herbal - almost medicinal - to my nose that a real down-and-dirty funky patch.

Dry: The rum has burned off completely and the patch has gone into hiding. This is now pure leather on me. I like leather, but I also like rum and I wish it would've stuck around a bit to sweeten things up.

Final Thoughts: I will test this again when it's not shark week (and I'm not 40% sick) and I will also try this on the man-thing. At the moment, this is straight-up leather. While that's not a bad thing at all, it's not an amazingly extra-spectacular thing, either. I'll definitely hang on to my bottle, though.
3.5/5

Edited September 5, 2014 by miamaslegi

[Anne M.69]

Weirdly I get no rum or leather out of this, wet the top note on my skin is pure almond kernel with vanilla and patchouli underneath, after 3 hours it's perfumey patch, and now after 8 hours it's faint vanillaish patchouli.

Hopefully it will age into something closer to the description.

[milo]

Strong, soft brown leather at first, fades pretty quickly into a muted patch. I don't get any rum:( This doesn't last on me, and it's too masculine for me to wear. I'd like to smell it on a guy, and hope that it would last longer on them than me.

[brilliantcat]

In the bottle it's leather leather leather and the rum is interacting in such a way that it smells licorice-y and vaguely burnt o.O I cannot adequately express how bad this blend reacts with my skin, though. In theory, it should be perfect as it has three excellent notes on me. The reality smells like a charred, rotting zombie who's rolled in dust, imbibed large quantities of spiced rum and spilled it liberally on himself, and eaten black licorice. I don't even... I feel terrible criticizing one of Beth's creations so harshly, but it really, really didn't work on me. Thankfully for every one that smells like dirty burnt butterscotch and licorice zombie, there's twenty that smell so good I can't even begin to explain how wonderful they are, except that they make me happier than unicorn glitter farts and chocolate. And that's pretty happy.

[doublehelix]

In then bottle! It smells straight of rum, and reminds me of my beloved Jolly Roger. Wet, it is an interesting mingle between the patchouli and rum, as it continues to try it reminds me of all sorts licorice (you know the ones with the strange coloured middles that have their own distinct flavor?). This is definitely very masculine, but paired with a dark, work leather jacket this would be so beautiful. My husband denies smelling any sweet licorice on me, but stares he his bad will identifying smells.

 

Oooh, as it continues to dry, the sweet licorice leads into a more of a sweet, woodsy patchouli, and the worn leather comes out a bit more. This is definitely sexy, and depending on your personality and style I would say it can be worn unisex.

[Atrous]

Just realized that I forgot to review Ian.

 

Starts out sweet with a big hit of rum. I'm getting the butterscotch thing others have mentioned.

On the drydown leather comes out front. Not new leather. This leather's worn and been battered around. The rum and leather hit a nice stride where they are working well together. Patchouli grounds Ian and gives it a gritty, woodsy vibe. Like many of the OLLAs I'm really loving this.

Medium throw and lasted all day.

[Avery]

This is one I'm hanging on to for aging purposes. I've made the mistake too many times of swapping off something that's "lab fresh" only to realize later that all it needed was some aging (I'm looking at you, Snake Charmer). Ian definitely has potential. I tend to veer more towards the "masculine" blends (Tombstone, Mad Sweeney, Velvet Bandito are my three favorites) but some manly blends are, indeed, too manly for me (ex: Dee!). Ian might be in the latter category.

 

Fresh from the lab it's intensely leather plus the butterscotchy rum that others have mentioned. Together they make an intriguing, yet moderately nauseating, combination. Really, hate to say it but my stomach was a bit churned up after putting it on. That feeling stuck around for hours. I persevered, though, as when I sniffed my wrist I got something that still smelled pretty good. It definitely has lasting power.

So. I can't say much more than that, at this point, but am going to shelve Ian and come back in a year. Happy aging, Ian!!

[grnwoodtree]

This is a perfect leather scent...nothing overpowers another, and although the leather amped initially, on drydown, the sweet rum/caramel notes are blending wonderfully. At first it was like leather dipped in butterscotch...but now the patch is also peeking through.

 

After 5 minutes, the leather has taken control again. Although I adore this leather note, I wish it wouldnt take over the other notes like this.

[verystarry]

I have to give all of my love to Ian. He is my favorite. I literally smell each of the notes in equal measure. To me, this smells exactly like Ian borrowed Adam's leather jacket on a night, and we went out and got drunk on rum. When I woke up the next day, I smelled of his patchouli perfume, the remnants of booze and still wearing his leather jacket (borrowed of course from Adam). It's just my favorite thing. So comforting and sexy. When I watch the movie and see Ian, this scent is 100% captured.

[Blood onmy hands]

I love this and am very happy to have a bottle. Ian is mostly leather on my skin, and it's a warm, well-worn, slightly dusty, cozy sort of leather to my nose. The rum is present, but doesn't smell overly boozy or sickly sweet for once. It's like a hint of almond liqueur on my skin that adds just a pleasant touch of sweetness. Patchouli adds a warm earthiness in the drydown after a couple hours. But mostly this is a gorgeous leather fragrance.

[LizziesLuck]

Leather is one of those notes that I am still exploring. I know white like in Paladin is TERRIBLE on me. Black leather, like in Whip, is awesome. Since I already know I love rum and like patchouli, I figured this would be a good blend to explore leather some more.

 

 

Wet: The throw is all horrid chemically leather, the way Eldritch Dark was on me (that blend was a heart breaker, all the other notes were favourites). Nose to skin though, this is gorgeous sweet rum, with hints of earthy patch. The leather almost isn't present, except in a sort of worn, blurred around the edges, way. The throw has gotten much better, I think the chemical smell sort of burned off when it hit my skin. It was nasty for a minute, but is very pleasant now.

 

 

Dry: The rum has gone sort of dusty on me, which happens with some gourmand type notes, but has never happened with rum before. All the sweetness is gone (and it went quickly). There isn't even much patch left. This is just a faint, dusty smell on my arm. AND THEN the leather comes back. It's ok. Not as good as that black leather in Whip that I enjoy so much. This is a fail on me. Not a horrendous one, but a fail nonetheless. I have learned that leather is likely one of those notes that I will rarely like when it is a dominant note. I think Whip must be an exception.

[whisperstilled]

If it says leather in the notes, I'm probably going to try it at some point. Ian is the second OLLA bottle in my collection and part of a gotta catch 'em all quest due to my general obsession with this movie. Rum and leather? Wild vampiric sisters couldn't keep me away from this one!

 

In Bottle: Rum, cool leather, and something almost fruity. A flicker of patchouli, but not overpowering, which is a good sign, I'm not a fan.

 

Wet: Rum and the leather has faded to the background. I could swear I could smell cherries. So far this is reminding me of Gothabilly more than anything else. Must be the 'alcohol' quality, but I smell cherry liqeur when wet. It's almost sugary, with just a whiff of leather. This is not at all what I was expecting.

 

Drying: Now the hemp is coming out, and the leather is moving to the fore again. Sweet herbs and leather. There is a distinctly green and pulpy quality to this, like a rum-soused cowboy who's been rolling in the grass, long in the saddle. I am loving this way more than I expected to.

 

Dry: Rum, pulpy green sweet hemp, and leather with a dash of patchouli. This absolutely smells like a musician. I don't know if I'll wear it all the time, but this is like no other leather scent in my collection, and it's a definite keeper.

Edited July 16, 2016 by Whisperstilled

[annemathematics]

how did I not review this? I broke my "no backups" rule for this guy!

 

maybe because although I do love it, it's hard for me to describe the scent. Ian has some sweetness and brightness--I'm guessing from the rum. it's not a scent that will make you smell like hard alcohol or a bar, despite the presence of rum. much like the character inspiring the scent, this is however very "drinkable." bright sweet and juicy at the top; dark rich and snuggly at its heart and core. very much a blend where the notes all contribute and nothing stands out.

 

for about the first year or so, Ian was a modest scent, offering a feeling of coziness for few hours before disappearing into my skin. recently I broke out my bottle (this is one of my comfort scents; lately I've needed all the comforting crutches I can get!) and Ian has grown into a powerful beautiful beast with strong throw and now he's lingering on my skin until the morning after. so much for Ian and the OLLAs.

[Bassmastadroog]

I loved the sound of the notes- but every time I sniffed the bottle I couldn't get a feel for the right time to test it since it screamed of aggressive leather!

 

As said- in the bottle, leather. Black jacket leather- and I love. Nothing medicinal about it- just very well worn in. The same leather as in Snake Skin.

 

Like with Snake Skin, the sweetness of the bay rum (in Snake Skin, the Snake Oil) creates a worn, as others have said- cozy, feel. The patchouli tousles it slightly, so the result being if you flopped down on a couch at a party, right next to a young man with longish hair and a worn leather jacket, with the sweetest rum on his breath. It's got a skin type reminiscence too. This is a beautiful blend.

 

I will say this for the OLLAs...they smell like the PEOPLE. They really smell like who they represent. Incredible.

[Aveya]

Source: Decant circle!

Preconception: I tend to love soft leathers (Dee, my darling). But assume it won't work on me and I'll have to slather my husband with this randomly.

 

Imp: BOOZE and a little leather.

Skin: ... What on earth, why does this smell like fruit? This combo is killer. It's also bizarre. It smells juicy - almost like a fruit. Leather fruit? A new kind of Zombie fruit? It smells sweet, tart, earthy, and of course leathery. Oh. Em. Gee. This is a cool scent. My brain can't stop sniffing this new leather zombie fruit. I know it's not fruit. But DO I? It's sweet sweet leather. Soft and gentle. Shaggy is a great term.

Drydown: Sweetness slowly tones down, and patch makes a bigger appearance. But that leather high note stays, still with that punch from the rum. Patch makes it more robust but isn't obvious. And I love me some patch, not a prominent note here to me. More of a backing, earthy-adding element.

 

Verdict: Youthful, hippy-esq in the classic fringe leather attitude. Sweet and unisex.

 

I know my hubbers won't wear this one, it's not him. And I won't wear this, it's not me. But I'm really glad I got to try this out. Awesome scent.

Edited May 30, 2018 by Aveya

[Lucchesa]

And again, I am the beneficiary of Aveya's swapbox! 2018 version. I agree that there is a real fruitiness to this scent, like a rum-infused fruit cocktail, or like some kind of fruity Bacardi cooler for people who don't actually like the taste of rum. The fruity rum is the main player on my skin, with leather backing it up and just a faint grounding of patchouli, nothing to scare off patchouliphobes, barely there on me at all. It's kind of simple on my skin, as I'm guessing Ian is a fairly simple character (I know, I know, I'll netflix it one of these days). I'm going to hang on to the decant for a few months to see if Ian develops any more depth, but for now it's in like but not love territory.

 

ETA OK, I reviewed this too soon. Three hours in, the patch has taken over as the dominant note. There are still slightly fruity rum and leather notes present, faintly, but the patch presides. I can't wait to see how this one ages.

Edited June 3, 2018 by Lucchesa

[mandragora369]

2018 release:

 

Got this from am decant circle, Ian smells sweet, woodsy boozy to me. Booze notes don't work most of the time, but this here works really well! A nice woody slightly sweet smell. Really nice! ❤️