Olisbos

[milo]

The ancient Greeks sure weren't shy about taking care of business. The port city of Miletus was once famed throughout the Mediterranean as a source of excellent stone, wood, and padded leather dildos. This scent is the celebration of an age-old pastime: polished wood, well-loved leather, and olive oil.

Wet, this is more olive oil, and less leather. As it dries, the leather comes out more, and it's pretty much like how I remember last years version to me. Very much like a store that sells saddles, or a tack room in a barn. Evocative, but I don't know how much I'd wear it. It would totally suit a rodeo, and probably be amazing on the right cowboy.

This is the 2013 version: This version seems like there's less leather as well, but more wood. In fact, I'm not getting any leather at all. Very masculine, kind of 'rough around the edges' blend. As time goes on, less aggressive, more olive oil and a touch of leather. I'm surprised how different this one is from previous incarnations.

[AmyO'Shields]

I love this blend, but it's so freakin' strong! I can smell the olive oil and leather like crazy with a hint of some kind of wood underneath, although I can't discern which type of wood. Very nice...BIG throw, long wear, good stuff.

[porcelina]

olisbos is gorgeous stuff. i was concerned about the olive oil, but i don't smell like italian food, or even olives- i can pick out the note, but i can't describe it. it's smooth and slick against the wood and the leather. this is a fantastic leather note, too- soft and faded, more like suede than a black leather jacket or shiny new boots. if you are a fan of leather in perfume, i think you will love this. it might be better than the red rider (my previous leathery favorite). i want to roll around in a vat of this stuff! MMM.

[edenssixthday]

Olisbos 2011 - My review of Olisbos 2010 is here. I think the 2011 also smells kind of like a souvenir shop in the American Southwest, but this year's version seems to have a lot more olive oil than the previous year's version, and it blends really well with the leather and wood, and I think this year's (or maybe it's the batch I got) smells more like the inspiration than I felt last year's did. I'm not sure I'd wear this scent since it doesn't really fit my personal scent m.o., but I do like it and think it probably smells amazing with the right skin chemistry.

[angelamaria]

This is for the 2011 version.

 

In bottle: wood and olive oil, with creamy leather in the end.

 

Wet on skin: this is actually surprisingly light, even with the wood and leather--and I'm getting both. A really nice wood scent, although I can't really tell what kind of wood it is. Look at me say wood a couple more times.

 

Dry: wood and leather. This is a really nice wood scent. Slightly green, supple wood. COUGH. After a while it softens considerably into a nice, clean, woody scent. Obviously quite masculine.

 

Verdict: eheheheheheh. Nice, but not for my wearing.

[brilliantcat]

In the bottle: Leather, perhaps a touch of olive oil.

 

Immediately after application: Leather with just a hint of woods and oil.

 

Warming up: This may just sate my need for Rivet.Goth! It's gone pure leather on me *bliss*

 

Fading: Leatherleatherleather.

 

Faded: Average throw, long wear.

 

Overall: It's missing the rust/grit of Rivet.Goth but that may be a good thing. I've found my replacement! It's pure, heavy leather that reminds me so strongly of um, other things besides dildos made from leather. Like jackets. That return me to my youth and make me happy. Bottle.

[catalyst]

Very interesting. It's mostly some kind of wood and leather, about half and half, but if that's olive oil, it's the most fruity olive oil on the planet. It pushes things over into feminine unisex, I think, but I might be able to get away with it, I'm not sure. I'll have to get a second opinion, if you know what I mean.

 

The wood is not sandalwood or cedar, I'm positive of that. I'm thinking it's more like oak. It's most similar to the wood in The Antikythera Mechanism, which is teak and oak.

 

The sweetness that keeps wafting by eventually fades so that it ends up as just wood and leather with a hint of something faintly sweet. That works for me.

[tinyvulture]

A good, strong scent. Polished wood (oak maybe?) with the fruitiest olive oil ever. Lemon and berry notes. Leather is hiding in the background. The fruitiness is not for me, but I'm going to try it on my husband. Since his skin amps leather. I think it'll be more balanced on him.

[Alaeidrel]

So deliciously lush, this. Olives and leather - a soft, worn leather, not like in Whip - and just a hint of citrusy wood. Wet it's full of leather, but dries to oil and citrus with just a bit of leathery warmth. Absolutely going to be needing a bottle of this.

[BoneBone24]

(2013)

 

Olive notes tend smell like pineapple and ginger on me and this is no exception. In fact, this illustrates the rule better than any other olive-containing blend I've tried thus far.

 

Fresh pineapple and sexy Hawaiian ginger with a whisper of soft leather and fresh wood several layers back. It’s definitely fruity but it’s not too sweet or in your face about it. If you’re familiar with Paul Mitchell’s Awapuhi products, this smells almost identical to that with just an itty bitty touch of earthy sharpness and greenness from the leather and wood. Tropical and sexy. Yum.

 

 

I may need a bottle.

 

8.5 out of 10 bones

Edited July 2, 2013 by BoneBone24

[tziporra]

(2013)

 

This is very very orangey on me. I can pick out the leather, but not any wood at all. It's rather like a creamsicle at the moment, with the leather taking place of the vanilla (if you can buy that). It reminds me a little bit of Tom Ford's Violet Blonde (bottom notes of Suede and Cedar), but with citrus instead of flowers (better).

 

I really love it, but the throw is so light compared to what I usually wear that I don't know if I am going to keep it. It would actually make an amazing bath oil.

 

Tzi

 

ETA (yes, this is the section of the review where I come back a week later to say, THERE is the wood!): THERE is the wood! It turns out that what I was reading as bitter orange is actually pine so newly cut as to be citrusy mixed with some actual citrus. The woodier it gets, the more masculine it goes on me, and it is incrediblely delicious, but in that weird way where I keep looking around for the hot guy who smells so good. Maybe it needs chocolate.

 

ETA2: This is one of those scents (first in a loooooooong time) that I start 'meh' about and end up OMGINEEDTHISEVERYDAY. Settling helped, layering with SN French Tobacco helped (although the last two days I've just worn it on its own). The thing is, I usually want my perfume to smell like _perfume_ and it is very hard to argue that this does. I wish I could describe better what it does smell like..... It's not atmospheric on me (although I can envision newly cut boards in a tack room), and it's not soapy (although I would pay through the nose for soap with this scent). It does absolutely make me think that I woke up in the bed of the hottest cowboy on the planet, took a shower in his bathroom and used all his grooming supplies, came out smelling like this. In his crisp checked cotton shirt. I need to go haunt swaps for a backup now....l

Edited March 22, 2013 by tziporra

[mymymai]

ITI: Thick leather, something a little citrusy, and just a hint of light olive oil. I like it!

 

Wet: I wasn't expecting this much citrus from this scent. It's like light lemon verbena, Pledge polish (which I love), and olive oil.

 

Dry: I was surprised that it faded so quickly (about an hour). The scent takes on more of the Pledge quality with subtle undertones of fresh olive oil and cedar.

[lohengrin]

In the decant: Leather and wood, a little cologne-y.

 

On skin, wet: Much the same, but more wood and less leather.

 

On skin, dry: And there's the olive oil. Definitely very fruity, as others have said, and it's totally taken over.

 

After an hour: Pretty much nothing left of the leather or the wood, and I wish they'd stuck around to balance this scent out a little. As it is, it smells kind of like fancy hand soap. I actually like it, but I'm not sure I like it enough to get a bottle.

[hexnut]

First sampled at Will Call in March 2013, purchased at April Will Call. I've been wearing this once in a while since then but I'm just now getting around to posting a complete review.


In Vitro The very first sniff was pleasant but nothing I could identify. It was quickly joined by a subtle fruity smell. Good olive oils, like good wines, can have fruity notes so I wasn't too surprised.

Wet Strongly fruity when first applied, then joined by menthol, of all things. Fortunately it wasn't offensively strong, but it beats me how my skin gets menthol out out wood, leather, and olive oil. About ten minutes on the fruitiness had gone and I could smell wood plus mild menthol.

Drying A few minutes later the sweet top note returned while the menthol remained underneath. After an hour the overall scent had blended to what could be oiled leather, just barely sweet. When I checked at the two and a half hour mark it was almost undetectable.


As weird as the description may sound, I really, really like Olisbos. It's like no other scent I've worn. But it fades quickly on my skin and doesn't last much longer on my clothing, so I won't seek another bottle when this is gone. I'll certainly enjoy it while it lasts.


97

[Jenesis]

Dug up some old Imps.

 

First on: I get a whiff of vetiver but not too strong. I understand why some say menthol as I get a whiff of that as well. Smells like new wood.

 

Drydown: A slight leathery note over the wood. Hardly any throw at all.

 

Dry: Surprisingly complex and hard to classify! A comforting, warm scent, like a wood-backed leather chair. Very little throw though and it's fading already so this one won't last on me, I think. Edit: After a while the leather comes out more.

Edited August 27, 2014 by Jenesis

[nightwing]

I was able to track down a bottle of the 2010 version from a third party seller, so this is a very aged bottle, which I think really mellowed the oiverall scent out.

 

ITB: Oooh, this is a very familiar and very loved waft of sexy Black Rider style leather, softened and sweetened by something citrusy and fruity. No trace of wood, and only the barest impression of olive oil. What oil I do get is very similar in scent to the sharp, grassy smell of my Gram’s fresh pressed olive oil.

 

Wet: Still that fresh, deep, black leather and the bright and very orange top note. The scent of oil isn’t so much a smell but rather a really interesting feeling right in the back of my throat. I’m starting to get a whiff of the wood, but I’m not sure what type of wood it is. Very dark and polished, but not at all overwhelming or gloomy the way wood can be sometimes on my skin.

 

Drying: This is seeming to fade very fast into something that’s mostly a snuggly citrus. The leather is the main back-up scent, and the wood and oil seem to be pretty much gone, which is not a terrible thing.

 

Dry: The wood note has come back as the citrus has faded a little, and it really rounds out the leather scent. The olive oil seems to amplify the idea of skin to me, because this very much gives me the impression of leather warmed by body heat with the hints of oil floating around.

 

How this manages to be sexy and comforting all at once is beyond me, but that’s really the impression I get from this. I’m happy that the leather is the main player here because that’s what I got this for, but it is not as aggressive or in your face as either Black Rider or Adam, though it shares the similar black leather note. This fits perfectly into the daytime leather slot that was missing from my leather perfumes, so I’m very happy about that. Plus, any citrus that hangs around for more than a minute without overwhelming is a total win in my book.

[IronMollyBlack]

2015 Version:

 

Very fruity olive oil, with a bit of soft leather and wood. In just the few days since I've had it, more of the leather and wood seem to be coming out. It may need to settle/age more to reach it's full potential. It's a very bright, warm, happy smell, to me. Reminds me a little bit of the Panacea Moxie. Very glad I bought a bottle! May have to pick up another.

[agirlnamedfury]

2015 version:

 

With a description like that, how could I not try this one?

 

 

 

In the imp, this is much more fruity and almost herbal than I expected!

 

Wet on the skin, I get some leather and wood, but there's also a strong note of... rosemary? There's also something bright and citrusy about this.

 

It stays much the same as it dries. This is actually pretty different than I thought it would be from the list of notes, but I still like it. I'm often attracted more to BPAL's more savory, less traditionally perfume-y blends, and this definitely fits into that.

Edited August 5, 2015 by agirlnamedfury

[Numanoid]

2013 version

 

In bottle - a sharp herbal to my nose. Maybe that is wood? Olive oil?

 

On skin - Stays pretty sharp and kind of "green". Green like vines, not like any plant that could smell aquatic, if that makes sense. Didn't expect it to be this way.

 

Dry down - I also start to get a little bit of leather out of this, but I get more olive oil, and it is soft. But still, not really for me, sadly.

[aquazoo]

Starts with that sharp hairspray smell. Luckily that tones down fast into shoe-store leather. Makes me wonder what those guys are really doing when they go in the back to get the shoes. Leather always seems masculine to me, but I would like to wear this.