WHAT I SMELL: Afrika-Olifant opens like an interesting incense and smoky mystery. I can’t help think of a wrestler walking through clouds of smoke at a WWE event as they walk in the arena. It’s spicy, rather sour and in your face without being heavy-handed. However, there’s a primal male sexuality that’s powerfully overt. The perfume screams SEX. After a few minutes, the leather makes it way in, but as if like a stranger snuck in through the back alley, come up behind you and you feel their presence but can’t see them. That initial rush of smoldering sex, starts to tone down after 10 minutes, but that doesn’t mean the perfume is any less provocative or subdued. The animalic, smoky, spiced and civet laden creation smolders like burning embers. The heat is there and if you get to close you’re going to get burned. After 30 minutes, the musk comes to the forefront, adding another layer of pure sex. Yes…this perfume is all about sex. And as I try to find in my mind descriptors, I just end up back with “damn this is pure sex.” In the end, Afrika-Olifant dries out to leave this layer of burning ash hinting at the power that came before but is now subtle, subdued, but still all that magnetic.
From the Nishane website:
Stimulates hidden desires… The fragrance opens with frankincense and myrrh. As animalic notes castoreum and civet settle down, leather and oud dominate the battlefield. Timid and audacious at the same time…
TOP NOTES: ambergris, frankincense, myrrhe, labdanum
HEART NOTES: castoreum, civet, leather, oud
BASE NOTES: muscenone, thibetone, muscone, civetone
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: As you can see from above, this perfume is all SEX. So many images conjure in my mind, but I’ll go for the G-rated version: the power, the leather, and the viral men of 300!
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE AFRIKA-OLIFANT: smoldering, sexy, primal
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT AFRIKA-OLIFANT: Fashion Lifestyle, Pierre de Nishapur
BOTTOM LINE: Afrika-Olifant is not an office scent and it’s not a fragrance for going on a picnic. It is for wearing when you’re out on the prowl or if you want to create an aura of mystery. In the end, the perfume leaves just enough of a trail to leave those around you wondering where that incredibly sexy smell is coming from. This is my first introduction to the Nishane line, a niche brand from Istanbul, but it won’t be my last because they have some incredible varying perfumes in the line. Duft Bluhten, an beautiful magnolia and gardenia creation is the polar opposite of Afrika-Olifant, but equally as wonderful. Actually, the pretty floral is probably more my style than this perfume which would be on my full bottle list if I was still single and needed to add a layer of testosterone to my Saturday night bar hopping wardrobe.
- Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
- Scent: Oriental
- Nose: Jorge Lee
- Classification: Classified as unisex, but to me, this is completely masculine.
- Expense: $230 for 50 ml parfum extrait. Sold exclusively at Twisted Lily in the U.S.
June 22, 2015 at 6:10 am
Interesting fragrance, Dear S. Love your review. Looking forward to Duft Bluhten which sounds more Feminine.
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June 22, 2015 at 8:31 pm
E – Duft Bluhten is the exact opposite… quiet and unassuming, soft and lovely. I love the fact that they can create such a wide range of different offerings! And magnolia and gardenia are really hard to capture correctly.
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June 22, 2015 at 6:51 am
Lol. I glanced quickly at the base notes and at first I thought it said muscle tone. Good Lord, I need another cup of coffee I think.
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June 22, 2015 at 5:13 pm
Poodle, that’s exactly what I thought too!!
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June 22, 2015 at 8:32 pm
LOL…it’s all about the musk baby. But I can see how it’s all about the muscle with the 300 pic. I know I tend to read alot at 5:30AM and half the time I don’t know if I read things correctly!
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June 22, 2015 at 12:14 pm
Wow. Full on. I know I wouldn’t be able to stand it, but I would certainly love to smell it on someone else (and Turkish men…… don’t get me started).
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June 22, 2015 at 8:33 pm
I was turning myself on wearing it. Sad, but true 🙂
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June 22, 2015 at 8:52 pm
We’ve all been there…
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June 22, 2015 at 12:34 pm
Wow! This sounds like a powerhouse! I’m glad you’re reviewing her stuff, as there’s just so much of it that even thinking about sampling is overwhelming to me.
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June 22, 2015 at 8:33 pm
Holly, actually, it’s just a powerhouse in the beginning. After it dries down, it just smolders! GRRRRRRR.
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June 22, 2015 at 5:27 pm
Sounds like a pretty powerful fragrance in many senses; “charisma in a bottle” came into my mind. It might be too masculine for me to wear but, I’m so curious, I’ll give a sniff to this one.
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June 22, 2015 at 8:45 pm
I’m not sure how this would work for a woman. I’d be curious to hear.
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October 6, 2015 at 6:19 pm
Sex in a bottle. I’ve been wearing it on and off for a while. People will notice you. I love it. I firmly believe that a woman could wear it, sparingly.
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October 6, 2015 at 7:12 pm
I have yet to wear it out… maybe I need to give it a whirl although I don’t think it’s right for the workplace…maybe next time I’m feeling on the prowl on the town 🙂
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October 6, 2015 at 7:15 pm
Definitely not the workplace. Agree!!
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