Olibanum: Perfume of a Sacred Resin, Stripped of Stories

“I wanted to create a brand without telling stories, focused on a sole raw material, with a reasonable ecological impact. I’ve been told I was crazy. It made me want to do it.”
(I wanted to create a brand that told no stories, focused on just one raw material, and kept its environmental impact low. People around me asked, “Are you out of your mind?” That was precisely what made me want to do it.)
— Gérald Ghislain​

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Basic Information

• Brand name: Olibanum
• Pronunciation: “Oribanamu” in Japanese. The name is the Latin word for frankincense and refers to the resin of Boswellia sacra. In French, it is also written “Oliban.”
• Founded: 2021 (conceived during the pandemic, with a full launch in 2022)
• Founder: Gérald Ghislain, also the founder of Histoires de Parfums (in Japanese)
• Headquarters: Paris, France​
• Official website: https://www.olibanum.com
• Brand motto: “When perfume becomes simple, conscious & committed” (When perfume becomes simple, mindful, and committed)​

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The Founder and the Origins of the Brand

How a Man Who Kept Telling Stories Came to Let Them Go

For at least twenty years, Gérald Ghislain had been weaving “stories of perfume” through Histoires de Parfums, just as its name suggests. Why, then, did he suddenly launch a brand without stories? The answer lies at the end of the path he had traveled for so many years.

As a pioneer of niche fragrance, Ghislain had released perfumes inspired by historical figures, poetry, opera, and music. Yet from the late 2000s into the 2010s, the niche perfume market expanded explosively, and brands began competing to wield “storytelling” as their weapon. Ghislain offered this observation on the situation:

“Perfumery – especially in the case of niche brands – has always told stories, but does it actually improve the scent?”
(Perfume, especially niche brands, has always told stories. But does that really make the scent better?)
— Gérald Ghislain​

Ghislain felt that the niche perfume world was being buried beneath “elaborate storytelling,” drifting away from its original distinguishing quality: the scent itself. He decided to try the opposite approach, “stripping away” perfume to its most fundamental dimension.​

A Wedding in Salalah: A Fateful Encounter with Olibanum

An earlier experience foreshadowed his decision to abandon stories. It happened when Ghislain visited Salalah in Oman. Situated in the southern Dhofar region, the city has been known since antiquity as a center of the frankincense (in Japanese) trade.

During his stay, Ghislain was commissioned to compose a perfume based on olibanum, or frankincense resin, for a wedding. In the Middle East, perfume is an essential part of celebrations; at weddings, it is given to each guest as a scent that preserves the memory of the day.​

Ghislain himself describes the encounter as follows:

“It was love at first – or maybe second – sight. I understood clearly why that mineral resin was used to communicate with gods in the history of mankind. I became instantaneously fascinated by its delicacy, brightness, and sumptuousness: mineral, slightly lemony, woody, mysteriously balmy. I immediately knew it would be the touchstone of a new great adventure of mine!”
(It was love at first sight, or perhaps second sight. I clearly understood why this mineral resin had been used throughout human history to converse with the divine. I was instantly captivated by its delicacy, radiance, and richness: its mineral character, a hint of lemon, woody depth, and mysterious balsam. I knew immediately that this material would become the touchstone of a great new adventure.)
— Gérald Ghislain​

After this experience, Ghislain is said to have promised himself that one day he would celebrate olibanum, or frankincense, in a collection of its own.​

2021, in the Midst of the Pandemic

That promise took shape in the midst of the pandemic. In 2021, while the world stood still, Ghislain established a brand with a philosophy entirely different from that of Histoires de Parfums.​

The official website puts it this way:

“While Histoires de Parfums tells stories and spins dreams, Olibanum is all about the scent. If these creations are void of storytelling, it’s simply to return to and focus on the purity of the raw materials.”
(While Histoires de Parfums tells stories and weaves dreams, Olibanum is entirely about the scent itself. If these creations have no stories, it is simply to return to the purity of the raw materials and concentrate on it.)
— Official website​

In March 2022, Ghislain formally began his work with Olibanum as “Founder & Principal CEO.” The brand made its full debut that year at Esxence, one of the world’s largest niche perfume fairs, held in Milan. Its bold launch, releasing eighteen perfumes at once, attracted the industry’s attention.

Why “Olibanum”?

The brand’s very name explains its reason for being. “Olibanum” is the Latin name for frankincense, while the Latin phrase “per fumum” (through smoke) is considered the origin of the word “perfume.” From the pharaohs of ancient Egypt and the altars of Greece and Rome to the temples of India, Africa, and Mesopotamia, olibanum was a precious, sacred material in civilizations around the world.

Ghislain says:

“Coveted by pharaohs and kings of antiquity, this burnt offering, which adorned altars around the world in India, Africa, Europe, and Mesopotamia, was believed to convey the prayers of rituals both sacred and secular.”
(Coveted by the pharaohs and kings of antiquity, this burnt offering adorned altars in India, Africa, Europe, and Mesopotamia, and was believed to convey the prayers of every kind of ritual, sacred and secular.)
— Gérald Ghislain​

From Salalah in Oman to Somalia in the Horn of Africa, olibanum, or frankincense, is harvested by making incisions in the bark of Boswellia trees. Its scent is multifaceted: woody, aromatic, balsamic, mineral, spicy, and lemon-like.

To place a material that might be called perfume’s “origin” at the heart of a brand returning to the “origins” of perfume: the choice reflects a vivid logic characteristic of Ghislain.

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The Brand’s Priorities

Three Pillars: Simple, Conscious, Committed

Olibanum’s philosophy is clearly defined by three pillars.

1. Simple
“Perfumes that say how they smell and that smell how they say.” Each fragrance is built around two elements: olibanum resin and a single “hero ingredient.” There are no unnecessary stories or excessive marketing. But simple does not mean simplistic. The “rich patina,” a texture full of character, imparted by Ghislain’s imagination and the mysterious, mineral signature of olibanum resin give the scents complexity and depth.

2. Conscious
Minimizing environmental impact drives every decision.

3. Committed
Olibanum was once an instrument of “acceptance and commitment,” toward both the sacred and other people. The brand devotes part of its revenue to humanitarian projects.

The Philosophy of Composition: The Aesthetics of Stripping Away

Olibanum’s formulas are minimalist. The brand explicitly states, however, that this is not minimalism as a “stylistic effect,” but a necessity grounded in “reducing the use of natural resources.” To protect finite resources and endangered materials, it does not rule out synthetic molecules. The synthetic molecules it uses, however, are limited to those that are fully biodegradable and designed with the environment in mind.​

The olibanum used across all the fragrances is a CO2 extract from Somalia. Supercritical CO2 extraction (in Japanese) is a technique in which natural materials are treated with CO2 in its supercritical state, allowing even the most volatile molecules to be retained. It is a method with a low environmental impact that captures an “almost botanical” olfactory quality from the raw material.

The fragrances are composed by well-known perfumers. Sylvie Jourdet was responsible for most of the original eighteen creations. After studying at ISIPCA (in Japanese), Jourdet established her own company, Créassence. She combines the precision of classical French perfumery with a modern sensibility. The nineteenth fragrance, Néroli, released in 2024, was composed by Céline Perdriel. Luca Maffei is also credited as a contributor to the collection.

The perfume oils are manufactured by “Art & Parfums” in Grasse, in southern France. Founded by Edmond Roudnitska (in Japanese), one of the defining perfumers of the twentieth century, this prestigious workshop has created compositions for Christian Dior, Hermès, and Frédéric Malle (in Japanese), among others.

Packaging: Eliminating Everything Unnecessary

The thoroughness of Olibanum’s environmental considerations is especially apparent in its packaging design.​

• Bottles: Lighter-than-usual glass reduces material and energy consumption during manufacture, as well as CO2 emissions during transport.
• Pumps: Screw-on mist pumps. Because they can be unscrewed easily, the entire bottle is fully recyclable.
• Caps: There are none. A security clip replaces the cap, reducing the number of components while also preventing unintended evaporation of the perfume.
• Boxes: Made of recycled cardboard, unbleached and unvarnished. They can also be recycled again.
• Glue and ink: Only water-based, solvent-free products are used.
• Cellophane wrapping: Not used.​
• Alcohol: Organic alcohol from France.​

Ethical Sourcing: Giving Back to Producing Regions

The same conscious approach runs through the brand’s sourcing of raw materials.​

Olibanum from Somalia: Obtained by supercritical CO2 extraction, using an environmentally friendly method that also preserves its olfactory quality.​

Blue ginger from Madagascar: The blue ginger used in Gingembre is grown in the Vohimana reserve in Madagascar. In this reserve, managed by the NGO L’Homme et l’Environnement, distillation takes place locally, preserving fresh, lemon-like aromatic molecules that would normally be lost during drying. Growing blue ginger also helps curb traditional slash-and-burn farming, which is highly polluting and destructive, and provides local communities with a sustainable alternative source of income.​

Sandalwood from Australia: The sandalwood used in Cuir Végétal is grown in the Kununurra region of Australia with the participation of Indigenous communities. It is also an upcycled material, obtained through a second extraction of the residue left after an initial distillation. This gives it an individual olfactory profile unlike that of ordinary sandalwood, with nuances of stewed prunes, candied apricots, roasted notes, and smoke.​

Humanitarian Support: A Milk Pasteurizer for the Samburu

As its first project embodying the pillar of commitment, Olibanum supported a Samburu community in Kenya. For the semi-nomadic Samburu, economic independence is the greatest need. Working with Gazelle Harambee and L’Homme et l’Environnement, Olibanum funded a milk pasteurizer. This enabled the community to produce pasteurized goat’s milk and sell it to a nearby sanctuary for orphaned elephants.​

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The Perfume Lineup

The Collection’s Structure: Olibanum + One Hero Ingredient

All the fragrances share a unified structure: “olibanum + one hero ingredient.” The hero ingredient becomes the name of the perfume, making the naming exceptionally straightforward. According to the brand, the entire collection is designed with the “same olfactory structure.” A major feature is therefore that all the perfumes can be layered with one another.

According to ÇaFleureBon, the original eighteen fragrances released in 2022 can be classified as follows.​

Category	Fragrance Names
Wood and bark	Santal, Oud, Cuir Végétal
Leaves	Patchouli, Maté
Flowers	Rose, Tubéreuse, Osmanthus, Safran
Fruits	Vanille, Yuzu, Sacra, Opoponax
Seeds	Ambrette, Cardamome
Roots	Iris, Gingembre, Vétiver

The nineteenth fragrance, Néroli, joined the collection in 2024. Centered on neroli from Morocco’s Khémisset province and accompanied by bergamot, orange blossom, and jasmine, it is a fragrance for spring and summer.​

Sacra: The Scent of the Beginning

Taking its name from “Boswellia sacra,” Sacra could be described as the starting point of the collection. Fir balsam elevates the purity of Somali olibanum, while a veil of white musk smooths the composition as a whole. Its notes are roseberry, olibanum, cedar (in Japanese), pine, fir balsam, vetiver (in Japanese), and white musk (in Japanese). The official description, “The original perfume, simply,” succinctly expresses Olibanum’s philosophy.​

Playing with Layering

Olibanum’s true value lies in its design not only as self-contained perfumes, but also as tools for layering. The official website proclaims:

“Olibanum thus revives the playful art of layering, the traditional Middle Eastern practice of superimposing several perfumes to create a unique and personal trail that can be changed at will.”
(Olibanum revives the playful art of layering, the traditional Middle Eastern practice of placing several perfumes over one another to freely transform a unique, personal scent trail.)
— Official website​

Combinations can change with the weather, your clothes, or your mood: Oud and Rose on a seductive day, Sacra and Iris on an introspective one, for example. The brand suggests layering combinations, but says that imagination is the only limit.​

There is also an option to choose two to five 12 ml travel-size bottles to create a personal composition set. The pleasure of carrying several scents is thus built into the physical format as well.​

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As an Aside…

• Although Ghislain says he fell under olibanum’s spell in Salalah, in one interview he identifies his hometown as Toulouse. Toulouse is known as “the city of violets” (la ville des Violettes). When asked which fragrance material is most underrated, Ghislain answered without hesitation: “Violet.” “I inevitably think of violet, because it is a ‘silent flower.’ But when it comes to its leaves, it becomes so talkative that there is no end to what can be said.”​
• Asked, “If you were to express yourself through a scent from Histoires de Parfums and Olibanum, which would you choose?”, Ghislain replied: “For Histoires de Parfums, the En Aparté trilogy: Irrévérent, Outrecuidant, and Prolixe. For Olibanum, perhaps only by layering all eighteen fragrances could you decipher one facet of my personality. Long live layering!”​
• Olibanum’s 100% cotton tote bag is made from organic cotton woven in France, and all proceeds are donated to the NGOs supported by the brand. It is an intriguing arrangement: buying a bag to carry perfume directly contributes to social causes.​​

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