Olibanum: Independent Artistic Niche Fragrances

A Parisian maison founded in 2021 by Gérald Ghislain, the mind behind Histoires de Parfums. Olibanum takes the principle of reduction to its logical extreme: every fragrance is constructed around a CO2 extract of frankincense paired with just one complementary material, in a collection conceived equally for personal layering.

History and philosophy

Gérald Ghislain launched Olibanum in 2021, during the pandemic, with a clear intention: to free perfumery from the narrative weight that so often accompanies niche maisons. After twenty years at the helm of Histoires de Parfums, Ghislain chose to strip the storytelling back entirely and focus on a single question: what remains of a fragrance when everything superfluous is removed?

The answer is frankincense — a resin obtained by incising the bark of the Boswellia tree, harvested across Oman, the Horn of Africa and India — selected as the signature material common to the entire collection. Alongside the aesthetic dimension sits an openly stated environmental and humanitarian commitment: every ingredient is chosen to minimise ecological impact, and a portion of proceeds supports development projects in the communities that produce the raw materials.

The style

Every fragrance in the collection is built around a CO2 extract of frankincense paired with a single second material. This binomial structure — frankincense plus one ingredient — yields deliberately pared-back compositions, which perfumers Céline Perdriel and Sylvie Jourdet render as eau de parfum pieces that can be worn individually or layered together according to the maison's guiding layering philosophy. The palette ranges from resinous and woody families through to floral, spicy and green.

• Binomial structure: each title corresponds to the material paired with the frankincense, with no narrative embellishment and no elaborate pyramids.
• CO2 extract of frankincense as the shared olfactory thread running through the entire collection, ensuring coherence across the different fragrances.
• Layering philosophy: the fragrances are formulated to be combined with one another, leaving the wearer to construct their own olfactory signature.
• Sustainability commitment: ingredients assessed for minimal environmental impact, understated packaging, and a share of revenues directed towards humanitarian projects.

The most celebrated fragrances

The collection spans over eighteen references, each identified by the name of the featured material alongside the frankincense. Among the titles that have attracted the greatest attention from the fragrance community:

• Sacra — Somali frankincense in an almost-pure state, accompanied by fir balsam and white musk: the most direct and austere expression of the resin, created by Sylvie Jourdet.
• Oud — An accord of oud and rose built around the frankincense, in an oriental and sensory register; a creation by Céline Perdriel launched in 2022.
• Iris — Frankincense in dialogue with iris root in a powdery, grounded fragrance, among the most admired in the collection for its mineral complexity.
• Cardamome — Cardamom, cedar and patchouli grafted onto the frankincense in a woody, aromatic composition by Sylvie Jourdet.
• Néroli — Bergamot, neroli, sambac jasmine and frankincense in a luminous floral key, a creation by Céline Perdriel from 2024.