Olim
Trudon (2017)

Olim, composed by Lyn Harris, is a clear descendant of the Shalimar/Jicky family. I have long accepted that I am the kind of person who buys not only Shalimar but its every relative, including Fate Woman, Angelique Encens, Opus 1144, and Musc Ravageur, regardless of the obnoxious overlapping that this incurs in my modest wardrobe. So, I was always going to love this. And I do.

Olim first most closely resembles Jicky in its clashing, slightly sour combination of fresh lavender and creamy, powdery benzoin. But there is also a distinct resemblance to Opus 1144 in its sparkling, fizzy bergamot sweetened into a lemony sherbet by the elemi resin. Its candied lemon-and-lime opening might take some time to get used to, but lovers of Refresher Bars will find it familiar.

Olim has a beautifully resinous drydown, full of earthy myrrh and fat, powdery benzoin, and is quite hotly spiced with clove. It feels compositionally similar to Jicky, Shalimar, and Opus 1144 in its play of brightness (sherbet, lemon, bergamot, lavender) over darkness (the earthy myrrh and benzoin). In its final blaze of spice on the skin, it strikes me that it is also similar to one of Lyn Harris’ own compositions, Fleur Oriental, which puts its own spin on the golden, balsamic Shalimar model with a spark of dry, hot carnation.

I can see myself slipping Olim quite easily into a 'Shalimar' day, where I typically start off with a spritz of Fleur Oriental, then move onto Iris Oriental or Opus 1144, finally finishing off with the PDT or parfum version of Shalimar. I love deliberately blurring of the lines between these perfumes and finishing the day in an expansive aura of glittering benzoin, myrrh, vanilla, bergamot, and herbs, one pasted on top of another. I’m MacGyvering what I have to make an über-Shalimar, and it smells incredible.

This turned out to be a pleasant surprise and much nicer than I expected. I originally wanted to try a different Maison Trudon perfume but I couldn't locate a sample, so I decided to try Olim.

So, to my nose this is an extremely light, feminine and ethereal perfume with definite opening notes of lavender and bergamot and yes, ANISE. The opening is a bit powdery to my nose, something of which I'm not usually a fan. But with Olim, I find the powdery note welcoming as it mellows the anise & lavender, so I do not find the powdery appearance offensive in any way. I imagine, too that what I detect as "powdery" is benzoin making its lovely & gorgeous approach.

About 10 minutes in, I detect clean & cool notes of clove and pepper...a very nice addition & combination, IMHO. Again, peppery spicy scents are not usually my favorite but somehow, the spiciness is mellowed by this powdery cloak, which I imagine is vanilla, myrrh & benzoin.

Finally, slight patchouli and musk make an appearance, as they pleasantly level with all the prior notes. Yes, there is some vanilla and a bit of creaminess during the dry-down but everything melds together in an overall pleasant way. I also detect some balsamic or green notes during dry-down but none that overwhelm the overall sum of the other fragrant notes.

I did not detect much amber, or extreme spiciness; therefore, I cannot imagine Olim being unisex because it smells tame, reserved and very feminine to me, it really does. As I applied Olim and let it wear, it reminded me of a cloud of smoke coming from a magic bottle that eventually turns into a genie...or something like that. Over time, Olim's development is smooth, level and integrated. There is something intriguing about this fragrance.

Olim truly is the sum of all its individual parts. And some mentioned this as a "cold weather," or "winter" fragrance, which is not my take at all. The ethereal lightness of the notes makes this perfume suitable for summer, spring, warmer climates. To my nose, this fragrance is very airy & light.

Sillage is low, projection is low...this one remains close to the body. Longevity is about 6 hours.

Much more interesting than a mainstream, "mall" fragrance, I like Olim a lot but I'm not sure it's full-bottle worthy for me. Nonetheless, this is an easy fragrance to wear and pretty easy to like and enjoy. And as I just reapplied Olim, I cannot stop sniffing my wrist...may be whole bottle worthy after all!

Olim opens with the cool mineral touch of myrrh, earthy, dust-like patchouli and bright bergamot. A bit powdery, even prickly, but still polished and well-mannered like all the other Trudon debut perfumes.

The spices soon join in, and the fragrance turns warmer with their presence. I can smell some fuzzy pepper and the fleshly spiciness of clove (nothing sharp or metallic on my skin), but the most prominent among them, is the herbal, bittersweet anise. The anise turns slightly deeper and a bit candied with time, and its liquorice-like smell makes a smooth liaison between the balsamic myrrh and other spices. They're blended in such an organic way that they smell like different facets of Olim instead of individual parts sitting side by side.

About 3 hours in, the benzoin flows into the mix with its delicious woody-vanilla sweetness, while the spices retreat to the sidelines except for the mild cinnamon-clove facet which is also present in benzoin. The benzoin brings out a subtle caramlised smoky woodiness alongside the balsamic myrrh, but it's more resinous than sweet, and serves to smoothen the spices and patchouli and deepens the composition as well.

From then on, Olim more or less remains this way until the end. It has moderate sillage, but surprisingly doesn't smell heavy to me. The longevity is around 11 hours on me.

So far, I'm very impressed by the debut collection of Trudon. They're all more or less linear and refined, but there're many incremental changes and subtle twiests to engage interest and avoids being redundant. And Olim embodies this general rule perfectly. The spices, especially anise, are lightweight and warm, which makes an ideal transition from the slightly prickly opening to the cozy dry down. If you happen to be looking for an autumn-winter, spicy oriental fragrances, I'd definitely recommend giving Olim a try.