Olfactif is a monthly perfume sampling subscription. Every month, you’ll receive a curated collection of three niche fragrances (2.25 mL for most, occasionally 1.75 mL) by perfume artists from around the world. You will also receive an $18 credit towards a full-sized purchase of one of the month’s featured fragrances. Olfactif offers a unisex collection and recently began offering a men’s collection as well.
Each Olfactif collection comes in a custom black case.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this subscription box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This review is of the Unisex Collection, $18 a month, box.
The Subscription Box: Olfactif
The Cost: $18
COUPON: Receive 15% off your first collection by joining their mailing list (it was a pop-up when I went to the site).
The Products: Three 2.25 mL sample spray bottles from three fragrance artists from around the world.
Ships to: US
Check out all of our Olfactif reviews and other great fragrance boxes in the Perfume Subscription Box Directory.
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
Each Olfactif collection comes with a card offering instructions on how to try out the fragrances.
It’s important to note that fragrances may smell different when you wear them than when you spray them on a card or piece of paper. They may also smell different on different people due to individual body chemistries.
Also, the fragrances develop and change over time, with different notes becoming prominent. “Top” notes form your initial impression but evaporate within a few minutes, so you may still love a fragrance even if you are not fond of the top notes. “Middle” or “heart” notes emerge after you’ve been wearing the fragrance for a few minutes up to an hour. “Base” notes are large, heavy molecules that persist for a long time. They are often richer than the top or middle notes, although they may contribute to how you perceive the top and middle notes due to their interactions with the other fragrance components.
The collection also included an information card about this month’s theme and the notes in the individual fragrances that were sent. This month’s theme was “Come Back Inside.”
This is one of those fragrances where you get a slightly smaller amount due to the price. This one has notes that include pink grapefruit, apricot, green leaves, carrot seed, osmanthus, jasmine, white musk, and setting plaster (!). This is my first encounter with setting plaster as a note in a fragrance, although it appears to be a creation of the perfume artist, which is probably why. I was just happy that this wasn’t as green as I thought it could have been with green leaves and carrot seed. I actually liked this quite a lot, most probably because of the jasmine and white musk.
Slow Explosions by Imaginary Authors
This is a good fragrance for me. Notes in this fragrance: saffron, rose absolute, leather, apple, benzoin, cashmeran, and Arpora Night Market (this last one also appears to be a creation of the perfume artist; the Arpora Night Market is a real thing in India, for what it’s worth). I like leather, benzoin (somewhat vanilla-like), and cashmeran (also referred to sometimes as “blond woods” although it is really a component of musk) and think they’re even better in combination. They make the rose work for me even though I’m not typically a fan of floral fragrances.
I’m surprised this wasn’t my favorite of the month since a full-size bottle is $260 and my taste in fragrances seems to run expensive. This one has bergamot, orange flower, galbanum, rose, jasmine, pink pepper, Tonkiphora balsam, Myroswelia balsam, and amber. I like the balsams and amber and pink pepper and the floral notes (at least on me) were not super strong, so this one did work for me. (Please note that this could smell entirely different on you due to body chemistry variation.)
Verdict: This was a great month for me from Olfactif. I have always been more of a fan of fall and winter scents (not really a fan of florals, fruity scents, or “clean and fresh” scents) and we are starting to get back to the ones I like best now, in October. I think Slow Explosions was my favorite but I did actually like all three fragrances this month. All were wonderfully complex and I never would’ve come across them otherwise, even to try.
If you are someone who regularly buys full-size bottles of fragrance, don’t forget that you get an $18 credit towards one of the monthly fragrances as part of your subscription, so it’s like getting the samples free. Even if you wouldn’t buy full-size bottles every month, I think there is some value in discovering new niche fragrances if you enjoy playing with fragrances to begin with – these are not the same scents you would get from department stores or as Sephora samples.
What do you think of the October 2016 Olfactif collection? What was your favorite fragrance this month?
Please do not enter your email address in the Name field or in the comment content. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. Remember to post with kindness and respect. Comments with offensive language, cruelness to others, etc will not be approved. See our full comment policy here.