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Olfactif Perfume Subscription Box Review – February 2015

Haley Faye
ByHaley FayeFeb 18, 2015 | 10 comments

Olfactif Perfume Subscription Box Review – February 2015 Box

Olfactif is a monthly perfume sampling subscription. Every month, you’ll receive a curated collection of three niche fragrances each month (2.25 ml sprays of each) from perfume artists around the world. You will also receive an $18 credit toward the full-bottle purchase of a featured fragrance.

Olfactif sent us this box for review purposes. (Check out the review process postto learn more about how we review boxes).

Olfactif Perfume Subscription Box Review – February 2015 Box

The Subscription Box: Olfactif 

The Cost: $18/month

The Products: Three 2.25 ml sample spray bottles of 3 niche fragrances from perfume artists around the world.

Ships to: US

Check out all of our Olfactif reviews!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your Wish List or Subscription List!

Olfactif Perfume Subscription Box Review – February 2015 Texture

Every Olfactif box contains an informational card detailing the fragrances and theme for the month. This month’s theme is “Smelling Color and Texture.” I love the way they explain how the language of fragrance isn’t so hard – dark roses might be “crimson velvet,” or citrus may be “warm, smooth, and strong.”

Olfactif Perfume Subscription Box Review – February 2015 Card

There are a couple things that are very important to keep in mind when sampling perfumes: First, perfumes literally smell different on every person due to the way the fragrance oils play with an individual’s body chemistry. Secondly, there are many notes in each fragrance and perfumes are designed with a story and progression of notes in mind. The top notes are what you smell right away, the middle notes are what you smell about 10 minutes after spraying, and then the base note is what you smell about 30 minutes of wearing it and what stays with you throughout the day.

Olfactif Perfume Subscription Box Review – February 2015 Info

Tokyo Blossom from The Different Company – This fragrance is designed from the inspiration of the rainy seasons in Japan, and especially the dandelions they bring. This scent is very fresh, clean, crisp, and not really sweet at all. You can definitely smell the dandelion milk they were inspired by.

Roma Imperiale fom Profumi Del Force – This perfume is supposed to be a well-loved classic, and it’s definitely what is called a floral oriental. You smell the floral notes first and foremost, but as it wears on your skin it settles into a mixture of cinnamon, sandalwood, and vanilla. That being said, this isn’t a sweet fragrance either. This scent is supposed to be reminiscent of white silk chiffon.

Memoirs of a Trespasser from Imaginay Authors – Imaginary Authors is a brand I’ve seen in Olfactif before, and I love their ideas. Every fragrance they create is inspired by a fictional author who wrote a fictional book. They even name them! (The description online of this fragrance begins with ‘"Who needs love when you have cognac?" So says Philip Sava, the fictional author of the fictional book that inspired this very real perfume.’) I love that they have such a unique idea and are so dedicated to the story their perfumes tell. That being said, this fragrance is perfectly described as dark, rich, and boozy. Notes include Madagascar vanilla, guaiac wood, myrrh, benzoin resin, ambrette seed, and oak barrels. When I smell this, what immediately came to mind for me was thick, worn leather that had seen many smoked cigars and shared brandy. It’s definitely not my personal style, but I love the story behind it.

Olfactif Perfume Subscription Box Review – February 2015 Vials

Verdict: This wasn’t my favorite month of Olfactif, but I loved how different each fragrance was and that they helped to make the language of fragrance seem much more understandable and easy!

The world of fragrance has always seemed similar to the world of wine to me – both involve the intentional creation of something with multiple layers, notes, and flavors. Both also require practice and attention to determine the many notes and intricacies of each. Fragrance isn’t something I’m highly practiced in, so I like the breakdowns and information Olfactif provides with their boxes (quickly reading the website for each scent is also a very helpful thing to do).

I like the idea of a perfume sampling box, and I think Olfactif does a great job of it: I adore the packaging and the fact that the cost of the box gets attributed to your account as a credit towards a full-size fragrance each month. Part of me wishes that there could be some light customization of the fragrances sent to you, but I know that this would limit/complicate their ability to present themes to you every month. Also, like I said before, there’s definitely some value in exposing yourself to more fragrances and learning more about them.

After trying a few months of Olfactif, I can say that if you’re someone who only really likes sugary and sweet fragrances, this probably isn’t the best subscription for you. Olfactif exposes you to lots of different scents and pushes you out of your fragrance comfort zone and most of them, so far, haven’t been super sweet perfumes.

What do you think about Olfactif?

Haley Faye
Haley Faye
Haley Faye first discovered the wonderful world of subscription boxes in 2012 and began writing for MSA in 2014. Over the years, she has found many subscriptions to love. Now a mom of three, her favorite boxes are ones that dress her kids, help her get organized, feed her family, send her snacks, and offer educational fun for her children.

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10 comments

Pao-Lan

This looks like a very interesting subscription! It’s classy plus there’s a certain poetry to the box. Too bad it only ships in the US (come to Canada, we’re nice people).

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CreativelySwank

I absolutely hate sweet perfumes, all of these look right up my alley. If I subscribe now I wonder if I can still get this box? I did find that the stripper perfume from the PS Fall Style box mixes well with DK black cashmere.

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Shannon P.

I pointed this box out to my husband a few weeks ago, and he ended up getting me a 6 month subscription to try it out. I am a perfume lover from way back lol and this is perfect for me.

The variety of the scents, the stories behind them, and the curation of the sets is what lured me to this one over Scentbird. Also, Olfactif scents seem to be more unique, more niche, than the choices offered at Scentbird. I love that no one will say, oh, that’s so familar, or worse, oh, I love that one so much that I wear it, too.

My husband asked to include a gift card with February’s box, and it was hand written! Nice, sweet touch. And they were so friendly and understanding when he was explaining that he wanted all communications to come to him in the beginning then switch to me after he had given me the gift.

As to the three specific scents, the first one immediately brought to mind bamboo and the color green. I loved it! The second one was more flowery and almost ornate, if you can imagine a perfume being ornate. The final one was exactly as described. I envisioned a smoking jacket, warmed brandy, cigars and an old library. Very brown and boozy. Not overtly feminine, really, but I really liked it.

Overall, this sub is awesome! The curation is wonderful, the customer service so far has been superb, even the box with the perfumes was very luxe. And, most importantly, the perfumes are unique, the curation is excellent and the opportunity to sample different fragrances that I would never have encountered, well, this more than makes it worthwhile for me!

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Kay

I enjoyed the review! They feature many perfumes I have never heard of! Is the $18 credit only towards the month’s featured perfume or loose it? I would be interested if I can collect credit and use towards one nice bottle, but buying a bottle each month doesn’t make sense to me. I got my first Sentbird and I am really enjoying myself with the new scent!

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nana

I looked this up on the FAQ and the codes expire at the end of the month, so you cannot collect them.

I love the idea of this subscription, but $18 for perfumes that I may hate may be too much of a gamble. I wish they offered a discount for a first month.

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Kay

Thank you Nana!

I think it comes down to $15 for 8 ml one perfume or $18 for total of 6.75 ml 3 perfumes. Scentbird, you either let them choose or you can queue your choice. This one, you get a $18 discount towards a bottle if you absolutely love it. Some of the perfumes are pretty expensive, but I am sure they are niche and hard to get a sample otherwise.

I am going to stick with Scenbird for now as I have Rue La La deal.

Sneaky Burrito

This subscription has always sounded interesting to me. I totally don’t get the language of wine (it seriously almost all tastes the same to me), but I’ve been working on perfumes and am getting better at distinguishing different notes. I can do sweet perfumes but I like muskier/woodier/oriental scents more. (I’m feeling pretty happy about all scents except Harvey Prince Sincerely right now, though, to be honest. Thanks, Birchbox, I smell like a flower shop exploded.)

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Brooke

Thanks for the thorough review! Do you prefer this or scentbird?

I just got my first scentbird and I love that it’s customizable and I love the purse sprayer. But this has 3 perfumes and the full cost is a store credit…which is a great deal if you buy perfume, which I generally don’t.

Which do you prefer??

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Haley

Brooke,

Between the two, I’d probably have to say that I personally get more use out of Scentbird. As I said in the review, Olfactif has yet to feature very sweet perfumes (which I tend to like), and there’s no customization (which, for Olfactif, makes sense since their curation is such a strong aspect of their box). I like that I can choose which fragrances I get from Scentbird, and that you can get so much value from it, too (and if I end up not liking a fragrance, I didn’t pay a full $25 for a rollerball or something, and the sprays gift well).

To me, the two subscriptions are both great for very different reasons: Olfactif is great for learning more about fragrance, exploring the world of perfume, and finding niche/smaller-brand fragrances. Scentbird is great for customization, value, and trying more commonly-found fragrances.

Hope this helps! =]

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Christine G

I just may be more of a “Main stream” kind of woman, but I prefer Scentbird. In fairness, I received only two Olfactif boxes so far: I didn’t like anything in the January box. In the February box, I kind of liked one. There is really no choice or customization that I’ve found with Olfactif; there is with Scentbird. My brain likes the idea of Olfactif. My nose has been more satisfied with Scentbird.

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