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. This is a review of the unisex collection.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this subscription box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
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
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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 “All the Flowers in the Garden.”
Each Olfactif collection comes in a custom black case. This month, all the fragrances were from Dame Perfumery and were “soliflores,” or fragrances with a single floral note.
This is a classic rose scent. If you like rose, you will probably love it, and if you hate rose, this will not be for you. It is a clean scent with no other notes so it pretty much stays the same over time. This reminded me of some French bath and body products I had when I was younger – in a good way – and I liked it quite a bit.
I see osmanthus as a note in other fragrances but it was something I had trouble picking out. Getting to smell it here all on its own, I now know what to look for. There is something almost a little fruity and tropical and even buttery about it, but don’t take my word for it because I am on a ton of cold medicine right now…Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised by this one as well.
This is another one that I will now be better able to recognize in blends after smelling it here alone. This was described on the information card as “green,” but it doesn’t remind me of other “green” fragrances, which is good, since I am not usually a fan of greens. The Olfactif site says this is often used to play up other florals and I can totally see how that would work. This was another pleasant surprise.
Verdict: This was an interesting month for me from Olfactif. I was honestly a little worried when I saw that these were all soliflore fragrances this month. We got a soliflore gardenia a few months back and that one really didn’t work for me. Plus, I am honestly not into floral fragrances, as a rule. However, I actually really enjoyed every single fragrance this month (and, for what it’s worth, the full size bottles are $65 each, which is much more affordable than the $250+ fragrances I usually wish I could have…). One thing Olfactif is always good for is getting me to go outside my comfort zone a little bit.
What do you think of the September 2016 Olfactif collection? What was your favorite fragrance this month?
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