Atelier Cologne 2017 Advent Calendar Review

Atelier Cologne is a French fragrance company. You may have sampled some of their products through Birchbox or another beauty subscription box (that’s where I first learned of them). Their products are cruelty-free and made from the highest quality natural raw materials. When I found out they were offering an advent calendar this year, I had to get one.

FYI: This Advent Calendar is still available for purchase!

My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

The Box: Atelier Cologne Advent Calendar

The Cost: $49

The Products: 24 days of perfume sprays, dabbers, and soaps from Atelier Cologne. All are intended to be unisex fragrances.

Ships to: US (free for VIB Rouge or with orders of $50+ from Sephora; may not qualify for 2-day shipping due to flammability of the contents)

Check out all the Holiday 2017 Advent Calendars and Beauty Advent Calendars available for purchase!

The back of the box gave ingredients for the larger fragrance bottles and soaps, though all the ingredients for the small bottles were lumped together in one massive paragraph. I’m guessing if you are sensitive to a lot of fragrances, this collection is not for you, and if you are interested in this calendar, you probably don’t have reactions to a lot of fragrance components.

Day 1: Café Tuberosa (1.7 mL) – Value $4.82 (Buy 30 mL for $85)

Notes include bergamot, tangerine, cardamom, tuberose, Damascena rose absolue, coffee espresso accord, patchouli, vanilla, and cacao absolue. I am not always a fan of florals but this one worked for me, probably because there were a lot of non-floral notes. I couldn’t necessarily pick out the patchouli, vanilla, cacao, etc., but I think they all worked together to make a nice base for the tuberose.

Day 2: Cedrat Enivrant Soap (40g) – Value $4 (Buy 200g for $20)

Notes include cedrat, lime, bergamot, mint, basil, juniper berries, tonka bean, vetiver, and elemi.  I received this fragrance in a vial, also, and I’ll talk about the scent there. I felt this was similar to the scent in the vial and would be great for layering.

Day 3: Pomelo Paradis (1.7 mL) – Value $4.25 (Buy 30 mL for $75)

Notes include pink pomelo, mandarine, blackcurrant bud, orange blossom, rose essence, mint, vetiver, iris, and amber.  To me, this is a strong grapefruit fragrance although to be fair, that’s what I expected going in, and my expectations may have influenced me. I like it, though. It’s a bit off the beaten path as citrus fragrances go.

Day 4: Rose Anonyme (1.7 mL) – Value $4.82 (Buy 30 mL for $85)

Notes include bergamot, ginger, rose essence, rose absolue, incense, velvet oud accord, patchouli, papyrus, and benzoin. Although there are a lot of notes here, this is a rose fragrance first and foremost. If you like rose, you will like it, and if you don’t care for rose, it’s probably not for you.

Day 5: Orange Sanguine (1.7 mL) – Value $4.25 (Buy 30 mL for $75)

Notes include blood orange, bitter orange, red mandarin, jasmine, geranium, black pepper, tonka bean, sandalwood, and cedarwood.  This is one of my favorites from this advent calendar.  I have this obsession with blood oranges, though. I am not usually drawn to fruity fragrances but this is an exception.

Day 6: Clementine California (7 mL) – Value $17.50 (Buy 30 mL for $75)

Notes include clementine, mandarin, juniper berries, star anise, Sichuan pepper, basil, vetiver, sandalwood, and cypress. This one is a little different from the Orange Sanguine (and from the Mandarine Glaciale you’ll see later).  It might be interesting to layer. I feel like this one is a bit “lighter” than the Orange Sanguine and might be more of a daytime fragrance for me.

Day 7: Vanille Insensee (1.7 mL) – Value $4.82 (Buy 30 mL for $85)

Notes include coriander, cedrat, lime, jasmine, vetiver, oakmoss, vanilla, oakwood, and amber. I actually have a couple of vials, minis, etc. of this fragrance already. It is a warm vanilla fragrance that I think works well for fall or winter.

Day 8: Silver Iris (1.7 mL) – Value $7.37 (Buy 30 mL for $130)

Notes include tangerine, pink pepper, blackcurrant, violet leaves, iris Pallida, mimosa, patchouli, white amber, and tonka bean. I’m a bit surprised because usually, I am all over the more expensive fragrances, but this one didn’t leave a strong impression with me. Granted, I was trying to sample 18 fragrances over the course of about 2 days. In general, patchouli, amber, and tonka bean are good base notes for me, though.

Day 9: Bergamote Soleil (1.7 mL) – Value $4.25 (Buy 30 mL for $75)

Notes include bergamot, bigarade, ambrette, jasmine, lavender, cardamom, heart of vetiver, oakmoss, and white amber. You may be familiar with bergamot from Earl Grey tea, and I feel like I am noticing that here for sure. It’s a more complex blend than that (the lavender and jasmine are not super noticeable to me), but the bergamot is definitely what stands out.

Day 10: Cedrat Enivrant (1.7 mL) – Value $4.25 (Buy 30 mL for $75)

Notes include citron, lime, bergamot, mint, basil, juniper berries, tonka bean, vetiver, and elemi. This one is unusual. I had trouble placing it at first but it turns out, “cedrat” just wasn’t translated properly on the Atelier Cologne site; this is citron (you might’ve seen candied citron peel around the winter holidays). Citron is a little more masculine, I personally feel, than some of the other citrus-based fragrances in this calendar.

Day 11: Mandarine Glaciale (7 mL) – Value $19.83 (Buy 30 mL for $85)

Notes include mandarin, lemon, bergamot, ginger, jasmine, petitgrain, heart of vetiver, oakmoss, and white amber. This is another one I really like. It’s definitely orange-like, but subtly different from the Orange Sanguine or the Clementine California. Though it has jasmine listed, it isn’t particularly floral.

Day 12: Santal Carmin (1.7 mL) – Value $4.25 (Buy 100 mL for $250)

Notes include bergamot, limette, saffron, sandalwood, gaiac wood, white musk, papyrus, cedarwood, and vanilla. At first, I thought this one was really expensive, but it turns out just not to be available in a 30 mL bottle at this time. This was another favorite for me, but sandalwood, vanilla, musk, and cedar are almost always hits for me, especially together like this. The citrus is not especially strong here.

Day 13: Bois Blonds (1.7 mL) – Value $4.82 (Buy 30 mL for $85)

Notes include neroli, bergamot, petitgrain, orange blossom, pink pepper, incense, blond woods, musk, and vetiver.  Pink pepper and incense is another great combination for me, personally (I tend to like heavy, spicy sorts of fragrances). It’s not that I smell like pepper or anything, but somehow it combines with everything else in a way that works with my body chemistry.

Day 14: Grand Neroli (1.7 mL) – Value $4.25 (Buy 30 mL for $75)

Notes include neroli, bergamot, petitgrain, galbanum, oakmoss, birch leaves, musk, cedarwood, and vanilla. Here we have base notes that include musk, cedarwood, and vanilla again.  No one thing really stood out to me here. I see neroli in a lot of blends and I think I’m just not used to recognizing it as the star attraction. I did not find this overly floral.

Day 15: Pomelo Paradis Soap (40g) – Value $4 (Buy 200g for $20)

Notes include pink pomelo, mandarine, blackcurrant bud, orange blossom, rose essence, mint, vetiver, iris, and amber. This one is great for layering with the Pomelo Paradis fragrance up above.  I am mostly using these as hand soaps because I think they are a bit more fragranced than I’d like for general body care (sometimes my skin is sensitive). On the plus side, they will last longer that way.

Day 16: Sud Magnolia (1.7 mL) – Value $4.82 (Buy 30 mL for $85)

Notes include bitter orange, pomelo, blackcurrant, magnolia, rose absolue, saffron flower, atlas cedarwood, sandalwood, and musk. This one is definitely more floral than some of the others, and you do notice the rose (or at least I do), but it’s not a rose fragrance – it just has a bit in the background.

Day 17: Oud Saphir (1.7 mL) – Value $7.37 (Buy 30 mL for $130)

Notes include bergamot, ambrette, pink pepper, violet leaves, jasmine, suede leather, dark oud accord, birch wood, and vanilla. Ah, another expensive one. This one, I liked a lot. I love leathery fragrances (plus this had some wood and vanilla and pink pepper again). Please note that a lot of the fragrances I like most are heavier, fall/winter types of fragrances. If you want “clean and fresh,” there is some of that here, but you will probably want to focus on fragrances I don’t call favorites!

Day 18: Emeraude Agar (1.7 mL) – Value $7.37 (Buy 30 mL for $130)

Notes include bergamot, angelica, black pepper, geranium, rose absolue, eucalyptus, agar wood, santal mysore, and gaiac wood. This one is definitely green to me. I’m not just saying that because of the name, but because of the way it smells to me, too. Green fragrances are a thing, and there were green elements to some of these, but this one was, to me, the greenest of them all.

Day 19: Orange Sanguine Soap (40g) – Value $4 (Buy 200g for $20)

Notes include blood orange, bitter orange, red mandarin, jasmine, geranium, black pepper, tonka bean, sandalwood, and cedarwood. This was nice for layering with the Orange Sanguine fragrance, or the Clementine California or Mandarine Glaciale, as well.

Day 20: Mandarine Glaciale (1.7 mL) – Value $4.82 (Buy 30 mL for $85)

Notes include mandarin, lemon, bergamot, ginger, jasmine, petitgrain, heart of vetiver, oakmoss, and white amber. I received this one in a larger size as well, so I talked about it up above.

Day 21: Cedre Atlas (1.7 mL) – Value $4.82 (Buy 30 mL for $85)

Notes include lemon, bergamot, blackcurrant bud, cedarwood, jasmine, apricot, white amber, papyrus, and vetiver. Cedar is the star here. It is a bit different in this combination than when it is combined with sandalwood. This one is a little “cleaner” than my usual preference, but still something I may turn to occasionally.

Day 22: Vanille Insensee (7 mL) – Value $19.83 (Buy 30 mL for $85)

Notes include coriander, cedrat, lime, jasmine, vetiver, oakmoss, vanilla, oakwood, and amber. Another one for my collection. (I talked about this fragrance up above.) I seriously have at least 3 of these either in mini or sprayer form now. At least I like this one.

Day 23: Vetiver Fatal (1.7 mL) – Value $4.82 (Buy 30 mL for $85)

Notes include bergamot, lemon, heart of bitter orange, orange blossom absolue, violet leaves, fig, heart of vetiver, cedarwood, and dark oud accord. I’m noticing that sometimes if there are French words in the lists of notes, that they are not necessarily things I don’t know, but that Atelier Cologne provided an incomplete translation on their site. When I am catching them, I am looking them up and substituting a more familiar English term. This is less citrusy than you might think from the name. I am noticing the violet leaves and fig here, mostly.

Day 24: Orange Sanguine (7.5 mL spray) – Value $18.75 (Buy 30 mL for $75)

Notes include blood orange, bitter orange, red mandarin, jasmine, geranium, black pepper, tonka bean, sandalwood, and cedarwood. I talked about this one up above, as well. Orange Sanguine is really represented well in this box, with a small vial, a sprayer, and a soap. Luckily it is a scent that works for me.

Verdict: I calculated a value of $174.08 for the Atelier Cologne 2017 Advent Calendar. That’s more than three times the cost of the calendar (and more than the advertised $149 value, though part of that depends on which per-ounce price you use – I went with the smallest bottles available on the Atelier Cologne website). If you have been watching this one carefully, you will note that I received a few duplicate fragrances (for example, one in a 1.7 mL container and one of the same in a 7 mL bottle) and that a few of the fragrances listed on the Sephora page for this item were not present. (In particular, I did not receive Tobacco Nuit, Mimosa Indigo, or Poivre Electrique.) Although I’m a little disappointed with the duplicates (and I love tobacco in fragrances so I was especially anticipating Tobacco Nuit), overall I think this is an incredible value and a great way to sample a lot of new fragrances as well as to get backups of some that I already knew I loved.

What do you think of the Atelier Cologne Advent Calendar? Are you picking one up?