Olfactif February 2016 Subscription Box Review

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IMG_1539Olfactif is a monthly fragrance sampler subscription box. Every month you’ll receive 3 samples, each of which contains 15-20 applications of an independently designed perfume. Along with every $18 subscription box you receive, your account will be credited with an $18 voucher to use on fragrances from the store. Thus, if you purchase a full bottle of perfume each month, the subscription sampler is free.

Olfactif focuses on niche fragrances, unique scents produced with higher quality and harder-to-find ingredients than you would encounter in a department store. They offer both a unisex scent sampler (this one!) and a men’s fragrance sampler.  You can check out our reviews of Olfactif Men here.

IMG_1543IMG_1541Each sampler contains a card that offers suggestions on how best to appreciate the fragrances: since scents develop over time on the body, don’t just assume your first experience will be your last! Spritz the fragrance on and smell it at different times to fully appreciate all that the artist intended to express through the scent.

IMG_1544I love Olfactif’s little black slide-out box! It’s sexy and intriguing all at once–just the way I hope I smell when wearing their scents!

IMG_1545Each month includes an information card about the fragrances. The theme for February is Closer.

Love is a funny thing. It sparks without warning, and sometimes you don’t even know why. You know only that your gaze has locked onto someone like a tractor beam, and you long to get closer.

Our first scent is the smell of a stranger passing by–the briefest of encounters–lingering in the air like a fog. Our second scent is an exotic gourmand full of the intensity of an early love affair when everything is electric and impulsive. Our third scent is the sweet smell of familiar skin–the smell of this is what I imagined the first time I saw you. The smell of perfect closeness.

The information card gives the general gist of each perfume, as well as the notes.

IMG_1571Olfactif February 2016 Closer

  • 10 Corso Como by 10 Corso Como. Containing notes of sandalwood, frankincense, musk, rose, geranium, vetiver and rare Malay oud wood oil, I was immediately intrigued by this scent. When I sprayed it on, I was taken aback by the alcohol smell. Once the alcohol gave way to the sandalwood and musk tempered with the rose and the oud wood oil, this became a lovely, seductive scent for a night out on the town. The scent is named for the famous address in Milan that houses a number of trendy shops.
  • Puro Intense by Nejma. With notes of rum, lime, bitter, orange, cinnamon, coffee, cocoa bean, cigar, mahogany and burnt caramel, this scent is one of an exotic kitchen. Produced in Switzerland, it was inspired by the scents one would encounter strolling along the streets of Havana. It’s also what I’d hope my kitchen smelled like were I to live in the Caribbean: standing in an open-air kitchen, exotic dishes cooking on the stove, mojito in hand, admiring my mahogany salad bowl and contemplating what deliciousness would go in it today. St. John, anyone? While the darker, more electric scents waft through first – coffee, cigar, mahogany, sweet spots like the cinnamon, lime and the bitter orange come through later, just as they would in a fledgling relationship. [Note from Brandy: Megan reviewed Olfactif this month but this scent appears to be a different interpretation of Cuba although similar to last month].
  • Musc by Mona di Orio. This medium musk has notes of neroli, rose, heliotrope, tonka and musk. Although I enjoyed the experience of smelling the scent unfold, I found this to be the least successful of the three, if only because I kept wondering whether or not a man would appreciate it more than I did. When reflecting back on the enclosed notes, however, perhaps that’s the point: in a heterosexual relationship, your bodies get so close that you end up sharing each other’s scents. Women take on a musk from their boyfriends; men take on rose from their girlfriends.

Although 10 Corso Como was my favorite of the three scents, Puro Intense was not far behind – I love how it got my tropical fantasies swirling in high gear! The theme was a nice ode to Valentine’s Day this month, and I enjoyed the guided tour of longing and desire via fragrance this month.

Visit Olfactif to subscribe or find out more!

The Subscription: Olfactif
The Description: Get 3 niche, unique fragrances curated around a theme. Purchase a full bottle that month and credit your box price against the cost of the fragrance.
The Price: $18.00 per month
See Olfactif in the Hello Subscription Box Directory!
The Categories: . , .
The Reviews: See all our Olfactif Reviews or check out our Olfactif Men’s Box Reviews.

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