Flash Back In New York

To simply describe this perfume in terms of notes is to not do it justice. If that’s what you’re after in a review then the following simple description would suffice: Top notes are Saffron, Cumin, Linen and Clary Sage; Middle notes are Leather, Violet and Jasmine; Base notes are Birch, Papyrus, Vetiver and Tonka Bean. But what does that give you? That’s a shopping list of ingredients, that’s not a scent. That’s not an emotion. To truly capture the true spirit of this perfume you need to think of it as a person. She is both feminine and masculine, yet the feminine energy prevails without a doubt. A sort of dominatrix if you will. She will meet you in the light, in a reasonably well lit public space. At first you will be disorientated, you won’t know what’s left or what’s right. From a distance she will seem warm, sweet and innocent. Yet as you approach you will start to see her true darker side. Your eyes move from her face down to her body, she’s dressed in a black cat suit. The light casting shadows on her toned body. Black boots and a belt of leather glisten and you can almost hear the sound of tightening leather above the chatter of those around you. She will stare you straight in the eye, a cool yet warm stare. She’ll say to you “zullen we gaan dansen”. It’s framed as a question, but you have no choice in the matter. It’s an order. From the moment you met her stare, her middle notes if you will, you were trapped. There’s no escape, you become intoxicated, obsessed, unable to think of anything else. She’ll brush past you, you’ll follow without a word. She’ll lead you down the dark streets, like a creature of the night. The next thing you know you’re on a dark dance floor surrounded by smoke, lights and sweat. She’s there in front of you, your eyes locked together. There’s no escape.

Wow. Always strange how people get different experiences from frags. Man I love this! you definately gotta love violet and vetiver. It starts very strong with a sour violet note balanced out with a little leather just to round it off. For the next 3-4 hours the vetiver slowly comes in getting stronger and more recognizable as time goes on. It settles at about the 5 hour mark or so into a really nice smooth vetiver with some tonka I imagine to maintain the sweetness. Performance is good. Sprayed this morning about 7am and still recognizable at 11pm. I'd say it projects moderately about 4-5 hours. One of my favorite vetiver scents in my collection!

Yeah, this is pretty much a Santal 33 dupe with some added spices and smokiness. Like, 85% similarity. Don't worry about the cumin in the note pyramid, it's near impossible to single it out. Even less so if you're susceptible to the (in)famous dill pickle accord in Santal - it's back with a vengeance in 'Flash Back in New York' (much to the dismay of my gf..). I, on the other hand, couldn't be happier to have found this gem of a fragrance. Santal 33 is the scent that first got me interested in perfumes, and to find this much, much more affordable alternative is just perfect.

The first and only fragrance marketed with the NYC name that actually fully delivers on the marketing. This juice IS NYC with all its charm and darkness. It doesnt play safe at no stage of its outstanding performance, the marijuana vibe in the very late dry down makes this even more authentic and cool. Warm and cold, heavy and light, happy and grim at the same time. The best niche fragrance release of the decade! Bravo!

Intriguing leather & saffron masculine + alpha-fem scent (@ProductivePuffin describes this olfactive juxtaposition w/ creative perfection). Only the slightest bitter bite - just the right amount - typical of saffron-leather scents. The birch smoke wafts into dry down, swirling & curling around the leather & vague (to my nose) florals in an intoxicating way. Masterful blend.

Very nice and comforting, woody, leather goodness. Rounded off by vetiver, birch and sweet tonka bean. I can imagine wearing this fragrance by the fireplace on a very cold day. ( I can ONLY imagine since I live in Miami). Very nice.

This is a really nice frag. First 2 hours it smells like Santal 33.Then in the drydown it has this nice creamy leather with the same but now tamed santal 33 sandalwood. Excellent all year long fragrance.

I'd call this 'L'eau de Santal 33'. The tonka-vanilla base gives the scent an overall smoothness and makes the fragrance less abrasive than S33. I get more spiced wood than leather.

It smells like the dodgy side of new york, imagine leather jackets, cigarettes and gritty street corners. Leans masculine

افضل واجمل عطر في هذي الدار لاني شميت كل عطورهم ويشبه عطر لولابو سانتال 33

Opens VERY linen forward, with a faint cumin-clary sage bias, but then I get a vague, neutral leather with a papyrus bias—it all comes as a dirty leather but probably like a city dirty rather than an animalic one (alternatively, a dried sweat dirty, a bit fresher). In a way, I LOVE how the leather is being presented here, but I think the papyrus, the bit of tonka and birch are doing a lot of heavy lifting here. Obviously, I could mass spray this, and layer with Leatherize by DSDurga or Suede by Rook Perfumes to get it to what I want it to smell like, but it’s damning enough that it misses the mark only by the strength of the leather here for me. What’s more, is that this was an incompletely informed pick from me that I sampled, and I’m glad I did because this is quite a unique leather. A woefully insulting tease of this kind of leather. This isn’t a feral leather note here, this is more like a dirty leaning, in a non-animalic way, but in a slight BO/faint tobacco direction kind of leather—something I haven’t smelled before. A captivating frag in this sense, and if you’re a fan of that kind of profile this is a must try. This is completely different from Santal 33 IMO, which vaguely smells like a typical woodsy frag—this is completely its own profile.

This scent morphs quite a bit during wear. I first immediately enjoy the strong refined feel of sandalwood with a hint of white floral jasmin. As it warms on my skin, it gets stronger and more prickly, like a restrained guiac wood. The cumin comes on a little sweaty at this point too. It can feel too much or too masculine to me, but it cools off and resolves to a slightly soapy clean and woody long lasting lingering scent. I enjoy the opening a lot, the mid is too strong, and the resolve is nice-I appreciate that it dors not trend too sweet or powdery- but its kind of boring. It does last a long time. Interesting how it feels clean as it fades. Like a day in a city, starts fresh, ends fresh and clean like a shower, with some strong scents of a pedestrian lifestyle in the mid-day.

It reminds me of Berlin, Neukölln maybe: a punk club where many cigarettes have been smoked and the furniture hasn't been changed since the 80's. The archetypal smell of thousands of unbranded leather jackets, been with their owner for so long that they've long lost their natural leather smell. It has the bitterness of a herb liqueur; the ashes of burnt wood made dirty by vetiver beyond recognition and beyond repair. Yet, like herb liqueurs, there's sweetness in the bitter taste. Almost dark fruity. This said, it's not an atmospheric fragrance. It's not about recreating a place. It's a statement when you wear it. NSFW, but why should it be. My guess is that the target person for this scent doesn't work in an office.

I got a sample of by Sommelier du parfum in their 25$ sample set choose base on your tastes and likes, and it does have a similar scent profile with Woody Sandalwood (have one 50ml bottle) who is duping Santal 33 which I havent smell yet, buy otherwise you can get the dill pickle juice scent but in a great way, I really do like the smell of it, is fresh spicy, leathery, absolutely good perfume/cologne if Santal 33 is your thing.

i love this perfume! the cumin might seem a bit harsh to some and i understand why. I wouldn’t say it’s a dangerous blind buy (i blind bought it) but if you’re unsure about the notes you should. sillage : 6.5/10 length : 9/10 worth 9/10

An improved version of Santal 33 where the cacophony of violet leaf and Sandalwood is harmonized with the cumin and the birch, warmer and woodier it's more like a modern cuir de Russie accord. Really nice

Flashback in NY is interesting and complex. There's something about it that's slightly off, that makes it not work for me. There's a refreshing, melon-like note that reminds me a little of Mojave Ghost.

Very similar to Vetiver Insolent Miller Harris. Unfortunately I find it cloying and there's something unnatural smelling in it which turns me off.

Flash Back in New York is an animalic musk. The fragrance opens with, and remains linear to, a dark leathery incense like aroma, that's crude, animalic, and assaults the nose with this brooding, musky undertone. I've smelled this in a million other Indie works, but it never ceases to amaze me how anyone could shamelessly release something like this to the public, marketed as a beauty item. There's simply nothing beautiful about this smell at all. It's earthy, dirty, and easily comes off as a smokey body odor. This would be highly offensive if worn in Paris. As a United Nation, where do we begin drawing the line as to where such etiquette need not apply? That's so inhumane—and doctrine that would be expected from some Fascist Aristocrat with a supremacy agenda. This is not even something you should be able to give away for free. It wouldn't make a good soap, or air freshener, or anything for that matter! Can this be used as a fixative in perfumery? It's certainly marketed for the wrong purpose. I can't begin recommend this for any purpose either, unless you want to smell like a bum, that hasn't been able to shower in as long as the owner's probably last gotten laid.

Interesting opening, leather and saffron are dominant, but it's not the overwhelming, aggressive saffron like in Matiere Premiere Crystal Saffron, but fine and fluffy, beautifully rounded. There is no bitterness, which is usually present in perfumes with leather and saffron. Santal 33? I don't know, it's definitely in that style, but for me, it’s more reminiscent of Amouage Meander, maybe because I'm more familiar with it. Surprisingly, cumin doesn’t bother me; I totally get its role in the composition. The drydown also has some sweetness. It’s pleasant, it reminds me of that feeling when you lie next to a closed window through which the sun warms you, even though it's cold outside.. cozy, a bit dusty, warmth on the skin. In any case, I might be a bit over the Santal 33 type of scent, so it’s not that interesting, but objectively it’s a solid fragrance. Rating 3.9/5, for those who enjoy that type of scent it's probably FBW. Good performance, quality. Personally, I find other creations from this house more interesting. Tested from the official Olfactive Studio sample.

Interesting! A break from the usual brighter more effervescent feeling of the brand. This one is inspired by a snowy image of New York and the feeling of being cozy. Ya know, when you feel the cold outside but appreciate the warmth! The entire character and tone of this fragrance is kinda dusty, it's like a fuzzy leather vetiver combo. There is a cloak of notes in this one that flits between warm and dry. Added to that? There's papyrus in here which adds to the dusty feeling. Different for them for sure! Most of the line explore brighter more citrusy and green notes so I like that it's off the beaten track. You have to like your denser, woodier, drier kinda fragrances to like this one. A bit of dust, a bit of warmth, a bit of smoke...it IS like a cozy night behind a window in the dead of winter. For that...I applaud it. :)

As soon as you spray it you get this lovely suede leather blended with the dry papyrus note mix with cumin. The scent sits so beautifully on the skin and it projects so well for a while. Soon after it turns powdery & sweet with the violet leaf. Tonka and vanilla mix in the base gives the scent the smoothness it needs after the punch of leather and cumin. It’s dark and buttery as the same point and the scent beautifully transitions on my skin within the 6 to 7 hours of its life on the skin. ⁣ ⁣ The dry down does remind me a little of Santal 33 but Flashback in New York is definitely more rounded off and creamy. I really enjoy it for sure.

Woody, smoky, with a nice dose o vetiver in the heart, slightly leathery. Perfectly blended by Mr. Epinette. Very comfortable performance, nice sillage, lasts long on my skin. All in all great scent! IMO it is a more refined and less agressive (more wearable) take on "Santal 33" Le Labo which I love anyway and which has been currently very popular amongst NY fragrance afficionados. At least that is what I've read recently. So I believe the name of this creation is not an accident. :)

I agree with @stoa! The first impression is a lot of cumin but after the dry down, it reminds me much more meander than santal 33. And that's for the better for me! It's much more unisex also after the dry down and I just looooove the way they sweetened the birch ! I don't know yet if it's FB worthy, time will say if I prefer this or meander (my wallet already decided).

It is commonly known that Le Labo Santal 33 is so popular in New York. That's why the name of the new Olfactive Studio is not occasional. It's a Santal 33 clone, I get the dill accord and some milky sandalwood. The difference is in dry down, where Flash Back shines with a sweet ISO e super/vetiver combination. Still it is very similar to Santal 33.

Lots of cumin and violet in the opening ontop of a big leather note - it does start to go a little Santal 33 as it dries but more nuanced than that. Very nice - wish it smelled like the opening throughout though. On me the drydown is like if Santal 33 was more violet-forward instead of sandalwood. Beginning to like the drydown more now.

Gorgeous, sexy, naughty, yes, definitely naughty - feels like the scent left behind after a particularly edgy shoot by Mapplethorpe in grungy 80's New York has just wrapped up. Smells of weed, leather, warm skin hang in the air. In fact his self portrait with cigarette, wearing a leather jacket captures this perfectly.

Lovely smell. It does remind me of Santal 33 but smoother and less sour. Yeah I really like this one, recommended if you like the le Labo already.