Home for the Holidays

Very impressed with this one! Incredibly accurate to the note description. Starts with coffee laced with maple, cinnamon and other holiday spices and reveals rich, creamy liqueur and fresh boughs of pine as it dries down. Definitely huge fall and winter vibes. A rare gourmand that fulfills every expectation rather than going awry at any point. If I were to provide any caveat it’d be that the cinnamon and coffee aspects might be too strong for some, but since I personally love that combo I don’t mind at all. In that vein while this is unique in my large collection it does occasionally bear some resemblances to Motif Olfactif’s De Zouma à Toma, another spiced coffee/cacao that’s a favorite of mine that however lacks the apple, maple, pine and other facets that make this an impressively three dimensional scent. Again, I’ve smelled a lot of things and own a few other Statik Olfactives, but this is the first that’s compelled me to write a review immediately—albeit likely due to my disposition towards nostalgic and spiced coffee/fall/winter scents—but that is just to say, this one hits!!! Bravo Chris, Hez, whole team. Prices are great for the pristinely packaged 12mLs, though I must admit I would’ve preferred a spherical cap to the 3D-printed-rock one I received. Very nifty and cool, just not the most fitting for the theme. I’ll cherish my bottle nonetheless and think up some cool mythology for the rock in the context of the scent, haha. Sillage great, longevity yet to be seen but indications say it’ll be superb—will update if not. All in all, I could hardly recommend more! Bravo, good sirs!!! Post-script: Not to be disparaging in any way, but it also essentially smells just like a great Dunk’s order, cinnamon-spiced coffee, maple doughnuts, apple fritters and other assorted confections included... and longevity did end up being superb. Creamy, white musk also becomes prominent in the deep drydown.

Fragrance Journal Entry #159 This is the only fragrance of the 5 i sampled that i've actually considered purchasing a larger bottle of, the reason i am hesitant is the wearability. It's not that this is unpleasant but it's very specific, there's probably 2 weeks throughout the year i'd feel comfortable wearing this (Dec 15th-Jan 1st). As for the scent it's literally perfection, the notes you see are exactly what you get and are blended in a way that allow you to pick out each individual note, the perfumer took their time with this one. It's essentially christmas in a bottle, all the smells you get around christmas are packed into this scent and it's truly the most artistically expressive fragrance i've ever tried and my favorite from the brand. Rating: 9.5/10 Blind Buy Safe? NO

I am still amazed by how this house manages to capture the exact childhood moments here. This is what holidays smell like. Baked goods, hot beverages , family gathered , happiness and joy in a bottle.

The apple, gingerbread, cinnamon, and spicy notes come charging out like the seasonal donut lineup. It’s sugary, warm, and a little chaotic, like the box of mixed donuts you swore you wouldn’t finish . . . yet somehow did. Once the top settles, you get the unmistakable coffee + Bailey’s Irish Cream + almond milk combination that can only be described, as someone had below me, as a Dunkin’s holiday beverage of the month. And the popcorn note? That’s the slightly burned smell wafting from behind the 1990's Cinemark Theatre concession counter because someone left the unbuttered and unsalted corn in the warmer overnight. When the amber, maple, brown sugar and coffee settle in, it becomes the scent of a doughnut bag warmed by your car seat heater. Then the balsam fir, pine, and Australian sandalwood, which I can barely detect roll in, adding the vibe of the tiny Christmas tree someone taped to the store’s front window next to a “Santa [has the] Runs on [from] Dunkin” sign. It’s the fragrance equivalent of “I’m running late, I need to cross Boston Common in seven inches of snow; it’s sleeting now; why did I wear this wool turtleneck; is that man robbing a Falafel street cart; fracking weekend tourists from Worcester coming out of the T; are those Christian Scientists or Mormon Missionaries; I just stepped in yellow snow; it's all over my corduroy pants cuff; why did I have a Subway meatball sandwich for lunch; is that marinara on my shirt cuff; and you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife; and you may ask yourself, "well, how did I get here?"; I need caffeine and I need it to taste like dessert.”

I really wanted to like this. I get no pine or sandalwood. The coffee stays for a bit but then pretty much for the rest of the wear it smells like coconut, cream, and cheap popcorn. And at that point it smells like a Bath & Body Works candle. When it gets to December I will try it again and give it another full wearing and I will amend my review if I get anything different.