WHAT I SMELL: Still Life in Rio opens up like a basket of minty, citrus freshness. It’s delightful and feels incredibly bountiful. Quickly, the fresh moves to a more tropical with a creamy and buttery coconut taking over as if swathed with a butter knife over the perfume. The perfume is thickened without being heavy and it feels like it has been baked by the hot sun which pulls out a rather sweaty and salty element. At this point, the perfume is very subtle and unobtrusive and without a great deal of projection, so it feels as if it’s part of the sweat of your body. Slow to develop, after some time, a light rum note is added to the tropical coconut. The perfume then gracefully completes its journey very quietly, as if the tropical salty sweat of the day is like a lingering memory of the perfect day in Rio.
From the Olfactive Studio website:
Exotic and luminous, Still Life in Rio is a new and unique scent that opens with yuzu, ginger, mint and lemon essence. It blossoms and heats up with a blend of peppers, Jamaican hot peppers and coconut water, finishing with rum and Brazilian Copaiba essences.
TOP NOTES: Yuzu, ginger, mint, lemon, mandarin
HEART NOTES: Jamaican hot peppers, pink pepper, black pepper, coconut water
BASE NOTES: Rum, Brazilian Copaiba, Accord of White Leather
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The concept behind the brand:
“OLFACTIVE STUDIO IS AN ENCOUNTER BETWEEN CONTEMPORARY ARTISTIC PHOTOGRAPHY AND PERFUMERY; BETWEEN THE EYE AND THE NOSE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME EVER THAT PERFUMERS HAVE TEAMED UP WITH PHOTOGRAPHERS TO DRAW INSPIRATION FROM THEIR OEUVRES. THEY SENSE THE IMAGES TO CAPTURE THEIR ESSENCE.”
This is an inspiration that I can feel akin to as my reviews always accommodate my association with a visual. I’m not going to mess with adding any additional visual to the perfume, so I’ll stick with the actual inspiration, the photograph Still Life in Rio by Flávio Veloso.
THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE STILL LIFE IN RIO: calming, tropical, easy
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT STILL LIFE IN RIO: Chemist in the Bottle, CaFleureBon, Now Smell This
BOTTOM LINE: There’s something about the perfume that is just so incredibly easy. When you wear it, you don’t feel like there’s a need to rush or be in a hurry. The visual inspiration is stunning and you can just imagine how wonderful looking over this city in all it’s beauty could be on a hot, humid and steamy morning.
- Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
- Scent: Aromatic
- Nose: Dora Baghriche
- Classification: Unisex
- Expense: $195 for 100 ml Eau de Parfum
Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary. Opinion my own.
The Scented Hound 
April 11, 2016 at 6:53 am
I wish these perfumes had more oomph. I have liked the ones I’ve tried from Olfactive Studio but on skin they just don’t project at all on me. I love your description of this one. It seems like a great, easy summer scent but if you find it subtle I know I wouldn’t have much luck with it.
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April 11, 2016 at 6:03 pm
It is very subtle…on me pretty much a skin scent after a little over an hour. But then again, I’m applying with a little sample vs. a spray. Say…are you going to Sniffa in a couple of weeks?
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April 11, 2016 at 8:10 pm
As of right now I’m not going because I have some very unexpected vet bills because of Stanley and I’m not sure how he will be doing by then. I cannot leave a sick dog with the hubband for the weekend. He goes back to the vet Saturday so I’ll see what happens then. I’m still hoping I can go but its still up in the air.
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April 12, 2016 at 6:37 pm
Sorry about the vet bills. I certainly understand but I am just being selfish and would LOVE to see you 🙂
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April 11, 2016 at 7:11 am
I tried a sample of this and felt that it was very similar to Creed’s “Selection Verte”.
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April 11, 2016 at 5:16 pm
Howdy Tim…I can’t say that I have tried Selection Verte…does that mean this is a good or a bad thing??! 🙂
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April 11, 2016 at 11:29 am
Interesting impressions Houndie, I don’t get body sweat at all!
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April 11, 2016 at 5:17 pm
Not body sweat…a salty kind of sweat. It’s not strong, it’s just like when you’re wet and the sun dries the drops from you skin. Body sweat sounds smelly….LOL. This isn’t.
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April 12, 2016 at 12:59 am
Ok. Got your point
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April 11, 2016 at 11:43 am
This sounds like a perfect summer fragrance! I usually can’t do coconut in the summer, as it just seems fat and oily and gross to me unless it’s cut with something more astringent. Yosh’s Ginger Ciao comes to mind, as the ginger note cuts the fatty coconut down well, and this one sounds like it might fit the bill too.
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April 11, 2016 at 6:04 pm
Holly, the coconut in this is so understated. I’m with you, I don’t want to smell like I just slathered on some Banana Boat lotion.
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April 11, 2016 at 1:02 pm
Sounds wonderful ( I love any fragrance with coconut!) but it is a WEEE bit out of my price range.
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April 11, 2016 at 6:05 pm
I hear ya… a 50 ml less expensive bottle would be a nice option!
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April 11, 2016 at 9:54 pm
I’ve only tried one of the Olfactive Studio scents but it was pretty awful on me. Nonetheless, you make this sound lovely. 🙂 Looking forward to meeting you!
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April 12, 2016 at 6:38 pm
LOL…this is my first venture down OS way. I was pleasantly surprised! I am so looking forward to meeting as well!!
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April 18, 2016 at 1:25 am
Several of the brand’s perfumes that I’ve tried were so not interesting that I haven’t tried this one yet – even though I actually have a sample of it! Your description tells me that, most likely, I’m not for a big surprise with this one either but I will give it a try eventually.
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