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 