Woody
Top Notesclary sagecuminsaffron
Heartjasmineleatherviolet leaf
Base Notesbirch tarpapyrustonka beansvetiver
Tags
#smoky
Style
for her
for him
unisex
Still Life in New York is a perfume built on contrast: cozy and warm notes are set against cool and fresh materials.
The photo for this smellscape was taken by an artist who only shoots cities in the snow. She might be trying to capture that feeling of being snug while it’s snowing heavily outside.
The perfume design is toying with the same idea. Cozy warm notes of saffron, leather, smoky birch tar and vetiver are highlighted by a generous portion of cool clary sage and violet leaf.
The perfume feels like standing by a window in winter to peep at the falling snow and being able to feel both the cold ambiance coming from the glass and the warmth of the house in the background, the fireplace, steaming tea and cashmere blanket.
Perfumer: Jérôme Epinette
Photographer: Vivienne Gucwa
***
The Sniff on Flash Back in NY:
"Imagine that you are walking along a city street in the winter. The air is cold, crisp, making your lungs tingle as you breathe it in. You’re wrapped up nice and warm but the end of your nose is cold. Up ahead is a youth in a battered leather jacket smoking a marijuana cigarette and you get a second-hand whiff of it as he exhales a plume of smoke. That’s exactly what this perfume reminded us of."
All about this fragrance
Vibe check
Coming indoors with cold still caught in your coat, you pause beside a window overlooking a snow-muted street. Cool sage and violet leaf preserve that outdoor edge, while smoky leather and saffron suggest warmth close to the body. The mood is sheltered but alert, with the city still moving beyond the glass.
How to wear
The warm leather and smoke make this a natural choice for cool autumn days and winter weather. Start with one or two sprays on skin beneath clothing to keep the contrast close and measured. In warmer conditions, apply lightly so the smoky side does not overwhelm the cooler aromatic notes.
Who it’s for
For those drawn to smoky woods and leather with a cool green counterpoint. It suits a taste for dry, textured compositions and contrasts rather than straightforward freshness or sweetness, particularly if clary sage, violet leaf and vetiver appeal.
Release year
2018
The nose
Jérôme Epinette is known for lucid, carefully balanced compositions that give distinctive materials room to express themselves. His work includes Byredo’s Bal d’Afrique and Bibliothèque, alongside numerous creations for Atelier Cologne. In Flash Back in New York, he interprets a snowy city photograph through the tension between cool aromatic notes and warm, smoky leather.
Collaborators
Céline Verleure, Olfactive Studio’s founder and creative director, selected the snowy New York photograph and shaped the brief around its contrast of freezing streets and warm orange-red light. Photographer Vivienne Gucwa supplied the image that became the fragrance’s visual and emotional starting point.
Olfactive Studio’s story
Olfactive Studio brings contemporary photography into dialogue with perfumery, treating both as ways to capture moments and awaken memories. Founded by Céline Verleure, the house gives perfumers creative freedom to translate an image’s emotional atmosphere into distinctive compositions beyond conventional gender divisions.
Flash Back in New York’s concept
Flash Back in New York began with Vivienne Gucwa’s photograph of a snow-covered Manhattan street, with the Chrysler Building visible in the distance. Its warm light and wintry surroundings prompted a composition about heat within cold: saffron, leather and birch smoke counterbalanced by cool aromatic and green notes, rather than a literal portrait of the city’s smells.
Extra info
Despite its name, Flash Back in New York is a separate composition from Olfactive Studio’s earlier Flash Back, created by Olivier Cresp. The photograph behind the New York fragrance includes the Chrysler Building in the distance.
Top Notesclary sagecuminsaffron
Heartjasmineleatherviolet leaf
Base Notesbirch tarpapyrustonka beansvetiver
Tags
#smoky
Style
for her
for him
unisex
Still Life in New York is a perfume built on contrast: cozy and warm notes are set against cool and fresh materials.
The photo for this smellscape was taken by an artist who only shoots cities in the snow. She might be trying to capture that feeling of being snug while it’s snowing heavily outside.
The perfume design is toying with the same idea. Cozy warm notes of saffron, leather, smoky birch tar and vetiver are highlighted by a generous portion of cool clary sage and violet leaf.
The perfume feels like standing by a window in winter to peep at the falling snow and being able to feel both the cold ambiance coming from the glass and the warmth of the house in the background, the fireplace, steaming tea and cashmere blanket.
Perfumer: Jérôme Epinette
Photographer: Vivienne Gucwa
***
The Sniff on Flash Back in NY:
"Imagine that you are walking along a city street in the winter. The air is cold, crisp, making your lungs tingle as you breathe it in. You’re wrapped up nice and warm but the end of your nose is cold. Up ahead is a youth in a battered leather jacket smoking a marijuana cigarette and you get a second-hand whiff of it as he exhales a plume of smoke. That’s exactly what this perfume reminded us of."
All about this fragrance
Vibe check
Coming indoors with cold still caught in your coat, you pause beside a window overlooking a snow-muted street. Cool sage and violet leaf preserve that outdoor edge, while smoky leather and saffron suggest warmth close to the body. The mood is sheltered but alert, with the city still moving beyond the glass.
How to wear
The warm leather and smoke make this a natural choice for cool autumn days and winter weather. Start with one or two sprays on skin beneath clothing to keep the contrast close and measured. In warmer conditions, apply lightly so the smoky side does not overwhelm the cooler aromatic notes.
Who it’s for
For those drawn to smoky woods and leather with a cool green counterpoint. It suits a taste for dry, textured compositions and contrasts rather than straightforward freshness or sweetness, particularly if clary sage, violet leaf and vetiver appeal.
Release year
2018
The nose
Jérôme Epinette is known for lucid, carefully balanced compositions that give distinctive materials room to express themselves. His work includes Byredo’s Bal d’Afrique and Bibliothèque, alongside numerous creations for Atelier Cologne. In Flash Back in New York, he interprets a snowy city photograph through the tension between cool aromatic notes and warm, smoky leather.
Collaborators
Céline Verleure, Olfactive Studio’s founder and creative director, selected the snowy New York photograph and shaped the brief around its contrast of freezing streets and warm orange-red light. Photographer Vivienne Gucwa supplied the image that became the fragrance’s visual and emotional starting point.
Olfactive Studio’s story
Olfactive Studio brings contemporary photography into dialogue with perfumery, treating both as ways to capture moments and awaken memories. Founded by Céline Verleure, the house gives perfumers creative freedom to translate an image’s emotional atmosphere into distinctive compositions beyond conventional gender divisions.
Flash Back in New York’s concept
Flash Back in New York began with Vivienne Gucwa’s photograph of a snow-covered Manhattan street, with the Chrysler Building visible in the distance. Its warm light and wintry surroundings prompted a composition about heat within cold: saffron, leather and birch smoke counterbalanced by cool aromatic and green notes, rather than a literal portrait of the city’s smells.
Extra info
Despite its name, Flash Back in New York is a separate composition from Olfactive Studio’s earlier Flash Back, created by Olivier Cresp. The photograph behind the New York fragrance includes the Chrysler Building in the distance.