Olfactory NYC — Local services in Boston

I'm giving it a two star because I do like my scent and I will wear it, but I went in by myself because I wanted to have a mental health day for myself. It was honestly one of the first times that I've ever done something like this and I'm also from two hours away so I really went in there hoping to get a little bit of me time and to feel refreshed when I get out and to have something memorable. when I went in as a walk-in the worker who greeted me was extremely nice, but I ended up getting paired with another worker, and I don't know if it's because I went by myself, but she completely sped up the entire process and kind of was being very pushy and when I was trying to take my time to really decide or I was kind of indecisive with an option, she would act like I was inconveniencing her and it honestly made me really uncomfortable so I kinda just went with the flow and try to keep myself positive. Once I put the four different scents that were my favorites on my wrist she wanted me to pick out a bottle, but I tried to explain to her that I wanted to choose the color of the bottle after I choose the scent because they have different aesthetics to them, but once I said that she looked very inconvenienced and pushed me to just choose right at the moment which I did, and then once I did that she made me instantly choose a name for it, which I honestly don't like the name on my bottle but she was just rushing me so much that I had to choose it and then she didn't even try to make the letters even when she stamped it on, I even asked her to take that label off and to put another label to try to make it as straight as possible because it looked so bad. I don't know maybe I would go in there again with somebody, but I went in there by myself to kind of feel better and to have a self care day and I just felt like I was bothering her which just made it a really uncomfortable experience for me. I'd also like to mention once I really notice this was when there was another group that entered, and I was listening to the worker next to me who was working with that group and she was asking all sorts of questions about what kind of scents they do and don't like and understanding what there looking for and not just shutting down there ideas. My perfume or did not ask me any of those questions she wanted to rush me into picking one and I don't feel like I got the scent that I really wanted but got one she just wanted to give me. but I do still like mine, which is why I gave it to two star. I don't know it's just really hurts peoples experiences going out by themselves and it was my...

I am extremely disappointed with the customer service. I was at the Boston location and the experience was lovely, my friend and I had perfumes created and the girl who walked us through the process was knowledgeable and very good at her job. When I got back to Canada I tried the perfume and it smelled nothing like what it smelled like in the store, it actually made me feel nauseous. I understand that it can smell a little different but not completely different, I tried it with the cream I was wearing that day as well with perfume I wearing that day and it still smelled the same. I contacted the company by email and I advised that I believe the perfume was not created/mixed properly, they advised as I live in Canada they could send me a shipping label and I can try sending it back to them but they can’t guarantee they will get it. They will need to test the product, I asked if there was an alternative solution as I spent a lot of money and they are saying it may get lost in the mail shipping back to them and there must be an alternative to international shipping to guarantee they receive it. In the meantime, I asked my friend who had a perfume created to try it and it smelled the exact same on her where she said she felt nauseous with the smell and it was definitely mixed improperly. As her perfume smelled exactly the same way as what she asked for and she remembered what mine was supposed to smell like and this was completely different. I have sent several follow up emails asking for a solution and no one from the company has responded in over two weeks. This is why I am writing a review as I do not know what else to do to...

This place felt more like a tourist attraction than a true artistry-driven perfume/cologne experience. Maybe it’s because I have some personal experience with scent-making at home, but I found it disappointing that they couldn’t explain how their scents were extracted—just that everything is shipped in.

The process starts with picking a base scent, which I understand since letting people fully build their own fragrance could waste time and materials. But when they advertise “customization,” it was underwhelming that you could only layer one additional scent onto that base. I get that offering more might complicate things, but it left the final product feeling pretty limited.

For $90, I didn’t feel like I got my money’s worth. The scent I walked away with wasn’t bad, but it didn’t create that “wow” factor either. I can absolutely see this being a hit with teenagers—the group of girls there were having a blast—and I did appreciate that they offered some masculine fragrance options too.

Overall, it’s a fun and very beginner-friendly activity, but not for someone looking for a true fragrance-creation experience. Even small details, like labeling your custom bottle, could be improved—it’s literally just a cheap stamp, nothing elegant or artisanal. The staff were friendly and did a good job with what they had, but the whole experience could use refinement.

Bottom line: If you’re a novice or bringing teens, you’ll probably enjoy it. If you’re more experienced with fragrance or hoping for artistry and value, you’ll likely walk away...