Flash Back in New York by Olfactive Studio

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Collection Black

Flash Back in New York Olfactive Studio 2018

7.3 / 10 108 Ratings

A perfume by Olfactive Studio for women and men, released in 2018. The scent is spicy-woody. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Spicy

Woody

Leathery

Smoky

Green

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Clary sage Cumin

Cumin

Saffron

Linen

Heart Notes

Tuscan leather Jasmine

Jasmine

Violet

Base Notes

Birch smoke Papyrus

Papyrus

Vetiver

Tonka bean

Perfumers

Jérôme Epinette, Robertet

Ratings

Scent

7.3108 Ratings

Longevity

7.694 Ratings

Sillage

7.095 Ratings

Bottle

7.595 Ratings

Value for money

7.035 Ratings

Submitted by OPomone · last update on 12/11/2025.

Source-backed & verified

Interesting Facts

The fragrance is part of the Collection Black collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Santal 33 Eau de Parfum

Beso Negro

Autumn Vibes

Cuir Sellier

Slow Explosions

Black Phantom - Memento Mori

Reviews

5 in-depth fragrance descriptions

05/21/2018

Fqjcior
10 Reviews

Fqjcior

Helpful Review 3

Another great fragrance by Olfactive Studio

Woody, smoky, with a nice dose o vetiver in the heart, slightly leathery. Perfectly blended by Mr. Epinette. Very comfortable performance, nice sillage, lasts long on my skin. All in all great scent!

IMO it is a more refined and less agressive (more wearable) take on "Santal 33" Le Labo which I love anyway and which has been currently very popular amongst NY fragrance afficionados. At least that is what I've read recently. So I believe the name of this creation is not an accident. :)

03/19/2018

9.5Scent 8Longevity 6Sillage

Zauber600
49 Reviews

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Zauber600

Top Review

Back on Track ..

Flash Back in New York (FBiNY) is - as usual with Olfactive Studio - delivered with a photo that usually matches the fragrance.

http://persefume.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/v-gucwa-e1518428577755.jpg

Perhaps the recent releases - here specifically mentioning Selfie with its rather tasteless name, which surely received a worse rating than it deserved - have prompted the creators this time to choose a more neutral name and a less polarizing description, similar to Still Life in Rio.

FBiNY opens with a fresh green-herbaceous lavender note, which is immediately liberated from its initial clean scent attitude by saffron and spicy cumin.
It is followed by a green violet with a hint of jasmine (which I find slightly indolic) and a creamy leather accord. This phase, with the still detectable saffron, strongly reminds me of "Leather 6 / Fetish".
The base is formed by bright, dry birch smoke and papyrus, greened by rugged vetiver and rounded off with balsamic tonka bean without sliding too much into sweetness.

Overall, a fragrance that acts very energetically, with its individual phases being quite distinct, which makes FBiNY very exciting. For me, it’s a creamy barbershop scent with a lot of leather and additionally green-balsamic notes from the base, which is very pleasant to wear and does not get boring.

For whom: NYC - Lovers ;-))

For whom else: Those who found Leather 6 / Fetish too loud and sweet, Santal 33 too expensive, and Stash too woody might find their fragrance here. Unisex.

When: It actually works for any occasion.

Longevity and sillage: 7-8 hours and medium.

Note 1: This fragrance develops very differently: from paper to skin and also from skin to skin!

Note 2: Following Woody Mood, FBiNY is another very appealing fragrance. For me, the early works like Autoportrait, Chambre Noire, and especially Ombre Indigo were top-notch, albeit very specific niche fragrances. What followed was - with the exception of Selfie, which I really like - rather mediocre (especially the fresher scents) to sometimes unbearable (Close-Up).

But now they are back on track .. ..

12/12/2018

9Scent 8Longevity 6Sillage

Leimbacher
2873 Reviews

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Leimbacher

Top Review 18

Cold Smoke at the Psychologist

F ormal a bore

L urks in the shadows

A gitated are others

S radiates a heartfelt coldness

H as much to offer from leather to vetiver to smoke

-

R arely invites to dance

A initially very skeptical

C harismatic

K icks into gear quickly, always knows the way

-

I s usually out and about alone

N ot too chatty

-

N ever unfriendly, never forced, never sneaky

A express ticket to the Empire State Building

W arns once, then there’s trouble

-

Y ours truly

O ften in contrast to its father scent

R ules things straightforwardly

K not a scent for children

-

Bottle: once even more beautiful, but still chic.
Sillage: chest out, collar stays down.
Longevity: 7 to 9 hours - an extensive session with the Freudian chain smoker.

Conclusion: a film noir scent that never sleeps. But always has the bedroom gaze. Riper, grayer, more adult than the normal "Flash Back". And for me, also better. Almost signature-ready. Vetiver, minimally fruity and with a lot of masculine attractants. Cool, cool, controlled. Out of time. And that’s a good thing.

05/27/2020

7Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Taurus
1172 Reviews

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Taurus

Top Review 11

Setback in New York

The olfactorily inspired photo shows us a rather snowy street canyon with snow flurries in nighttime New York. An excellent motif by photographer Vivienne Gucwa, with a mood that catapults us directly into wintertime. You can almost feel the cold and sense the muted calm that emanates from this image.

Thus, "Flash Back in New York" is a rather wintry Eau de Parfum with a metropolitan ambition. The seasonal aspect fits well, but otherwise, I don't quite connect with the fragrant "flashback."

This is partly due to the omnipresence of cumin, clary sage, and saffron in the opening. The concentrated spiciness is almost a bit too much of a good thing.
Especially saffron makes the creation gentle in the top note, but in interplay with the cumin, it becomes more strenuous than it needs to be. The finely woven linen nuance has its charm, but it only comes through minimally.

In contrast, the leather later emerges quite forcefully, but more in a well-behaved direction of suede with a hint of shoe polish. Yes, even papyrus wants to play its part, but all in all, "FBNY" with its leathery-woody undertones feels slightly artificial and overloaded. Perhaps this fits the well-behaved bourgeois side of the city and has a somewhat niche quality, but overall the scent feels cumbersome and, despite its intended complexity, almost annoying.

Not that I felt fundamentally uncomfortable or bored while testing, but the whole time I had the feeling that this creamy-leathery-woody-spicy mix would really get on my nerves after wearing it two or three times a quarter.

Yes, nicely done and surely liked by many, but not for me - not even in winter or in New York. That it bears no resemblance at all to the original Flash Back... well, that's a given!

03/19/2018

10Scent 9Longevity 9Sillage

Bogena
23 Reviews

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Bogena

Top Review 10

Well done in Big Apple

Yes, the creators of Olfactive Studio really know what they’re doing. True niche. Not just since Autoportrait. Now the latest from the clever, innovative French house. And it’s definitely worth it. Flash Back in New York is high perfume art. A bit sweaty, a bit woody-leathery, a bit fruity. Nothing too much - perfectly balanced. By no means intrusive, but perfectly attuned to the skin. The scent surrounds you, but never too much. That’s 100 percent. Does it smell like New York? Right in Manhattan? Big Apple? No idea, I’ve never been there, but the scent smells urban. Not in the sense of stuffy city air. On the contrary. More fresh-spicy cosmopolitan. Clearly unisex with a touch more masculinity. Not for the peak summer; more for the transitional period. For me, an absolute recommendation to buy. And I say this as someone who is usually impressed by a lot of wood and leather. But this lightly fruity-spicy New York scent earns me great compliments. It simply smells fantastic. Well done in Big Apple.