Waft Personalised Perfume – A Cautionary Tale

Waft Perfume - Purple

I love fragrance so when I saw the advertisements for Waft pop up on my Instagram feed, I took note.  The idea of having  a fragrance that I had had a hand in creating really appealed to me.  The price was not too bad either. £79 for 50ml.  I’ve paid more for less so away I went so I decided to take let Waft create a bespoke fragrance for me.

Waft Perfume - Purple

How it works

You have to fill in a questionnaire that establishes who the fragrance is for, whether you want a ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ fragrance and the occasion that you will be wearing the fragrance (work social dating) amongst other things.  I rattled through this section cos I wanted to get to the good bit.  The bit where you choose the ingredients for your perfume.  I chose iris, violet and lavender.  Are you seeing the theme here?:  Yes, all purple flowers.  I wanted something that reflected the beauty and complexity of the colour purple.  The herbal element of lavender, the greeness of violet leave and the depth and a little of the powder of orris (iris).  That bit done you get to choose the name of your fragrance and mine of course was purple.

I finalised my order, put in my payment details and happily it was only two days later before I was advised that my perfume had been made and that it was going to be sent soon.  Within a week I would have my fragrance.

Waft Perfume - Purple

What you get

I received my box and inside were two black jiffy bags which had a label on them.  The first said Daring Refreshing and Sexy.  Ohhhhh, yaaaasss I would definitely describe myself like that.  I was excited.  The other envelope said sensual, chic and refreshing.  Inside the first envelope was my fragrance. I was excited.  There was a paper with some images of flowers on them.  I expected to see a sea of purple but actually there was a yellow flower, which I discovered later was immortelle, There was a picture of some nuts… which looked like hazelnuts but I discovered later were chestnuts .  There was also a picture of a wild looking flower which I still don’t know what it is and some lavender. I took a spritz.  The opening is fizzy and lemonly thanks to the bergamot.  The fragrance is not bold in the opening and the dry down takes to you a powdery light finish via a creamy floral.  The scent is beautiful, but I can’t distinguish a lavender iris or violet note.  Hmmmmm  I open up the other jiffy bag and inside are my layering fragrances.  One is called Intensify and the other is Relax. Two more lovely fragrances, one slightly more iris than the other but not what I had expected.

So, me being me, I got in touch with Waft and asked what the pictures showed.  To be frank with a personalised fragrance, I don’t think I should have to search their website or google to find out what is in the fragrance.  I think it should be supplied.  I asked Waft why the notes that I had chosen were not prevalent in my fragrance.

I wanted to know whether Waft used parma violet or the other one or even violet leaf. I wanted to see if the orris was going to be creamy or earthy or carroty.  I wanted my vision of a purple fragrance.  Sadly what I got was not.  Waft explained that ‘making fragrance is not straightforward’ (errr…that statement was patronising and yes, I’m aware of that).  Waft explained hat the notes that people choose may not go together (errr… violet and iris is a pretty standard combo in both  designer and niche fragrances).  Basically, Waft don’t focus on the notes that you want in your fragrance, they decide what your fragrance should be based on the profile that you compete.  Errr… why get people to choose their three notes if you are not going to pay attention to them?  I know that fragrance is a blend of art science and luck, that is the beauty of it.  There are lots of ways that a blend of  lavender, orris and violet fragrance could turn out.   I did not get to experience any of them because Waft decided in their infinite wisdom that I wanted jasmine clary sage (which in fairness has purple flowers) and juniper.   I wanted to be the master of my choice.  The shame of it is, verbally, the brand did sum me up pretty well… I did just did not want a white flower fragrance.  Like I say, the scent is lovely, but it does not follow the concept that I had in mind.

Waft Perfume - Purple

The Packaging

The main scent in housed in a sturdy bottle with a wood effect lid.  The spritzer is quite nice.  I wish it was sold in a box because the bottle is quite plain and I like to keep my fragrances in their box to extend their life and prevent the contents of the bottle being affected by light and heat.  The layering scents are 5ml each.  Again no boxes and they are glass roller balls.  I REAALY wish they they had gone with an atomiser.

The Fragrances

Waft Perfume - Purple

Intensify 79

Waft say…an extreme Mediterranean freshness infusing the bright notes of citrus oil and lavender are brought to life by touches on a sensual back of patchouli.  Wear this elegant attraction freshness on you everyday unrestrainedly.

  • Bergamot
  • Orange Flower
  • Lemon
  • Mandarin
  • Lavender
  • Blackcurrant
  • Black Pepper
  • Patchouli
  • White Musk

Relaxed 81

Waft say…a delicious blend of elegant Jasmine and violet flower with Green tea for a refreshing fragrance that you can wear for eveyr occasion.  This timeless perfume will lighten your day and energise your character.

  • Jasmine
  • Bergamot
  • Violet
  • Green Tea
  • Pink Pepper
  • Orris
  • Cedarwood
  • Sandalwood
  • White Musk

Waft Perfume - Purple

Purple 90

Waft say … a strong fragrance composed by the most beautiful ingredients.  The clary sage is sublimating the elegant lavender  show your personality and power.  This daring modern fragrance is revisiting mediteranian shores with harmony

  • Juniper Berry
  • Lavender
  • Bergamot
  • Clary Sage,
  • Jasmine
  • Imortelle
  • White Musk
  • Chestnut
  • Pine needles

Take a look at the notes.  Do you get my confusion? I asked for the purple holy trinity. I got a lot of citrus (which I love but was not what I asked for) and a lot of jasmine (which I love but again was not what I asked for) .  Even if each fragrance had featured one of the notes strongly, I could have blended all three… but nope.

On the skin

Each of these fragrances is soft.  None of them have a super bold opening.  The dry down takes you to a skin scent within about thirty minutes. The musk provides warmth and a touch of cream rather than outright powder.  Let me say again that I do enjoy all of these fragrances but they are not what I signed up for.  Relaxed if the closest, I get the dept of the orris on the skin but I don’t get much violet, this on me anyway is jasmine with a touch of citrus and a light wood base. Purple is pretty not very daring in my opinion.  I enjoy the green of the pine needles, I don’t get much lavender it is citrus going to creamy herbal.  Intensity is acitrus topper that I have been layering with some of  the colognes in mhy collection.

I find that the intensify lightens Purple and that Relaxed intensifies it.  My favourite combo is Purple and Relaxed, I feel like this give more of a hint of what I expected the fragrance to be like, it has the three notes that I asked for.

Waft Perfume - Purple

Who is Waft for?

If you are happy for Waft to determine a fragrance for you and you don’t have specific fragrance notes that you want in your fragrance this is for you.  If you want to gift something semi unique and personal to someone you will like this.

Who is Waft not for?

If like me you have a specific note or notes in mind that you really want to see used in the fragrance this is not for you.  If you really want to know the exact composition of your fragrance without having to ask the brand for it this is not for you.  That said, they do have a full money back guarentee so it may be worth trying it to see if you like the fragrance as if you dont, you can return it.

Have you used Waft? Am I being too harsh?  Did I expect too much? Let me know lyour thoughts in the comments below.  Read more of my fragrance reviews here and here.  Follow me on Instagram for more beauty news and reviews.

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