SNIF
VOW FACTOR

2023

MANDARIN
green fig
galbanum

ORRIS
ROSE
NEROLI

cedarwood
ambrette
tonka bean

A week prior to Vow Factor, I tried its successor Honey Suite (both created by Snif in collaboration with Emelia of Professor Perfume) as my first experience with Snif. Honey Suite was solid, but not a love for me. For Vow Factor I had no preconceived notions whatsoever as I sprayed it on, without knowing any of the notes or theme, and it turned out to be one that I enjoyed more.

Fig stands out ahead of the rest of the notes. And it is indeed green as promised by the note breakdown. You get some of that creamy, oily, lactonic fig quality, but overall, definitely a crisper, greener, fruitier style at first. Add to that listed notes like neroli and galbanum and this opens as a rather mature and clean, invigorating green scent profile.

I read several other reviews as I was finishing up mine and it seems that a lot of people found the opening to be harsh. Perhaps some aging has sweetened and softened my travel spray a bit. To my nose, Vow Factor opens crisp, but actually not as sharp as some other fresher fig fragrances; there are not many aromatic or ‘forest’ connotations that I get from it. No grassy fig leafs and no overpowering neroli. It is green, but I’d say this is mostly fruitier, than a lot of fig fragrances for me initially, before some sweetness comes through to really smooth it out.

In the air, it retains more freshness, but up close, it becomes semi-sweet and more and more creamy, in a lovely manner. As someone who so often complains about ‘fresh’ fragrances growing sweet for no good reason, here it’s a welcome combination. Taking the last sharp edges off the opening. It’s airy, but not in a screechy, dry sugary direction. It reminds me of a milkshake if that makes any sense. Like a mix of fruity, citrussy and vanilla milkshake or maybe a cream soda would paint a better picture. You get the pretty long-lasting sweet citrus tinge and fresh green fig, intertwining with the tonka-like base for a moment, which is the best phase of Vow Factor to my nose.

Eventually, you lose some of that freshness and definitely the citrus and the later drydown felt like pretty standard fig fragrance. Plenty of familiarity, to someone like myself, who has smelled many a fig fragrance, but it’s up there with the nicer renditions that I’ve come across, both in its fresh opening and in it’s sweeter base. I was pleasantly surprised.