Introducing: Statik Olfactive (with Founder, Chris Martin)

 

The name Chris Martin has been well known in the fragrance community for decades as a well-connected member, and well-known collector. But after all his years of sniffing and honing his nose, he had still yet to find his perfect scent. Little did he know that his obsessive search for the next best sniff would lead him to the helm of an artisan line of his very own. After a boatload of persistence, Statik Olfactive was born in 2023. And in 2026, we thought it was so cool, we had to bring it on to Olfactif. 

 

We are beyond pleased to introduce Statik Olfactive and its fragrance-obsessed founder, Chris Martin!

 

Q: You started out as a fan and collector in the fragrance community, but what led you to fragrance at all?

I can remember being about six or seven years old, watching my father put on his cologne, and me, wanting to be like him. That, to me, was such a “grown up” thing to do. So, I remember sneaking in my parents' bathroom to steal some sprays and thinking “Now I’m a grown up!”

The bottles he had were Drakkar Noir, Jovan Musk, and Stetson (I’ve since upgraded and modernized his collection). I got my first bottle of “cologne” when I was about twelve or thirteen, Tommy Boy… My signature scent during my teen years. 

After high school, I really started to collect, growing my collection with different popular designer fragrances available at that time. Fast forward to my early twenties, and that’s when I got my first “niche” perfume - Creed’s Virgin Island Water. My mind was absolutely blown. I had never smelled anything like it to that point. That’s when my collecting really took off, my entrance to the niche world of perfumery. 

Q: As a collector, what do you look for in a scent you just have to have?

Uniqueness and originality, the ability of a scent to be transportive and to provide a sense of imagery, to tell a story. I’m especially drawn to “oriental” style fragrances – tobaccos, leathers, boozy scents, resins, ambers, etc. I’ve gotten pretty good in my journey over the last twenty-plus years of collecting to look at a note breakdown of a fragrance and see if it’s something that would interest me.

Granted, there certainly are citrusy/fresh/aquatic type scents that are absolute gems and very unique, but to me, I feel like fragrances in the “oriental” genre just have so much more character and depth. I love all kinds of fragrances, but I’d pick something with tobacco and boozy and ambery notes any day over the others.

Q: Then what led you to start your own line?

Being a collector for twenty-plus years, when you have collected for so long, and smelled so many things, you start to see such an overlap in so many perfumes. It’s very hard to find something truly original and a DNA that hasn’t been overdone. I started to find myself getting bored with so many new offerings that were super hyped up, only to fall flat when I smelled them. 

So I started thinking, “What would I come up with if I wanted something original?” I’ve always loved fragrances that have the ability to paint a picture for the wearer, something truly transportive and memorable. So one day, I decided to go and get a bunch of different raw materials and aroma chemicals and decided to create my own scent. After tinkering off and on for about a year, I realized I was way out of my league and couldn’t quite get what I envisioned.

I then came across Perfumer Darren Alan, from Darren Alan Perfumes, and told him my idea. And he was on board to create it for me. What started as a personal fragrance for me soon became something much more. Upon sharing the completed perfume with family and friends, I knew I had something special and that others needed to know about it. That started Statik Olfactive Fragrances in October of 2023. And that perfume was Into the Wild. 

The rest is history.

Q: Why the name Statik Olfactive?

The name ties directly to the brands quote: “Creating static imagery through olfactive scent.” 

I want all of our releases to be able to paint a picture for the wearer, to provide a sense of imagery, and to be transportive. Our olfactive sense is arguably one of the strongest senses we have, and one smell can conjure memory, or bring emotion… I want to be able to provide that to people. No matter who you are, or where you come from, my hope is that at least one of our fragrances can resonate with you in ways others may not.

Q: On your site, you talk a lot about painting a picture, or taking the wearer to a certain time or place. What’s the process for you of getting from a scene to a perfect scent?

Sometimes it’s just an amalgamation of something I’ve seen, whether in person, or in a picture, or on a video somewhere, combined with my own ideas of what feelings something might evoke. Sometimes, it’s even from my own experiences. I have a list of notes on my phone that’s a mile long, that is forever being edited or added to, and sometimes, they just start as a general scent profile I’d like to achieve. Over time, I’ll work on that by either researching certain notes, or learning the history of a certain place or thing. Sometimes I’ll just get an idea for a specific theme and think to myself, “How would that smell?”

 

 

And while most perfumers are generally well-rounded in all styles of perfumery, certain perfumers definitely have styles they are known for. So, then, I try to cater the narrative I have to a specific perfumer that I can envision bringing that specific brief to life.

Q: We’re currently featuring both Cherry Noire and Dead or Alive in our May subscription boxes. What’s most special about those scents to you?

Dead or Alive is special to me because of all the behind-the-scenes stuff that went into it that most don’t even know about. That project took almost a year to bring to life. It’s probably the most “masculine” from my entire line, and I absolutely love it. 

I had the idea for a whiskey/tobacco/leather scent in my head for a while, and knew it was always something I wanted to do. I just didn’t have the right inspiration yet to bring it to life. Then one day I was watching the movie Tombstone, and then it just hit me…

I couldn’t think of anyone out there that did an 1800’s Wild West Saloon themed release, and if they did, one that actually smelled like what you’d envision an outlaw from the 1880’s to smell like. Given that he specializes in vintage perfumery with a modern edge, I pitched the idea to perfumer Darren Alan as I knew no one could execute this idea better.

 

 

 

So Darren went and bought a bottle of whiskey to study its aroma. He worked meticulously for weeks to replicate its exact scent to make a photorealistic accord of a precise whiskey that the cowboys and outlaws drank in the saloons back in the 1880's Wild West, to use for this fragrance. Dead or Alive contains a period-correct whiskey accord that works amazingly in this formula - slightly sweet, slightly dry, and that charred barrel woodiness with a slight smoke. It has some spice contrasted with a light earthiness that really gives a good amount of depth. It all melds so beautifully with the tobacco, leather, gunpowder, and tumbleweed to give a photorealistic depiction of an era of untamed beauty and danger around every corner, ultimately drying down to a gorgeous ambery note.

 

 

 

For Cherry Noire, I know that the cherry hype within the community has died down for the most part, but I still wanted something different from all the rest. Not a youthful cherry, one made for adults - sultry and seductive, and that commanded a presence. Most cherries, these days, in perfumes are synthetically sweet, very youthful, paired with almond, medicinal smelling, or like a bright red maraschino/cocktail type cherry. I didn’t want this to be anything like any of that. I wanted it to be something that owned the night and commanded the room. I knew that perfumer Hez Binkowitz was the man for the job.

The key was using black cherry as a note - much darker, much more robust and juicy, much more sensual in nature. I knew I wanted cognac as a note, as it’s profile really gives an edge of sophistication to the right fragrance, with its sweet and smoky, slightly fruity nuances. I wanted dark, sensual woods to be the backbone of this scent. I know that Hez Binkowitz uses an incredible Thai Oud for some of the fragrances within his own line of perfumes, and that’s the specific oud that I wanted here. The Thai Oud he uses is from the Prachin region of Thailand, and it’s not animalic or funky at all. It’s a sweet, dark woody note with a light smoky nuance. The end result is something that’s truly captivating for a sultry night out type of scent, and one that is one hundred percent unisex in my opinion.

Q: As there are now thousands of perfume releases every year, and fragrance is becoming such a trending topic, do you feel it’s better, or harder, to be an indie brand in such a growing market?

I feel like smaller indie/niche brands these days are poised for far greater success, as people these days appreciate a more hands-on approach to where they spend their hard earned money. The quality that these smaller indie/niche houses are putting out is unmatched. 

At Statik Olfactive, we label, bottle, fill, and package every order by hand, in-house. We have no big distributor, and every bottle goes through our hands, ensuring it’s absolutely perfect for the shelves of our customers. And all of our perfumers that we hire know that they have full range and freedom to use only the best, highest quality ingredients from around the world. I think consumers out there really do look for and appreciate those smaller touches.

 

 

Q: What’s your favorite scent from your own line? And also a favorite not of your own line?

My favorite scent from Statik Olfactive would have to be Into the Wild. It’s the one that started it all for me, and the one closest to my heart. I never expected my journey in this fragrance game to evolve to me owning my own brand, but I’m glad I took that leap, and I could not be happier. When I was younger, I used to go rock climbing in the Sierra Nevada every year with my father, and they are great memories of mine. I wanted to capture that in a scent - something that smelled like a lush, dense forest high up in the mountains, where the air is crisp and cool, lots of coniferous trees, fresh and clean. Into the Wild is exactly that. 

 

 

 

A favorite not of my own line would have to be Bulgari’s Kobraa. Everyone always talks about Tygar being the best from the Le Gemme collection… Wrong! The best is, hands down, Kobraa, and I’ll die on that hill! And the performance? It’s off the charts.

Q: For someone who has never smelled Statik Olfactive, what’s one thing you hope they know before they inhale?

As with any brand, I always recommend you sample before you buy. Given that we are an artisanal indie brand, our narratives and briefs are definitely a lot more unique than most of the other stuff you have smelled out there, but we definitely have something for everyone. 

Additionally, make sure that you sample our fragrances on skin, as opposed to just spraying on a paper blotter/test strip. Please spray directly onto skin to be able to experience the full complexity and development of each fragrance. Due to the high percentage of natural ingredients and how they interact with your skin's chemistry, you will not be able to accurately experience these changes if simply sprayed on a paper blotter. Many of our fragrances are built to evolve and change when on skin.

 

 

Your favorite smell?

Magnolia trees in full bloom. 

Smell you hate the most?

Low tide/wet dog.

The song that most sounds like you? 

Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Simple Man”

A quote that you live by?

Always do right by others… If everyone lived by this very simple and easy-to-accomplish concept, the world would be in a much better place today.

Your go-to gift to give people?

An experience! Something exciting like skydiving, a trip to an exciting and cool new destination, things like that. Experiences you remember, they last for a lifetime.

Describe Statik Olfactive in three words?

Unique, Artistic, Memorable

Want to experience Statik Olfactive? You can find Dead or Alive in our Men's, or Cherry Noire in our Women's box for May 2026: Light & Shadow!

Make sure to Subscribe by the 15th to get them!

 

 

 

Follow Statik Olfactive on Instagram! 

Photo credits: Chris Martin / Statik Olfactive