Recently, we received a mysterious package from Japan. It was such a great surprise for us that we decided to share it by making this unboxing article featuring our impressions and photos of the product. As you can see, it’s the first ever Final Fantasy XV perfume, Noctis ~Eau de Toilette~, which is only available on Square Enix Japan’s eStore and at their Tokyo café, ARTNIA.

The fragrance is shipped in a black box with “Noctis, Eau de Toilette” written on the cover. The logo is printed in a silver font with an inset effect. It was really pleasant to see the decent job made by the Square Enix Merchandise team with the package: it feels solid and high quality like a luxury fragrance should. I found it very amazing yet hilarious that it actually overshadows many fashion studios and celebrities’ perfume packages, which is impressive considering this is something coming from a game company. The overall look of the box is very minimalist and there is always a chance some people will find it lazy and boring. For me, it gives a message the fragrance doesn’t need to stand out on the market with any gimmicks and relies on making an impression as a modern and premium product.

When lifting the front cover of the box for the first time, you see the 50ml bottle laying on the velvety bed waiting for its wearer to waken it up from its slumber. As usual, the bottle is made of glmlass where the designers have embossed the name of the perfume and an artwork of Noctis with a reflective metal texture. The corner of the bottle has received the same treatment. The metal finish actually makes the color of Noctis’ artwork change according to its current surroundings.

“Making a glass bottle for a perfume is standard, as that “heavy” feeling makes it feel like a premium product. (Getting more for your money, eh?) The design is rather simple at, but it’s actually something I haven’t seen with many perfume releases.My only disappointment came from the plastic top, which breaks the immersion provided by the glass bottle. It’s not a deal breaker because, before you grab it in your hand, the material used looked the same as the rest of the bottle.

Noctis ~Eau de Toiletter~ is a very traditional perfume. It has three layers: the top (citrus, leaf green, lemon), the middle (lavender, pine tree, rose, lily of the valley) and the base (woody, musk). Before going to my experiences with the scent, let’s explain the perfume basis first: the top layer always contains the scents that are perceived immediately after applied. The middle and base are the heart and core of the scent and they emerge just right after the dissipation of the top layer.

When sprayed for the first time, the smell is very fresh and you can clearly smell citrus, leaf green and lemon. It’s very feminine scent at first, but after a while, it becomes more masculine. The first layer reminds me of the same smell that’s outside after a thunderstorm with a fruity touch in it. Nearer the end of the effect, the scent becomes even darker, as you can smell the musk, the forest and freshly cut wood but  more exotic.

The perfume should always be your personal choice since it’s a very important part of you. That’s how you will smell to others and the fact brings some responsibility too. You have to be careful the smell isn’t too striking, so that it doesn’t drive others away from you. This is the case with cheaper perfumes quite often.

Since I’ve worn Noctis fragrance quite often, I have managed to receive some feedback and thoughts from my friends. The overall reception has been positive because the scent isn’t too strong but is still recognizable. Some people really liked the smell of roses in the scent even though I always found it more forest-like. Funnily, I heard comments it suits me well because I am not your usual “dude bro” in their opinion. (Let’s take that as a compliment!) It might be true since Noctis doesn’t seem that “bro” either. I personally tend to prefer darker scents but Noctis has brought something lighter to my collection and I like the change.

Overall, Noctis ~Eau de Toilette~ feels like any other high value perfume. From the packing to the scent, it looks, feels and smells great. When thinking who I would recommend it to, I came to the conclusion it’s a very unisex choice and works well for both males and females. This isn’t really a surprise since the boundaries and definitions of gender roles are slowly disappearing and it’s really up to you, if you like it and want to wear it. Nothing else matters. Though, more fruity and fresh scents have been a traditional choice for women’s fragrances for a long time, so perhaps I dare to call “Noctis” a pioneering perfume in a way. Though, it might just be a cultural difference between the Western and the Japanese men’s fragrances.

This perfume actually provides an extraordinary chance to analyze Noctis’ character since his game isn’t available yet and we barely know anything about him since the details revealed years ago might be dated already. The feeling the scent gives me is that he is very gentle and confident person who doesn’t care much if others think his scent is too feminine, as long as he likes it and gets to be himself. Even though the perfume is clearly for classy males, there’s also a grain of shyness in it since the scent isn’t as striking as it could be and doesn’t feel so  “extrovert”.

If you like perfumes, Noctis ~Eau de Toilette~ might be worth buying. Don’t forget that there are Lightning and Cloud perfumes available through the Japanese eStore and ARTNIA, though they don’t sell the merchandise overseas. If you ever visit Tokyo, remember to go to ARTNIA: it’s the Square Enix fan heaven with tons of merchandise you won’t get anywhere else, including these perfumes. They also sell Final Fantasy and other games themed food such as Moogle pancakes! Start saving now and remember to take an empty luggage with you that  you can pack all the exclusive goodies there when returning home!

As the first ever Final Fantasy XV perfume, Noctis ~Eau de Toilette~leaves a great first impression with its scent and packing, we can’t wait to learn more about Noctis himself. As you may have heard from today’s news, we will have a chance to do that when the downloadable demo of Final Fantasy XV launches next year.

All pictures are copyrighted to Square Portal. Though, you can use them freely for personal use, and if you share them on other sites we would appreciate if we were credited.