distinct, distinctive
They are both correct words, but with slightly different meanings. Distinct means 'unmistakable, plain, clearly perceptible, definite and individual.'
Distinctive means 'charactersistic.'
Let me use the following 2 similar phrases to illutrate:
The hallway has a distinct smell of soap - it smells like soap, although soap is not something that you usually associate with a hallway and the smell is clearly different from any other smells that may be in the hallway (such as a wet dog or old shoes.)
The bathroom has the distinctive smell of Ivory Soap - it smells like Ivory Soap as compared to some other kind of soap.
There are situations where the two could be interchangeable, depending on your meaning.
Read more: Which is correct: distinct or distinctive? Do they mean the same thing and is one preferred over the other?
