I am a true fragrance lover. I love to look at all the bottles of perfume as well as the perfume decanters on my vanity table. In the past, I went through periods when I had a signature scent, and I would wear nothing but that scent. Over the past year or so, I’ve expanded my scent horizons and I’ve been mixing it up. Although I have a current favorite that I reviewed a couple of weeks ago, Musc Ravageur by Frederic Malle (review here), I have been wearing a selection of scents that are mostly warm, spicy fragrances: Kiori (review here), Hippie Chick, Cashmere Mist by Donna Karan, and Pomegranate by Santa Maria Novella. I have a few other bottles of perfume that I purchased that I loved on someone else, but when I tried them on me, they were a failure. Boo hoo.
Recently, I was given an opportunity to try out a new designer fragrance subscription service, Scentbird. I was so excited!
How Does Scentbird Work?
Scentbird has a fun quiz that you take on the Scentbird website to help you find new fragrances that will suit you based on your preferences, attitudes and the scents you are currently wearing. Scentbird has over 350 designer fragrances in their collection to choose from. I was amazed that they had everything from well-known scents to the more obscure like my Musc Ravageur.
After taking the quiz and getting Scentbird recommendations, you can select a scent and even create a queue of scents that you want to try over the months, kind of like Netflix! Once you select a scent or scents, it arrives by mail shortly thereafter in a cute padded black envelope with the hot pink Scentbird logo.
Inside, you receive a purse size spray glass vial that contains 8 ml of fragrance, about the size of a rollerball as well as a product card telling you about the fragrance of the month.
Your first subscription comes with a black perfume case to protect the vial. The glass vial contains enough fragrance to last at least a month if you use it twice a day. That gives you plenty of time to decide if the scent is one that you want to continue with or whether you’re ready to move on to the next. I love this concept. No more ending up with a big bottle of fragrance that doesn’t suit me!
Importantly, Scentbird gives you options. You can buy one month ($14.95) or select a 3 month ($14.50/month), 6 month ($14.00/month) or year-long subscription ($13.50/month). You are billed upfront to lock in the savings, and you can see that you save by selecting a longer subscription. Shipping is free.
Right now, Scentbird is available only in the US, but they are hoping to expand outside the U.S. in the future.
My First Scentbird Scent
I received Oscar de la Renta, Oriental Lace. Years ago, I wore the original Oscar de la Renta floral fragrance, but I wasn’t aware of Oriental Lace that launched in 2012. It is definitely a good choice for me because it’s a warm, spicy Oriental Vanilla, and it contains some of the notes that I love in a perfume: patchouli, vanilla. But Oriental Lace is a bit outside my usual comfort zone because it’s more of a gourmand, sweet scent with notes of honey, cacao and almond. Yummy! It also has floral notes. It’s a perfect fragrance for spring, if it ever comes. I don’t think I would have discovered this scent on my own!
So If you are a scent lover and enjoy discovering and trying new fragrances, check out Scentbird, a great way to try new perfumes without having to invest in an entire bottle! Mother’s Day, graduation and wedding season are coming up, and Scentbird would make a wonderful gift for all the perfume lovers you know.
I was so taken with the Scentbird concept that I signed up as an affiliate. So if you decide to give it a try or give Scentbird as a gift, I hope you’ll use my affiliate link below or go through the ad on my home page. You can get 15% off your first month by clicking the link below:
http://www.shareasale.com/u.cfm?d=255480&m=55102&u=1078265
Interesting subscription idea. They’re seriously coming out with subscriptions for everything! Scents are so expensive to mess around with, so this is a great way to try out new things!
http://www.divaandthedivine.com
I agree, Brianna. Without a subscription like this, my favorite fragrance charges $50 for a sample that’s much smaller than the 8 ml sample that Scentbird sends out. I think it’s a very good deal.
I considered this subscription for myself during the holiday season. Next time they have a code I just might do it. And Oriental Lace sounds right up my alley.
Laura, in case you are interested over the next few weeks or so, I have a code at the bottom of the post for 15% off the first month, a small savings bringing it down to about $13 but a savings nonetheless 🙂 I’m glad you like Oriental Lace too. Perfect for spring!
This is a really cool subscription box. I love trying new scents, but I hate to waste them. This is perfect!
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I think it’s a fantastic idea! I have so many perfume failures in full size bottles lying around unloved, this will put a stop to that!
You had me at Patchouli. Scentbird is definitely a cool service.
Hahaha, Kim! I think it is a fabulous idea. I have made so many scent mistakes in this past and now no more!
What an interesting concept on the whole beauty box subscription! It’s really such a great idea, and such a wonderful way to weed out fragrances that won’t work for you, and to find those that do– and without having to commit to a full size bottle until you really know that you want to make that purchase.
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I agree. Such a great idea to help you avoid fragrance mistakes! I think it makes a great gift too 🙂
This fragrance sounds like one I would like. I’m thinking about signing up for Scentbird. I love trying new fragrances.
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Oriental Lace is a lovely scent, a little outside my usual choice because of the gourmand notes, but I like it a lot. Very spring-y. If you do sign up, hope you’ll take advantage of the 15% off the first box with the URL at the end of my review 🙂
Sounds like a fun service! I’ll check ’em out.
Monica
I think it’s a great concept, Monica, and a good gift idea for scent lovers. I have so many perfume mistakes around my house. This service will make sure that doesn’t happen again!
Hmmm, super interesting concept! Do you think it ends up being really worth it since you’re just getting one scent for the ~$14? Is the quiz accurate enough to judge what you probably won’t like?? I’m like you and LOVE fragrances, so I feel like I’d get addicted to this pretttttty quickly…
cominguprosestheblog.com
After you take the quiz, Erica, it gives you a list of possible fragrance choices and you choose which ones you’d like to try, kind of like setting up a list of movies you want to try back in the day on Netflix. The 8ml sample is quite large, much more than the little samples you get on rare occasion from Sephora or department stores. It is only one scent at a time that you try, but you really get to test drive it, and you’re only trying the ones that you want to try. I think it’s worth it, but I also think it’s geared to women who love fragrances and like to try new ones.
Whoa, that sounds fantastic! Alright, I’ll definitely have to check this out more and take the quiz.
🙂
In theory, I think that this is a great idea however it does seem a little overpriced for what is essentially a perfume sample. Fab review xxxx
It’s about 10 times as big as the little perfume samples that you get in a store. It’s a good deal for less than $15 unless you wear inexpensive drugstore scents.
I’ve been hearing about this, but i am still debating whether i want to try it or not. The price though is great. Thanks for sharing
Val from wildflowersandcurls.blogspot.com
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If you decide to try it in the future, consider using the coupon code on my site for 15% off your first box. You can try just one box, I believe, and see if you like it. That would cost about $13 for a rollerball that’s equivalent to many that you’d buy at Sephora in the scent of your choice.
Sounds interesting!
It’s a wonderful service for fragrance lovers!
This sounds like an amazing subscription box! I’ll have to look into this to see if it really fits my interest since I’ve very particular about scents I wear. Thanks for sharing! <3
xo Brigette from brigetteramos.com
Even if you don’t actually subscribe, Brigette, Scentbird’s quiz may give you some ideas to check out. I’m very particular too, and most scents don’t work for me. But what’s neat about this is that you end up picking the scents that you want to try. Scentbird gives you suggestions based on your quiz answers and based on the scents that you are wearing that you like, and then you pick what interests you.
I wish I was a scent-oriented person – I pretty much have my scent and that’s where it ends!
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Sometimes that’s a good thing, Destany! If you’ve got a signature scent that works for you long-term, be happy about that <3
This sounds interesting, although I must admit for me as far as scents go, I am citrus and don’t go outside of my radar much. I do love the idea though.
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I’m the same way, Norah. I wear spicy, Oriental scents and that’s my wheelhouse, but what I like about this is that they put together a list, pretty much, of all the perfume candidates that fit your requirements, then you choose the ones you want to try, like putting together a list on Netflix. It’s a very cool concept. I don’t think I would’ve found Oriental Lace on my own.
Oh my, I have to go sniff Oriental Lace! I love that this subscription sends you a decent 8ml sample in lieu of a crummy 1ml vial. Would love to see them go worldwide soon!
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I think it’s a fantastic concept for scent lovers! And yes, the 8 ml rollerball will last me way more than a month 🙂
This sounds like an awesome subscription box! I really love mixing up my fragrances and buying all full sizes is just out of my budget. This would be a great solution!
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I think it is. I know the 8 ml rollerball of Oriental Lace that I got is going to last waaaaay more than a month!
This is such a cool program! I love getting fragrance samples with my Sephora orders, because it’s a great way to test things out but they are so teeny tiny. Currently, I’m loving the Tory Burch fragrance the Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream. I had two samples of each and now they’re gone, but they smelled so lovely!
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You’re right, Julie. The free samples from Sephora or elsewhere are teeny. I was shocked to find out that Barney’s sells samples of my scent, Musc Ravageur, for $50, and they are the usual tiny size. Scentbird samples are 8 ml, and big like the rollerballs you’d buy at Sephora.
This is such a cool subscription, I’ve never seen one for perfumes only! I like how they include a nice size scent, I’m definitely going to looking into this!
I think it’s such a smart idea. It’s affordable, you get introduced to scents that are within your wheelhouse, and you get a nice big purse-sized sample. Win win IMHO 🙂
I took the quiz, can’t wait for my purse-size perfume 🙂
Kath TheFabZilla recently posted…Violet Lippies To Live By :: My Top 5 Picks
Oh, I’m glad you’re trying it too, Kathryne! I’ll be eager to read about which scent you received.
Fragrances are so affected by our personal chemistry, it’s such a great idea to be able to test out a fragrance for a month to see if it fits you.
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Absolutely! Most fragrances don’t work on me at all. I like the fact that their quiz plus asking about which fragrances have worked on you makes for a much better success rate in the choices given. I like that you then pick the scents that you want to try out based on their reccos. Just a neat service!
This is such a genius subscription. I’m a huge fan of Scentbird!
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Glad you love Scentbird too!
This sounds like a great scent- will have to remember it. Hopefully they expand shipping (at least to Canada!) I’d totally subscribe.
I think they are trying hard to get that to happen. I think it’s a terrific concept for a subbie box because you get to participate and choose what you get; they just help you find the right perfume candidates!
I hadn’t heard of a perfume subscription box before. They have one for everything now! I love this idea.
True, it is a new idea! But I think it’s really similar to Netflix when people used to get DVDs. You get recommendations based on your attitudes and history, and then you set up a list of items you want to try! I think it’s great 🙂
This sounds like a great service! I am really liking discovering new scents this year.
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I was a signature scent kinda gal, but over the past year, I’ve been branching out too. It’s fun!
I’m a sub box addict so I always love hearing about new subscriptions. I’m super picky about scents though (a lot of them give me headaches). Part of me would love to try it, but I think the odds of finding a perfume that would work for me are low.
I usually feel the same way, Lisa, about the odds of finding a scent. But this works differently, it’s not random. You fill out a quiz about your preferences, and then it asks about the 3 fragrances that you wear, and it makes suggestions based on what you’ve been successful wearing in the past and what you say you like. Then it gives you a list of possible scents, and you choose which you want to receive. It’s kinda like Netflix where it gives you suggestions based on your past rentals and then you put together your list. It’s pretty cool. And for $14.95 or less, it gives you a sample that’s 8x larger than the samples you get in a store (if you’re lucky!).