The holidays are about two months away, and time always flies once the holidays are in sight. I have discovered an awesome gift idea for the fragrance lovers in your life as well as a treat for yourself.
Scent Trunk is a super cool service. They call it “your own personal fragrance lab”. Based on your responses to 6 key fragrance notes, their fragrance designers from all around the world, headed by Sarah McCartney in the UK (I don’t know if she’s related to Paul, lol!) will design a fragrance for you alone.
How does it work? Scent Trunk gauges your scent preferences in a way that goes far beyond the typical self-report survey, though they do ask you a few questions too. The “test” is fun and unique.
Scent Trunk sends you a very cute little kit or Scent Palette that contains 6 small rollerball applicators, one of 6 fragrance notes:
- Citrus
- Woods:
- Aromatic
- Floral
- Amber
- Chypre.
You apply each of the test scents to a different spot on your skin, and take a sniff. Based on your first impressions of each of the 6 scents, the Scent Trunk lab identifies the fragrance families to use in crafting your personalized scent. Below are some of the common ingredients for each of the scent families.
- Citrus: lemon, bergamot, grapefruit
- Woods: sandalwood, cedarwood, pine
- Aromatic: lavender, almond, rosemary
- Floral: lily, jasmine, gardenia
- Amber: vanilla, incense, musks
- Chypre: fruits, moss, patchouli.
When I took the test, I applied the scents in order but without looking to see which scent was which so that I wouldn’t be influenced by my preconceived notions about what I thought I liked. It was easy to take a sniff and figure out which scent or scents I liked best. I broke them down to the scent I liked most, the scents I liked next, and the ones that didn’t suit me. I went to the Scent Trunk website, and recorded my preferences in the “Design Your Fragrance” area. There’s also a space to write in anything you want to folks at Scent Trunk to know. I’m guessing that if you loved the Aromatic scent but know that you can’t tolerate lavender for instance, you would be able to let Scent Trunk’s fragrance designer know that.
My favorite scent family was Amber, followed by Aromatic and Woods. Chypre, a scent family that in the past I thought didn’t work for me, actually did, so I put it in the secondary group with Aromatic and Woods. Although I love Citrus bath and body products, I didn’t like it at all on my skin as a fragrance. And not surprisingly, I didn’t like Floral.
About a week or so later, I received a second blue padded envelope from Scent Trunk with my personalized fragrance. A card with the details of my scent was on top. Beneath the card was an attractive teal metallic purse atomizer.
My scent is listed as Amber Aromatic 1. The note from the perfumer, Sarah McCartney, said:
“This blend of invigorating herbaceous notes with hints of warm vanilla and soothing amber will transport you to a one-of-a-kind olfactive world filled with complex fragrance.”
On the back of the card, there is more specific information about my personalized scent, Amber Aromatic 1. And the information that they gave me on the specific notes was quite surprising:
- Top Notes: Spearmint, Lavender
- Middle Notes: Rosewood, Almond, Black pepper
- Base Notes: Malt, Vanilla
I was shocked to find that spearmint and lavender were the top notes. Although there’s a bit of sharpness when I spray the atomizer, I don’t smell spearmint or lavender individually at all! They must contribute to what the perfumer describes as the “herbaceous notes”.
The middle and base notes create the core of the scent: warm, inviting, enveloping, and somewhat but not too sweet. For me, the scent seems perfect for daytime or even for a date night. It’s subtle but tantalizing.
The sillage (how far the scent broadcasts) and longevity were both rated 4 out of 5 on the card. It takes fragrances a while (a week or so) to grab hold of my skin, so I’m hoping that my experience of both the sillage and longevity will increase as time goes on. I’ve worn the scent for three days in a row, and the scent seems to be building everyday.
I’m thrilled with my personalized fragrance from Scent Trunk. But if you aren’t happy with the scent they design for you, they will try again till you’re satisfied. Hopefully, you will be as pleased with yours as I am with mine!
I am so eager to tell everyone about Scent Trunk and their bespoke scents. So often when I write about a new scent on Never Say Die Beauty, people will read my review and say, “I don’t like xxxxx, but I’m glad that you like it”, lol. Frankly, I’ve said the same thing to other people. But with Scent Trunk, everyone can get a fragrance that she or he loves. And since it is individualized, you won’t smell like everyone else!
Oh yes, so what does this cost, you’re thinking. The test vials are free, but Scent Trunk charges $4.95 for shipping. The personalized fragrance is priced at $11.99 for the fragrance in the atomizer pictured above with free shipping. You can subscribe for $11.99 a month with free shipping to get a fresh batch of your fragrance. You can alter or cancel the subscription at any time.
I think that Scent Trunk is a must-try for any true fragrance lover. And it’s a wonderful holiday gift for the scent lovers in your life. Check out this Canadian-based company!
Are you a fragrance lover? What do you think about Scent Trunk?
I did this too, and agree that this is the coolest service, and definitely a must-try for fragrance lovers!
Lola Seicento recently posted…GLOSSYBOX October Beauty Box Unveiling and Review | #GLOSSYFall #GLOSSYBOX
I’m glad that you had a good experience with Scent Trunk too!
Love the idea of creating a custom fragrance.
I was blown away by how cool this custom fragrance service is!
Amber and Woods sound good!
Phyrra recently posted…Quick Skincare Routine for Busy Moms
I’m reading this trying to think of who I should give a gift to of Scent Trunk. It would make an amazing gift and make it personal. I love the idea of this.
MarciaF recently posted…The Mane Choice and National Love Your Hair Day are made for each other
Thank you, Marcia! I know you yourself aren’t a fragrance fan so this means a lot. It really would make an amazing gift for a scent lover
This is such a cool concept. I’d love to smell the fragrance they would come up with for me since I’m so finicky about scents.
Stacie Hamilton recently posted…Derma E Vitamin C Skincare Review
Scent Trunk says they will continue to send you a new custom fragrance till you’re satisfied. For me, they nailed it the first time
I’m a frangrance junky – samplers, buying at beauty stores, etc. This is right up my alley! This would be cool to do with my husband…take the quiz on my skin and see how different our answers are and then I can get something that he enjoys on me and something I enjoy on me. 🙂
Kristi V BeginNails recently posted…Digit-tal Dozen: Throwback to Sally
What an excellent idea, Kristi! I didn’t think to have Jeff smell the samples first, but fortunately he likes the scent they created for me.
This sounds like such a cool service!
I definitely think it is!
I like the idea of personalized fragrance. I love vanilla and if I recall L’Occitane was the only I loved before but they don’t make it anymore. I will try this service, hopefully I get to have the same fragrance I enjoyed (I think 15 yrs ago)
If you give them a lot of information about the L’Occitane scent you loved along with the results from the scent test, hopefully there’ll be a good chance they can do it or get close to it.
I love this idea, I’ve always wanted to create my own signature scent!
Cindy (Prime Beauty) recently posted…New! Derma-E Skincare Essentials
For $17 to get a customized fragrance that you’re guaranteed to like, you can’t go wrong IMO. Hope you try it some time!
That is a very reasonable price to pay for a fragrance you’re guaranteed to like!
Anastasia recently posted…Beauty Box 5 July 2017 Review
I agree, Anastasia. Basically $17 to have get a custom designed fragrance that you’re guaranteed to like. Wow.
Scents set off my allergies so I can never wear any perfume, but I like this idea and the price seems really good!
Katherine recently posted…Nail Art // The Digit-al Dozen Does Throwback Week: Recreating a 2013 Mani
How cute are those rollerballs?? This is a great gift idea! I’m planning to put together all the sample vials of perfume I’ve acquired over the year and gift them to a friend.
CosmetopiaDigest recently posted…Best Beauty Advent Calendars For 2017: Holiday Gift Guide
That’s a wonderful idea, Renu! I take it your friend is a fragrance lover, and I know she’ll have a lot of fun with all the samples you’ve acquired. I should do something similar 🙂
I need to check out this service. I think the size of these are great. I never can get through a full size bottle and luckily I store mine okay so they last a while, otherwise, I’d be rebuying all the time.
Honeygirlk recently posted…LaFlore Skincare Review
I think I will end up doing an every other month subscription since I have a relatively large scent wardrobe these days. The atomizer from Scent Trunk is smaller than the Scent Bird. I can justify $12 every other month especially since I love the scent. Check out the website when you have a chance. It’s definitely worth considering.
Oh what a neat idea! I love perfumes and scents so this sounds like something I’d absolutely love. I’d never heard of it though. How very, very cool.
Ashley LaMar recently posted…Introducing the 2017 Christmas Planner
This looks awesome! And it’s affordable 😍