I have a confession to make. I’m not the marrying kind. I prefer to date. I date serially and exclusively. I’m in it for the experience and when I’m done, I move on to the next…experience. Some may call that non-committal but I say, young hearts, run free! So imagine my elation at the discovery of Scentbird, the monthly perfume subscription service that sends a new deluxe-sized fragrance sample to my door. I get to experience a plethora of new luxury fragrances (and revisit the occasional favorite) without committing to whole bottles. Bottles that would surely languish on my shelf once my love has waned.
My Perfume Story
In truth, I used to buy full bottles of fragrance. If you peruse my beauty shelves now, you’ll see some near-full bottles of fragrances that I bought back in the 90s. (I have a hard time parting with things I’ve invested in.) The last time I bought a full bottle, I was certain that I’d found my great love. After sampling it over and over again, I finally broke down and bought a bottle of Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle. I felt fancy. I got it home and immediately hated it. I was forced to pass it along to a friend and at that moment vowed to never commit again. My serial dating commenced.
The only problem with my non-committal dating ritual was that it was, shall we say, inelegant. I used to troll the aisles at Sephora and get perfume samples in those cheapy 1 ml testers. Of course, there were no labels (unless I kept the plastic bags with scribbled names) and I eventually ended up with a big, fragrant mess. I gave up on dating.
That is until one evening, as I stood outside a friend’s fundraiser, I was handed samples of a stunning new fragrance: Amouage Reflection Woman. It was love at first whiff. A swoon-worthy, give my whole heart kind of love. But could I risk my fragile heart again? Take another leap of faith? No, I had been burned too many times. I was wary of making another commitment to a provocative full bottle only to be disappointed and disillusioned once I could call it my own. Instead, I savored my samples.
Scentbird Revived My Long-Dead Dating Life
Months went by, my samples were running low yet my love for Reflection Woman continued, unabated. Sephora didn’t carry it so I was out of luck there. Then, like a phoenix rising from the ashes of my soon-to-be broken and lonely heart, came Scentbird. It promised designer and luxury fragrances in deluxe sample sizes with no commitment.
My heart leapt.
But ever the skeptic, I wasn’t yet completely sold on Scentbird. I thought it might be chock full of fragrances that nobody actually wanted to wear. But then I saw Amouage on its list of brands, and I knew my dating life was about to make a major comeback.
How Scentbird Works
I quickly signed up for the one-fragrance-at-a-time monthly subscription for the low cost of $14.95. (That’s also the least committed commitment available.) I waited a few days and an 8 ml vial of my beloved Amouage Reflection Woman arrived. Eight whole milliliters! The fragrance was everything I remembered and my flame was quickly reignited.
I immediately went to fill in my queue with more of my favorite fragrance only to discover that you can’t choose the same fragrance two months in a row. Drats! Apparently, the purpose of the service is to introduce you to new fragrances so choosing the same one over and over again is prohibited.
Okay, I played along and added some other fragrances and then put my favorite in the queue again. Success!
A Scentbird Subscription
Want to get in on the fragrance fun? You can choose a plan that includes one product, two products, or three products per month. Then you choose how long of a commitment you can handle. One month at a time, three months, six months, or 12 months. Scentbird subscriptions start at $14.95 per month (one fragrance per month) and top out at $195 per month (three fragrances each month for a six-month commitment).
Your first fragrance selection arrives with a travel-friendly fragrance case and a velvet pouch. The case holds the vial snugly and prevents accidental sprays. You can change out the vials as often as you like with a simple twist and pull. It’s ingenious. And commitment free.
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Patranila is an actress, singer-songwriter, and beauty and lifestyle influencer in NYC. She is the creator of The 5-Day Mini Beauty Boot Camp, a fun and inspiring beauty challenge designed to help you refresh and recharge.
Perfume subscription box?! ? All in for it. Definitely checking Scentbird out soon. ?
This is certainly something new! I know just the person to gift this to. She loves perfume but gets bored easily.
Author
That’s perfect!
What a fun idea to try out new scents!
I haven’t worn perfume in so long. Any scent I tried would irritate my son’s allergies when he was a baby, and still does most days. This subscription box sounds perfect, though, for those able to wear it and change things up often.
It must be a really good fragance and am glad it brought your dating game back to life. So no more heartbreaks. I will try scent bird out.
I love perfume and this subscription box sounds perfect. I am definitely going to check this out.
Oooo what a fun subscription box!!! I just love purfunes!!!! So need to get my hands on one of these boxes
This is such a cool subscription box. I love to try different fragrances and I would love to try “Scentbird”. I just hope that they deliver their boxes to my part of the world.
I really love Scentbird! Every time I have gotten a new one I have loved it!
Author
Ooh! What are your favorite fragrances so far?
I’m not much a perfumer, so I have always gotten sample sizes of my favorites and then it doesn’t go bad on me! I love the idea of this subscription for that
Author
Exactly. It’s perfect for the dabbler.
Wow – so now there is even a subscription service for perfume??? If only my hubby’s nose weren’t so sensitive! No perfume for this mama! 🙁
I am obsessed with perfumes and have wanted to try this subscription for so long. This made me want to try out the subscription even more. I think I just might. (My hubby thinks I have enough perfumes already. I can never have too many!)
Author
LOL! You feel about perfumes the way I feel about shoes! #NeverEnough
It’s been long I haven’t subscribed to any subscription box service! This one sounds great and I love perfumes ☺
This looks like a really lovely idea. I would gift this to one of my close friend for sure xx
Love this post and how you described your experience with Scentbird! I am a subscriber as well and I love receiving different fragrances each month. I will admit, this service has caused me to go out and purchase a couple of full bottles though. But nonetheless, I love the idea of dating around when it comes to my fragrances, too! Great post, Patranila!
PS- Have you found any favorites through Scentbird yet?
Author
Hey Dre! So far, my favorite discovery is the Catherine Malandrino Style de Paris I got last month. It’s fantastic! What’s your favorite so far? What full bottles did you buy?