Scentbird Review: Smelling Expensive For Under $15 a Month

Ever since I was a preteen, I loved putting on perfume.

I like that I can sample new scents whenever I want and never have to commit to only wearing one. I like that fragrances give you the chance to mix things up, which is why I’m constantly looking for new designer fragrances to add to my collection. So when I heard about Scentbird, a unique fragrance subscription service, I knew I had to give it a try.

How the Scentbird Subscription Service Works

Founded by Mariya Nurislamova, Scentbird offers a monthly subscription service that sends over 450 designer fragrances to customers. From Burberry to Prada, they have scents for everyone to sample. Aside from these different fragrances, the startup also sells makeup, skincare and candles.

When you sign up for Scentbird’s “Monthly Perfume Subscription Box,” you have 12 hours to add an item to your cart. To help you pick, you may take a short quiz. Based on your answers, Scentbird will recommend products for you to sample. If you don’t select an item, they’ll send you the fragrance of the month.

For first-time users, Scentbird offers you a discount, so you can get your first month for only $11.21. Then, for the next month, you’ll pay $14.95 for a one-month subscription. Depending on how frequently you’ll like to receive products from Scentbird, you can choose between a one, three, six or 12-month subscription plan.

Each plan lowers the overall price of the item you select, so you’ll pay $14.50 for a three-month subscription plan, $14 for a six-month subscription plan and $13.50 for a twelve-month subscription plan.

If you want more than just one monthly fragrance to sample, that’s an option as well. You can choose to receive two or three items when you choose a one, three or six-month plan.

To receive two new fragrances on a monthly basis, you can expect to pay $12.50 for each with a one-month subscription, $11.66 for each with a three-month subscription and $11.25 for each with a six-month subscription. For three monthly products, you’ll pay $11.66 for each with a one-month subscription plan, $11.11 for each with a three-month subscription plan and $10.83 for each with a six-month subscription plan.

The alternative to purchasing the Monthly Perfume Subscription Box is to have your items sent to you for a set price for however long you want. That’s exactly what I did. I chose to receive two fragrances a month for two months. I selected two perfumes for myself and two colognes for my younger brother and paid $12.50 for each scent, so each month I paid $27.22, including tax.

Scentbird Review: My First Impression

The first perfume I tried from Scentbird was Stella McCartney’s Stella. I chose this because I was looking for a fragrance that would be great to wear to special events and for date night.

With notes of rose, peony, amber and mandarin orange, I thought I would love this perfume because of the floral scents. However, to be completely candid, I didn’t like the way this smelled on me. When I first sprayed it, the rose and mandarin orange stood out the most. But once it had time to settle, the amber was the only scent I could smell. The amber made it smell musky, which I didn’t particularly like.

Due to its musky smell, I think this perfume is perfect to wear during autumn and winter. I also think this scent would be great to wear for special occasions.

The first time I wore Stella was at a wedding, which was an all-day event. For the first six hours, the scent was strong but not overwhelming. However, I did feel the need to reapply it three times throughout the day. Each time I wore the perfume, I had to reapply it at least twice, which isn’t ideal when you have a busy day planned or simply don’t want to lug your perfume around everywhere you go.

Scentbird Review: The Perfect Spring Fragrance

The next perfume I tried from Scentbird was Versace’s Bright Crystal Absolu. I picked this one because I don’t know much about Versace perfume and wanted to give it a try. I was also looking for a soft, sweet fragrance that would be perfect for warmer weather.

Having notes of raspberry, pomegranate, peony, yuzu, lotus and magnolia, this perfume was exactly what I was looking for. Despite it having a combination of distinct scents, none of them overpowered the others. In fact, the fruity and floral scents work perfectly together to create an airy, delicate fragrance that reminded me of a spring afternoon in Central Park.

Its delicate scent makes it a great everyday perfume. It’s not overpowering but is able to demand people’s attention. Every time I wore Bright Crystal Absolu perfume, people complimented me and often asked me what I was wearing.

I wore this perfume whenever I had to run errands, and the scent lasted for most of the day. I only had to reapply it once. Even after a two-hour workout, I could still smell it lingering on my clothes.

To disperse each of the fragrances evenly, I sprayed them on both wrists, each side of my neck, my chest and my clothes. Each bottle, which is a travel-friendly size of 0.27 ounces, comes with 140 sprays. Even if you spray it a few times as I did, you’ll still have enough for the whole month.

Scentbird Review: What About Fragrances for Men?

Unlike me, my younger brother normally sticks with one or two fragrances, so he was excited to try some designer colognes from Scentbird. The first cologne he tried was Gucci’s Made to Measure. He selected Gucci because he heard a lot about the brand but never tried anything from it.

With lavender, plum, bergamot, leather, juniper berries and nutmeg composing the main notes, this cologne has a citrusy scent with a hint of leather and spice. The fragrance is classic, yet can be worn for special events or a casual day out. The spiciness of the cologne makes it great for crisp autumn days.

My brother wore this cologne to his 12-hour shifts at work. He never had to reapply it because the scent was just as strong as when it was first applied. The scent lingered on his clothes all day and left him feeling fresh, even though he worked all day and felt disgusting.

All of his customers loved the cologne and constantly gave him compliments, so this became an instant favorite for my brother. He used it every day for a full month and still had a little bit left over, despite spraying it four times each morning. He has decided to add Gucci’s Made to Measure to his collection.

The second cologne my brother tried was Prada’s Luna Rossa. He chose this because he was looking for a scent that would be appropriate to wear to an upcoming interview. He wanted something that smelled great and wouldn’t be potent.

This cologne has notes of lavender, bitter orange, mint, clary sage, ambrette (musk mallow) and ambroxan that give it a citrusy, clean smell with a hint of musk. The combination of scents work well together to create a fragrance that should be fun to wear for a night out, formal events and an interview.

Like the Gucci cologne, my brother wore Luna Rossa during his 12-hour shifts at work, but the scent didn’t last long. After about six hours, the cologne faded away to the point that he couldn’t smell it anymore. Because he was busy at work, he didn’t have the opportunity to reapply it, so he just let it fade.

Because the smell doesn’t last long, this cologne is best to wear if you’re going out for a few hours. It’s not ideal to wear if you have a long day ahead of you.

A Few of My Favorite Things About Scentbird

Here are a few of the reasons that, for the most part, I really love Scentbird and its month-to-month subscription service.

Affordability

With so many items to choose from, Scentbird is ideal for anyone who wants to try different perfumes but doesn’t want to spend a lot of money to do so. Trying new products can be expensive, especially when you realize you don’t like something you just bought.

It’s nice that everything on Scentbird is affordable. It’s also great that they offer both samples and full-sized perfume. If you really like a specific perfume, you can purchase the full-size bottle directly from Scentbird. Plus, it helps that they offer free shipping on all purchases.

Flexibility

Another benefit of Scentbird is if you want more time to use your products from the previous months, you can pause your subscription and restart it whenever you want. You even have the option to change the frequency of how often you get your items, so you can get new fragrances every other month or every three months. You can also skip months or cancel your Scentbird subscription in a few simple steps.

Transparency

Another aspect I really like is the Scentbird reviews page. It’s extremely helpful to know what other consumers thought of the products I was considering. I liked that each fragrance is rated by six main categories: scent type, personality, occasion, season, attributes, and complexity. These categories make it easy to imagine what the fragrance smells like, when is the best time to wear it and if it will appeal to your needs.

The Verdict: Is Scentbird Worth It?

Overall, between the user-friendly website and the various products they offer, I’m happy I gave Scentbird a try and feel it’s totally worth it. I got to wear perfumes I would have never tried before and was able to explore brands I hadn’t heard of.

Next time, I might consider looking for a more sustainable perfume to try. I’ll definitely continue to use Scentbird and look forward to experimenting with other products they offer.