I Tried Scentbird for a Month — Here’s My Review

The service's monthly samples are great for exploring new scents

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Scentbird

Until Smell-O-Vision is brought back, it’ll be impossible to order a new perfume online and know that you’ll like it. So if you’re looking to change up your signature fragrance but don't want to shell out for a full bottle you may not like, then a monthly perfume subscription service just makes "scents."

I liked the idea of trying samples before committing to a full-size bottle and of having the opportunity to wear a different scent each month, so I was intrigued by the perfume subscription model. One of the most popular such services is Scentbird. Every month, the company sends users sample-size perfumes from its library of more than 600 different scents, which includes fragrances from both luxury brands and up-and-coming perfumers. To see if the service is as good as it sounds, I signed up to test it out.

My review is based on my experience testing a single Scentbird shipment over the course of a month. I ordered my first product after taking a scent quiz that the company provides. The Scent Profile it generated for me and the description of the first scent the service recommended didn't resonate with my preferences, so I retook the quiz and was happy with the second result.

While testing Scentbird, I considered the service's price, the ease of selecting a bottle, the delivery time, and the perfume's quality. I also evaluated how easy it is to use the website, cancel the service, and edit the type of subscription.

Kelly Laffey

Scentbird is a monthly perfume subscription service. At its most basic, the company sends you a single perfume sample each month, but for a slightly higher price, you can add on one or two more. The first delivery comes with a Scentbird-branded case to hold your samples, which are delivered in 0.27 oz. (8 mL) vials that hold about 120 sprays. This should be plenty of perfume to use the scent every day for a month — i.e. until your next subscription arrives.

Before I signed up, I took a quiz that Scentbird used to create my Scent Profile, the types of perfumes it thought would appeal to me the most. I wasn't satisfied with the description of my first Scent Profile, so I just retook the quiz and got one that I preferred. From there, Scentbird provided me with a number of recommended scents. Once you start a subscription, you can browse all of the perfumes on Scentbird's site and add different fragrances to your queue for future shipments. If you leave your queue empty, Scentbird will just send you its Fragrance of the Month. The service lets you pause or cancel a subscription at any time.

Scentbird offers a number of add-ons that you can use to tailor your experience to your preferences. In addition to getting extra samples, for a slight upcharge you can get what the company considers a "premium" fragrance. Scentbird also has a limited number of sample-size beauty products that you can get in your monthly shipment instead of perfume. Outside of its subscription, the company also sells full-size perfumes, beauty products, and candles.

My Scentbird delivery cost me $8.47, which was an introductory discount on the base plan's regular $16.95 monthly price. I stuck with the base plan, but you can pay $27 to get two scents per month or $37 to get three per month. If you want to upgrade to get a "premium" fragrance in your shipment, you can pay a $5, $10, or $15 upcharge. Scentbird will always confirm the additional charge before shipping your box.

Another way to boost your subscription is with Scentbird's Candle Club. For an additional $25 per month, the company will send you a luxury scented candle valued at $75 along with your perfume. You can save on a Scentbird subscription by opting into a multi-month plan. For example, a three-month subscription is $48 (a 6 percent discount), a six-month subscription is $89 (a 13 percent discount), and a 12-month plan is $153 (a 25 percent discount).

Overall, I think that Scentbird is worth the cost if you wear perfume frequently or if you like the idea of having a variety of scents available to you. Each container lasts 120 sprays, which means that you can use the perfume every day and very likely not run out before your next shipment arrives. If you only use perfume on special occasions, you can still benefit from being able to test multiple samples instead of committing to a more expensive full-size bottle.

Kelly Laffey

My package was shipped via DHL. It didn't arrive within the stated delivery window, instead showing up about a week later. I felt that the packaging — both in terms of how the perfume was shipped and how Scentbird repackaged the actual perfume — wasn't as sophisticated as I expected. My perfume arrived in a nonrecyclable bubble envelope, and inside was a linen bag that held the perfume vial.

Scentbird bottles its fragrances in glass capsules that fit inside a plastic case. Mine was a matte light gray. I liked the color, but if I hadn't or if I just wanted more variety, I could have paid an additional $10 to receive a colorful new container with my next delivery. The case was easy to open, so I’d have no problem taking out this month's scent and inserting next month's sample fragrance.

Scentbird also sent two informational cards with my order. The first described the perfume I got, providing an overview of the fragrance and a list of its ingredients. The second explained things like how to place the vial inside the container, unlock the vial, and update my queue for my next shipment.

To use my perfume, I just had to twist the container into the "unlock" position. However, I found that if I wasn't holding the container tightly enough, the perfume could easily move itself back into the "lock" position when I pressed down to spray it. Another minor issue I had was that the location of the spray nozzle isn't marked on the container. It's right above the "unlock" position, but I had to spray the perfume first to realize that. I had been a little skeptical that the description of the fragrance online would match the actual scent, but I was pleased to find that it was accurate.

A big pro of Scentbird for me is that the subscription is highly customizable. I could add new scents to my queue, and I could cancel or pause my subscription at any time if I wanted. Once I received my scent, I was able to give it a rating that Scentbird would take into account to recommend other fragrances I might like.

I found the logistics around using Scentbird to be somewhat involved. To cancel the service, I couldn't just click a button on the website; I had to email Scentbird with a cancellation request, wait for an email from the company, and then reply to that email with the word "CANCEL" to confirm. Scentbird did at least respond to my email promptly, and I was able to cancel within a few minutes of sending the email. The login process is also a bit complicated. I logged in with my email address, and every time I did so, Scentbird sent me a secure link to use. The company also lets you log in with Google, Facebook, and Apple.

Scentbird is great for two types of people. First, anyone who wears perfume on a daily basis and wants to have different scents to match the seasons or their moods. Scentbird's 0.27 oz. bottles are large enough to hold 120 sprays, so someone who wears perfume frequently would still have enough to last a full month. Second, anyone who wants to try out a variety of scents in a short period of time. The perfume and cologne subscription service lets you discover a wide range of new scents, and you can either choose fragrances yourself, using your Scent Profile page for guidance, or let Scentbird choose for you.

Scentbird is a great service for anyone who frequently wears perfume. The bottles are designed to last until your next subscription arrives, so you can wear a scent daily and never run out. At $16.95 per month, it's a relatively small investment to never be without a signature scent.

Even though I don't wear perfume every day, I think that Scentbird is a great option for me. I can discover new scents and can also have a few smaller bottles of perfume that I can choose from to fit a mood. I liked that I could rate the fragrances I received and that the company uses my ratings to recommend new scents. And since I can pause or cancel my subscription at any time, I won't be overwhelmed with too many fragrances if I go through a period where I’m wearing perfume less frequently. Although I only used the service for one month, I could easily have been persuaded to keep it for longer to continue enjoying new fragrances.

Yes, fragrance subscriptions, including Scentbird, use authentic fragrances.

Although every company has its own policy, most don't allow you to return subscription items. However, if a company also sells full-size bottles, it will usually allow you to return that item within a set time frame.

Yes, you can get a variety of luxury scents with many fragrance subscriptions. Some have an upcharge on designer scents, whereas others include them in the subscription price. Scentbird's inventory includes designer perfumes from the likes of Versace, Gucci, Burberry, and others.

Fragrance subscriptions typically send a sample-size bottle with enough of the scent to last 30 days, until the next subscription arrives. Scentbird's samples are 0.27 oz., which should last for 120 sprays.