The Best Perfume Subscriptions

Wednesday, June 7th

2023 Perfume Subscription Reviews

Scentbox

• Over 450 designer fragrances for men and women in Standard plan
• Choose 1, 2, or 3 fragrances per month
• Upgrade to Premium (250+ more choices) or Platinum (all Premium plus 150+ more choices) to access higher-end scents
• Every delivery comes with a new, colorful atomizer
• ScentBucks rewards on every purchase
• Additional products like lotion, candles, bath scrubs are available
• Schedule up to a year of fragrance preferences in advance
• Easily exchange any fragrance you don't like (maximum of five in a 12-month period)

Trying new fragrances can get expensive quickly, especially when you prefer high-end brands like Versaci, Giorgio Armani, and Gucci. ScentBox's perfume subscription makes it affordable, fun, and risk-free to try over 850 different options. Each fragrance comes with a 30-day supply (approximately four sprays a day or 8 mL) packaged in a twist-top atomizer in different colors, making it easy to tell them apart on your vanity counter or in your purse.

Take the quiz

A fun way to start out with ScentBox is by taking the Fragrance Quiz. You'll be asked to choose your favorite color palette, your favorite natural smell (like sea spray or a bouquet of flowers), activity (like working out or wine-tasting), type of music, and preferred relaxation activity. Check out your customized fragrance recommendations on the next page, and add any scents that you wish to your delivery calendar.

Easy to find suggested perfumes

A fun way to start out with ScentBox is by taking the Fragrance Quiz. You'll be asked to choose your favorite color palette, your favorite natural smell (like sea spray or a bouquet of flowers), activity (like working out or wine-tasting), type of music, and preferred relaxation activity. Check out your customized fragrance recommendations on the next page, and add any scents that you wish to your delivery calendar.

Helpful reviews for each fragrance

We recommend that you read the reviews for any fragrance that interests you. Keeping in mind that scents respond differently to every individual's body chemistry, you can still get a sense for which perfumes tend to last (you can still smell it many hours after you apply it), what people think about the overall appeal and the various notes, and so on.

Get 1, 2, or 3 scents per month

There are lots of ways to set up your perfume subscription with ScentBox. Your first month will be $9.72. After that, you'll decide how many fragrances you'd like to get with each delivery (one, two, or three). You'll also choose from the Standard plan (450+ scents to consider), Premium (an additional 250+, higher-end fragrances), or Platinum (all of the scents included in Standard and Premium plus 150+ more of the highest-end perfumes). Pricing ranges from $15.95 to $29.95 for one monthly selection, and upgrading to two or three new scents per month will be discounted from the full price. (For example, going from one to two choices on the Standard plan adds $12 to your monthly cost.)

Mix-and-match between perfume and cologne

And, by the way, you're never restricted to only women's fragrances here: you can freely browse both men's and women's scents and add them to your calendar as you like. Maybe you're interested in a more unisex fragrance, or you want to include something your significant other would like. No problem - ScentBox is extremely flexible that way.

Cost per month

• $9.72 for the first month
• Standard: $15.95/month after discounted trial
• Premium: $20.95/month
• Platinum: $29.95/month
• Free shipping and exchanges

The only subscription with free exchanges

There's no long-term commitments here: pause or cancel your ScentBox perfume subscription anytime. And, if you happen to get a fragrance you really don't like, you can easily exchange it for something else - up to five exchanges are permitted in any 12-month period. Your return shipping costs are covered, just like your original shipping is free too.

Get more with ScentBucks rewards

ScentBox's rewards program, ScentBucks, earns you 15% back on every monthly membership charge (plus 10% back on anything you purchase outside of your subscription - full-size bottles, gift subscriptions, lotion, candles). That balance will always be available at checkout, but be aware that you can't use it to pay your month-to-month charges. Still, it's a great way to get a discounted or free bottle of any fragrance that you absolutely love.

Stellar reputation

Customer feedback for ScentBox is overwhelmingly positive. Their comments - and our personal experience - show that this perfume subscription is fun and easy to use, offers a terrific selection of fragrances to choose from, and deliveries come right on time (and sometimes early). People love being able to make exchanges and get something else from their list, and even those get delivered within about a week and a half of returning the one they didn't want. ScentBox's customer service is excellent all around.

#1 choice for perfume subscriptions

We're happy to give ScentBox our highest ranking among perfume subscriptions. There's no other option on the market that includes an atomizer case with every fragrance and exchanges on up to five selections per year, plus rewards that can get you your new-favorite perfume at a big discount (or even for free, if you're a member long enough). Make ScentBox the first place you consider for your perfume membership.

Purpl Lux

• Get your first fragrance for just $6.95
• Pay $14.95/month or $119.40/year for subsequent deliveries
• Schedule up to twelve months of fragrances in advance
• A la carte upgrades for premium scents ($5-$20)
• Choose from men's and women's fragrances anytime
• "A+" rated and accredited by the BBB
• In business since 1997

FragranceNet has been delighting shoppers with discounted prices on genuine brand-name scents and other beauty products since 1997. The company rolled out its perfume subscription, Purpl Lux, in 2020 - allowing customers to try out hundreds of designer perfumes and colognes.

More than 80 brands

At the time of this review, there were just under 300 perfume and cologne choices in Purpl Lux's basic selection. It's easy to sort them by designer, gender, top sellers, new arrivals, or by the overall customer ratings. Because FragranceNet is such a popular retailer, you can take advantage of hundreds of shopper reviews on almost any scent you're considering. Choose from among 80 different brands ranging from Abercrombie & Fitch to Yves Saint Laurent, and schedule your perfume "calendar" up to twelve months in advance (or change your selections at any time).

Only go premium when you want

There are also approximately 100 premium fragrance choices available through Purpl Lux. We like their novel approach: instead of paying a surcharge every month of your membership, you can simply select higher-tier scents at any time and pay an upcharge ranging from $5 to $20 - but your month-to-month membership fee doesn't change. That way, you're not paying more than necessary if you choose a non-premium perfume in any given month. Big advantage.

Get a new case every month

And, every Purpl Lux perfume or cologne you receive comes in its own colorful atomizer case. That's another plus over some of the subscriptions we evaluated, where you're expected to reuse the same casing as you receive new scents.

Cost per month

• $6.95 for the first month
• $14.95 for month-to-month
• $119.40/year prepaid
• Upcharge of $5-$20 for premium scents

No exchanges

On the other hand, Purpl Lux doesn't offer returns or exchanges on your perfume subscription: if you choose a scent you think is going to smell fresh and modern but that winds up making you smell like your grandmother's bridge club in the 1970s, you're stuck with it (maybe you can give that one to Grandma). Also, there are no options to get more than one fragrance per month: no his-and-hers (or hers-and-hers?) plans or upgrades for trying multiple perfumes or colognes at once.

Customers love this company

Still, those are small drawbacks for a perfume subscription that has an overall fantastic reputation. The Better Business Bureau gives FragranceNet a perfect "A+" rating and accreditation, and most customers seem equally enthusiastic about the company. While Purpl Lux is still fairly new among fragrance memberships, we didn't find any complaints about the scents received, the customer service experience, or anything else beyond the two factors we mentioned.

A great all-around perfume subscription

The selection at Purpl Lux is a little smaller than our top-rated perfume plan. That plus the lack of an exchange policy are the two main factors that keep this subscription from earning our highest rating. But, if you're already a big fan of FragranceNet and you're shopping around for a perfume subscription, Purpl Lux is a great choice - particularly if you want the flexibility of treating yourself to a premium fragrance anytime.

Olfactif

• Choose a subscription with 3 fragrances for women (or "adventurous men" ), 3 fragrances for men ("traditionally masculine and unisex" ), or get all 6 curated scents in the Deluxe plan
• Subscribers get discounts on a la carte sample vials and full-size bottles
• Rewards program
• "A+" rated by the BBB
• In business since 2013

Olfactif calls itself "the original niche perfume discovery service for women and men" . Unlike the majority of the perfume subscriptions out there, this membership won't offer all of the designer brands and scents you're familiar with. Instead, each month's delivery comes with three 2 mL spray vials of Olfactif's curated selection from independent perfumers around the world. If you're adventurous and want fragrances that almost no one else is wearing at the moment, this could be the perfect perfume membership for you.

A fragrance experience like no other

Every shipment comes with extensive information about the artists who created each scent, smell guides, and much more. You can also preview what Olfactif has to offer through its social media channels. For example, one year's October perfumes were all centered around a Salem (Halloween/fall) theme, with descriptions like "the perfect accompaniment to your cloak and dagger with a chameleon-like drydown that has people lowering their masks and winking with acceptance" . Um, yes?!

All monthly scents are pre-selected

You also won't have to spend any time deciding which fragrances to include in your perfume subscription here, since they're all selected for you and they're the same for all members. Your only decision is if you'd prefer to receive the women's collection (though Olfactif thoughtfully says that it's also suitable for "adventurous men" ), men's collection (described as consisting of scents that are "traditionally masculine or unisex" ), or the Deluxe plan that comes with all six monthly fragrances. But, if you'd prefer to have some control over the fragrances you receive, you can always buy individual sample vials a la carte through the Olfactif online store as well.

Surprisingly affordable

Your scent adventure with Olfactif is not nearly as expensive as you might think, considering that you're getting three or six niche perfumes or colognes: $19 for either of the three-vial subscriptions or $38 for the Deluxe set. You can save a little extra (from 2-5%) if you prepay for a 3-, 6-, or 12-month plan. And, as an Olfactif subscriber, you're always entitled to a 20% discount on full bottles of any monthly featured fragrance, 10% on all other full bottles, and 10% on a la carte samples.

Rewards program discounts

Also, every purchase through Olfactif - including monthly membership fees and purchases through the shop - earns you Scent Points. You'll automatically get 200 points when you create your account, and you can get extra points for writing a review, sharing Olfactif on social media, and so on. Redeem them for discounts on full bottles, sample packs, or candles - just not towards your subscription itself.

Gift a subscription - even to yourself

If you don't want your Olfactif subscription to automatically renew at the end of the membership term you selected, consider setting up your plan as a gift (treat yourself!). That's important because we found a few complaints from customers saying that it was difficult to get their perfume subscription canceled, and that they were billed repeatedly after that request had been made.

Cost per month

• $19 for three 2mL scents (choose men's or women's)
• $38 for Deluxe (all six monthly scents for men/women)
• Save 2-5% when you prepay for 3, 6, or 12 months

Complaints are a thing of the past

But, any other complaints we found about Olfactif seem to have been resolved over the years. No phone number to contact the company? You'll now find that number right where you'd expect it, under the Contact Us link (along with a support email address and online form, if you prefer). Prefer only more traditional men's or women's fragrances? No problem: you can always choose one or the other.

Well-liked by adventurous types

And, the compliments for Olfactif are recent and plentiful, especially if you look through the verified buyer reviews at the bottom of the Subscriptions page. No one seems to particularly mind that there's no returns or exchanges here, because they're so pleasantly surprised by the scent experience overall. So many subscribers say that their Olfactif membership has helped them to become well-educated on perfume and cologne in ways that traditional subscriptions can't touch: since the selection is curated, you're given the chance to try notes and ingredients that you might have rejected on name alone, discovering what you do and don't like. And, because each box has a theme that doesn't revolve around any particular note, you're never stuck with three (or six) scents that all smell like the same thing.

Best perfume subscription for niche fragrances

We give Olfactif our highest possible rating. Anyone who's serious about exploring unique fragrances will love trying out 3-6 carefully-curated niche scents each month, plus the sizable discounts on any you think are worth getting as a full bottle. While we had to hold back our first-place ranking because Olfactif isn't going to be what most people think of when looking for a perfume subscription (name-brand designer perfume), we think it's the perfect membership for anyone who wants to experiment and turn some heads by smelling absolutely unique.

Luxury Scent Box

• Over 100 high-end brands and hundreds of fragrances to choose from
• Larger atomizers than most perfume subscriptions (9mL)
• Select premium fragrances at any time for a one-off surcharge of $5 or $10
• New protective case every quarter
• Get account credits when you prepay $100 or $200 towards your membership
• Schedule your deliveries for future months
• "A+" rated and accredited by the BBB

Luxury Scent Box is part of OC Perfumes, an intimate perfume boutique created to match clients with their perfect fragrances. They expanded to include a perfume membership so that customers could try new scents for a few weeks before deciding if a full-sized bottle was a good idea. Based in Southern California, LUXSB wants to help you "love life with perfume" .

Discount on your first delivery

During our most recent visit to the Luxury Scent Box site, we got a pop up code with a 35% discount on our order. The fine print said that it only applied if the membership was maintained for at least two months, and it was only valid on standard monthly plans. Still, that's a nice way to get a discount on your first delivery (though that just brings the price down to what they advertise as their first-month price of $10.37 anyway).

Use the filters

When you create an account with Luxury Scent Box, you'll be asked to choose between Women and Men, or you can click to let LUXSB pick something for you. Assuming you want some say-so over what you get (especially in the first month, when you're trying everything out), we recommend using the filters to check out the possibilities according to notes, preferred brands, occasion or scent family. You can also opt for perfumes that are trending now, unique, new arrivals, coming soon, or are cruelty-free. Those filters can save you some time, because LUXSB has more than 100 brands and hundreds of scents on offer. We weren't thrilled with the accuracy of those filters, with many perfumes released years earlier showing up in the "New Arrivals" section, so take that into account as you choose.

Premium? Not exactly

We were similarly unimpressed by LUXSB's "premium" fragrances. While we love being able to add on higher-end scents at any time, just paying a $5 or $10 upcharge on the months we want the upgrade, we found many listed as "premium" here that were included in the standard plans of other perfume memberships.

Get more for your money

Still, quantity-wise, you'll get more with LUXSB. Most services give you 8mL or less in each monthly delivery, but this one gives you 9mL - or approximately 150 sprays. You'll only pay $15.95 after the first, discounted month, which is comparable with rival memberships who give you less product for the same fee. You can also opt to pay an extra $100 or $200 towards your future deliveries, which will earn you an account credit of $20 or $60, respectively. That replaces LUXSB's earlier annual membership plan, and it can also be used to pay the surcharges on the months you select premium fragrances.

Cost per month

• $10.37 for the first month
• $15.95/month
• Prepay an extra $100 or $200 and get account credit

One atomizer case per quarter

By the way, you'll only get a new case every quarter with Luxury Scent Box. Unless you use up your perfume in the month you receive it, you'll be swapping the bottles between sprayer cases - or buying extra ones from their add-on store.

High praise from subscribers

And yet, customer satisfaction is relatively high here. Not only does LUXSB get an "A+" and accreditation from the Better Business Bureau, but we also found reviews from many subscribers who used other perfume subscriptions (like many of the ones in our evaluation) and wound up liking this one the best. Those comments usually mention the wide variety of designer and niche fragrances on offer, fast shipping, and quick responses from LUXSB's customer service team.

Easy to reach customer support

We also boosted this perfume subscription in our ratings because it's easy to reach a support rep if you need one: toll-free number, online form, or online chat, you choose. Some of the services we reviewed left customers in the lurch by allowing contact only through an online form or support email, so we were very happy to see that Luxury Scent Box is a little more friendly than that.

Worth trying

While we weren't sure we were going to like LUXSB, in the end this perfume membership holds its own with our highest-rated subscriptions. Could they move up in the rankings by offering an exchange policy or staying on top of what's really a "new" release? Sure, but those are pretty minor when you consider that you'll get more perfume or cologne in every shipment here. Luxury Scent Box gets a nod from us.

Scent Trunk

• Unique fragrances from independent perfumers
• Scents inspired by annual themes, seasonal focus ingredients, and geographic provenance
• Unisex approach to fragrance
• Founded in 2015

Lots of people wear Bvlgari or Dior, but if you want a scent that no one has smelled before, you should definitely give Scent Trunk your attention. This subscription takes the art of perfumery seriously, working with independent fragrance designers to develop new scents around an annual theme "inspired by the contemporary zeitgeist in art and culture, fashion and beauty, food and travel" . You'll also see a very unisex approach to scent here, with no "men's" or "women's" categories narrowing things down.

Get a fragrance theme...

At the time of this evaluation, Scent Trunk was offering three perfume subscriptions, all priced at $18/month for a 5mL spritzer (roughly 100 sprays). That included their Original Edition, Botanical Machinist, and Supernatural Future collections. For the latter two selections, your monthly deliveries will follow the theme, and fragrances are preselected. For example, the Supernatural Future's delivery in July would be Marigold, while Botanical Machinist's July selection would be Everlasting.

...or choose your own

With the Original subscription, you'll manually select which fragrances you'd like to receive. We didn't see a way to set those in advance, so you'll need to sign into your account each month to let Scent Trunk know what to send you.

Have some fun reading the descriptions

No matter which plan you choose, you can go to the a la carte shop on Scent Trunk to find out more about the unique scents you're receiving. For example, that Everlasting perfume we mentioned? It has notes of Immortelle, Bergamot, Coriander, Honey, Musk, Cedarwood, Oakmoss Abs, and Labdanum, described as "a beautiful Mediterranean scene but something more sinister is lurking" . Wow!

No refunds on this adventure

If you sign up for a Scent Trunk perfume subscription, you should be prepared to not enjoy everything you receive - and to not get a refund. This membership is a fragrance adventure, not a guaranteed "you'll love it" kind of experience. But, since there's no long-term commitment or annual prepaid subscriptions with Scent Trunk, you can always cancel if it doesn't turn out as you expected.

Cost per month

• $18 (5 mL)

Big social media presence

There's not a ton of feedback from Scent Trunk customers - possibly because this is a very different approach to perfume subscriptions. But, you'll find plenty of tags from Instagram users (some of which are promotional, we're sure) and we didn't see anything that would make us think that Scent Trunk isn't exactly what it promises. The one drawback is that customer service is only available via online form or support email, so if you have an issue with a delivery it might take some time to get a response.

Worth exploring for niche fragrance-lovers

Bottom line? We'd definitely give Scent Trunk a try as a perfume subscription that colors outside of the lines. It's a bit of a gamble with no returns or exchanges - and no familiar brands to rely on - but it's an affordable, perfect match for adventurous souls who don't want to smell like every other person they pass on the street.

Perfume

• Choose one fragrance per month from over 500 scents
• Atomizer case included with every perfume
• Rewards program with points on every purchase
• In business since 1995

Perfume has offered discount fragrances online since 1995. The retailer ships to every country in the world and carries top brands like Givenchy, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, and more, and their subscription makes it easy to try something new every month.

Limited initial selection

When you set up your Perfume subscription, you'll be given a limited catalog to choose from at first. These include typical brands like Giorgio, Burberry, Coach, and more. We were a little surprised to see some options by Revlon and Coty (if you lived in the 90s, you'd recognize Exclamation! and Jontue): not exactly what says "high-end perfume worth $14.95 for a sample" to us. Only after you create your Perfume subscription and pay $7.47 for the first month will you be able to see the 500+ scents in the catalog here. They also don't tell you upfront if you can mix-and-match between men's and women's fragrances. You'll have to choose one or the other when you set up your plan.

Plan ahead or get a surprise

Once you get your membership rolling, you can set up a perfume queue in advance. Because this online store is so popular, you may want to take advantage of the shopper reviews to help you choose your upcoming fragrances. Feeling adventurous? Leave it empty and something will be chosen for you. One perk with this perfume membership is that you get an atomizer case in one of seven colors with every delivery: some of their rivals only give you a case with your first purchase or quarterly.

Good overall reputation

Perfume as a company has a really strong reputation: more than 15,000 five-star reviews. We didn't love that much of their more recent feedback trended negative, but we give Perfume props for responding to each and every complaint. This is also one of the only perfume subscription options that gives you a toll-free number to reach out if you've got a problem.

Cost per month

• $7.47 for the first month
• $14.95/month thereafter

Good but not great

But, most people aren't using this store for its perfume subscription, but rather to buy full-size bottles of fragrance. We can understand why: their membership feels more like an afterthought than a high-priority offering, especially when you compare it with the higher-rated plans in our evaluation. We appreciate that subscribers get a new atomizer every time, but beyond that there's not much that makes Perfume stand out. The service doesn't offer exchanges, it doesn't seem possible to switch between cologne and perfume (or to order more than one fragrance per month), and some of the scents offered in the initial, limited catalog are best left behind the drugstore counter.

Look at higher-rated subscriptions first

There's no big risk with giving Perfume's subscription a try. If you're already a loyal customer and you want to rack up more rewards points by adding a monthly membership to your a la carte purchases, go for it. But, if you're just looking for a perfume subscription with plenty of options and attentive customer service, you might want to reserve Perfume as a fall-back in the event you don't choose one of our higher-rated companies instead.

Perfume Surprise

• Each monthly delivery comes with 5 preselected 2.5 mL bottles plus a jewelry surprise set
• Fragrances only for women
• Pay month-to-month or get a month free when you prepay for a six-month subscription

Perfume Surprise is a perfume subscription for women that includes five different fragrances every month, plus a jewelry set. Every spray bottle comes with 2.5mL of brand-name perfume, centered around a preselected theme. For example, in a previous box with a Fruity Sandalwood theme, subscribers received Gems Power by Tous, Fiori by Vince Camuto, Pink Bouquet by Moschino, Amour by Kenzo, and Flash by Jimmy Choo.

Nothing to do but order

Because all monthly selections are curated for you, there's nothing you need to do to set up your Perfume Surprise subscription, other than deciding if you want to pay $24.99 month-to-month or if you'd like to prepay $125 for six months of deliveries. Shipping is included in the price, and unless you live in Florida, you won't pay sales tax either.

Try for a while before prepaying

If you don't like your Perfume Surprise delivery, unfortunately there are no refunds. Also, if you opt for the six-month prepay plan, you won't get your money back if you cancel: your deliveries will continue to arrive until the six months are up. It might be best to choose the month-to-month plan first, making sure you really enjoy this perfume subscription before you make the longer commitment.

Some complaints

A few subscribers complained that their bottles arrived only half-full, or that they canceled their membership but continued to be charged for deliveries. Perfume Surprise only offers customer support via email and online form, so we can imagine that those members were frustrated by not being able to reach someone more directly. Failing to respond to a complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau is also why this company only earned a "C-" rating there too.

Cost per month

• $24.99 when paying month-to-month
• $20.83 when you prepay for six months

Still gets good reviews

This isn't the most polished perfume subscription we've seen. We spotted quite a few typos throughout the site that added to its less-than-experienced feel. However, in looking at member feedback, we were surprised to see that most people enjoy what they get here. No, it's not going to be your #1 choice if you want to select each fragrance you receive (or to be able to exchange ones you don't like). But, many comments said they liked getting five different fragrances each month, along with a cute jewelry item (that was usually much higher quality than they expected) - and that anything that wasn't the recipient's style or taste was received enthusiastically as a gift to a friend or family member.

Not the best but still a fun option

Perfume Surprise ranks as "just average" among perfume subscriptions. We're not huge fans of not being able to choose individual fragrances or know in advance what the monthly theme will be: previous selections shown on the site all had some variation of "Fruity" , for example, and that's not going to be a great fit for every wearer. But, we also can't overlook the four- and five-star reviews from customers who subscribed for several months and really enjoyed trying five new fragrances every month (plus the jewelry add-on).

Keep it in mind

This could be a perfume membership to keep in mind once you've checked out our higher-ranked options. You could sign up for the month-to-month plan first instead of shelling out $125 right away.

Scentbird

• Over 500 scents to choose from
• First delivery comes from a limited catalog of 70+ options
• Premium options for a $10 surcharge
• Can add a case subscription each month for an extra $10/delivery
• Extra products available for purchase (makeup, skincare, and so on)
• In business since 2013

Scentbird is one of the original perfume subscriptions, getting its start in 2013. They're on a mission to "empower each and every person to express themselves through scent" , suitable for beginners and aficionados alike, and delivering perfume and cologne both from top designer brands as well as up-and-coming perfumers.

Take the quiz, choose from abbreviated catalog

When you set up your Scentbird membership, you won't have access to their full catalog of 500+ fragrances right away. Instead, you'll choose what you'd like to try first from among 70+ of their best-selling perfumes, either by browsing their selection or taking their quiz: feminine or masculine? Warm or fresh? Sophisticated or playful? Bold or soft? Answering questions like those will help Scentbird make recommendations, but you'll need to create an account to see the results. We liked our matches and thought they were much more varied than what we got through other perfume memberships - and even the visual interface was more pleasant (with thumbnail images for each of the fragrances' notes and a short description).

Go premium anytime

You can also get premium fragrances for an extra $10, a la carte. That includes scents designated as "Saks Select" , in partnership with Saks Fifth Avenue and hand-picked by the retailer's expert fragrance buyers. These tend to be the same fragrances you'll find in other perfume memberships' upgraded options, like Acqua di Parma, Amouage, Creed, Parfums de Marly, and so on. You can select these premium perfumes and colognes at any time as your monthly delivery; the extra fee will be charged to your account along with your regular payment.

Resources to be a well-educated perfume customer

Another helpful feature with Scentbird is their library. You can read up on various notes and fragrance families, like Cypriol or White Floral, see scents in the same family, and use perfumes and colognes you've loved in the past to find similar fragrances to try.

Fewer scents than rival subscriptions

However, there are some limitations with Scentbird's perfume subscription frequently mentioned by customers and that we noticed as well. First, when looking up some of our top fragrances we'd gotten through other memberships, we couldn't find them here. That included designer perfumes by Hermes and Jimmy Choo that we hoped to find new, comparable scents for.

Cost per month

• $8.47 for the first month
• $16.95/month thereafter

Pay more, get less?

Also, your Scentbird subscription only comes with a case on your first shipment. With every new fragrance you receive, you'll have to swap the glass bottles around - unless you either buy extra cases a la carte or add a $10/month case subscription to your plan. Given that Scentbird is already one of the most expensive perfume memberships we found at $16.95/month - and that one of their biggest-name rivals gives you the case with each and every purchase for $1 less monthly - it makes this company feel somewhat stingy.

Reputation is trending downward

It doesn't get much better when you look at Scentbird's reputation. At the time of this evaluation, the Better Business Bureau had flagged this company with an alert: patterns of deliveries not showing up weeks after starting a subscription, difficulties getting a response from Scentbird's customer service team, and problems canceling memberships or getting refunds for charges made after accounts were terminated. All of that leads to the BBB's "D" rating for this perfume subscription and the 150+ complaints filed there over the last three years. We noticed that as well: despite advertising that their customer service is available 24/7, the only paths we found for getting help with an issue were the live (bot) chat and "fill out this form or email support" suggestions once we signed into our account.

Check out other subscriptions instead

We were surprised at how low Scentbird wound up in our rankings: it's one of the first perfume subscriptions that comes to mind, and the layout of the site is one of the most appealing and intuitive among all of the services we checked out. But, that's not enough to make up for having a smaller fragrance catalog with higher prices, and definitely not sufficient to balance out the negative experiences customers have had. Circle back to Scentbird if you don't see what you're looking for elsewhere, but we're pretty sure you'll find better options in our higher-ranked fragrance memberships.

The Fragrance Club

• Perfume and cologne subscription starting at $12.49
• Monthly and bimonthly deliveries available

The Fragrance Club says that they believe that "smelling luxurious should not empty a person's wallet" . Beyond that, the details of this perfume subscription company aren't very clear - in fact, even their advertising varies from saying you'll pay $8.99/month to $14.99/month.

Less than 100 fragrances

You won't find thousands of fragrance options with this membership. When we clicked on the "Fragrances" link at the bottom of the site, we got a list of eight scents (not perfumes) described as "This Season's Colognes" with no images. Selecting "Men" or "Women" in the links at the top of the site, we didn't fare much better: approximately two dozen perfumes and three dozen colognes to choose from. Compare that with rival perfume subscriptions that offer hundreds of options and it's easy to see why The Fragrance Club doesn't get much love from us.

Prices aren't as advertised

It doesn't get any better when you try to sign up. There are a bunch of boxes showing subscriptions, but they all look the same. Finally, when we clicked on the one with a big bar saying "Perfume Subscriptions" , we were taken to our options: pay $149.98 per year (which works out to about $12.50, still not the advertised $8.99), $14.99 for month-to-month, or get deliveries every other month for $17.99.

Lacking information

The Fragrance Club's selection is just as disappointing as we suspected from our initial look. During the sign-up process, we only had about 30 perfumes to choose from. Many of them were within the same brand (five from Burberry, four from Vince Camuto, and so on). There's not a lot of detail offered on each fragrance, just the main accord and fragrance notes, but no backstory on when the scent was released and no subscriber reviews. You also have to select three fragrances to sign up, but the club doesn't indicate if those are going to be your first three deliveries or in what order you could expect them.

Cost per month

• $12.49/month when paid annually
• $14.99/month when paid month-to-month
• $17.99/month for bi-monthly plan

Only one case is included

We're also not thrilled with the fact that The Fragrance Club only includes a casing with your first delivery, with the expectation that you'll swap out the cartridge every month. In other words, if you don't use up your perfume between deliveries, you'll have partially-used cartridges to keep track of. That's not really our favorite way to approach a perfume subscription, especially compared with rival memberships that include a new casing each month.

Lackluster perfume subscription

In general, The Fragrance Club doesn't offer a high-end perfume experience. We found typos throughout the site (like "subsciription" and "recieve" ), their social media links were either broken or outdated (most recent posts were more than two years old), and there were hardly any customer reviews to be found. Even the FAQ made us laugh: there was just one question ("What are your shipping rates?" ) and no answer. It's no wonder that this is one of the lowest-ranked perfume subscriptions in our review. Fortunately, you've got plenty of options to choose from that won't leave you disappointed like The Fragrance Club inevitably would.

Debonair Scent

• Fragrances for men, women, and unisex
• 3 different pre-selected colognes each month
• $15 credit every month towards full-size bottles

Debonair Scent is a perfume subscription geared towards men. Each monthly delivery comes with three 3mL bottles of authentic, brand-name cologne: that's just enough to give you a "test drive" of each fragrance, to see what you might like. And, with this subscription, you'll get a $15 shop discount every month - redeem it for a full-size bottle of anything you love.

Set up your scent profile

When you set up your Debonair Scent subscription, you can indicate if you prefer fragrances that are masculine, feminine, or "anything" . Answer a few questions about when you tend to wear fragrance, how you want to feel when you wear it (though those descriptors are geared towards men even if you chose feminine: "The Bad Boy" , "The Dad" ), and your favorite fragrance note.

Not much of a selection

Debonair Scent doesn't let you choose what you receive. Theoretically, they use your scent profile to choose three colognes that match, and you can browse the Shop items to see what might be included. We weren't overly impressed with what we found there: Drakkar (hello, 1980s!), Burberry and Bvlgari were the only notable brands in the dropdown list, though we found more when we browsed everything on offer. That's also where we spotted perfume choices too, with popular fragrances from YSL, Hermes, and others.

Broken online store = no way to sign up directly

But, guess what? Whether we chose the $15 month-to-month plan, the 6-month prepay for $14/month, or the one-year prepay plan for $13/month, we got a server error. Even if you wanted to, you couldn't sign up for this perfume subscription, apparently. We found their memberships still being offered by a few third-party subscription box platforms, but nothing directly through Debonair Scent's online store.

Cost per month

• $15 for month-to-month
• $14/month on 6-month prepay
• $13/month on 1-year prepay

Described as "a scam"

Don't be sad about that: everywhere you might look, Debonair Scent has a terrible reputation. To start, the Better Business Bureau gives this company an "F" rating for failure to respond to customer complaints. That tracks with the angry feedback we found in other places: subscribers frequently use the word "scam" to describe this perfume subscription, saying that they paid for months of deliveries in advance and didn't receive a single one. The only way to reach Debonair Scent's customer service team is via email, and you can guess how often they're (not) responding there.

Not trustworthy

If you want to spend your money and get absolutely nothing in return, Debonair Scent will probably give you that experience. All joking aside, this is the last perfume (well, cologne) subscription we would ever use. We suggest that you avoid it too.