The 10 Best Perfume Subscriptions
Which Perfume Subscription is the Best?
We all know what it's like to notice that someone smells amazing and say, "What are you wearing? I love your perfume!” But, after we shell out the cash to get ourselves a bottle of it, we're disappointed by how it interacts with our own body chemistry - and now we have a pretty decoration on our vanity full of a fragrance we'll never wear again.
The same goes when we experiment with a new-to-us scent. Maybe we have a brand that we love and want to see if we like the next variation on that theme, as the top perfumers release their newest fragrances. Or we go adventurous and buy a scent based on the description alone. Spin the wheel, so to speak, and hope you get lucky? That's where perfume subscriptions come in and save the day.
Sunday, October 6th
2024 Perfume Subscription Reviews
Scentbox
ScentBox should be your first choice for perfume subscriptions (or cologne). This membership is the most customer-friendly, letting you get up to three scents per month: you choose the ones you want, and you can always mix-and-match between men's and women's fragrances. Best of all, this is the only membership we found that lets you exchange anything you don't like for something new, up to five times per year. We absolutely love ScentBox and we're sure you will too.
Purpl Lux
Purpl Lux is the perfume subscription offered by popular online retailer FragranceNet. It offers the lowest intro pricing around and almost 400 scents to choose from, with options to include premium perfumes and colognes at any time without changing your membership. The lack of an exchange policy and of plans offering more than one fragrance per month keep Purpl Lux from being our highest-ranked subscription, but it's still a well-loved service you can count on.
Olfactif
Olfactif is the best perfume subscription for niche fragrances: no big-name department store brands here. This membership carefully curates one-of-a-kind scents from independent perfumers in North America and Europe, bringing subscribers the option of getting three feminine or three masculine/unisex fragrances every month (or go Deluxe and get all six). There's no better way to discover what notes you love, and every month's perfumes revolve around a theme. If you're the adventurous type, Olfactif should be your go-to subscription for perfume and cologne.
Luxury Scent Box
Luxury Scent box, or LUXSB, wants to help you find your signature scent. Originally started as a perfume boutique, the business now includes a membership plan with more fragrance in every delivery compared with rival subscriptions. Choose from over 100 brands, both niche and designer, and upgrade to premium perfumes whenever you feel like it. LUXSB could go a little bit further to capture our highest rating, but the service gets such glowing praise from customers that it easily earns four stars.
Scent Trunk
Scent Trunk is an ideal perfume subscription for men and women who want fragrances that are as unique as they are. You won't find any designer brand names here: every scent is created by independent perfumers, based on an annual theme and with a seasonal and geographic element to its composition. Your deliveries will be somewhat of an experiment each month, and there are no returns or exchanges if you don't like what you get. But, we think that slight risk is worth it if you're looking for a new, one-of-a-kind signature scent.
Perfume
Perfume is well known for selling top fragrance brands at discounted prices. Overall, the company has a solid reputation with thousands of five-star reviews. But, their perfume membership is a little less developed than some of its rivals: you only get a limited selection of options for your first delivery (including some not-very-high-end scents and brands), there's no easy way to switch between perfume and cologne, and you can't browse the 500+ available fragrances until after you sign up. It's not a terrible option, but there are better perfume memberships you should look at first.
Perfume Surprise
Perfume Surprise offers the most variety of any subscription we've seen: five 2.5mL bottles in every delivery, plus a cute piece of jewelry or other bonus. Brands you might receive include Escada, Versace, Burberry and more - but you don't get to choose what you get. Customer service here leaves some room for improvement, and you won't want to subscribe to Perfume Surprise if you want control over which fragrances come to your mailbox. But, enough customers have enjoyed this membership that we can give it a middle-of-the-pack rating.
Scentbird
Scentbird has been around a long time in the perfume subscription industry, but frankly they're resting on their laurels: other plans offer a wider range of fragrances and charge less for each monthly delivery. And, given that there's a track record of late deliveries, an absence of customer service, and even an alert with the Better Business Bureau, it's no wonder that Scentbird doesn't earn much of a recommendation from us.
The Fragrance Club
The Fragrance Club doesn't have much to offer - literally. We found less than three dozen perfumes and four dozen colognes to choose from in this subscription, without much brand variety. Details are seriously lacking here: no customer reviews, not much information about each scent, no return policy or even an FAQ. There's no reason to sign up for The Fragrance Club when other subscriptions do a much better job.
Debonair Scent
Thinking of sharing your love of perfume subscriptions with your favorite guy by buying him a membership to Debonair Scent? Don't. Even if you could find a way to sign up and make your first payment, chances are very high that you'll get zero deliveries. There are plenty of plans that let you select fragrances for men or women (or even mix-and-match at will) and that give you great customer service too - but Debonair Scent isn't one of them. Don't waste your time or money here.
Continued from above...
When you sign up for a membership, you'll typically spend less than $20 to try up to three new perfumes (or colognes) every month. While most services don't have a refund or exchange policy, it makes it so much more affordable to get out of your comfort zone and give a new scent a try. And, as long as you stick with a reputable perfume subscription, you don't have to worry about getting anything that isn't 100% authentic.
Over the past few years, perfume memberships have become quite popular. Which one is right for you? That depends. Here are some factors to keep in mind as you browse all of the fun options out there:
- Designer vs. niche brands. Some perfume subscriptions focus just on the designer brands you already know and love: Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, and so on. Others work with independent perfumers around the globe to give you that one-of-a-kind fragrance experience with scents that no one else is wearing. And some give you access to both.
- Perfume, cologne, or mix-and-match. Are you looking for a subscription that is just perfume or that also offers cologne? Would you like to be able to choose between the two at any time you please? How about getting one of each in every monthly delivery? If you have a strong preference for that kind of flexibility, look for the memberships that offer it.
- Who chooses what you get. Usually, the designer brand perfume memberships let you select each ragrance - often giving you a calendar you can use to plan several months in advance, and only sending you a "surprise” if you don't enter a specific preference. On the other hand, most niche perfume subscriptions are all about the experience: monthly scents may be developed around a theme like "Saturday in the Park” or "Winter Chill” and unboxing your mystery fragrances is part of the fun.
- Exchanges or returns. Unfortunately, most perfume subscriptions don't let you return any fragrances that aren't quite to your liking (although there is one very popular retailer that lets you make up to five exchanges per year). You should probably get comfortable with the idea that you might not love everything you get as you try new perfumes.
To help you sample all of the most classic and newly-released fragrances, TopConsumerReviews.com has evaluated and ranked today's most popular perfume subscriptions. We're sure that you'll find a membership you love that will have you smelling like a million bucks - without having to go broke to get it!
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