I own a grand total of three perfumes. The first is CK One, and yes, I have had it since the nineties! And the other two are by Britney Spears, and were presents from my daughters. So you may not think that I’m the target audience for a subscription perfume service, but actually it’s the opposite. And here’s why…
(I was gifted the October sample duo of perfumes by ‘Scentful’ in exchange for this review. As usual, all words and opinions are my own.)
There are a couple of reasons why I don’t buy perfume, even though I’d like to. The obvious one is that they are expensive – sometimes shockingly so. So I don’t want to make the wrong choice. Sometimes you don’t know whether a perfume really suits you until you’ve been wearing it for an hour or more and I don’t want to spend £40; £50; £60 plus only to wear it the once and realise I’ve made a bad mistake.
Also, unless you get a paper strip tester in a magazine, how do you know what each perfume smells like unless you open it up and smell it? There is a perfume shop near me so small, there is no way you can try a perfume and get a true sense of its scent because there’ll be someone next to you spraying another one! And once you’ve sprayed one perfume on one wrist, and one perfume on another, where do you go from there? Can you only test two at a time? This shop is half an hour away from me – it would take years to try them all out!
And (sorry to go on about this, but) you have to ask the sales person for each and every tester; and I’m British! After a couple, I’d feel obliged to choose one due to the inconvenience. So where do I start? I find it all so confusing!
When Scentful asked if I would like to try out their subscription sample box of perfume, I was delighted because it meant I would get the chance to try two different perfumes without any of that awkwardness. And the more I thought about it, the more I realised that this subscription service solves so many problems. (Apart from anything else, currently in lockdown, dedicated perfume shops are closed and the testers in pharmacies are not allowed to be used.)
My Scentful box arrived safely through the letterbox in a protective recyclable envelope, and inside I received a gift box containing two 5ml spray bottles of surprise fragrances. This is apparently enough to last a month with four to five sprays a day. I haven’t tested this, but can easily believe it. The two perfumes for October were Fever by Jimmy Choo, and Angel Muse by Thierry Mugler. My first thoughts when trying them were that they are perfect for autumn, and I expect this is no accident. It’s nice to know they have been chosen with purpose.
The fragrances themselves are beautifully rich and earthy and I’m looking forward to wearing them more – particularly when we can go to evening events again. Included in the box was a card with information about the scents, such as the brand statement about the perfume, and all the different top, heart and base notes. I find this fascinating so I’m glad that was included.
Overall I think Scentful offer an excellent service, and is the perfect way to discover fragrances you’ve never tried before at a very reasonable price. You can test out quality perfumes in your own time, without a sales assistant hovering over you. You have the chance to build a collection to wear at different times of year, and for day or night. And you’ll discover which are your favourites and which are worth investing in a full-size bottle. Definitely a subscription to add your Christmas list, or buy for someone else – the branding is smart and sophisticated so it makes a perfect gift. You’d also be supporting a small start-up business run by Heidi and James near me in Somerset!
Let me know in the comments which is your favourite perfume?
