I used to hate fragrance samples with passion. Those tiny vials were among the worst things to receive in a beauty box, because they always felt like purposeless fillers. Oh, how my mind has changed since those days! Three years ago I subscribed to Scentbird when they just launched, and have been faithfully receiving my perfume decants every month. Since I rarely write about this subscription, I thought I’d give you a little update on the fragrances I’ve been wearing lately.
Here are the five 8ml vials currently in rotation.
Juliette Has A Gun Miss Charming ($100 for 1.7 fl oz) – If you love the iconic Chloe EDP, then you will also love Miss Charming. It’s a very simple, bittersweet musky rose fragrance with notes of berries peeking through. After the initial drydown, it wears close to the skin, so it won’t offend anybody in the room and still surround you like a bubble for at least 4-5 hours.
Montale Intense Cafe ($170 for 3.4 oz) – I read about Montale on some niche fragrance website, and the author was raving about their scents. Going in totally blind, I picked Intense Cafe because it promised “intense” Oriental rose experience, and it delivered on that promise tenfold. Intense Cafe is a gourmand rose at its finest, with notes of coffee, vanilla, and musk as prominent as the rose. It’s a very sexy, nighttime fragrance that will feel right at home in a night club, a casino, or at a fancy restaurant. But ladies, it is STRONG! One-two spritzes is plenty, and it will last on your skin all day, dimming only slightly.
Carner Barcelona Tardes ($120 for 50ml) – Another rose fragrance, this time dressed up with almonds, rosewood, tonka bean, and… celery! Sweet almond is the main note in this one, it reminds me of those giant almond-scented soaps at TJ Maxx. If you ever wanted to smell like a bar of soap [I have!], this is it. It’s strong, but not overly so, and it makes me smell clean. That’s why I love Tardes for everyday wear when I’m just running errands.
Etat Libre d’Orange Like This ($90 for 1.6 oz) – Etat Libre collaborated with Tilda Swinton to recreate the feeling of home in the Scottish Highlands where the actress grew up. The resulting bouquet is made of the most unusual composition of pumpkin, ginger, immortelle flower, tangerine, and neroli, with hints of vetyver, musk, rose, and heliotrope. It really smells like an old wooden shack meets garden after the rain. I think the perfumers at Etat Libre totally nailed the nostalgic feeling of “home in a bottle”. Like This is very relaxing, it’s like the essence of hygge in a bottle, if you know what I mean.
Fragrance With Benefits NoMo Eau Fraîche ($85 for 3.4 fl oz) – The only reason I grabbed a sample of this fragrance is because it doubles as an insect repellent, and boy do we have a lot of mosquitoes here in the summer. Unlike most fragrances, NoMo is made with a blend of essential oils, so it’s also non-toxic for the body. The best way to describe this scent is a nice tall glass of mojito, so think lots of mint and lime with a hint of sparkling water. The official notes list Sicilian lemon, Florida orange, mint, lavender from Provence, Egyptian geranium leaves, jasmine, white cedar wood and amber wood. NoMo is a sporty unisex fragrance that can be easily worn by men and women.
Why do I subscribe to Scentbird? For the ability to sample some of the finest fragrances that would normally be too pricey to splurge on every month. Having a 30-day supply is, frankly, all I need, because I get bored quickly if I wear the same perfume too often. Now, if I use up a vial, and really miss having a certain scent around, that’s when it officially goes on my wishlist.
Scentbird subscription costs $14.95/month with free shipping, and you can try a free perfume by signing up with this link.
Do you like perfume vials? What’s your go-to scent these days? Let me know in the comments below!
