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Showing posts with label perfume online. Show all posts
Showing posts with label perfume online. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

**REVIEW** ScentSplit Decant Perfumes

For anyone who loves perfume but lives on a tight budget - or is just very careful with their money - the best services are those that sell decanted fragrances.

Q: What is a decant?
A: Perfume that is taken from a bottle and put into a smaller bottle.

I wanted to try some fragrances that use Tonka Bean as a part of the scent. When I checked around, I found 3 perfumes that sounded promising. They were on the ScentSplit site:
  • Fève Délicieuse by Dior
  • AMEN Pure Tonka from Thierry Mugler
  • Tonka Imperiale from my favorite - Guerlain 
This is the thing, I can't afford to even look at any of those perfumes at the store. Decant purchases is definitely the way to go.

Here's what the decants cost vs what a bottle would cost in a store like Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus:
  • Fève Délicieuse 1ml decant = $4.99 vs $210 for 4.5oz
  • AMEN Pure Tonka 6ml = $16.99 vs $90.00 for 3.4oz
  • Tonka Imperiale 1ml decant = $7.99 vs $260.00 for 2.5oz
I can't remember where I read the catchline of "when you want to date a fragrance, not marry it", but it's perfect for this post.

Since this review is for the ScentSplit service, I won't get all into how much I love these perfumes, but... I love these perfumes. Guerlain wins out again though as my forever-will-be favorite. Tonka Bean must be included in all my future scents! Now, on to the Pros and Cons of ScentSplit.

PROS

Selection
They have a fabulous selection of fragrances to choose from. I looked at a couple of different services to do a review on and chose this one to start because of the crazy amount of choices.
This is only HALF the brands shown

Price
The prices are great and you are given enough size choices to afford at least a sample of something.

Presentation
My package was nicely wrapped to protect the contents. Inside the mailing box, was the actual box of my items. This was wrapped so prettily, it was like getting a gift.


Fragrance Quality
When you open the gift box, your items are inside, covered with and nestled in paper. I removed the top layer to take the photo.

The fragrances houses on ScentSplit are on the higher end and more classic types. I have nothing against the celebrity or passing-trendy scents, but I prefer names that withstand time. ScentSplit has a nice mix while some other services seemed to favor "younger" scents.

All three of the scents I ordered are of wonderful quality. I had the opportunity to sniff a bottle of the Tonka Imperiale when I hit the stores in Arizona last year. I know that the decant I ordered and received is the real deal. 


This is the 6ml spray bottle -



The sprayer is nice and fine and is great for not wasting any of this perfume.


The 1ml sample tube is capped very tightly. That's great because you don't want any of your fragrance to leak, but it was tough to open it. I'd rather have it tightly sealed like it is though.




 Not only were the prices reasonable, but the shipping wasn't bad. It was $4.99 for the small box with USPS 1st Class Postage.


CONS

Using ScentSplit is such a great way to make enjoying fragrances an affordable adventure. It's a shame that the site needs so much improvement. From the point of putting in an order to awaiting delivery, I kept notes of my frustrations:
  • The website needs an overhaul. Trying to sign up for an account is silly because the first option at the top left of the page doesn't work. You have to go to the middle top of the page at "Your Account" and work from there. Also, if you order without creating an account, you can't merge any order info once you do set up an account. It's just unnecessarily complex.






  • Order delays are not readily addressed. I ordered on the 4th of the month and there were no online updates or tracking info provided by the 9th. I had gotten a Thank You email from the owner so I used the Reply function to ask about the delay. He let me know that one of my items was on back order and he was very nice about offering to change my order or cancel with a full refund. My issue was not the delay as much as it was not being kept informed about delays. If this order had been for a date-specific gift, I'd be so late.
  • When I did get a tracking number, I couldn't copy/paste it to check up on the updates for myself. The way the site is set up, you can't copy information. Okay. The postage fees were for 1st Class USPS. I got the package on the 16th. The Order Page wasn't updated with all the information until the packaged was delivered...

Yay or Nay?

So, basically, I would rate ScentSplit very high on quality of the product, but that website needs work. I hope that in the future, deliveries will be more timely and I think they will be barring any back ordering issues. The presentation of my items was so beautiful that I have to give it a 10-star rating. It just about makes up for the hassles of dealing with the website. (NOTE: I was just informed that the ScentSplit site is one of those hosted sites. That may be the cause of the issues I'm fussing about. Not the fault of ScentSplit then. My bad.)

Based on my overall experience and satisfaction with the product, I will definitely be referring my friends and family to use this service. I will be checking out other similar decant sites though. 

I give this a 4-star rating overall. The product more than makes up for the site issues.

Peace
--Free

Friday, June 22, 2012

**REVIEW** Online Fragrance Sources

I belong to quite a few programs that let members try new products for free (in order to get honest feedback and, they hope, spreading the word about the product). Recently I was able to try out some online sellers of perfumes. I thought I'd review them for you - in case you love perfume as much as I do, but have to live on a tight budget.

I visited 3 sites and rated them based on how easy it was to navigate & use their website, what the customer service was like, prices (including Shipping/Handling), and overall value. Of course, nothing is perfect, so I looked for the biggest pros and cons, giving a possible of 5  's. Here goes:

******
Bath Bar ☺  
(I sort of reviewed B.B. before in this post, so I will keep it short here cos you know I already love them.)

Pros: 
  • The customer service will "Wow" you & owner is amazingly nice.
  • Ability to customize your own scent.
  • A LOT of scents to pick from & mix and match.
  • Good range of products to choose (shampoo to body wash)
  • Super-fast help as close as an email.
  • Website very easy to navigate.
  • Excellent S&H costs (even to Alaska).
Cons:
  • Not for the inexperienced. (Ask owner for help, please!)
  •  Fragrances not as close to an idea one might have.
Bottom Line: I'd recommend Bath Bar in a heartbeat - just know your scents or consult with the owner first.

******
The Fragrance Shop  ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ 

Pros:
  • Huge selection of designer and "House" scents.
  • They will replicate a fragrance from your sample. (Good for scent you can no longer find or buy.)
  • Fragrances are "Pure perfume oil with no alcohol or fillers. Ever."
  • The oil scents are long-lasting.
  • Fragrances seriously as close to the originals as promised.
  • Good range of products (including aftershave).
  • Instant help via a "live-person" Chat system.
  • Resources for understanding and selecting a fragrance.
  • A "Fragrance Finder" resource.
  • A Customer Review section.
  • Excellent S&H costs.
  • A Try-Before-You-Buy program.
  • Top notch customer service.
Cons:
  • Awkward site design
    • difficult to locate "Account" & "Log In" tabs
  • "Wish List" almost hidden far down on product pages
Bottom Line: A definite "Recommend." Site problems aside, these guys are my favorite.

******
Luxury Aromas (aka Golden Ventures) ☺ ☺ 

Pros:
  • Nice selection of imitation fragrances'
  • Oil-based product.
  • Reasonable price for amount of product.
  • Website easy to navigate.
  • Fair S&H costs.
Cons:
  • Scents are pleasant but not as intense as expected for "oils."
  • Not "hot" or "cold" in any aspect - just so-so.
Bottom Line: I would recommend, but would give a stronger recommendation to The Fragrance Shop.

--Free