Disclaimer: Scentbox sent The Peak Lapel the items spoken about in this article for free for the purposes of this review.
If the idea of a monthly cologne subscription service sounds familiar to you, that’s because we’ve already covered an extremely similar company called ScentBird a while back here on the blog. If you’d like to know more about that, and the basic premise of these two companies, we recommend you check that out. But, for now, let’s focus on Scentbox, what it can offer you, and then the differences between it and Scent Bird.
Every so often you hear an idea for a company and it just instantly clicks as being brilliant. This is one of those companies, and this is their idea: Instead of having people buy a full bottle of cologne for $100+, why not sell just a small vial of it for about $15? A full bottle of cologne is much more than most people ever actually use, while selling a small vial with just about a month’s worth of cologne affords people the opportunity to try a whole variety of colognes they otherwise never would have. Sounds like a really great idea? Well, let me tell you, it really, really is.
You sign up for a subscription which gives you a new vial of cologne every month for just $14.95 (along with your first month’s vial you also get the blue “sprayer” into which you slip/interchange the new vials each month). Using the cologne every day, with about four sprays (one for each wrist, and two for both sides of your neck ), it should easily last you a month. Realistically, if you do not wear cologne every day, and also interchange with other scents, it could last you much longer than one month. My first vial was only about half empty at the end of a month.
Scentbox sent me an Azzaro Wanted fragrance, which is interesting as I have long used and loved their Chrome fragrance. The one they sent me is less intense, and has a nice, fresh smell to it that I enjoy. It certainly is lighter overall in application.
Now, as you can likely tell, I am far from a fragrance expert. However, that is sort of what makes this so great for someone like me. You’re able to test and try new cologne options without committing to buying a whole bottle. The service costs just $15 a month, and you get the first month for only $10. Also? They offer the same service for women, too, which comes in a pink tube as opposed to a blue one.
What makes Scentbox different from Scent Bird, though? Well, in truth, not a whole lot. The vials and sprayers are exactly the same, except Scentbox’s is blue while Scent Bird’s is black (I prefer the black, being perfectly honest). Scentbox has more options though to choose from month to month, namely 850 as opposed to 450. Finally, they let you exchange for free, and, like both services, you can cancel at any time.
In truth, full bottles of colognes are not something I really ever buy, so I am stuck with the same one or two for years. Also, considering how long a full bottle of cologne lasts, most guys will only ever buy fragrances that they are super comfortable with. This prevents them from ever finding out if there is something they would really love outside of their previous comfort zone. Scentbox delivers the perfect amount of cologne, and is the perfect way to branch out to more fragrances and scents. It is, hands down, one of the smartest, cleverest ideas I have seen recently, and has actually changed this area of my life. I used to wear cologne only on occasion. Now, I look forward to wearing cologne almost every day.
If you are someone that wears cologne every day (and are not a “signature scent” type), for the $14.95 a month Scentbox costs, I highly recommend you give it a shot. It may well do to you what it did to me.