About a month ago I had a fragrance flashback. I couldn’t stop thinking about Helmut Lang perfume and the fresh, beachy, sunscreeny scent that I absolutely loved about 10-15 years ago. I took to the Internet to track it down, and I came to discover that it’s been discontinued—but I could get my hands on a bottle for about $200+. Since I’ll be spending that to replenish my supply of Tom Ford Neroli Portofino for spring this was out of the question, so I needed to find a solution. After a bit more searching I stumbled upon ScentMatchers.com, and in the name of research, I embarked on a quest to recreate Helmut Lang for $60. And since the site will refund your money if you’re not 100% happy with the fragrance, I knew I had nothing to lose.
You begin by selecting your fragrance from a long list of scents that have already been successfully matched. If yours isn’t there, all you have to do is enter the name of it. Then you can enter a name for your fragrance, which can be printed on the bottle of your choosing (there are a variety of shapes and caps to select from). Once you click “Proceed,” just sit back and wait for your scent to arrive via FedEx. Expect to get email updates while your fragrance is recreated…
“Your bottle has been made and has been filled with a majority of the scents. We have now moved on to phase two of the process, which involves waiting for any final ingredients and the completion of the scent itself. Please note that things are progressing according to schedule/slightly ahead of schedule.”
I received my fragrance about 10 days after I ordered it, and although I was beyond pleased with the service itself, unfortunately my scent wasn’t a match. I sent it back and got a full refund, but I will definitely try ScentMatchers again when I have my next unobtainable fragrance flashback!
