Here at New York Post Shopping, we understand the struggle of finding the perfect fragrance that we want to wear on repeat. More specifically, shopping for fragrance online can be even more of a Herculean effort.
Instead of picking up the popular Gucci and Prada scents you may see lining department store shelves, it’s more important to ensure that you can truly experience the specific scent notes in the fragrance and see how it reacts with your skin over time. In turn, you’ll have a perfume that you can spritz and saunter around with it on the regular.
That’s where Noteworthy comes in. It’s the hidden gem on the internet we’re so happy we found, especially because its team of professional perfumers is dedicated to helping you find your signature scent.
“Through a simple quiz backed by AI and data science, Noteworthy learns about its customers’ personality, life experience and individual preferences, helping them discover a Noteworthy fragrance as unique as they are,” Ashley Boyce, CMO and co-founder of Noteworthy with more than 15 years of experience — with a master’s degree in cosmetics and fragrance marketing from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) — told the New York Post. “Noteworthy is taking an entirely unique approach to fragrance discovery and customer matching, ushering in a new era for the fragrance industry. Noteworthy’s products and processes are driven by data generated from real consumer feedback.”
What’s more, people want personalized recommendations, based on their unique preferences, to make their own decisions. “Most people are tired of generic offerings that don’t help them make decisions more easily and aren’t catered to their tastes,” Boyce notes. “At Noteworthy, we are hyper focused on what people tell us they love so we can curate a select recommendation of our fragrances to make their lives easier.”
To help you best understand the brand, we tried the service ourselves — from ordering a sample kit based on its online quiz and then ordering our full-size fragrance after we ran out of the mini testing tube. All fragrance-lovers, rejoice.
How Noteworthy works
Before heading into my review, here’s a glimpse at how Noteworthy works before you dive into all it has to offer:
First, customers first visit Noteworthy’s website and take the Fragrance Finder Quiz. It includes a few simple questions about customers’ personality, life experience and individual preferences to create their fragrance profile.
From the profile, the algorithm is then able to determine their personalized scent recommendations. Noteworthy’s quiz is based on a year-long longitudinal study that was conducted to build a unique database and algorithm based on inputs from hundreds of real users.
“The Noteworthy algorithm then uses responses from the quiz to build a personalized Discovery Kit, containing four curated fragrance samples based on their unique preferences,” Boyce explains. “Customers can then try their samples at their leisure at home and decide if they would like to purchase a full-sized fragrance.” For reference, The Discovery Kit is $24.99, the Travel Spray is $37.49 and each of the 3.3 oz eau de parfum bottles cost $124.99.
Our review
As a fragrance aficionado, I was thrilled to try Noteworthy. Spoiler alert: I tried a similar service once before and loved how I was able to discover what scent notes spoke to me most, and then seeing what the end result is — all bottled up.
To kick things off, I loved how thorough the scent finder quiz was. This showed to me firsthand how conscious the brand is about what scents go into each discovery kit for each customer, making me feel like everything — from the region where I grew up to what foods I enjoy eating — impacts my scent preferences.
I took some notes on noteworthy (ha!) to dish out the deets on some of the questions you’ll find within the quiz, along with some answer selections. Note that for some of the “pick any” questions, you can select more than one or none at all:
- When were you born? We know age is just a number, but it’s part of the science.
- What gender do you identify as? Noteworthy fragrances are for anyone who wants to smell great.
- As a child, what country did you spend most of your time in? Somewhere rural, the suburbs, a city.
- How introverted or extroverted are you? From front and center to camera shy.
- When planning a trip, what appeals to you? Beach, mountains, city, forest.
- Do any of these colors speak to you? Black, blue, green, purple, red, pink, white, yellow, orange.
- How often do you wear a fragrance? Never, sometimes, always.
- Are you loyal to your scent or do you play the field? Stick to my favorites, like to change it up, always looking.
- How many perfumes are in your usual rotation? 0, 1, 2-3, 4-5, 6+
- What scent type(s) do you typically prefer? Feminine, masculine, unisex.
- When do you like to wear fragrance? Daytime, evening.
- How subtle or strong do you like your scent? Very subtle, a mix of both, very strong.
- How do you feel about floral scent notes? Strongly dislike, I’m neutral, love.
- Any of these you love? Peanut butter, Vicks Vaporub, chocolate, wintergreen oil.
As you can see from a preview of the questions, the brand is rather thorough and the process also helps you learn more about yourself and your tastes, too.
“We worked with our perfume house, Givaudan — one of the largest and most reputable fragrances houses in the world — to create our fragrances,” Boyce explains. “We used feedback from real people in our beta launch to determine which of the fragrances we developed to launch.”
Now, Noteworthy has a portfolio of 17 fragrances and they add more every few months, choosing only to launch a select few that the brand knows customers will love.
After taking the quiz
Once the quiz was complete and the four-fragrance discovery kit was en route, I was excited to unwrap each of the sample sizes. This idea is brilliant; not only can you try four unique options that are catered to your preferences but they’re handy to toss into your work tote (what I did), your car console, your travel bag or to keep on your nightstand at all times for a little refresh.
After I used each fragrance for a few days, I decided that the brand’s 144 Scent — with notes of juicy citrus, delicate lemon blossom and creamy, caramelized vanilla — was for me. Even better, Noteworthy has its roster of full-sized fragrances on its website, so you can always repurchase if you run out.
Even better, Noteworthy’s packaging is top-tier — ideal for the minimalist and chic decor-lover and for anyone who loves the look of something simple. Because of its classic take on packaging, the fragrance bottles double as a piece of decor, perhaps to stand tall and look pretty on your favorite coffee table books.
If you love your Noteworthy experience and are thinking about gifting a fragrance to a loved one, the brand has you covered. You can treat your mom or BFF to Noteworthy by offering to pay for its discovery set and/or full-sized fragrance that’s already onsite. The possibilities are endless, and that’s why Noteworthy is versatile and fit for any consumer.
“We have a completely differentiated offering,” Boyce notes. “Instead of trying to decide what someone will love, we allow you to gift the entire Noteworthy experience, where someone can try a Discovery Kit for themselves and then either purchase a travel spray (with our starter gift set) or a full size 100ml perfume (with our full experience).”
But, what makes this really special is that Noteworthy offers a gift-ready box for you to ‘gift’ someone these fragrances. How great is that?
An FAQ on Fragrance
Ahead, Boyce answers some of the hottest scent-related questions in the biz, helping you best understand the industry at large.
What fragrance notes are great for bases?
“Typically, woods, vanilla and musk can be fantastic base notes, but ultimately, the way Noteworthy focuses on creating perfumes is by listening to what our customers tell us they want,” Boyce tells The Post. “We know floral is the biggest category of fragrance, so we have a number of floral fragrances. We know gourmand is a hot category right now, so we’re focused on ensuring we have offerings that reflect that as well.”
What fragrance notes are the most popular right now?
“We’re definitely seeing an emergence of ‘skin scents’ in the industry — fragrances that are milkier, muskier that work well with individual body chemistry,” she says. Lots of lovely bright citrus fragrances are popular, too, along with fun gourmands, like pistachio notes, fig notes, cookie notes, etc. as an emerging category as well.
What are the best fragrance notes for someone who loves florals?
Noteworthy’s most popular floral fragrance is n,743, which has tuberose, magnolia and musk in it. It’s an amber floral fragrance that’s perfect for date nights and special occasions.
What are the best fragrance notes for someone who loves woody/musky scents?
Noteworthy’s top seller is n,551 which is a woody fragrance with notes of sandalwood, amber and lily of the valley.
What are the best fragrance notes for someone who loves fresh and clean scents?
Noteworthy’s n,307 fragrance has notes of mandarin and basil, softened by sandalwood and is really great in summer months. Additionally, n,345 has mandarin, lavender and patchouli as well as a marine accord in it, which “makes it lovely and refreshing,” per Boyce.
What are the best fragrance notes for someone who loves fruity scents?
“Our top fruity fragrance is n,008, which has a sparkling pear note that we know our customers love.”
The bottom line
Ultimately, what makes Noteworthy stand out from the pack is that it’s really focused on customers. “We use data from real people to power our algorithm — the only one in the market that is really backed by AI,” Boyce highlights. “We created a sampling experience based on what people told us they wanted: being able to try a select number of curated fragrances based on their preferences in their own homes.”
And then, the brand offers lots of options for people who find a fragrance they love to buy, from travel size to a larger offering of 100ml. It’s wonderful to treat yourself to a signature scent, and just as thoughtful to buy for someone you love. We call that the perfect win-win situation.
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