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Frequently Asked Questions
Contact Questions:
How do we reach Sonoma Scent Studio?
The best way is to email customer service and we'll get back to you usually within 24 hours. If you need to arrange a phone consultation, we can set up a time via email.
Shipping Questions:
Do you do international Shipping?
Please email us for a shipping quote before ordering. We do some international shipping. Sample orders for edp and oils can usually be sent international Air Mail for about $4.00 US, but they can't be insured. One or two half oz edp bottles can usually be shipped for about $12.00 US but can not be insured (unless a customer would like to buy insurance, which is expensive and only worthwhile on orders well over $100). Small orders are easy to ship to most countries except Italy (Italian customs are difficult).
It's best for international customers to pay via Paypal because Paypal does a great job of handling the exchange rate. Just send us your order via email and we can send you a Paypal invoice that can be paid either using Paypal cash or a credit card. You do not need to have a Paypal account to pay the invoice; you can use a credit card if you choose that option.
How Much is Domestic Shipping?
Domestic shipping rates are listed on the
Policies and Shipping page.
Payment Questions:
Are payments on your site secure?
Yes, payments are made through a secure SSL site and your data is encrypted.
Can I send a Money Order?
Yes, you can send email to info@sonomascentstudio.com to arrange paying via postal money order. Personal checks are also accepted, but you need to wait for them to clear the bank. Money orders can be cashed upon arrival so your package can be shipped immediately.
How do gift certificates work?
Please see this
Gift Certificates
page for a description of gift certificates and for a button to purchase one.
Product Questions:
What base do you use?
We have always used specially denatured professional perfumer's alcohol. This specially denatured alcohol is what is used in nearly all commercial perfumes. For the oils, we use a natural pure fractionated coconut oil base; we add no alcohol, silicones, water, or emulsifiers. No sunscreen additives or colorants are used in our perfumes, just scent and alcohol or coconut oil base.
Do you use both natural and synthetic fragrance ingredients?
We use many natural essential oils and absolutes, but we also use high-quality synthetic aroma ingredients made especially for perfumery by the top fragrance companies such as Givaudan, Firmenich, and IFF. Synthetics can extend the lasting power of natural oils and work together with them to enhance the scent; the combination of naturals with a light touch of synthetics often makes the best of both worlds. We rely on natural oils for many of our woodsy base notes because they are so beautiful, but we only use sandalwood that is grown in plantations as a renewable resource and we don't use rosewood, which is endangered and can easily be substituted with other accords. We use synthetic musks, castoreum, and civet to avoid the cruelty issues associated with animal versions of these ingredients. We can blend all-natural scents for you as special request items.
Should I get oil or edp?
This is personal preference. Oils tend to last a bit longer on the skin, but they can have less sillage (the amount they waft around you). Edp tends to have more sillage but not last quite as many hours. Sonoma Scent Studio edp is quite concentrated though, so the difference in lasting power is not great. Oils are dabbed on whereas edp is sprayed, so it comes down to whether you are a dabber or a sprayer. When you spray, you usually get more scent applied. If you are unsure which you prefer, you might get a few samples in each form to try, but the edp samples are applied with a dauber rod so that'll give a different effect than when you spray from a large bottle (spray usually applies more and is stronger).
I'd like to get a scent that used to be on the list but isn't listed right now -- is that possible?
Maybe, yes. Just send some email to info@sonomascentstudio.com to find out if the ingredients are still in stock.
Custom Scenting Questions:
How do custom blends work?
Note: We aren't taking custom blends right now, but we look forward to doing more custom work later when we've caught up with blending the scents on our To Do list.
We prefer doing original blend requests rather than duplicating existing scents. For example, you might have a set of notes you'd like to have in a fragrance and you've not been able to find quite what you have in mind. If you have examples of existing scents that you do and don't like, that helps a lot. We can also send note accord samples before beginning your blend so you can determine what you like; we just charge for the samples and shipping as we go when we do that. We'll post here when we're ready to begin taking on custom scent projects again.
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