Policies and Shipping

Philosophy:

Our goal is to provide products you’ll love with the very best customer service. We strive to offer a wide range of scent types, top quality products, fast shipping, and great email communication. Fragrance should be a fun treat in your life that brings you pleasure!

Contacting Us:

Feel free to email any questions about the scents or products to info@sonomascentstudio.com and we almost always answer within 24 hours. If you need a phone consultation, we can set that up via email.

Payment Methods:

You can use the Online Shopping page to place your order securely and pay via Paypal or credit card. Your card number is encrypted and the site is secure. You do not need to have a Paypal account to use the shopping cart.

Or, you can email an order and then phone in your credit card number to us.

Another option is to mail a postal money order (email customer service if you want to pursue this option).

Sonoma Scent Studio prefers payments through the shopping cart whenever possible. After you order, you'll usually receive a target shipping date and you'll always get a shipping notice when your package ships; if you prefer to know the approximate ship date before you order, feel free to email or check the current turn-around tme posted on the What's New page.

Returns:

Products are not returnable, so you should try samples or small sizes first to test the scents. We want you to be pleased with your purchases, so we're always happy to answer any questions you have before you order. If something should leak in transit, please contact us as soon as you receive the package and we'll make it right.

Sonoma Scent Studio only uses high-quality cosmetic-grade oils that are skin safe, but occasionally people can have sensitivities to certain fragrance ingredients. If you develop any skin reaction, please discontinue use of the product. This rarely occurs but needs to be mentioned for completeness, and it's another reason sampling first is a good idea. Please keep these products out of reach of small children and pets. Sonoma Scent Studio is not responsible for any damages associated with the use or misuse of the products.

Sonoma Scent Studio products are made and packed in a non-smoking, pet-free environment, which should alleviate worries about smoke or pet allergies.

Skin Sensitivity And Ingredients:

Sonoma Scent Studio generally follows IFRA (International Fragrance Association) standards for essential oils and ingredients that are suspected of being more likely to cause irritation and/or sensitivity reactions such as Peru Balsam, massoia bark oil, cinnamon bark oil, and oakmoss extracts. We follow the IFRA guidelines to minimize potential problems with ingredients, though you should keep in mind that many of these ingredients are commonly used in perfumes and much more research in this area is needed to really know what's best. IFRA guidelines are getting more complex and controversial, so we try to use common sense along with their guidelines, and we follow manufacturer's guidelines for usage rates of fine perfumery aroma materials. We do use small amounts of real oakmoss, but you can check the notes listed for each scent and if no oakmoss is listed, none is used.

No sunscreen additives, preservatives, or colorants are used in our perfumes, just scent and alcohol or coconut oil base. The perfumes and body creams are paraben-free.

Environmental/Animal Issues:

Sonoma Scent Studio uses plantation grown sandalwood oils that are grown as a renewable resource. No animal civet, animal castoreum, or animal musks are used; synthetic or plant-based reconstructions of these items are used instead of the animal-derived versions, but no nitro musks are used. We do not test any of our products on animals (just on ourselves, and on some helpful human volunteers!).

Privacy Policy:

Sonoma Scent Studio will not share your personal information with anyone. Your information is used only to fill your order.

Domestic Shipping:

We ship sample orders via USPS first class mail, perfume bottle orders of up to $50-$75 via USPS Priority mail, and perfume bottle orders of over $50-$75 via UPS or FedEx Ground. (The cut-off between Priority and UPS/FedEx depends on the $ amount and the amount of ounces being shipped.) Most shea cream and body lotion orders can go USPS Priority mail. We insure all packages of $50 value or more.

Priority mail usually takes 2-3 business days but is not trackable (though it does have confirmation of delivery). UPS or FedEx Ground takes 5-9 business days in the US and is fully trackable. You will receive a USPS delivery confirmation number or a UPS/FedEx tracking number.

All products are bottled for you when you order and are shipped Monday through Friday for UPS/FedEx and Monday through Saturday for USPS. Most orders are shipped within 1-4 business days of receipt, but it can take a bit longer during busy order times; please check the current turn-around time status on the What’s New page before ordering. If you have questions, please email before you order so we can send you a target shipping date and you can decide if that date meets your needs. We want to get your orders out as quickly as possible in the order that they are placed. If there should be a delay in shipment, we will notify you right away via email and give you the option of a refund.

We only require a signature verification upon delivery for orders that total $150.00 or more; if you prefer that the package NOT be left in your absence, please send us a message and we'll ask for signature delivery on your order even if it is below $150. Otherwise, the UPS/FedEx driver uses his/her judgment on whether it is safe to leave the package.

Rates are given below. Please note that we do not make money on shipping; we keep rates as low as we can while still recouping our costs for postage, insurance, boxes, mailers, packing material, and labels.

For the USA:
Sample packs: USPS First Class Mail $3.50
Orders that weigh up to just under 1 pound: $8.50
Orders that weigh up to just under 2 pounds: $10.50
Orders that weigh up to approximately 3 pounds: $11.50
Orders that weigh over 3 pounds: $11.50
Please note: UPS/Fedex will not deliver to P.O. Boxes or to APO/FPO addresses

International Shipping:

Most international orders for samples or for 1 to 3 bottles can be placed through the shopping cart by choosing the international shipping calculation at check-out, but it's best to email us before ordering if you are a first-time customer to be sure we ship to your country. We can ship to most countries with the following exceptions: we cannot currently ship to Algeria, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunel Darussalam, Bulgaria, Dominican Republic, Equador, Faroe Islands, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Slovenia, South Korea, Syria, Turkey, Tunisia, Venezuela, Yemen, or Zimbabwe because of customs restrictions and long delay times for shipping to some of those countries.

We do frequently ship to UK, Australia, France, Sweden, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Singapore, Austria, Norway, and many others. We ship to Canada but shipping time is highly variable and can take up to a month because of customs delays. Most international packages arrive in 7-14 days, but customs delays can take longer. The customer is responsible for any duties, customs, and taxes, though if the value is not too high duties and fees are not usually a problem.

Orders sent by first class international are not insured or trackable. If you have a large order it is best to choose the Priority Mail option so that the package will be trackable.

Sample orders can usually be sent international Air Mail for $3.50, but they can't be insured. One or two edp bottles can usually be shipped for about $10.50-$12.00 but cannot be insured (unless a customer would like to buy insurance, which is expensive and only worthwhile on orders over $100). We're happy to answer questions about international shipping via email before you order.

International customers can also order samples and decants from The Perfumed Court.

Sales Tax:

Unfortunately, Sonoma Scent Studio must collect sales tax (currently 9% including state and local) from California customers.

Free Extras:

For orders of four or more samples, we offer you the choice of a free extra sample; you can let us know which you'd like in the comments box or in the free extra request box of the order form. If you order full bottles you can pick a free sample or two, and we'll add some if you don't specify any. We try to pick samples consistent with your choices. We can not give free bottles with orders.