Frequently Asked Questions
Contact Questions:
How do we reach Sonoma Scent Studio?
The best way to reach us is to email customer service at info@sonomascentstudio.com and we’ll do our best to get back to you within 24 to 48 hours. We may be sourcing materials, traveling to sample materials, creating new scents etc, and thus, we are not necessarily in a position to access our email 24/7.
Please remember we are 3 hours earlier in California than you are if you are on the east coast.
Do you have open studio hours or a local boutique?
We do not have a traditional storefront.
Retailer Questions:
Where can I buy Sonoma Scent Studio products?
Most of our sales have always been online through our own website; by selling directly to our customers without a distributor, we can keep prices lower for our handmade artisan products. We have in the past been carried in some boutiques, and please stay tuned for updates in the future.
Miscellaneous Questions:
What happens when I order from SSS?
Since this is an artisan perfumery, when we receive your order, we batch it up for you at that time! We check the sprayers and caps on all the bottles, tightening them as much as we can, to assure safe non-leaky travel.
Your order will be processed as soon as we can – typically within 72 hours of receipt, with longer processing times around the weekends and holidays. Once your order has shipped, you will receive an email from Sonoma Scent Studio and also from Woo Commerce, the latter will be providing your tracking number.
Payment Questions:
Are payments on your site secure?
Yes, payments are made through a secure SSL site and your data is encrypted. We have no access to your payment information.
Can I pay by PayPal or credit card?
Please note that all payments through our website go through PayPal for all forms of payment including credit cards. If you do not wish to pay through PayPal (for credit card or bank account payments), then please inquire if you may send us a check.
Can I pay by credit card without the shopping cart?
We cannot take orders by phone and process credit cards because of security issues. It’s getting harder for small businesses to become PCI certified so we must let the big companies like Paypal handle the transactions for us.
Can I send a check or Money Order?
Yes, you can send us an email to info@sonomascentstudio.com to arrange paying via check or postal money order. Personal checks are also accepted (though if you have not been a customer in the past, we’ll need to wait for the check to clear the bank). Money orders can be cashed upon arrival so your package can be shipped immediately. We can arrange for a discount on orders paid by postal money order since there are no processing fees associated with that payment method. (Postal money orders are easy, but Western Union money orders are not easy to cash here so postal are preferred.)
Do you charge sales tax?
Yes, we must collect sales tax from California customers.
Do you give free samples with orders?
You may choose one free sample with a purchase of one 15 ml perfume, 2 samples with a purchase of one 30 ml perfume. Please place your request for the samples in the “note” box on checkout. Please understand that we can’t send free samples without an order – we are just too small a company and would quickly be out of business that way.
Returns:
Can I return my order if it doesn’t work for me?
Products are not returnable (no exceptions, including allergies – thank you for your understanding) because once they leave the studio they can’t be used by anyone else, so you should try samples or small sizes first to make sure you love the scent. If you are unsure, start with the smallest 1 ml samples because those are inexpensive and will give you plenty of perfume to tell if you like the scent well enough to pursue it further. The samples are made from the same batch of perfume that you will receive. If you would like to smell a larger sample, the 5 ml travel sprayers are a great way to go.
Please note that on occasion, due to the large percentage of natural materials used in many of our perfumes, there may be some batch variance, although we do our best to make the batches uniform. You will find this to be the case with any luxury item, such as fine art and wine. If you require a product that has no batch variance, unfortunately we may not be the perfumery for you. We are always happy to answer any questions you have before you order.
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.
What happens if there is postage due, leakage or breakage during shipping?
Please email us at info@sonomascentstudio.com within 5 days of delivery and we’ll be happy to address the issue. We’ll need a photo (cell phone photos are fine) so that we can determine what occurred.
Please note that sometimes these things happen despite checking the sprayers and caps diligently several times before each order is wrapped (as much as we would like to think we are in control of everything, we are not!), and we thank you for the opportunity to remedy the situation. Bonus points for those customers with a great sense of humor – we appreciate it!
Product Questions:
What “base” or “carrier” do you use?
We now use organic grain alcohol (undenatured) in all our scents. This alcohol is free of denaturants and phthalates; it is just pure organic ethanol. No sunscreens, preservatives, or colorants are used in any of our perfumes, just fragrance in a carrier base of alcohol. The colors of the scents come from the colors of the natural essential oils and absolutes.
Do your perfumes contain parabens or sunscreens or colorants?
No.
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 use synthetic musks, castoreum, and civet to avoid the cruelty issues associated with animal versions of these ingredients. We use no animal musks and no nitro musks — we use biodegradable macrocyclic musks. We are in the process of creating an all-natural collection called the Sonoma Naturals; we will be adding more scents to this line over time.
Do you use animal ingredients or are your products vegan? Do you test on animals?
We do not test our perfumes on animals, only on ourselves and other friendly human volunteers. 🙂 We do not use animal musks, civet, or castoreum, only synthetic replacements and natural musk alternatives like ambrette seed, labdanum, and angelica root. The only animal-related ingredient currently used in some of our perfumes is beeswax absolute in some fragrances (check the list of notes to see and if it is not listed then it is not used).
What scents might men like?
Some scents men have enjoyed and/or women have reported liking on the men in their lives are Fireside Intense, Tabac Aurea, Incense Pure, Ambre Noir, Winter Woods, Forest Walk, Cocoa Sandalwood, Spiced Citrus Vetiver, Wood Violet, and Amber Incense. Champagne de Bois has a nice sandalwood note and some spicy clove and is not floral, but the aldehydes make it just a bit more on the feminine side of unisex, though that will vary from person to person. The driest and most masculine scents are Fireside Intense and Incense Pure.
I’d like to get a scent that used to be on the list but isn’t listed right now — is that possible?
Probably not, unless you see it in our list of archive scents. You can always send us an email at info@sonomascentstudio.com to find out if we have any in stock.
What about skin sensitivity and product usage suggestions?
Sonoma Scent Studio generally follows accepted usage guidelines for essential oils and ingredients that are suspected of being more likely to cause irritation and/or sensitivity reactions. We do not use some oils at all, such as massoia bark, and we use limited amounts of others, such as natural oakmoss. We do use small amounts of real oakmoss, but we only use the low-atranol type that has had nearly all of the allergens atranol and chloroatranol removed. If you know you have an oakmoss allergy, you can check the notes listed for each scent and avoid those that contain moss. Likewise, if you have a citrus allergy or an allergy to another ingredient, you can check the ingredients lists for citrus or for your particular allergen. We are happy to answer your ingredient questions via email if you need help. No sunscreen additives, preservatives, or colorants are used in our perfumes. The perfumes and body products are paraben-free. If you are prone to allergies, discuss the use of fragrance with your physician and you may want to use fragrance on clothes or in a scent locket rather than in direct contact with your skin. Regardless of whether you have known allergies, it is always prudent to test a little bit of scent on a small area of skin and wait a day before trying a larger application (a skin patch test). If you do experience a skin reaction to one of our perfumes (redness, itching, irritation etc.), wash the perfume off with water and discontinue use. The perfumes are for external use only; avoid getting them in the eyes or mouth. Do not use on the face. Keep perfumes away from children and pets. Use common sense with perfumes as you would for any cosmetic products. We cannot predict how each person will react to the scents, but we are happy to answer any questions you have about specific scents if you email.
