How We Make Our Verdicts
The Verdict System
Every perfume on ScentVerdict is classified by character - not scored, not ranked, but given a verdict that tells you what kind of fragrance it actually is.
Favourite
Universally appealing, versatile, crowd-pleasing. Works at the office, on a date, at a wedding. The kind of fragrance that gets compliments without making a statement. If you're buying blind, a Favourite is your safest bet.
Statement
Distinctive, intentional, stands out from the crowd. You're making a choice wearing this - and that's the point. Statement fragrances have character and personality. Not everyone will love it, but the people who do will really love it.
Acquired
A connoisseur's pick - polarising, refined, not for everyone. These are fragrances that reward patience and experience. Bold, complex, sometimes challenging. If you know what you're looking for, an Acquired fragrance can be the most rewarding of all.
What Goes Into a Verdict
Each verdict considers multiple dimensions of a fragrance, not just "does it smell nice":
- Composition quality - How well the notes work together, the skill of the blending, the overall artistry
- Performance - Longevity and projection in real-world conditions, not laboratory tests
- Versatility - How many occasions and settings the fragrance works in
- Value - Whether the quality justifies the price, at any price point
- Character - The overall personality and boldness of the fragrance
How We Compare Prices
Every perfume page shows UK prices from verified retailers, sorted lowest first. This is non-negotiable.
- 1. Cheapest always wins. The lowest-price option always appears at the top, regardless of which retailer pays us a higher commission.
- 2. Verified retailers only. We only list retailers we've vetted for authenticity. In a market with over three billion pounds in counterfeits, knowing your retailer is legitimate matters.
- 3. Full affiliate disclosure. We earn commissions when you buy through our links. You never pay more - commissions come from the retailer. We're transparent about this because we think you deserve to know.
How We Find Similar Perfumes
Every perfume on ScentVerdict carries a 0-100 similarity score against the perfumes most like it. The score is based on what's actually in the bottle - the notes and the overall character - not on brand marketing or how the perfume is sold.
We compare two perfumes by matching their notes against each other and weighting shared notes by how distinctive they are. Two perfumes that share rare ingredients like oud or saffron score higher than two that share something common like bergamot. We also factor in the broader character (powdery floral, sweet gourmand, fresh aquatic) so two perfumes can read as similar even when their note lists differ slightly.
What the score range means
- 80-100 - near-identical. Reformulations, flankers, clones.
- 60-79 - genuinely similar. Same family and style, with their own character.
- 40-59 - moderate overlap. Adjacent rather than alike.
- Below 40 - not similar enough to surface.
On the Compare page we show exactly which notes are shared and which aren't, so the score isn't a black box. If a number looks off, the breakdown is right there.
Data Sources
Every verdict is drawn from a broad survey of public sources: thousands of community reviews on the major fragrance databases, brand information from official product listings, and discussion across enthusiast communities. We cross-reference these against each other, and every verdict is editor-reviewed before publishing. Prices are pulled from retailer feeds and verified for accuracy.
Our Transparency Commitment
Every verdict is grounded in real data. Every price is real. Every retailer is verified. We disclose all affiliate relationships and never fake enthusiasm for a commission.
No verdict is published without an editor's sign-off. If we get something wrong, tell us and we'll fix it.