About Top Note Co

Why this site exists

A top note is the first thing you smell — the opening impression. Top Note Co is built to be the honest first impression you get beforeyou spend money on fragrance: independent reviews, live and date-stamped prices, and plain verdicts that include the bottles we tell you to skip. Most fragrance content online is either a thinly disguised ad or a wall of hype. We wanted the opposite — a site that reads like a knowledgeable friend who won't waste your money.

Who writes it

Top Note Co is written by Stephen V., a genuine fragrance enthusiast. Here is the honest version, because it matters: I'm Stephen — genuinely into fragrance. I don't run a lab or work in the industry. I read the manuals and spec sheets, compile published longevity and note data, do the price-per-ml math, and tell you plainly what I'd buy and what I'd skip. No free products, no hype.

That framing is deliberate. A lot of fragrance sites lean on a "working perfumer" or a "certified specialist" or a "test lab." We are none of those things and we will never pretend to be — inventing a credential is exactly the kind of dishonesty this site exists to avoid. What we offer instead is transparency and a reproducible method, spelled out in full on the how we review page.

What we don't do

• We don't run a lab. We do not measure longevity or sillage with instruments. Our figures are compiled from published data and aggregated owner reports, and labeled as such.
• We don't accept free product. Nothing on this site is here because a brand sent us a bottle, because no brand does.
• We don't take paid placements. No brand can buy a ranking or a better verdict. Our rankings follow the same rubric every time.
• We don't fabricate. No invented prices, ratings, or review counts. Prices render live from Amazon or we show none.

How we make money

Top Note Co is reader-supported. When you buy through our links we may earn an Amazon Associates commission, at no extra cost to you — and it never changes a verdict. We routinely point you at the cheaper bottle, or a clone instead of a counterfeit-plagued original, when that is the smarter buy. The full details are in our affiliate disclosure.

Get in touch

Spotted a factual error, or want to suggest a fragrance we should cover? We genuinely want to hear it — corrections get made within 48 hours. Reach us on the contact page. Top Note Co is published by Type 5 Marketing LLC.