Kind Words

What visitors are saying

Every review here is real and published under its original source. Google and Yelp link back to the live listing. Square reviews come from digital-receipt feedback after a purchase in store.

Google
4.9
22 reviews
Yelp
4.9
15 reviews
Square
96%
26 positive of 27 receipts

Showing 38 of 63 total reviews across all platforms

Yelp
The best experience I've had smelling perfumes. You can tell the owner truly loves fragrance. She has things organized by scent profile, and has such a wide array of perfumes. I especially love that she gives you space to explore and sells sample bottles of everything. Those things are always my biggest frustration with trying fragrances in department stores. It was so much fun and such a pleasant experience - I can't recommend visiting the store enough!
Orion B.April 2026
Google
My wife and I absolutely love this place. We enjoy smelling everything!
Tracey L.April 2026
✓ Positive
Square
what a fun experience. and now I smell amazing.
Keila J.April 2026
✓ Positive
Square
Customer service was great and very personable. I felt like my interests mattered. Will definitely be ordering again soon
Minnie S.April 2026
✓ Positive
Square
We felt right at home today! Lovely environment and selection. Our sales associate was helpful and never pushy. Plenty of ventilation. The perfect place to explore fragrance.
Amy A.April 2026
✓ Positive
Square
Wonderfully curated store with engaging and attentive (but not pressuring!) staff. LOVED it!!
Sydney F.April 2026
✓ Positive
Square
It was so easy to get in touch with someone to get a question answered, and they were so helpful!
Square customerApril 2026
Yelp
This place is absolutely lovely and a must do for perfume lovers. Niche fragrances, wonderful variety, and welcoming staff. I loved my time there!
SydneyApril 2026
✓ Positive
Square
Wonderful shop with so many great fragrances! Took home two samples and are so excited to try! Thank you for showing us around! It was one of the most natural shop owner experiences I've had in a while. Not pushy and so informative. Thank you!
Square customerApril 2026
✓ Positive
Square
Always a super friendly and enjoyable experience! Take all my money haha
Natalia C.March 2026
Google
The Drydown is a MUST for any perfume lovers who want to get their nose on the best up-and-coming niche fragrances. They carry a super diverse selection sorted by major notes including an all natural section. Local perfumers and seasonal selections included.
ZofieMarch 2026
Google
Was in recently and received excellent service! So many unusual and beautiful fragrances!
Maggie P.March 2026
Yelp
I never knew this place existed! What a cute shop! Everyone was super sweet! The perfumes they had were lovely! I like that Helen Lee created this perfume from her tea collection gathered through the years of her travels. When you buy the sample of any perfume they discount the bottle with the sample price.
Klariza F.March 2026
Google
Lovvvvvve the way this store is organized and designed to encourage exploration. It made things easy and fun for me, a new perfume lover. Staff felt attentive and available while letting us do our own thing. Had a blast and found some new scents to obsess over.
Carynn P.March 2026
Google
Such a beautiful experience at The Drydown today! The space is welcoming, relaxed, and perfect for taking your time exploring fragrances. The selection of niche perfumes is amazing and thoughtfully curated.
Michele A.March 2026
Yelp
Such a great experience yesterday! It's overwhelming when you first walk in but Sam was so helpful in her recommendations. As an avid perfume lover this was a dream day!
Daphne D.March 2026
✓ Positive
Square
Shaya went above and beyond to make the experience memorable
Shamus T.March 2026
✓ Positive
Square
A delightful experience all-around; will definitely be back and will recommend The Drydown to friends! A wonderful addition to Carlsbad.
Tracey K.February 2026
Yelp
I've been there a few times now, and each visit is always a delight. Even on our second trip, she remembered us and made us feel right at home. The fragrance selection is so thoughtful — there's something for everyone. Every time we returned, there were always new perfumes to discover.
Nate G.February 2026
Google
Super welcoming owner and lots of quality of life things that make it stand out — like cards explaining fragrance "stages of life" and an area to write notes. Great expanding list of fragrances free to smell, doesn't feel cluttered but there's definitely plenty of great stuff. 10/10.
Ryan T.February 2026
Google
The owner was super kind and helpful. The scents are vast and unique. Definitely revisiting to build my collection!
Kimberly C.February 2026
Google
My wife loves this store! Everyone is always so knowledgeable and friendly. Great options for both men and women.
Ian L.February 2026
Google
Very knowledgeable owner. Super nice and friendly. Favorite spot. Also a lot of events.
Eduardo M.February 2026
✓ Positive
Square
The space is so welcoming. I love the experience each time I visit. I get inspired and excited and I meet & geek with other frag lovers.
Laurie D.February 2026
✓ Positive
Square
Sweet owner! Such a fun activity and so many great choices with reasonable price ranges.
Mercedes S.January 2026
Google
As someone new to fragrance, this was a really nice place to visit. There's clearly a lot of passion and knowledge that's gone into this. Also a great date spot weirdly!
Brandon N.January 2026
Yelp
The Drydown is super cool! A great date idea & an awesome no pressure environment. Definitely worth visiting if you're big on fragrances!
Kevin P.January 2026
Google
A fun new addition to Carlsbad! The lady working there was so sweet and really felt like she listened to what I was looking for and excited to show what she found exciting.
Russell L.January 2026
Google
Amazing curation. Very relaxing experience with as much or as little guidance as you want.
Alex R.January 2026
✓ Positive
Square
Shaya, you are amazing!!!!!! So glad we have a store like yours in San Diego. Im already looking forward to my next visit!
Mikhail R.January 2026
Google
I love the Drydown! The store is beautiful, Shaya is amazing and lovely, the perfumes are wonderfully selected and displayed. The store has seating and cards to write down notes as well as samples! Couldn't be more thrilled for a niche perfume store in SD county and especially glad The Drydown is so amazing. Will definitely be back.
Jordan D.December 2025
Yelp
The Drydown is San Diego's first niche fragrance boutique and they are located in the Carlsbad area. To get here, they have designated street parking spots all around the area. Inside, they have a lovely setup with perfumes masterfully curated by scent family. They have note cards and pens so you can keep track of ones you have smelled and your notes on them. All of their items are priced fairly and all of the staff are friendly and welcoming. Some of my favorites were the perfumes from d'Annam and Liis. This spot is definitely worth checking out for niche perfume lovers or anyone looking to explore some more unique brands and scents!
Vince P.November 2025
Yelp
This place is amazing! I've been waiting for a spot to be able to try out niche perfumes in person. Such a good selection and a huge range of scents including some local artisanal perfumers. I'm excited to check out their events!
S. B.November 2025
Google
The Drydown is a dream come true for fragrance lovers. Shaya, the owner, has really taken the time to curate a boutique filled with rare, coveted and even San Diego based fragrance houses that you will not find in Sephora, Nordstrom and the like.
Lynn K.November 2025
Google
What an amazing new spot in Carlsbad! Shaya has created a beautiful, welcoming, no-pressure environment for people to come in and find an amazing new scent. I visited for opening weekend, and left with several incredible bottles.
Melinda S.November 2025
✓ Positive
Square
I like how freely we are when we are choosing our fragrance. Knowledgeable and very helpful.
Thea M.November 2025
Yelp
I had been eyeballing D'Annam fragrances online for months and was super frustrated that I couldn't smell it in person. Last week I checked the company's website and saw that I could buy their fragrances at the Drydown. The day I learned about it also happened to be their grand opening! I had a wonderful time, the staff were super helpful, knowledgeable and kind. This place has such niche fragrances from smaller brands that you wouldn't see in a chain store that has the same big retailers dominating the space. They had some local San Diego brands too. I'm so happy I found this place and I'm so excited for the next time I go back.
Alexandria W.November 2025
✓ Positive
Square
What a beautiful store! Such fantastic unique fragrances that will keep you going back again and again.
Katia V.October 2025