Still dangling a forest-shaped piece of scented cardboard from the rear-view mirror of your car’s interior? While there may be a cheap cost and chic look to a simple air freshener, it’s not the most effective or sophisticated way of making a car interior smell nicer.
Air freshener options that slot into an air vent and diffuse a nice smell are one way of getting a more sophisticated scent boost, but they don’t fit universally and effectiveness is often tied to how strong your blast the fans.
The third, and arguably nicest example is a small bottle you can spray at your discretion to keep your car smelling divine. FUMEBAR’s latest offering, Boost is a cracking example of this and an immediate purchase for us.
Verdict: A true touch of luxury for your nose and car, with a sustainable design too.
Score: 4.5/5
FUMEBAR Boost
RRP £24 | VIEW OFFER
Pros
• Exceptional smell
• Sleek construction
Cons
• Scent doesn’t last as long as a diffuser
What’s good?
Like the FUMEBAR diffuser, the first thing you’ll spot with the Boost is the quality of everything. It has the look and feel of a bottle of aftershave you’d treat yourself to in a duty-free, it’s almost too nice for a car. The replaceable glass spray bottle sits within a meticulously manufactured aluminium capsule that looks divine. The capsule comprises two pieces that can be turned, like a lipstick, to raise and lower the spray nozzle.
My Boost featured the Dark Rum, Clove and Tobacco scent, a personal favourite of mine from the diffuser. The spray bottle delivers a more intense smell than the diffuser, with the trade-off being that the smell will disappear quicker. The spray nozzle delivers an efficient misting that disperses the smell without burning through the spray. The bottle was still over half-full after a solid month’s use in my daily driven car.
One of our favourite bits about the FUMEBAR was the environmental credentials of each product, and happily Boost ships with the same eco-friendly credentials. Everything is recyclable, vegan and hypoallergenic, with even the delivery bag biodegrading.
What’s okay?
There’s very little you can accuse the Boost of doing merely acceptably. The quality of everything couldn’t be faulted. The only thing ordinary about the Boost was how long the scent lasted after spraying. While more intense than teh diffuser, the diffuser works passively to keep the smell consistent. My personal use for the Boost is as a handy little top-up for my diffuser when I wanted a brief extra intensity to the interior.
Any negatives?
It’s undoubtedly a premium product, you don’t get something so meticulously manufactured and scented for the same price as a dangly air freshener. For treating your car to a beautiful scent top-up it’s excellent, if you’re on a tighter budget there are cheaper alternatives that’ll just about suffice, even if they’re nowhere near as nice looking or smelling.
More items to consider:
The White Company Car Scent Diffuser, RRP £15
Auto Finesse Aroma Billberry Spray Air Freshener 250ml, RRP £8.99
Yankee Candle Charming Scents Geometric Kit Pink Sands, RRP £10.49
How it was tested:
The FUMEBAR Boost replaced my standard FUMEBAR for a period of a month, living in my centre console and being used to help maintain a pleasant smell. During this time, the FUMEBAR Boost was also used to successfully mask spilt milk in a van and around my home to give a nice nasal boost.
For verdicts, scoops, news and analysis from the team, delivered direct to your inbox, subscribe to the CAR newsletter.
You can enjoy CAR in its traditional print format, or one of the swelling number of digital editions, optimised for Apple iPhones, Android devices, iPads, tablets and desktop computers.
Just so you know, we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website - read why you should trust us.