Air freshener with a scent that lasts

Febreze Air Freshener Spray has the best record for a scent that lasts: 21 of 24 shoppers said it lingered, a strong showing for a spray. Air Wick Essential Mist Refills are close behind at 11 of 13, and Febreze Plug Scented Oil Refills follow at 17 of 24. Febreze Fabric Refresher has the weakest record here at 7 of 24.

  • 150 store reviews counted
  • Target shoppers
  • Sep 2015 to Sep 2026

Updated . How we count

Did the scent last? What shoppers said
  1. Febreze Air Freshener Spray 24 said either way
  2. Air Wick Essential Mist Refills 13 said either way
  3. Febreze Plug Scented Oil Refills 24 said either way
  4. Air Wick Scented Oil Refills 18 said either way
  5. Febreze Fabric Refresher 24 said either way

Share of shoppers who stated an outcome for fading. Ranked by the lower bound of a 90% confidence interval, so a product needs both a good share and enough reports to rank high.

Best record Febreze Air Freshener Spray 21 of 24 say the scent lasts See price & reviews on Amazon
What stands out

Fading is the big complaint for the fabric spray: 63% of its reviews say the scent faded fast, compared with 8% for the Febreze room spray.

The ranking, product by product

Praise and complaints are the points shoppers repeat most, shown as a share of each product's counted store reviews.

1

Febreze

Air Freshener Spray

Best for a room spray that lingers

21/24 say the scent lasts

Shoppers liked the Linen & Sky scent itself: 72% say it smells good and 14% say it isn't overpowering. Febreze's own site agrees on staying power at 8 of 8, which we show but don't count.

What shoppers praise

  • Smells good 72%
  • Not overpowering 14%
  • Removes odors 11%
  • Good value 8%

What shoppers complain about

  • Device stopped working 6%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 21 of 24
  • Brand site 8 of 8 shown, not counted
2 Air Wick Essential Mist Refills

Air Wick

Essential Mist Refills

11/13 say the scent lasts

Staying power is the main praise, in 55% of reviews, and 50% like the scent. It needs the Essential Mist diffuser, and 10% find the refills too expensive.

What shoppers praise

  • Smells good 50%
  • Good value 10%

What shoppers complain about

  • Too expensive 10%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 11 of 13
  • Brand site 0 of 1 shown, not counted
3 Febreze Plug Scented Oil Refills

Febreze

Plug Scented Oil Refills

17/24 say the scent lasts

Shoppers love the Downy April Fresh scent, at 74% of reviews, but 21% say it faded or the refill ran out fast. Reviews on Febreze's own site are split at 3 of 6, which we show but don't count.

What shoppers praise

  • Smells good 74%
  • Not overpowering 6%

What shoppers complain about

  • Bad or fake smell 9%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 17 of 24
  • Brand site 3 of 6 shown, not counted
4 Air Wick Scented Oil Refills

Air Wick

Scented Oil Refills

12/18 say the scent lasts

On staying power it's a mixed record at 12 of 18, with 18% saying the scent faded fast. The lavender scent itself wins praise in 73% of reviews, and 12% call it good value.

What shoppers praise

  • Smells good 73%
  • Good value 12%
  • Not overpowering 12%

What shoppers complain about

  • Bad or fake smell 6%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 12 of 18
5

Febreze

Fabric Refresher

7/24 say the scent lasts

17 of 24 shoppers said the scent faded fast, even though 70% like how it smells. It's a spray for couches and linens, so expect to spray again.

What shoppers praise

  • Smells good 70%
  • Not overpowering 7%

What shoppers complain about

  • Too expensive 7%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 7 of 24

Share of 27 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

Where these numbers come from

The 5 products ranked here carry 3,632 reviews at Target. We read the newest reviews of each product (up to a thousand per listing), kept the ones that talk about fading, and counted up to 40 per product, posted between Sep 2015 and Sep 2026.

A review counts only when the reviewer used the product themselves. We drop reviews written in exchange for a free product or a sweepstakes entry (0 on this page), and products that are no longer sold.

Target also shows reviews first posted on brands' own websites. We show them on product cards but never count them, because brand-site reviews run more positive than store reviews of the same products.

Because we searched for the problem, people who had it are overrepresented. Compare products with each other rather than reading a share as your own odds.

We count what shoppers report. Nothing here is safety advice: use heaters, fans and other appliances as the maker's manual says.

Amazon buttons appear only on products that most shoppers here say fix the problem (at least 60%, with enough reviews to trust it). Everything else gets no buy link.

An AI model labels each review against a fixed list of points, and we spot-check the labels before publishing. We publish counts, never the reviews themselves.

Read the full method

Product pages we read

  1. Febreze Air Freshener Spray Target (36 reviews counted)
  2. Air Wick Essential Mist Refills Target (20 reviews counted)
  3. Febreze Plug Scented Oil Refills Target (34 reviews counted)
  4. Air Wick Scented Oil Refills Target (33 reviews counted)
  5. Febreze Fabric Refresher Target (27 reviews counted)

Questions buyers ask

Which air freshener scent lasts the longest?

Febreze Air Freshener Spray has the best record (21 of 24), followed by Air Wick Essential Mist Refills (11 of 13) and Febreze Plug Scented Oil Refills (17 of 24).

How long should an air freshener last?

Shoppers judge a spray by hours and a plug-in or diffuser refill by weeks. On the plug-ins here, 21% of Febreze Plug reviews and 18% of Air Wick oil reviews say the scent faded or the refill ran out sooner than expected.

Does Febreze Fabric Refresher scent last?

Often not. It has the weakest record here at 7 of 24, and 63% of its reviews say the scent fades fast. It's made for fabric, and the room spray and plug-ins held up better for shoppers on this page.

Do air fresheners get rid of odors?

Shoppers here talk far more about the scent than about odors: 11% of reviews for the Febreze spray say it removed an odor. For a smell that keeps coming back, find and clean the source.

Related problems

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HiveTried earns a commission when you buy through the "See price & reviews on Amazon" buttons. It never changes the ranking: the order comes from buyer reports only, and a product gets an Amazon button only when buyers here say it works.