To think dupe perfumes are ok ...

[letsbepositive2024]

Or am I just a cheapskate?

I'd like to try some Tom Ford perfume but the prices are eye watering so I've ordered a dupe instead. The dupe wasn't cheap either!

But am I being just being cheap? Is the point of luxury that it makes you feel special as you've spent so much?

Do you dupe? Can you tell the difference?

But am I being just being cheap? Is the point of luxury that it makes you feel special as you've spent so much?

The point of perfume (in my mind) is that you like the smell. If you like the smell of the dupe, use that!

I have lots of perfume and have a real mix of ‘real’ and dupes. I’m just not interested in paying for the branding and packaging for some perfumes. Others, I really love and want the original bottle and the whole consumer experience.

There are some fantastic dupes around these days. Crack on!

I've bought them - as pps say, if they smell nice, that's what matters, even if the nice smell isn't an exact match to the designer brand.

Would be interested to know if they last a decent amount of time. I'd imagine they wear off much quicker than the originals.
That said, perfume never seems to last very long on me anyway.

I only use dupes now. My go to scent is Dior Addict. I found out that most of the designer brands are tested on animals but saw EDEN Perfumes apparently did a version and it was cruelty free. It was also a quarter of the price.

I was dubious, but bought a small bottle. When it arrived, I couldn't believe that it actually smelt identical to the real thing. I wore a squirt on one wrist and what was left of real one on other. The dupe (also an EDP) lasted longer.

I also found a lovely day scent (Gloria by Cacherel) that I loved in the 00s was available at another dupe company called Perfume Parlour. This perfume was long discontinued, so I was delighted to find its replacement almost 20 years later.

Not all are identical though. I buy the dupe of Narciso Rodriguez often and although it's not an exact match, it's close enough and smells lovely.

I always recommend these companies to people, but suggest they order a small bottle or tester to start.

I wear Tom Ford dupes from the essence vault. They're really good. Compare well to the real thing just don't last as long.

See my post above. 😊

Has anyone found a dupe for the original Stella perfume?

I wear dupes too. I use some of the companies mentioned already but M&S have some fab dupes too. Their Santal 33 dupe Apothecary Warmth is amongst my favourites.

Essence vault do amazing dupes

Real perfume lasts longer so it depends what you want it to do

I use a mix, dupes from perfume parlour
Then sort of dupes like next summer sun because I prefer it to bronze goddess
And original perfumes, mostly smaller indie brands like Kyse that haven't been duped anywhere

I work on a market stall that sells dupes. I'd say atleast 70% of them smell IDENTICAL to the real thing. When people ask if they last as long I say do not purchase now...use the tester and if you can still smell it on you sat on the sofa tonight come back.

To be totally honest when I wear a £100 givency perfume I go nose blind to it anyhow!

Our dupes go from £4.50-£12.99. If its saving people £95 a pop then even if it doesn't last as long that's good enough for me!

More than welcome to pm me and I'll send you some samples before you part with your hard earned money

Have any of use tried sparkle fragrances ?

But am I being just being cheap? Is the point of luxury that it makes you feel special as you've spent so much?

‘Most people can’t afford high end designer clothing. The clothing lines (especially haute couture or what you see on the runways and red carpets) might not even be profitable to these companies. Instead, they serve to promote the brand and create an image of luxury. When the regular consumer buys something they CAN afford from that brand (a perfume, makeup, some small accessory) they feel like they are buying a small part of that luxury and aspirational lifestyle. Those items sell with big profit margins and in large volumes, so that’s how these companies make their money.’ (Reddit)

So please don’t feel cheap.

I’ve been buying dupes

alien and si and eau dissey - to name some

friends and mums at school have said along the lines

you smell nice is that alien etx

me - I say yes

I love that but so costly

me - whispering. It’s not the real one cost me £8

nooooo really. Where from

I have been using ditto and vault essences when do deals 3 for £20

So I've bought a few dupes now, and just don't like them. I can't explain it, but it's like half perfume, half lighter fluid.
They're nowhere NEAR as good as the real deal.

I'm very happy with my 'Milton Lloyd Vogue' perfume because it's less than £5 per bottle and it's a good dupe for Chanel no.5.

I'm definitely camp real thing, because the ingredients are more likely to be natural than synthetic, plus i like to display the fancy bottles. Not sure if they're also better regulated for ingredient safety, as i'd expect a portion of the price i'm paying to be for safety/quality control.

I decided to buy one "dupe" in December to try, because the perfume it was emulating, Dior Midnight Poison, was a favourite of mine that got discontinued about 10 years ago, maybe longer, and my original 30ml bottle was getting low, even with occasional wear. I did buy a new and sealed 50ml perfume and 50ml body lotion in makeup bag gift set of the origanal on Ebay (for £250, ouch) and it was the real deal, but i wanted to see if there was a decent smell alike for more every day use, as the real deal will last me for special occasions, but i'd like to wear it more often.

I saw 2 middle eastern brands made dupes with similar names (translated in english to night passion) who even modelled their bottle design off the Dior one, but they were manufactured in middle east, were £50 plus for the perfume, and who knows the costs of shipping then import VAT costs, plus i know nothing about their perfume manufacture regulations about ingredient safety etc.

So i checked UK companies like essence vault, EDEN etc, and settled on one from Blossom Perfumery who had a 30% off sale on, and got a 100ml bottle with delivery for about £25.

If you know what the Dior perfume smells like, you can quite easily tell what its an emulation of. It has a strange after scent at the very beginning but it wears off quickly, and as your body heat warms it up and the middle and base notes come through, it gets even nicer and more recognisable. Its not as intense though both are EDP, but it does last really well. As a day to day version its decent, but i'd always go for the real thing for any kind of occasion.

I don't regret buying it, but i don't think i'd buy a dupe again, as displaying the fancy bottles (both in use and empty) is part of my enjoyment of perfumes. Id rather rotate through more variants of "designer" perfumes than stick to dupes of one or two favourites.

Also, a little tip i found a few years back to help lighter perfumes last longer, spread a thin layer of plain, unscented vaseline on the skin where you want to spray your perfume, give it a minute to warm up, absorb slightly and still be a bit tacky, then spray the perfume on top. It definitely works in my opinion.

In theory I'm all in favour of dupes as long as they aren't claiming to the authentic product. However I have never, ever found a dupe that smells exactly like (or even closely resembles) the perfume it is supposed to be like. Some of them smell good in their own right, though. The same applies to ALDI "dupes" - I don't think they are much good, and I can only think the people who believe they are good replicas don't know the original product very well.

So basically I have always been disappointed by dupes and prefer to have fewer original products.

I love dupes! I have really cheap dupes (£1.49 from home bargains, or £4.99 Milton Lloyd) and more expensive smell-a-likes from Next etc

my current favourite is from Lidl for under £5 but I can’t remember what it’s supposed to be a dupe for 😂 maybe Narcisso Rodriguez for her I think. I haven’t smelt the original to compare.

I don’t buy purely to dupe expensive fragrances, I just buy ones I like the smell of and then find after online that they often claim to be dupes. I can’t afford expensive perfumes even for Christmas, birthdays etc it’s just not doable.

This is obviously an old thread but noticed your post. Apparently, Divain do a brilliant copy of Stella....I've ordered it but it's not arrived yet. However, their Hypnose is brilliant and they also last much longer than other dupes (that have gone off within a year). I've had the Hypnose for 3 years.

Yeah it always confuses me when people say they don't buy dupes because they don't last as long.

Fair enough if the dupe wasn't much cheaper but at £8 vs £120 you could buy 14 bottles so I think it's worth it!

Ive used the roll on oils from perfume parlour and actually find they last longer than "real" spray perfume.