Cheap perfume that smells expensive?

[Andoffwego]

My favourite perfume (and the only one I have worn for years) is Dune. The scent really suits me and smells ‘right’ on my skin. However, it is £90 for a bottle and I just can’t afford that at the moment.

I have real trouble finding any other perfume that I like, but there MUST be a cheaper one that I find acceptable for short term use? I realise that cheaper perfumes are cheap because they have less complex notes and use more expensive ingredients rather than cheaper synthetics, but there must be a lovely smelling cheap perfume somewhere out there? I don’t like very sweet and fruity scents or anything too light and citrusy. Any contenders for me to have a sniff of?

Next perfumes are brilliant quality and also good price. I have been asked if I'm wearing an expensive brands numerous tomes whilst wearing next purfumes.

@Redannie118

Nexts dupes are excellent. I wear Cashmere which is a dupe of Vera Wang and of all my perfumes its the one i get complimented on the most. Its about 8 pound per bottle but smells really expensive and lasts ages. They have loads of others. If you want a one like dune Asda( yep thats right) do a little bottle called sea salt and citrus which smells very like Dune and again smells expensive. Its about 4 pound for a small bottle.

I love the Asda one! Not seen it for ages though, I thought they'd stopped selling it. Must have a look next time I'm in there.

Superdrug Layering lab are fab, always get compliments. Normally on offer two for £7, my favourite is Exotic.
The List Of Dupes
Exotic = YSL Black Opium.
Oriental = Diesel Loverdose.
Gourmand = Calvin Klein Euphoria.
Paradise = Paco Rabanne Olympea.
Sorbet = Viktor & Rolf BonBon.
Floral = Stella McCartney Stella.
Blossom = Thierry Mugler Alien.
Fresh = DKNY Be Delicious.

Following

IMO, cheap scents smell... cheap. Either have what you really love, OP, or go without. You could always ask for a sample size. Or save up for it... £10 a week?

@merrymelodies

IMO, cheap scents smell... cheap. Either have what you really love, OP, or go without. You could always ask for a sample size. Or save up for it... £10 a week?

I would usually say exactly the same but I really really can’t afford it unless I end up with £100 unexpectedly at the moment and I would still like to smell nice (albeit less expensive sadly) so trying to find a nice option.

@Redannie118

Nexts dupes are excellent. I wear Cashmere which is a dupe of Vera Wang and of all my perfumes its the one i get complimented on the most. Its about 8 pound per bottle but smells really expensive and lasts ages. They have loads of others. If you want a one like dune Asda( yep thats right) do a little bottle called sea salt and citrus which smells very like Dune and again smells expensive. Its about 4 pound for a small bottle.

I had an experimental squirt of a couple of the Next ones the other day. I tried Cashmere which I liked on first sniff but didn’t smell right on my skin when it dried and a really sickly sweet one which I didn’t like at all, but you have inspired me to test some of the others as it may be worth persevering.

If you look on Fragrantica you'll see what notes Dune contains and find similar perfumes.
The nearest I've ever smelled to Dune is Chanel Allure but that's not going to help save money!

I don't get the smelling expensive or not tbf. As pp have said Yardley Jade costs about £7 and is an almost perfect replica for Chanel Cristalle. Given the notes, the Cristalle won't last all day either, but at least with Jade you don't begrudge a resquirt! Jo Malones are all linear and simple and last as long as a gnat's piss yet are expensive. They don't smell expensive though given their simplicity (almost all of them have much cheaper dupes around given how easy it is to replicate a simple citrus etc)

Re perfume houses- Coty is one of the oldest and most respected. Expert perfumers consider the SJ Parker scents to be some of the very few "sleb" fragrances which are really very very well made, and had they been in a fancy schmancy black and white box tied with grosgrain ribbon and handed to you in a designer bag rather than sold in Superdrug and put in a pink plastic one would have the punters raving. Critics are almost unanimously positive about them, but I haven't smelled any of them.

OP- if you ask on the Perfumista thread they may be able to point you in the direction of others similar to Dune. You could also try eBay or some of the sample retailers- a few years ago I bought up 3 or 4 5ml decants of vintage Dune (serendipitously the bottle had belonged to the grandmother of a MN Perfumista) from scent samples UK.

@Andoffwego do have a look at M&S- I've really liked most perfumes that I've picked up in there. Yes the EDTs may not last too long but neither does Jo Malone and they're nowhere near the price. I love going in there and picking up new ones when I pop in to buy comfort food and snacks , they often have new ranges to try.

I think they have 20% off fragrances atm too.

Superdrug have a range of perfumes in white bottles that I saw reviewed by Nadine Baggott. I got the Exotic Musk (which smells like Tom Ford Santal Blush apparently) for £12. It’s lovely. She reviews them (and the Zara ones)

Valley of Roses do a Dune dupe - No.43
€12 for 15ml
It might be worth a try ?

Avon do dupes of high end fragrances. I don't know which one us which but I'm sure you can google them. They often use very respected perfumers(?).

Check our the blog Iscentyouaday

Here's the thing OP if you can afford a cheap perfume but you love the expensive ones then just save the money you woukd have spent on the cheap one. Add a £5 a week until you have the money for the one you love.

In the meantime take a walk around a department store perfume section & ask for samples/ testers of any you like or would like to try & wear them whike your saving
I love getting lots of samples & trying different things
Those dupes never smell right & you can tell. My mother has loads of gorgeous real perfumes but started wearing dupes ' to save the good ones'. She was dousing herself in a v pungent Jo Malone rip off & it was awful. I has to say it to her.

Another vote for Zara perfumes here. I wear one called something Bloom as an everyday scent and it's really light and nice.

I used to love Dune but it's got too powdery to wear. It's lost that lovely mandarin tone. I actually have a bottle I never use!

Elizabeth Arden Green Tea is nice. Quite strong/grassy but unusual so gets comments but not very expensive. Seems to pop up in TK Maxx fairly often.

@Redannie118

Nexts dupes are excellent. I wear Cashmere which is a dupe of Vera Wang and of all my perfumes its the one i get complimented on the most. Its about 8 pound per bottle but smells really expensive and lasts ages. They have loads of others. If you want a one like dune Asda( yep thats right) do a little bottle called sea salt and citrus which smells very like Dune and again smells expensive. Its about 4 pound for a small bottle.

I love Cashmere!

**I thought it was a dupe for Estée Lauder Sensuous Nude though.

100ml Dune is £72.25 atm at John Lewis
www.johnlewis.com/dior-dune-eau-de-toilette-spray/p93142

There are plenty of nice perfumes in a lower price bracket especially on websites like allbeauty or notino, but you would probably need to test them (I do often test in store and then buy cheaper online), but there is nothing like Dune.

on the other hand, Zara's line with Jo Malone seems to be good value for money.

My long time favourite even above all my Diors.

www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/paul-smith-women-eau-de-parfum-natural-spray-100ml?istCompanyId=1e096408-041f-4238-994e-a7cf46bf9413&istFeedId=689af7a8-5842-4d88-be59-1ee5688a81b5&istItemId=iqtrxplwp&istBid=t&&cmpid=cpc&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=15440097740&utm_content=shopping&utm_term=%257Bsku%257D&utm_custom1=130917518312&utm_custom2=759-449-0952&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIu42DjP3v9QIVEO7tCh2_tgwbEAQYAiABEgKsc_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I totally agree with @Geamhradh

I'm a perfume blogger and I firmly believe that cheap perfume can smell good. I've been blogging for nearly ten years and I have loads of suggestions. I don't believe you have to spend a lot to smell expensive.

All perfumes are made by professional noses/perfumers, regardless of the price. Even Avon uses some very highly regarded master perfumers such as Olivier Cresp and Alberto Morillas.

So here's my pick of perfumes under £20 ( and thanks for giving me the idea for my next blog post)

Calvin Klein Contradiction - a frosty woody rose that's under £20.

Paul Smith Rose- a classic and under £20

Coty L'Aimant - really smells like Chanel No 5 but is about £6 and has been around since 1927

SJP Lovely and Stash- I find it very long lasting and to the PP upthread who said she could have picked a better perfumer than Coty- Coty are behind a lot more than you might think and is a highly respected mega brand.

Rihanna Reb'l Fleur- reminds me of La Vie est Belle and lasts HOURS.

Lanvin Arpege - a huge aldehyde floral classic for under £25 for 100ml EDP.

Obsession - a timeless spicy amber that's still great and still cheap.

Next Just Pink - reminds me of Ralph Lauren Romance

There's lots of great Avon ones too. Try Tomorrow- reminds me of Givenchy Organza and was made by Olivier Cresp (Angel, Black Opium etc)

Oh and I second recommendations for iscentyouday! (Thanks ladies xx)

@Housewife2010

Rive Gauche is lovely. If you google you can pick up 50 ml for around £30 or 100ml for £45. It's long lasting and due to the design of the metal bottle the scent lasts for a long time without spoiling. I recently rediscovered a 20 year old bottle which still smells great.

I used to LOVE that when I was in my 20s in the 1980s. Looked for it a few years ago and couldn't find it. I'll look again.

You can get a huge bottle of Calvin Klein Eternity Moment for about £25 on allbeauty.com - I am also a long time wearer of Dune and I like this one as an everyday perfume. Marks and Spencer sell Fragonard perfumes which are reasonably priced and don't smell cheap. The Jenny Glow dupes of Jo Malone are very good.
Also agree with a previous poster that Ariana Grande 'Cloud' is really really lovely and very reasonable and long lasting.