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We all want to smell good. But a bottle of designer cologne can easily cost hundreds of dollars, which is kind of a bummer for guys who want to smell good and also, say, afford to buy a house. The cologne wearer shouldn’t have to sell a hefty crypto stash just so they can smell nice.
Your answer to design-grade scents at much more reasonable prices? Fragrance “dupes,” aka duplicates or clones. Despite the somewhat alarming name, these aren’t knockoff scents. Several global manufacturers use scents that are comparable to those found in designer fragrances, or inspired by designer labels, while offering delightfully affordable price points. If done right, they smell close to the real thing, still have attractive packaging, and last a long time.
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Oakcha makes Sinful, an extrait de parfum—meaning it’s a stronger, more long-lasting concentration than eau de parfum—dupe along the lines of Tom Ford Lost Cherry ($405). At $50, it resembles Lost Cherry’s bottle shape and maintains the red color, though in more of a fresh blood shade. Akin to Lost Cherry, Sinful contains vetiver, sandalwood, and bitter almond notes—a tempting aroma without going too far that will be sure to please your partner on the next date night.
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Dossier specializes in dupes, too, and manufactures Ambery Cherry eau de parfum, another Lost Cherry dupe. However, this dupe deviates from Lost Cherry in its redless packaging, and adds vanilla, tonka bean, and warm spices. Currently, a bottle goes for $24.50 (thanks, Black Friday deals!) instead of $49.
Whereas some of these companies try to emulate the original down to the smallest details, other companies get creative with formulating dupes that are fully their own thing while still feeling tethered to luxury designers.
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For instance, Montagne Parfums offers “inspired by” dupes like Le Bonbon, an MFK Baccarat Rouge 540-influenced fragrance that retails for $40 instead of the designer’s $210. It maintains the original scents of jasmine, saffron, and ambergris, but it costs much less and doesn’t lean into the rouge packaging.
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Lattafa owns Maison Alhambra, based in Dubai. According to Reddit users, the brand’s dupes have a good balance of quality and price. Maison Alhambra Toscano Leather ($22) channels something like the musky-meets-fresh scent of Tom Ford’s $300 Tabacco Vanille—think tobacco, ginger, vanilla, sweet wood sap—at less than a tenth of the designer’s price, and even has a similar bottle shape and brown hue.
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Alt Nomadic Shadow takes notes from Louis Vuitton’s Ombre Nomade, with the same earthy oud scent and gradient label. But at $49 at bottle, it’s a steal compared to Louis Vuitton’s $410 price.
Despite the cheaper prices, what if you’re someone who values a person who spends a lot on luxury goods? Imagine visiting someone’s home and finding out they have a bottle of Ambery Cherry in their drawer instead of Lost Cherry. (Also: Why are you snooping through someone else’s things?) Would you think less of the person? Would you think they either don’t care about brands (is that a bad thing?), or don’t care enough to splurge on beauty products (again, tell me the problem with that)?
I’m someone who loves a good bargain, and as long as the fragrance fits what I’m looking for and doesn’t smell like bargain-bin perfume, it wouldn’t matter to me that it’s not an overpriced designer ware. Actually, it would matter that I felt like I got more for far less. And really, in a smell test, could the average consumer smell the difference? Perhaps not. With the gifting season in full swing, purchasing a nice-smelling dupe not only saves you money, but also wins over that (non-label whore) fragrance aficionado in your life.
Related: 5 Best Colognes for Men to Wear Now Aren't Made for Men
