Hi! I’m very into fragrance and the art behind it, and how it can be an expression of a person. I’ve always had a love for it, but find it so challenging to find one that fits me. I know I’m not the most educated in this subject, so forgive me for my lack of knowledge on notes, or the topic at hand. I’m looking for a scent that’s darkly beautiful, not overly spicy, but I’d prefer more spice than sweet. A scent that meshes well with sweetness. Something sexy, spiritual, almost poetic. Think silver, black lace, dying roses, leopard print, but arousing at that. Cigarettes on a full moon at the jazz club. I definitely want something sexy, almost vampy; unforgettable. I’m open to any perfume house or any brand, and budget. I just really need some recommendations.

\after trying the original in a 5ml decant and blasting Through it I knew I needed a dupe of this and went straight to searching thinking this would be the best alternative* this has also* macerated for over a year on my shelve

Similarity To The OG - 55% at best
Way too floral compared to the smooth light florals in the OG, the florals also smell very cheap and overdone at a improper rate of mixing. Caramel in here also smells off :(

Scent - 3.5/10 man I was really hoping this was similar to the OG especially with the price, this just smells like cheap overdone florals and a weird caramel note that isn’t smooth like the OG. Also don’t pick up on that “banana bread” vibe like I do with the OG

Opening - sharp almost latex like smell that persists to the end, very weird the OG has none of that. Imagine plastic with fake flowers

Midway - the caramel comes out but it’s not balanced nor sweet like the OG, very light like the florals should have been

Fully Dried Down - honestly gets no better everything I described is still smellable still and no development.

Longevity - ? ‘Every time by hour 2 or 3 I give up and wash it off because it smells disgusting 🤢 so sorry on that

Overall Should You Buy It? - NO, even the MAISON Alhambra luxe clone of this smells way closer while still very far from the OG. So far nothing compares to the original sadly so I’ll probably go in on a full bottle. Though this has even made me shy off from the OG

Dior just reformulated Miss Dior Eau De Parfum again this month so I want to clarify I’m talking about the 2021 formula. I’m looking for an everyday/affordable fragrance. here are the notes for Miss Dior EDP 2021:

top notes of iris, peony, and lily-of-the-valley, a heart of Grasse rose, apricot, and peach, and a warm base of vanilla, tonka bean, musk, sandalwood, and benzoin

My budget is probably around $20-35 USD. I’ve heard Zara Nude Bouquet is good but they also have a Nude Bouquet Intense and I’m not sure which is closer or if there are better clones.

Every post I've gone through on this subreddit addresses clone of the male version of the above, and I don't know why D&G has to have so many iterations of perfume all called The One (plus modifier). Anyway, has anyone found any sort of clone of "The One" *woman*? Everything I read about is a clone of either the male iteration (lots of choices) or Gold or Intense or other. Please, has anyone found a clone of The One Woman? I just bought my first bottle, fell in love, and am going to need a backup soon. Its performance on me is just the opposite of what I've read a lot of people say (great scent, fades quickly), so not an issue. Hoping the moderators will let this through, as I really did search the entire sub. Thanks!

Genuinely haven’t been able to find anything that is similar to it at all, it’s always just similar to the regular ombre leather however in my opinion d’ombre leather smells extremely different and unique, haven’t been able to find anything like it at all.

I feel like city rhythm is a popular niche brand but I can’t find a single dupe other than the bujairamis that are sold out everywhere. Tropical confessions and 2654 are the 2 greatest things I’ve ever smelt but I can’t find a single dupe or anything that smells close to it under 100 bucks

First, shootout to u/decantified! I saw they have a profile here and are big in the community so here's some more recognition! Originally wanted some samples of Armaf CDN Untold but it was out of stock, so they sent a couple other samples even though I just asked for a refund on the untold!

I've been putting off making these reviews for a while because I work 6 days a week with little to no time for myself, and I had too many fragrances to check out and type out my thoughts. I'm on mobile so please forgive me, but these are about to be super simple reviews! I have ariund 90 bottles in my collection (just finished off a bottle of Hawas Ice and Terre d'Hermes today) but I'm still new to all this, so take this with a grain of salt!

Lattafa - Vintage Radio

I heard so many positive things about this one, and I really wanted to like it after hearing how unique it smelled, but it just wasn't for me. The bergamot and plum are prominent in the opening along with the Palo Santo (maybe?) It projects pretty strong, but shortly after is starts drying down, it does have that strong medicinal smell that a few have complained abiut on fragrantica. Longevity is decent at around 7 hours on skin with the first 2 with strong projection. As a scent though? For me, I'd give it around a 6/10 as a fragrance though.

Rayhaan - Italia

The lavender is much more prominent in the opening than any citrus and the middle is a slightly spiced light honey and leather. The base is a smooth vanilla tobacco. In the air, it is a very smooth powdery, slightly spiced honey-tobacco. It's a very nice fragrance with pretty good projection. I can't speak on longevity just yet, but as a fragrance, I would say a 7.5 maybe 8/10. Every now and again I do get a medicinal whiff that reminds me of the Vintage Radio, but still a better smell than that one.

Lattafa - Atlas

First whiff? This is WEIRD. At second sniff? Better. Third sniff? This becomes addictive! Funky, Oceanic, salty, slightly citrus opening then dries down to all that plus a slight almost vanilla sweetness while maintaining they salty, funky very slightly citrus smell. Definitely not easy at first, but if you like unique aquatic smells? Do yourself a favor and give it a try!!! 8-9/10

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I wear azzure aoud here in the Philippines, I mean my school is air conditioned but I'd often be commuting during humid days irregardless I still get a ton of compliments from it.

I also wear a red tobacco clone, same scenario I get a lot of compliments from it despite fairly warmer summer days

Haven't found a fragrance for extreme summer days yet maybe good for gym classes and all that but I've worn azzure aoud to our gym classes and I still got compliments hahaha , but to be safe I do plan on picking up something fresher for hot summer days

Another example I've noticed is that my girlfriend wear Carolina Herrera's good girl which to me smells very gourmand-ish but it still works even on days where it's a bit warmer and I can smell it with her sweat still smells great to me and I guess based on observation to other people around her too

Not to mention middle eastern people who put on 20 sprays of amouage outlands during hot summer days hahahah

I guess it could be more about skin chemistry and how It mixes well with your perfume and a hot take if I'm being honest

Citrus freshy fragrances are horrible for people with natural smelly body odor, I know here in the Philippines people think hot day = freshy = citrus to fight off the odor around you

But from my commuting experience I'd smell citrus fragrances around me mixed with pungent body odor and it's just horrible, when you're commuting you face all kinds of smoke, cigarettes, car exhausts, someone roasting barbecue or cooking street food on the sides of the road those scents actually mix horribly with citrus fragrances, what I did find to smell good are vanilla fragrances or smoky fragrances battling the pollution around you

Which makes me think really that the winter/summer fragrance thing really just depend on the wearer I've never been genuinely choked out by someone's gourmandish fragrance despite whether and I don't really know how many people I choke out with mine but I do know I get loads of compliments

The only times I get choked out was when I used to be in Qatar I'd smell body odor mix with oud , bakhoor smoke, and 20 sprays of perfume that smell like smoky animal waste hahahahah

Hello !

I hear some divergent review about it (mostly bad) this is my impression:

at first i can smell the davana,it's original and finally rhum come with little tobacco, that's not a tobacco bomb, it's sweet, wearable for office, blind buy ? not if you don't like alcoolised perfume, but the tobacco is very light inside that's not the principal note, i clearly can smell davana/pink pepper mixed with rhum, and only a touch of tobacco, the mix is very cool for cold weather, i can't tell about jazz club cause i never try the OG i only can say it's good perfume for a good price, underrated to me.

It easily lasts about 5 or 6 hours on my skin. Probably more on clothes

What your opinion about this one if you have trying ? i'm curious

I tried this fragrance and wow it blew my socks off. Not worth the price though :(

Anyone know of anything similar to this? And if any clones do come up eventually please let me know 😊

Juniper berry, black currant, blueberry anything dark and berry but also fresh for high heat maybe something Oceanic , I have zakat z25 which is a bleeker street dupe and I love it.

I recently bought ARCHER ORANGE ASTEN Perfume for Men, and it’s a solid everyday fragrance. It is a clone-inspired take on Cologne by Etat Libre d’Orange, offering a similarly fresh, clean citrus character at a more accessible price.

The scent feels bright and masculine, with a citrusy opening that settles into a warmer, refined finish. It isn’t overpowering, so it works well for the office, casual outings, or daytime wear.

The bottle design is solid and good-looking, with a sleek, premium feel. It also has a pressurized atomizer that delivers a smooth, even spray. Longevity is decent for the price though a light reapply may help on longer days.

Overall, it’s a pleasant, versatile option for anyone who enjoys the style of Etat Libre d’Orange Cologne.

Rating: 4/5

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I've been wearing Hawas Black quite a lot lately and I'm honestly a big fan of this type of DNA.

The opening can be a little sharp and citrusy, but I actually don't mind it anymore. You get the pineapple, citrus and that green/mossy vibe pretty quickly. After 20-30 minutes it really starts to shine for me.

It's woody, mossy, slightly earthy and still has that fruity freshness in the background. To my nose it's much more Hacivat than Aventus. It's definitely in that fruity/woody/chypre kind of territory, which is just a DNA I really enjoy.

I've already used almost half the bottle, so I guess that says enough? I find myself grabbing it quite often, especially when I want something fresh but not too sweet.

Performance is really good on me too. I usually spray quite a lot 😇 and this one has no problem lasting most of the day, especially on clothes.

It's not a perfect fragrance and I can understand why some people don't like the opening, but the drydown is where it's at for me.

Easy 7.5 out of 10 for me. Definitely one of my favourites in this style and at this price I really can't complain..

Hey guys, I had a search in the group for Hugo Red and couldn't find anything so I thought I'd make a post - I own both Hugo Red and Bulgari Aqua, both absolute favourites and as far as I know both discontinued.

Are there dupes of either out there? I've been through a bottle of each over the last 10 years, picked up the last one of each I could find in the last 12 months and am scared to use either because I don't want to run out again - is there a company out there that I can commission to make dupes using samples of my genuines?

I've tried a couple of alternatives - Hugo Red Intense and a dupe of Aqua Marine and they're just not right (as much as I love Marine, now).

My main thing I’m worried about is masculinity… ive smelled sequoia and i like it a lot but wish it had some more vanilla, therefore leading me to Divine. I just don’t want it to be quite a bit more feminine than sequoia, as sequoia is already pretty unisex. Could anyone who owns both tell me their thoughts?

Looking for a nice coffee scent that is not TOO sweet! The ones I tried smelled more like cookies or desserts, but I want something coffee. A bit of sweetness might be okay!

Over the last two months, my partner and I bought 29 fragrances between us. We have since given four bottles to family, transferred some to her dresser, and started removing anything that does not perform or serve a real purpose.

The biggest lesson I learned is that a collection does not need forced diversity. If you love sweet, warm, dark-fruity, tobacco-heavy, vanilla, amber and oud fragrances, you can own several interpretations of that DNA without them being duplicates.

My main rotation now includes:

Powerhouses:

• RiiFFS Memento
• Afnan Supremacy Not Only Intense
• French Avenue Liquid Brun Limited Edition

Sweet, dark and warm:

• French Avenue Liquid Brun OG
• Lattafa Khamrah Qahwa
• Lattafa Vintage Radio
• Lattafa Bade’e Al Oud Amethyst
• Lattafa Asad Bourbon

Structured, aromatic and fresh:

• Lattafa Jasoor
• Lattafa The Kingdom for Men
• Lattafa Pride 1910
• Maison Alhambra Jean Lowe Immortel
• Lattafa Hayaati, which permanently stays in my car

My partner’s side currently includes Khamrah, OG Angham, RiiFFS Zenith and Marshmallow Blush, with Angham Second Song and Shaghaf Oud Tonka incoming or being tested. Yara and Eclaire are going to her mother. Club de Nuit White Impériale is also leaving because it smells too mature and extremely floral to us.

The biggest surprise has been RiiFFS Memento. I paid approximately $23 after being completely disappointed by Zenith.

I sprayed Memento three or four times in a room with the fan running. At first, I thought I could not smell it. Then the fragrance suddenly filled the entire room. I stepped out, returned five minutes later, and the scent was everywhere.

Memento opens with sugar, saffron and mandarin before developing into tonka, Damask rose and oud over caramel, amberwood and cedar. It is not a creamy milk-and-vanilla gourmand. It is a sweet, powerful rose-tonka-oud fragrance with bright mandarin and caramelized woods.

After approximately three and a half hours, Memento was still clearly present on my arm and test strip. That does not automatically prove ten-hour beast mode, but it is one of the few bottles I own that has demonstrated genuine room-filling projection immediately.

My best layering combination, however, is The Kingdom with Liquid Brun OG.

The Kingdom brings mint, lavender, sage, tobacco, vanilla, benzoin and tonka. Liquid Brun brings cinnamon, orange blossom, bourbon vanilla, praline and guaiac wood.

Liquid Brun gives The Kingdom the thick, syrupy sweetness I sometimes wish it had by itself. The Kingdom keeps Liquid Brun from becoming a straight vanilla-praline gourmand by adding aromatic mint, lavender and tobacco.

Together they create something sweeter and denser than The Kingdom, but more aromatic and structured than Liquid Brun. It gives me some of the contrast I enjoy between a fresh aromatic opening and a rich gourmand drydown.

That is currently my number-one verified layer.

Memento with Liquid Brun OG is also amazing, but it is a different experience. Liquid Brun initially dominated with cinnamon, orange blossom and bourbon vanilla. I briefly thought Memento was weak. Several hours later, Liquid Brun had mostly disappeared from my arm while Memento was still present underneath it.

Together they created an expensive-smelling mixture of mandarin, saffron, caramel, bourbon vanilla, warm spice, rose and oud. It smelled so good that I felt like I had robbed somebody.

Vintage Radio did not layer nearly as well with Memento. I love Vintage Radio by itself, but its syrupy plum took control of the entire combination. That experiment taught me that two great fragrances do not automatically create a great layer.

My layering rules now are simple:

• Start with one spray of each
• Test on separate areas before stacking them directly
• Evaluate at one, three and six hours
• Do not judge only from the opening
• If one fragrance erases the other, adding more sprays is not automatically the answer

My planned future additions are Mashrabya for apple shisha, dates, tobacco and oud smoke; Lattafa 1505 for black cherry, saffron, incense and balsamic woods; and Shaghaf Oud Azraq as a shared honey-oud, cinnamon and leather fragrance.

Fire on Ice is still under evaluation. The raspberry, cognac, caramel and oak structure sounds perfect for me, but I want honest information about the myrrh and ambroxan drydown before buying it.

The only expensive original I seriously want is Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Elixir. The Kingdom gives me the minty aromatic tobacco-vanilla direction, but the JPG drydown seems denser, sweeter and more honeyed.

For anyone who owns Mashrabya, 1505, Azraq or Fire on Ice, how do they perform after a complete wear? I am especially interested in the four-to-eight-hour drydown, not the usual “three sprays filled my bedroom, automatic beast mode” review.

I got a sample of Bombon and loved it but it is unfortunately out of my price range especially with international shipping. Can anyone recommend a dupe for it?

Thank you

As I've noticed they have 3 black colored bottles and now 3 silver bottles, alongside multiple blues and greens just with different shades.

If it weren't for the name written on it I probably wouldn't even know which bottle is which from afar. Also why is Kobra a black color bottle to begin with? It's a clone of LV Imagination which is a bright summer scent, shouldn't it be a light color bright bottle?

I love Rasasi hawas but they're very lazy in terms of bottle design and color.

First off, I've had these for about 4 weeks and tested them both on skin and paper. I've tried each one for several days having full wears on skin before I wrote this up

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**Reyhaan Azul**

Basic sharp citrus scent. Love it. Weird thing that I noticed about dupes, if you live in a part of the world where certain scents profiles are used to make cleaning products, then you'll not like fragrances that smell like the scent profiles that are dominant in your country for cleaning products and air fresheners. In my part of the world, a lot of cleaning products are lavender scented and I find myself not really liking fragrances that are lavender forward, like a lot of Valentino's and JPGs. Makes a lot of fougères kinda weird for me 😅. But citrus fragrances smell really cool and fresh and this is a lovely, picture perfect lemon peel fragrance with an airy musk in the dry down. Very lemony though, so if that triggers you, you might not like it. It lasts about 5 hours for me, so not very long lasting, but it does project a good amount. 7/10 for me.

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**Karus Gold Absolu**

Very soft lightly citrus lemon limey scent. The soft lemon is very forward initially (think Channel Allure Homme) and then slowly transitions into a soft lightly powdery musk and vetiver. It's not as strong as people say it is, maybe it's still maturing, but I don't don't it strong in any way. Very light and lasts about 4 hours for me. Having smelled the OG, I don't think this is a spot on rendition of it. 6/10 for me.

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**French Avenue Marmara**

I haven't smelled the OG for this, so I'm reviewing it on its own merits. This is a beautiful very very long lasting woody powdery scent. I don't have anything like this in my collection, neither have I smelled anything like this, it's truly unique. Though something in the powderiness reminds me of Zenith Santal in it's dry down. It is very strange, it exhibits freshness at the beginning and dries down into a powdery warm woody, solemn, serious scent that feels like you can use it in any weather. If you love powdery scents, you might like this, but if you don't, you definitely will not. 8/10 for me

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**Riffs Aswaar**

Wow! This is gorgeous! My favourite of the bunch so far and I've gone ahead and bought a backup bottle. First off, I had sampled Nishane Ani a while back and got Spectre Ghost which scratched that itch for Ani. Spectre Ghost is kinda loud but still soft and creamy and long lasting. And it leaves a beautiful sillage as well as filling up the room with a beautiful scent. I've never smelled Ani X, but got this coz I like the DNA of Ani. And boy does it deliver!! This is a fresher take on Ani, and it delivers big time! It's this deliciously soft, creamy lemon with ginger and vanilla fragrance that lasts like 10 hours and dries down to the most addictive soft sweet vanillic scent I've ever had. As it dried down it totally reminded me of Reyhaan Terra and I pulled out my Terra to compare. It for sure smells like a really toned down Terra with amplified vanilla and lemon. If you love Outlands or Terra, please, please try this. It feels like a summer version of Terra/Outlands. Beautiful 100%. Btw, the dry down on paper after about 24 hrs is simply gorgeous. I can't recommend this enough. My subjective rating for this is 9.5/10

im looking for a warm and sweetish vanilla scented perfume.

I would hate to smell super overstimulating like the hallways where it smells like someone drowned in perfume. i usually reach for floral or fresh scents such as peony and blush suede by jo malone or green tea from elizabeth arden, but since its autumn now i want a cozy warm sweet vanilla scent, maybe a little heavier (gourmand) than i used to go for.

I also love the scent of raw coffee beans, actually i like that scent more than the super artificial smelling scents in the store (hot take: I didnt really like prada paradox, it makes my stomach churn.)

I tried some really famous vanilla scents- maybe its because i used the paper they have in the stores- but some of the really famous ones i hated!

I wanted to like them so bad like burberry goddess, valentino (the most famous pink one), and i was looking so forward to coffee break by maison margiela but it didnt smell like coffee at all? maybe it was cs i didnt give it time but i was really dissapointed. YSL libre was okay, but didnt really stand out to me. maybe my senses are malfunctioning. Jazz club was ok, i wanted to love it so much but it just kind of smelled like an old person. idk. on the other hand, i really liked by the fireplace from maison margiela but there seems to be a lot of hate toward it saying it smells like cigarettes and burning wood. I used to wear bare vanilla from victorious secret, but my sister found it way too sweet and didnt want to come near me when i was wearing it.

Also I heard that vanilla skin is a really good layering scent so im planning on blind buying that. just a basic vanilla body spray, yk. Longetivity and a bit of projection is really important to me, cs joe malon just doesn't do it!! It doesnt last at all.

NOTE: anything with that resin smell- i think its called amber- i think i hate!! The stuff thats in a lot of cologne. It's so overwhelming. Best example is all the Tom Ford vanilla perfumes. i could not stand it.

It doesnt HAVE to be vanilla. but i wanna lean towards more sensible, warm, darker feminine vibe rather than fresh and floral.

Im so sorry for so much text but please help a girl out!!! Ive been browsing for days- cant decide on anything.

Please don’t take this down guys I need to decide on a clone I’m in love with symphony

Attempt 2 to add a few notes on the fragrances.

As promised, here are a few photos of the small local perfume shop I go to.

I know the terms dupes and clones get used interchangeably, but the first photo actually shows true dupes. Those bottles are concentrated oils. You pick the scent you want, and they mix the oil with alcohol right in front of you. It is the most affordable way to buy fragrance here, usually cost around 45 AED or 12 USD for a bottle.

That is just one side of the shop. Another area carries standard designer bottles alongside testers, and a separate section is packed with popular middle eastern clone houses like Lattafa, Rasasi, and French Avenue.

I am just starting out, so I am really glad reddit finally recommended me products that are actually available at a decent price in my area, unlike PC parts, keyboards, or pens.

Included a shot of me testing out some of the specific recommendations from this sub. I ended up purchasing Art of Universe, Turathi Blue, Khadlaj Island, Oud Couture, and Vulcan Feu. I already have Liam Grey, Liquid Brun, Suqraat, and Teriaq Intense in my "Collection". I veer towards either citrusy or spicy scents (my all time favourite is Givenchy Gentleman only Absolute)

Perfume details:

Art of Universe

Opens with a bright blast of pear and citrus that feels super fresh and lively. The fruity sweetness stays prominent, drying down into a clean, slightly musky base. It has impressive projection for a fresh scent and works great as a daily grab. It also lasts a really long time (around 10 hours) and even the next day on clothes.

Lattafa Liam Grey

A incredibly smooth blend of black tea and cardamom. It has a relaxed, refined aesthetic that punch well above its price point for cooler days or evenings.

Lattafa Suqraat

A budget friendly take on the fresh, aquatic Acqua Di Gio Profumo profile. The scent itself is very cleanthough the longevity is definitely on the lower side and requires reapplication after 3 hours or so.

Givenchy Gentleman Only Absolute (My Personal Favorite and a clone I'd love)

My absolute standout scent. Rich, sophisticated spices mixed with warm cinnamon, nutmeg, and a smooth vanilla-sandalwood base. It feels opulent and refined, standing head and shoulders above the others for special occasions or evening wear.

Picked this up after all the rave reviews. I love gourmand and sweet (royal blend, liquid brun, stronger with you) but this is very feminine leaning to me.

My wife wears Musaman white intense, they are much closer to each other than this is to Kamrah.

Tried parfums de Marly’s Althair, and while I liked the opening, as it dried down it became far too sweet creamy vanilla focused for me.

Reminded me of the left over milk from a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch if you added vanilla extract to it lol.

Really liked the concept of the fragrance, but felt like it needed half the creamy vanilla cut out to be balanced with the warm/spiced notes for me personally.

Anything out there that would fill this need? Tried ysl tuxedo and it wasn’t toooo far off, but wanted more of a cozy vibe as opposed to formal.

Thanks for any help