Perfume Time! - Dupe Time!

My Favourite Cheap Versions

And we're back with the rating and stuff!

I woke up this morning facing the shelf where my perfume collection is placed and I realized aside from the BR540 dupes I have written about before, I have also gotten my hands on other perfumes that seems to be a dupe or shamelessly a dupe of expensive ones.

In this post, I will be rating them based on my liking, and no one else's because this is my post. :D

Kidding aside, I've wanted to do this since this morning and I would lose my mind if I don't write about it while I'm motivated. I don't exactly know how to do this but I'll do it anyway.

First of, I'm no experienced fraghead or nose, but I consider myself quite an enthusiast but probably not too much, I just really like smelling good. Second, I love gourmand and don't judge me for it, because my sister does and I don't need any more imaginary hater; I am kinda starting to get inclined with niche perfumes as well since most of the ones I use are niches. Again, I'm no expert but I'm trying to fill this gap in my mind that started this morning. I'm doing this out of hobby and my intention is not to promote duplicates or fakes. charot.

*insert photo of my dupes*

1. Maison Al Hambra - CANDID

This one is a dupe of Jean Paul Gultier's Scandal. I was able to take a sniff of the original one when I was strolling around Duty Free at Don Mueang airport last October while looking for Armani's Si. The scent registered to my brain because I liked the vanilla note in it while not being so outrageously vanilla-ish. The type of vanilla that doesn't hurt the nostrils. I did not buy it because they only have the full bottle and I wasn't planning on buying one. But the scent register lingered to me because it's something I would definitely use on a night out. Last November, as I was strolling (yes, strolling again, but) at SM Lanang, I noticed a stall selling perfumes that wasn't usually there. What caught my attention was a bottle looking like MFK's signature bottle, I must admit, I was pulled by the bottle alone, but that's because you can rarely see stalls here selling MFK so it was astounding to see that bottle, I was also ecstatic over that bottle because I was running out of my MFK Gentle Fluidity Gold and I would've bought one if there was any. BUTTT lo and behold, it wasn't MFK! It was a brand I wasn't familiar with;  Maison Fragrance World Vaporisateur - Barakkat Gentle Gold. And if the bottle wasn't enough clue, maybe the perfume name would make it clear that this brand is making dupes. I checked some other stuff from the brand and they have quite the number of dupes. 

Going back, another perfume caught my eye because of the bottle and box, well not completely a box but a canister, and there's this brand that has these signature canisters for their perfumes, right - JPG. So I went towards the bottle to see it closer only to realize it was another brand. This time something I was more familiar with;  Maison Al Hambra. I heard quite a lot about it and read some stuff on reddit about how good they were. So I tested the perfume that caught my eyes, and as the scent travelled through my olfactory organ, I realized that the scent was familiar, I like the scent and it was something as if I have came across with before. I looked up the Perfume name over google and it said that it was a dupe of JPG's Scandal. Which finally ringed a bell. It was the perfume I liked back in Don Mueang. It didn't take me 5mins to decide I'll be buying it. I went home that night with a happy heart and happy nose. I haven't used the perfume yet til now. It's just on display. haha

Original’s Price at Rustans: Php6,500-7,000.00    Dupe’s Price: 3,000-4,000.00      Bought it for: 2800.00 (sale)

2. Paris Corner - Emir Super Crush

I think the name gives out which perfume it is a dupe of. I find it quite funny because I wrote about Mancera - Instant Crush being a dupe of BR540 and now I'm writing about a dupe of it.

So I was introduced to Mancera Instant Crush by a friend that introduced me to fragrances. She found out I'm using BR540 and so she said to try Mancera's dupe of it. I wrote about it being a dupe on my blog so you can read more about how I feel about it. Going back, Instant Crush is a very strong perfume with amazing silage and projection; but I think it is one of those perfumes that will perform depending on the user's body chemistry. I own one and I love it. I normally use it when I know I'll be with a crowd because again, it is strong. My mom  also uses it but it turns to be sweeter when she uses it and a bit more woody or spicy when I'm wearing it.

Now, Paris Corner's Emir Super Crush is something I found on shopee while I was in my hunt for decant bottles. I love decanting my perfumes so I won't have to bring the whole bottle whenever I'm out and I need to retouch. It got me curious as to how it would smell, and timely enough, the store that sells my decant bottle also offers a decant of the perfume. So I bought a 10ml one. When it arrived, the package smelled so good and I haven't even fully opened it yet. And when I finally opened it, voila! It smells really close to Mancera's Instant Crush, just a bit sweeter like when my mom uses MIC like I mentioned. Since then Super Crush has became a staple in my stash because it gives me the same scent as the Mancera one but at a much lower price. It was worth the price.

Original’s Price: Php6,000-8,000.00    Dupe’s Price: 3,000-4,000.00      Bought it for: 2,000.00 (sale)

3. Armaf - Club de Nuit Untold

I will never shut up about CDN's Untold being the best dupe for MFK's Baccarat Rouge 540. I've rated it super high in my other post and also talked about it in the same blog. I saw CDN's Untold in Beautyhub when they posted about their new stocks. the caption says it is a good dupe and is close to BR540 so I went to their store and bought one, the owner did not lie in the caption, it was indeed a close dupe to BR540. The woody, amber, spicy, and sweet notes are present. While the market is already super saturated with these dupes, Untold has the closest DNA to the original, it's not too sweet like most of the ones that present themselves as dupes. It has the spicy and woody notes that other dupes do not have, it has them but not to the point that it smell like plastic, may be quite faint but the floral note is also there, and that easily makes it take the trophy for the best BR540 dupe. it has all the trophies, the bacon is all home, and the leg has been broken by this dupe, it's just amazing.

Original’s Price at Rustan's: Php16,250.00(70mL)    Dupe’s Price: 2,000-4,000.00      Bought it for: 3,200.00

4. Zara - Nude Bouquet

Dior is one of my favourite brands, from their woven bracelets, to their lippies, down to some of their perfumes. the brands just exudes luxury and class in one. and when we say Dior, one thing that comes into mind is that soft girl vibes and vision. Now, one of my favourites from this brand is their Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet. It is definitle one of the cleanest and freshest perfumes I have smelled. But the price isn't something I would spend much on, because 1. not my signature scent, and 2. I want a stronger scent. But, I would use it if I feel a bit girly-girl or during a picnic out with friends, so I only have a decant of this. However, I came across this interesting perfume from Zara while I was browsing through their collection in BGC. The perfume called Nude Bouquet is something I can often see on reddit fragrance subreddits, and it peaked my curiosity when I saw the bottle, so I grabbed a tester and did a few sprits on the mouilettes, I couldn't quite get the whole scent so I gave it another spray and there goes the Dior blooming bouquet scent that I like. Of course, as someone who has the decant of the original one, I bought a small bottle and I'm keeping it in my stash for the reason I said earlier - out on a picnic or girly-girl rush or before I go to sleep. Yup, it sound wasteful but it makes me feel relaxed and clean, which is an ideal feeling that makes me fall asleep faster. Don't judge.

Original’s Price at Rustans: Php10,25.00(EDT)   Dupe’s Price: 700-2,000.00      Bought it for: 1,695.00

5. Zara - Apple Juice

Another fresh scent that I like is Marc Jacobs - Daisy; it's a fruity and fresh scent with some floral notes that is very gentle to the nose. I love using this one on a chill day, a grocery run, or just running errands. It's a perfume that jives nicely with my skin chemistry and gives off a fresh feeling even after a day out running errands. It feels like just coming out of a bath while doing a treadmill. I don't know it you'd get that but that's the best way I can describe it when I use it. Bottom line, it's a fresh scent that lasts on me even if I have sweated. Now, Zara is known for their perfume dupes and I have mentioned one here, the other is on my previous post about perfumes, and Apple Juice is known to be a counterpart of Jacobs Daisy, which is actually true. There's a bit of a difference but Apple Juice comes quite close to it. It stays a bit long on my skin too and gives off that fresh feeling Daisy has. Overall, this dupe is a good one and I'd wear it if I don't want to run out of my original once, because why? I'm a cheapskate.  

Original’s Price at Rustans: Php5,000-6,000.00   Dupe’s Price: 1,100-2,000.00      Bought it for: 1,195.00

6. Zara - Red Temptation

For my last entry for this blogpost, i present to you yet another one of my most favourite dupes of all time, a "close" copy of  MFK's Baccarat Rouge 540. I won't talk about BR540 anymore since I have already talked about it in my other post and on the 3rd entry for this post. But since BR540 has been my signature scent, I looked for cheap versions of it and found some good ones including Zara's Red Temptation - the original version (because I haven't tried the other versions, peace!). I mentioned in my previous post that this one comes close to the original BR540 but  a bit different so I often call it a dupe with it's own DNA. It can be worn as a dupe, but it also has it's on qualities that sets it apart from the original. I rated it 8.5/10 dupeness and I still rate it that way now. Why so? Because there are two reactions whenever I wear it, it is either 1. baccarat perfume mo?, or 2. bango lagi perfume mo, ano yan? With all the Baccarat dupes around the market, Zara's Red Temptation is a standout because it has the metallic, spicy notes that the original has and the others don't (no hate, but most dupes that claims BR540 are nothing but sweetness) and BR540 is definitely not just sweet, it is an amalgam of different notes from sweet to woody to spicy. which is why it has become a hit and a favourite and which it why it is expensive, because it's DNA is hard to replicate, so for Zara to be able to come close to it, is such a feat!

Original’s Price at Rustan's: Php16,250.00(70mL)    Dupe’s Price: 800.00-1,800.00      Bought it for: 895.00

How about you, which perfume "dupes" do you own?