Find the dupe of any expensive fragrance

Jean Lowe

Fantasme

The closest of the field in a blind strip test run past four people by an owner of the original and nine clones. It leans a little harder on the tea note than the original does; beyond that, testers struggle to separate them at all.

Bujairami

Hectic

About 95 percent there, and the closest of the group in a blind test against the original. A second reviewer who owns the original and seven clones rates it an equal tie for best, with the only difference being that it leans a shade soapier than the original.

Lattafa

Pride Art Of Arabia I

The opening is insanely close — people say it is hard to tell apart in the air. The tea note sits a little darker and denser, and the drydown drifts off and fades sooner than the real thing. Carry a decant rather than buying big.

Ard Al Zaafaran

Saheb Intense

Ranked the best Imagination clone from opening to drydown, and cheap. Slightly brighter and sweeter than the original, by about 5%. It also holds the airy, light feel that the others lose.

Anfar

Adyan Bleu D'Arabie

Blends Imagination's clean soapiness with a Pacific Chill mojito lift.

Al Haramain

Amber Oud Aqua Dubai

Takes the soap note from Imagination and runs with it — the tea is gone and the soap is dialled way up. The loudest of the lot, a solid 12 hours, but the drydown goes its own way.

Rasasi

Hawas Kobra

Rated 99% by some and sold on by others who found it off. Performance is the best of the group.

Montagne

Imaginary

Leans harder on the tea note than the original does. Close enough that in a blind six-way paper test the reviewer struggled to separate any of them from the original at all.

Khadlaj

Karus Blu Spice

It lasts longer and projects harder, but smells less exact.

Arabiyat Prestige

Marwa

A real take on the original, and the one influencers pushed hardest — but how close it lands genuinely divides people who own both. One eight-way blind battle makes it a joint winner on closeness and quality; another owner of the original plus seven clones calls it an equal tie with the best, a shade soapier. Two others disagree flatly: one finds the ginger spicy and the performance poor, another says the citrus is louder than the original and the neroli is wrong.

Bharara

Rome Imagine

Opens like the original with a very slight mintiness layered in, done well enough that it reads as an improvement rather than a flaw. Scored 9 out of 10 for similarity, and side by side with the best of the field nobody would separate them.

Beverly Hills Polo Club

Elysian Mirage

Soapy and clean with a woody dry down. An owner who has smelled Imagination puts it above Khadlaj Marwa — muskier and sweeter, with less of the dry ginger spice. Around four hours on skin.

French Avenue

Essence de Blanc

Catches the opening, then a strange herbal note takes over — it amps the tea the way Aqua Dubai amps the soap. Good if you want tea and soap, wrong if you want Imagination.

Game of Spades

Full House

Divides the people who own the original. One calls it near identical on the opening, just less bright on the citruses; another, who blind-tested it against the original and eight other clones, says it gets the neroli wrong and puts its reputation down to hype.

Mykonos

Inception

Recommended warmly by some, and rated no better than middling by an owner of the original who blind-tested it against nine other clones alongside the real thing. It is in the DNA without being one of the closest readings of it.

Armaf

Ventana Marine

Reads as the original crossed with Bleu de Chanel rather than a straight copy, and the build quality is the weak point. It also needs patience: about eight weeks of maturation before it comes good, and it is rough out of the box.

Ajmal

Kuro

It smells more synthetic and lasts about seven hours.

Armaf

Club De Nuit Urban Man Elixir

Sweeter and fruitier at the start, with a hint of Aventus. Closer to an inspired-by than a straight copy, but it outlasts the Dior.

Afnan

Modest Une

Widely called the best Sauvage clone. Same opening, and about 95% there on the dry-down.

Artiscent Atelier

Amber Envie

Artiscent's Sauvage. Gets the peppery-fresh opening at a tenth of the price; the ambroxan-heavy dry down that made Sauvage famous is where it falls short.

Maison Alhambra

Salvo

Very close to the EDT, though some bottles come out weak.

Ard Al Khaleej

Sheikh Zayed Blue Oud

Smells like the EDP and projects harder than the original. The best performer of the group.

Armaf

Ventana

About 90% there and cheap, with noticeably less longevity than the Dior.

Fragrance World

Just Aswad

Rayhaan

Nocturno

Around 80-85% close worn side by side, and the best value of the cheap ones.

Maison Alhambra

Salvo Intense

Community fidelity estimate 90%.

French Avenue

Zenith Blue

Armaf

Club de Nuit Intense Man

Very close on the dry-down — some wearers cannot tell them apart — but the opening is harsher and more lemony.

Also as: Limited Edition Parfum · Club De Nuit Precieux 1 · Parfum

Montblanc

Explorer

Smoother and the easiest to wear in a crowd, but it misses most of the pineapple.

Al Haramain

L'Aventure

The closest on scent, about 95%, but it does not last anywhere near as long as the Creed.

Afnan

Supremacy Silver

The Afnan that actually sits closest to the Aventus DNA, though not the better fragrance of the two.

Also as: Supremacy Not Only Intense

Dumont Paris

Celerio Oros

It opens citrusy with a touch of apple and dries down smoky, though less smoky than Club de Nuit Intense Man, and it improves as the bottle macerates.

Maison Alhambra

Avant

Rayhaan

Imperia

Shares the DNA but reads closer to Cedrat Boise than to Aventus itself.

Sapil

Intense Noir

A widely recommended budget route into the Aventus profile.

Bujairami

Kingsman Extrait

A richer extrait reading of the DNA, and a favourite of people who have tried most of them.

Lattafa

Qaed Al Fursan

The cheapest way into the DNA, and rated above Armaf Rave by people who own both.

Montagne

Afternoon Dive

About ninety percent there and arguably better made than the original. The orange is the tell — the original leans candied and juicy, this reads more natural, like climbing out of a pool and reaching for orange slices, with just enough musk behind it. Five to eight hours with two hours of sillage, and it improves a lot with maceration.

Jean Lowe

Azure

More citrusy than the original and a twisted take rather than a straight copy — several owners prefer it. Performance is poor, but so is Afternoon Swim's.

Assaf

Afternoon

The orange reads natural rather than fizzy, which is where most Afternoon Swim clones fail.

Alexandria Fragrances

Afternoon Splash

Around eighty-five percent, and the difference is in the orange. The original runs about sixty percent candied orange to forty percent real orange slice; this sits closer to an even split and misses the slight musk underneath. Three to five hours on skin.

Pinnacle

Oryn

The best-made of the Afternoon Swim clones — halfway to designer quality — and the longest-lasting of them, though that still means about an hour of projection.

Velixir

Poseidon

Fades as fast as Afternoon Swim does, but cheap enough that overspraying costs nothing.

Rayhaan

Adonis Icarus

Even more orange-heavy than Afternoon Swim, and sweeter with it.

North Stag

Sept VII

Community fidelity estimate 92%.

French Avenue

Royal Blend

Named in several guides and confirmed by someone who owns two bottles of the original — he calls it very close, just noticeably weaker. Note the Sequoia version targets Angels Share Paradis, not the standard one.

Fragrance World

Cocktail Intense

It is slightly lighter and lasts about six to eight hours.

Lattafa

Khamrah

Listed against Angels Share in two guides, but both call it a twist rather than a copy. One fan puts it plainly: he likes it more, and it is not exactly Angels Share.

Zimaya

Sharaf Blend

The opening is close, but the drydown moves away from the original.

Dumont Paris

Celerio Epic

Angels' Share with an apple-pie spice lift, and it skips the copycat bottle entirely.

Maison Alhambra

Kismet Magic

Opens boozier than the Kilian before settling into the same honey, vanilla and cinnamon.

French Avenue

Obsidian

Keeps the citrusy, boozy cocktail of the Kilian but stays fresher, so it wears in warm weather too.

Montagne

Cognac D'Ange

People split on this one. One buyer was happy with it, two others tried it and did not find it close.

Armaf

Club De Nuit Iconic

The closest of the blue clones once macerated. Sharp and synthetic for the first few weeks out of the box.

Maison Alhambra

Maitre De Blue

Aldehydes and melon brighten it, and oud replaces the vetiver.

Ahmed Al Maghribi

Blue

Inspired by Bleu de Chanel rather than a straight copy, and owners are careful to say so. It goes heavier and lasts longer than the original.

Armaf

Club De Nuit Iconic Extrait

A minty aquatic freshness close to the original, with an added heavier sweetness the Chanel doesn't have — subtle, but there. The opening is harsh and it reads a little synthetic; the drydown earns it.

Artiscent Atelier

Vetiver Arome

The Bleu de Chanel slot in Artiscent's range, and the pick most often called their best men's bottle. Lighter and less smoky than the Chanel.

Afnan

9am Dive

Much sweeter than the Chanel, and closer to a blue-fragrance hybrid than a copy.

Armaf

Club de Nuit Blue Iconic

Armaf

Shades Blue

Dirt cheap, and balances the citrus and sweetness well for what it costs.

Al Haramain

Detour Noir

The one people name first, and close enough that many stop buying the Marly. Longevity is the weak point.

The Woods Collection

Dusk

Very close, with a sweeter apple note. It misses some of the creamy depth of the original.

Luxodor

Loyal Agar

It is darker and smokier, with less apple and more tobacco than Layton.

French Avenue

Miraj Absolu

Darker than Layton with a faint animalic edge, reaching for the Exclusif rather than the base.

Paris Corner

North Stag Expressions II Deux

Crisper and smoother, with less of the menthol note. Rated above Detour Noir by people who own both.

Orientica

Royal Bleu

Stronger than the Marly and than most of its rivals. Same juice as the Xclusif Bleu bottling.

Armaf

Rugir

Lattafa

Pride Al Qiam Silver

Someone who tested all nine Tygar-inspired scents side by side says there is no perfect dupe of Tygar, and that this is the closest you can get for less money.

Afnan

Turathi Blue

Opinion splits hard on this one. One list rates it 95% the same, while the person who tried all nine Tygar clones side by side ranked it last of the nine.

Maison Alhambra

Sceptre Bronzite

Ranked the best of the Middle Eastern takes on Tygar in a nine-way side by side, just ahead of Al Qiam Silver — though Al Qiam was judged the closer copy.

Rue Broca

Théorème

Matches Turathi Blue on the Tygar citrus for less money, without giving up performance.

Montagne

Tygr Cologne

Came out top of a nine-way side by side, rated above Tygar itself. Treat it as a better version of the idea rather than a copy — and it sells out constantly.

Lattafa

Al Qiam Silver

Community fidelity estimate 90%.

Rue Broca

Theoreme Homme