Fragrance dupes

176 fragrances people look for cheaper versions of, and the 327 dupes they actually get compared to. Every link comes from someone who owned both and said so — not from a notes list.

Abercrombie & Fitch

Amouage

Azzaro

BDK Parfums

Bvlgari

Byredo

Carolina Herrera

Chanel

Clive Christian

Creed

Davidoff

Dior

Diptyque

Dolce & Gabbana

Ex Nihilo

Frederic Malle

Giardini Di Toscana

Giorgio Armani

Givenchy

Goldfield & Banks

Gucci

Hermes

Initio Parfums Prives

Jean Paul Gaultier

Jo Malone

Kayali

Kilian

Lancome

Le Labo

Louis Vuitton

Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Maison Margiela

Mancera

Marc-Antoine Barrois

Matiere Premiere

Memo Paris

Moschino

Mugler

Nasomatto

Nautica

Nishane

Orto Parisi

Paco Rabanne

Parfums de Marly

Penhaligons

Prada

Ralph Lauren

Roja Dove

Rosendo Mateu

Sospiro Perfumes

Stéphane Humbert Lucas 777

Tom Ford

Valentino

Versace

Viktor & Rolf

Xerjoff

Yves Saint Laurent

Common questions about fragrance dupes

What is a fragrance dupe?

A dupe is a cheap fragrance made to smell like an expensive one. It is not a counterfeit: it carries its own name and bottle and does not pretend to be the original, which is what makes it legal to sell. Armaf's Club de Nuit Intense Man is the best-known example, built to echo Creed Aventus at a small fraction of the price.

Are fragrance dupes legal?

Yes. A scent itself cannot be copyrighted, so making a fragrance that smells like another one is lawful. What is illegal is copying the name, logo or bottle to pass a product off as the original — that is a counterfeit, and it is a different thing entirely. Everything listed here is a legitimate product sold under its own brand.

Do dupes last as long as the original?

Usually not, though the gap is smaller than people expect and occasionally runs the other way. Cheaper aroma materials tend to show first in the opening and in the last few hours of wear. It is why every pair on this site carries a sentence on how the dupe differs rather than a percentage match — a number hides exactly the part you want to know.

Which clone houses make the best dupes?

By volume of documented dupes, the houses we track most are Maison Alhambra (46), Lattafa (39), Fragrance World (29), Armaf (23), French Avenue (18). Volume is not quality, though: a house with many entries simply attempts many originals. The confidence label on each entry is the better guide, since it reflects how consistently wearers agree the match holds.

How do you decide something is a dupe?

Someone has to have owned both and written about the comparison. We do not infer dupes from shared ingredient lists — that approach rated an unrelated fragrance a 97% match to Dior Sauvage, so the 302 links resting on it were deleted. Where a published comparison exists, it is linked at the foot of the fragrance's page.