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Dead-ringer fragrances as alternative

Dead-ringer fragrances as alternative 10 years ago
Have you ever found that you are pining after a certain perfume and then realize that you have something, closely or remotely similar, in your present collection?

For example, "Anima Dulcis" was on my Wish List and then I thought, well, "Traversee du Bosphore" (in my collection) is almost as sweet and can be sprayed liberally, so why reach far and wide ...

Money is not the decisive factor here, it is rather that the notes and the general feel may be so similar that it may not be necessary to get that special one.
10 years ago
I cannot bring myself to fork out $250 for a 50ml bottle of "Portrait of a Lady" and so for my rose/patchouli fix have settled for JHaG "Vengeance Extreme" at a quarter the price. Undoubtedly not as high quality and nuanced but close enough in feel to keep me happy.
Was also pretty happy when I tested Amouage "Gold" and discovered it's very similar to VC&A "First" which I already own and is a fraction of the price.
However, I really like green chypres, green florals and floral chypres and the fact that many of them smell alike does not stop me accumulating them. I enjoy finding nuances within the genre and the advantage of collecting them is that I get to wear the style I like whilst feeling that I have choices because I'm using different brands. So, the fact that I own "Jean Louis Scherrer" and "Miss Balmain" will not stop me buying Creed Irisia or EL "Private Collection". Or the fact that I have "Ma Griffe" will not stop me buying smell-alike Robert Piguet's "Futur". I also have "Calandre" and "Rive Gauche" which are very close but not identical. I own both because I like them both and feel they each have a different story and history to tell.
Obviously, this is not the smartest way to build a varied collection, however, I do find it very useful when others point out similarities or make comparisons with other fragrances in their reviews.
10 years ago
I am fascinated with Love Potion No 9 by Penhaligons. This fragrance pre dates Dune by a year or two and is so similar that Sherapop cannot tell the difference. The behommeth that is Dior made Dune into a commercial success and FI award winner whilst little Brit Penhaligons had not a sniff, if you pardon the pun.
10 years ago
Omni:
I am fascinated with Love Potion No 9 by Penhaligons. This fragrance pre dates Dune by a year or two and is so similar that Sherapop cannot tell the difference.

Now you surprised me. It is quite interesting to me, that LP No. 9 could be similar to Dune, I always felt Penhaligon's more spicy and Dune sweeter.
10 years ago
Tar:
Omni:
I am fascinated with Love Potion No 9 by Penhaligons. This fragrance pre dates Dune by a year or two and is so similar that Sherapop cannot tell the difference.

Now you surprised me. It is quite interesting to me, that LP No. 9 could be similar to Dune, I always felt Penhaligon's more spicy and Dune sweeter.

And I agree with that, but looking at the reviews on Fragantica there are many references to Dune. On Basenotes reviewer Darvant raises the topic. Sherapop finds them practically identical on a dry down wrist comparison. So, did Dior 'knock off' LP, invent a marketing ploy around it, and tweak it enough to become 'Dune'? In any case, the head topic here seems to fit..Shera didn't buy one because she already had the other. Thanks for your thoughts, Tar. There must be more.
10 years ago
I can't vouch personally for this, but I keep hearing that "Eau des Missions" is quite close to "Spiritueuse Double Vanille" at a fraction of the price.
10 years ago
I've just reviewed and then fallen madly in love with Innocente Fragilité by Chabaud. It is not available in the US as far as I am able to determine. I felt it was close to IF by Apothia in some ways- Chabaud's creation has a little something extra- better floral development. I am wondering what I could layer with IF to get a similar effect. All suggestions welcome.
8 years ago
Cryptic:
I can't vouch personally for this, but I keep hearing that "Eau des Missions" is quite close to "Spiritueuse Double Vanille" at a fraction of the price.

I tried samples of both. I got the sample of SDV thinking that it was going to be love at first sniff, but it was unfortunately not. There are definitely some similarities between the two, especially at first spray, but they smell very different to me during the dry-down. SVD is boozier at the opening and has a heavier floral undertone to my nose, while EdM is slightly spicier.

I bought a full bottle of the EdM and passed on the SVD, mostly because the rose and jasmine undertones of SVD were not pleasant to my nose. I'm still not terribly fond of the camelia and cedar that become evident during EdM's dry-down, but they didn't bother my sinuses as much as the florals in the dry-down of SVD and most of the rest of Guerlain's L'Art et la Matiere line.
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