The guide
How to blind-buy a dupe without wasting money
Price per 100ml, the 'sold as' trap, concentration, and a checklist — with a calculator.
Buying a fragrance you have never smelled is a gamble. Buying a copy of one is a gamble on top of a gamble. It is also how most dupes get bought. Here is how to stack the odds — using the numbers, not the marketing.
1. Compare per 100ml, always
A small cheap bottle can be the most expensive way to smell like something. The only fair comparison is price per 100ml. Try it:
2. Make sure someone has worn it
A shop saying "inspired by" proves nothing. Of the 75 twins wearers have scored on FragDNA so far, about 23% come in at 30% or less against the original on their label — while 34 reach 80% or better. The average is 63%. Look for a twin with a score from wearers, and read where they say it differs. The worst offenders are in the dupes that lie; the best in the twins that actually work.
3. Check the concentration
An eau de toilette copy of an eau de parfum original will usually be lighter and shorter-lived, however close the smell. "Extrait" or "parfum" on a twin is a good sign — though not a promise.
4. Pick the house, not just the bottle
Some houses get close again and again; others put famous names on everything. Our league of dupe houses ranks them by how close their twins really get.
5. Beware the twin of everything
If one cheap bottle claims to smell like five different famous fragrances, it smells like none of them precisely. A serious copy aims at one original.
6. Sample first, if the gap matters
If you love how the original smells in the last hours — on a scarf the next day — start with a small size. That is where twins most often part ways.
Before you buy — tick as you go
0 of 6 — keep reading the reviews.
