Collecting perfumes can be expensive.
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While many women are obsessed with shoes and handbags, I’m someone who simply cannot resist owning more perfumes.
Every morning, I look at my collection and think: “What mood am I in today?”
Home all day? Perhaps something subtle, fresh and light? Chanel Chance is my girl.
Lunch with the ladies? I’ll find myself reaching for Gucci Flora Gorgeous Orchid.
Day at the office? Yves Saint Laurent Libre Intense gives sophisticated and mature.
Date night? Versace Crystal Noir will have him weak in the knees.
However, my perfume obsession doesn’t exactly match my bank balance, and buying a bottle of luxury perfume sometimes feels like the equivalent of a bond payment.
There are perfumes I can only dream of owning. Like Tom Ford’s exotic Lost Cherry, which retails for around R7,000. It’s the kind of scent I could only indulge in while testing it in-store.
Having said that, I did find a dupe for Lost Cherry and didn’t hesitate to add it to my cart. And I only paid R299.
If, like me, you would love to own all those luxury perfumes, but your budget simply doesn’t allow it (let’s face it, in this economy, that’s most of us) here are a few perfume dupes that will have you smelling like the real thing.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 Precious Elixir is one of those perfumes that has rapidly become a must-have fragrance. Zara Red Temptation Elixir hits the spot for R799. Yes, it’s a bit pricey for a dupe, but the intensity and longevity make it worth it.
The oh-so-yummy Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Crush Cheirosa 62 Body Mist is iconic, but at R890 for a body mist, it’s a bit steep. So if you’re looking for that addictive caramel, vanilla and pistachio high, look no further than the Sol Beauty Salted Caramel Vanilla Fragrance Mist at Clicks, which retails for R129. But let me warn you, it’s going to be a mission to find because it’s flying off the shelves.
Now let’s go back to the completely out-of-reach Tom Ford Lost Cherry. The one I previously mentioned I got at Zara, is called Cherry Smoothie, but there’s another dupe that might not have the same intensity. Then again, you get what you pay for. And that is the Oh So Heavenly Cherry Kiss Perfume Mist for a mere R125.
There’s another perfume I so badly want to add to my collection, but I just can’t bring myself to pay R3,500 for it, and that’s Prada Paradoxe. The bottle alone is simply iconic. So when I found Zara’s Vibrant Caramel for R399, I bought it without hesitation.
Le Labo Santal 33 might not be on everyone’s radar because it’s a fairly niche perfume, but once you get a whiff of it, you’ll understand why beauty editors swear by it. However, it’s not readily available in South Africa. Zara’s Energetically New York (which is, in fact, a fragrance from their collaborative collection with Jo Malone) has that same sandalwood and cardamom scent for only R399.
Now, ladies, bear in mind that these are dupes. Some of them will have the lasting power and projection we all desire, while others may fall a little short in that department.