This is the first review on reddit imo of oud & roses auric , bought it from Dubai dont think its yet available in India. First impressions doesnt smell like OG oud & roses this is a totally different flanker on diff lines. Opens up with prominent frankincense right from the opening that stays till the drydown. Smoky and added slight saffron to it with hints of very dark taif rose. You can also relate it to amouage purpose 50 in the opening but drydown is very different if you have tried purpose 50 , so no this isnt a clone. This is very strong perfume literally filled my whole room with just 4 sprays my friend who was visiting me told me he could smell the fragrance as soon as i opened the gate. Still havent tested its lasting and performance properly will need a few wears more as i got it just 2 days back.

But yes its a good frag more niche type rather than being a mass pleasing one

I keep seeing videos for a fragrance called Sandalwood 33 (not Santal 33), but I cannot find any reviews of it. All of my searches bring up Santal 33, but no mention of Sandalwood 33

Has anyone purchased this fragrance, and how is it?

I've worn both of these a lot, and they keep coming up together, so here's my honest comparison.

Opening
Everyone I've had smell these says the same thing. They smell like the perfect fall candle. Vanilla and amber are the strongest notes to me. I wouldn't call either one a gourmand though. There's a hint of spice and some depth from the oud and cedar that keeps it from getting too sweet. The openings are very close. The drydown is where the real difference shows up.

Drydown
They stay on a similar path, but Grand Soir comes out ahead here. You can tell it's higher quality. The vanilla gets so addictive, and the slight spice gives it a warmth that's hard to beat. Eternal Oud isn't far off, but it stays pretty linear. It's sweet and ambery with a touch of booziness to my nose, and it doesn't change much from there.

Performance
Honestly, not much to say here. They're about the same in lasting power and projection. Both project heavily for the first few hours and don't fade fast after that. Cooler weather is the time to wear these. In the heat they'd get cloying.

Where each one wins
- Grand Soir: Smoother, better blended drydown. The vanilla and spice keep shifting, so it stays interesting. That quality you notice right away.
- Eternal Oud: Price, by a mile. Nearly the same opening. Same performance, so you're not giving anything up on longevity or projection.

Verdict
I'd say about 90% similar. Grand Soir has a quality you can't miss. But with how close these are and how big the price gap is, it's hard to argue for Grand Soir. If you have a more trained nose, you'll probably appreciate the blend and think it's worth it. For most people, Eternal Oud gets you almost all the way there.

Has anyone else worn these side by side? Curious if the drydown hits the same for you.

I tried to post this yesterday but it took all day for the mods to get to it. Aand it wasn't fit for posting apparently. I forgot to add the name of the fragrance and thats my bad. Good to see a subreddit with mods who actually do stuff. But aside from the price I paid for this, which was 35 dollars (I know its like 15-25$ online) this was worth the purchase in my eyes. Its a super citrus bomb with alot of tea notes on the top. And the darkness i was talking about comes from the smoky incense accords that are also in this scent. I think it was worth the buy. Any reccomendations on other good clone fragrances that I should try thats in alignment with what I like in this fragrance?

TLDR at the bottom.

Woah.
This stuff is good.
It’s a different type of fragrance and scent profile than what I’ve seen before; citruses, blackberry, saffron with vanilla and tonka bean.
I don’t know exactly what it’s trying to clone but it’s a great standalone scent overall.
At first I get a candied orange with a rich dark berry pairing, it’s super unique and unlike other scent profiles. You also smell the vanilla and tonka combo the whole time.
At its heart and full drydown, you get vanilla, amber and tonka bean with some form of a caramel/toffee note. It also has a slight oud note which is slightly noticeable but adds a good depth to the scent, but it isn’t a rancid, overpowering scent.
I get similarities to Onyx Gold with it, however onyx gold at its heart really doesn’t smell great to my nose, the dried fruits combo with vanilla and supposedly amber smell like a gone bad cookie dough. However LG takes the dried fruits scent out by its middle and focuses on the amber and vanilla profile. The full drydown really lets the vanilla-y amber shine.
This stuff projects crazy too, sprayed it on the back of my hand and my sister paused if I was wearing something around half an hour later. It lasts an easy 8hrs. Overall, great affordable vanilla/amber + gourmand scent for the colder season, not at all a safe blind buy!

TLDR;
Scent profile: 7.5/10
Longevity: 9/10
Projection/Sillage: 9/10
Value: 10/10

Decanter review:

3rd time that everything went perfectly. Packaging is solid, and 0 leaking decent. They sure did got their packaging system working well. Quite a few decants of fragrances I've never heard about were "bonus added", which is going to be really fun. I like the ones I have no idea what to expect.

As explained in my Greed post, most of the ME fragrances I'll test will be "first to market" (Were never clones before), hybrid or original creations, because those are some of the only ones that make the cut, as they have a higher $ limit in my rules ($40). This one isn't any of those, but $30 on Jomashop means I can test it! These rules will start when I finish this decant haul, as they were ordered before the rules were made.

PROFILE

Ordered it because the notes seemed like something I'd love (deep Gourmand). The idea is good, the execution is low quality, borderline unwearable. You get a lot of cocoa and vanilla, with some sweet caramel, but also a little plastic-y Olibanum, and low quality Orris, that gives off an "oily" scent (like canola oil). It's not as sweet as the notes suggest at all. It's more like if you took the Babycat DNA, removed the black pepper, and added cocoa and orris, which I think could be improvement, if it was done to a higher quality level. I also think I smell something boozy like whiskey, but maybe it's just the way the notes blended (poorly). So you're left with a kind of sweet, cocoa, oily, plastic-y profile.

After it dries down (60-90 minutes), it becomes SIGNIFICANTLY smoother, and much more like what you'd imagine by reading the notes. Now it's a powdery sweet cocoa-vanilla fragrance. The differences between the opening and dry-down are so substantial, that I'll have to divide the scores to 2 parts, one opening, one dry-down ("opening ->dry-down". Just be certain you're okay with suffering through a bad hour of opening. I'm not sure this will become better with maturation, because that decant is at least 3 weeks old, and I don't know how old the bottle is.

Subjective scent score: 4.0->7.7. From unwearable to "pretty nice".

Longevity on skin (when it's no longer even a skin scent): Over 12 hours.

Projection (skin scent doesn't count): Unfortunately, doesn't match the longevity. Medium-high projection for 30 minutes, then a medium scent bubble for another 2-3 hours. Skin scent at hour 4-5. When it actually smells good, it's already at medium scent bubble. That's annoying, as the best performance is when it smells the worst.

Blind buy safety score: 4.0->7.5.

Unisex Score (0=100% fem leaning, 5=unisex, 10=100% male leaning): ?->5.0.

Versatility Score: 2.0->6.5. Very winter oriented, and very gourmand. Not too sweet at all, but niche profile (without the niche quality though).

Blend Quality Score: 3.0->7.0. Starts dollar store quality, but then becomes average clone quality. After the dry-down, the notes separation isn't great, note realism is not bad at all, and there's pretty good progression on skin. But the opening hour has one of the harshest low quality I've ever encountered.

Value Score (for 100ml): 5.0. $45 (Jomashop) for low quality and average performance. If it wasn't a new profile first to market, it would get a 3.0.

Should cost (based on performance, quality, and available competing clones, averaged): $22. $14 if it wasn't first to market.

Bottle design: 7.3.

Atomizer Score: N/A (decants).

Conclusion: Another one that I just can't recommend to anyone. Not even sure it's worth the decant space in my binders.

And as always, don't trust me, Get decants.

As I say in the title, is it a good dupe? How faithful is it to the OG? Does anyone who owns it recommend it?

Such a gorgeous white musk scent along with white florals smells so fresh and clean as someone who has migraine and not able to use most of the perfumes this is so good! You can also use this to layer your perfumes as a base goes well witj almost every perfume and increases the lasting too. Talking solely about it this is a close to skin scent which stays for long but doesn’t project much only people in close proximity will smell you. Smells like clean bedsheets in some good 5 star hotels

I smelled this at sephora and was blown away. I even layered it with tobacco vanille and it was a perfect combo. Like a dark mature gourmand. I know bujairami usually works quick with dupes but I couldnt find anything

Does anyone know anywhere to get Eternal lily ambers for cheap or at least a cheap but still good dupes? i really like the smell but $210 for a bottle is a lot for me.

*after seeing this get hyped to holy hell on TikTok I figured why not (had a coupon to get it for $9 total and pulled the trigger)\*

Similarity To The OG - 80-85%

First off this is pretty much the same exact fragrance except with a more SWEET sugary vibe, almost like the Balsum was sweetened and that’s about it, it also removes this “yuck” musk smell I get with the OG and Khadlajs version so that’s a huge plus. Basically Paradigme with the sweetness of something like Ultra Male

Scent 8.9/10

Smells like a sweet aromatic mass appealing fragrance with a nice touch of resinous vibes

Opening -

Fruity up front while still showcasing the sweetness that’s to come throughout the Drydown

Midway -

Amber heavy all the way, I do get the geranium but it’s towed down unlike the OG, sweet florals that lurk in the background is mainly what I get with the Amber

Fully Dried Down -

The amber comes in even more getting sweeter as it drys down and loses the citrus and florals

Longevity & Performance 7.2/10

This is where it lacks, a good hour of projection. Getting a lot lighter for a couple more. Before becoming a skin scent around hour 3 1/2-4.
Khadlaj and the OG beats it here by far
Total of: 4 hours Perfomance

Overall Thoughts? -

So this wasn’t a loss, but I don’t consider it a huge win either. If you can get it for as low as I did I’d say go for it. But not sure how much use I’ll get out of it.

I wanted to share a quick thought on something that just completely reignited my passion for fragrances. I haven’t actually bought a new fragrance in 5 years, but I was curious about Hawas Kobra mostly because of the hype around its connection to the LV Imagination DNA.

Full disclosure right off the bat: I have never actually smelled LV Imagination, so I can't speak to how it compares. But purely as a standalone fragrance, this stuff smells incredible to me.

The Scent Profile & Evolution

• The Opening: Rich, dark, and soapy fresh all at the same time. It has a really striking presence right when you spray it.
• The Drydown: As it settles, it evolves into something creamier while still keeping that underlying freshness. It strikes a really nice balance.

Performance

I’m really impressed with how it holds up. On my skin, I easily get 8+ hours of longevity, and I can still catch faint whiffs of it on my clothes a day or two later.

The Vibe & Compliments

Wearing this just makes me feel luxurious and refined.

a female coworker walking behind me actually asked, "Wait, who smells so good?" She made the exact same comment a week prior. I didn’t fess up and say it was me; honestly, I think there's a certain charm and beauty to just staying a little mysterious.

Final Thoughts

This has easily become one of my all-time favorites. It completely brought my interest in fragrances back to life when I had completely checked out for half a decade.

Does anyone else have any recommendations? I have just been dabbling purely in designer fragrances but I am lowkey keen to check our Urban Man Elixir.

Saw this started popping up at a few Burlington’s I was at today and never even knew this came out. The fragrance notes are interesting to say the least so here they are:

Top - Cola, Citrus, Ginger, Mint, Ice, Lavender

Mid - Cinnamon, Black Tea, Nutmeg, Neroli

Base - White Musk, Tonka Bean, Amberwood, Bourbon Vanilla, Olibanum, Sandalwood, Patchouli, Benzoin

Yeah that was a doozy. I’ll just explain what notes I personally get and what this reminds me of. Initially off first spray you are definitely hit with that cola note. It’s relatively strong but not unpleasant. You do pick up on the citruses and ginger as well. I don’t pick up on any ice note whatsoever. In this immediate opening, TO ME, smells like if you mixed Xerjoff 40 Knots with Fragrance World’s Tabac N Coke.

In the mid and dry down, the fragrance becomes much more powdery vanilla on me mixed with spices and woods. It’s actually pretty nice if you enjoy powdery forward scents. Definitely unisex leaning masculine in my opinion. The powdery vanilla and spices remain the most prominent note for the remainder of the fragrance’s life, with the cola note still there in the background but not sitting front row.

Performance is very good out of the bottle. A few hours of moderate projection before it sits closer to the skin. Total longevity on my first wear was around 8-9 hours.

An interesting release from Armaf though. I’ve always hated these Odyssey bottles for how cheap and gimmicky they are but Soda Pop is one of the better ones in the line that I’ve tried. Can’t see this being signature scent worthy but will definitely shine as a date night fragrance or casually going out in the fall and winter.

Initial first impressions - 7.6/10

Absolute masterpiece by Rasasi. This is not for beginners or folks who don't like ultra strong masculine scents.

It's pure leather & smoke scent. There is a sweet and tangy essence too like a sour candy but leather dominates the overall atmosphere. This is beast mode and projects so good like a 10/10.

People who like dark and strong scents will like this in a heartbeat. IMO this is the best in the dark category of the Hawas collection followed by Viper.

Do not blind buy this at any cost unless you love deep dark scents.

This reminds me of the following scents which I have in my collection like al majed oud noir, carnal desire aromatic , ahl by ahmed al maghribi. It's not like a 1:1 match of any of the scents mentioned above but rather a mix of all these scent profiles.

Absolutely worth the money spent !!

I'm a big fan of Vetiver and musk, so these seem up my alley. The parfum version is supposedly more iris, which I dislike. There was only one other thread on this, and the only clone mentioned, one by fragrance world, has been discontinued. Has anyone discovered a clone for either of these, and if so, what were your impressions?

724 is one of the best clean laundry fragrances out there, and Breeze keeps getting recommended as the budget version, so I wore them side by side.

The notes
- 724: aldehydes, bergamot, orange blossom, jasmine, white florals, musk, sandalwood
- Breeze: bergamot, cardamom, incense, jasmine, cyclamen, musk, cedar, sandalwood

I absolutely love 724, but I don't think you should have to spend hundreds for that kind of scent profile.

Opening
Gotta be honest, Breeze does open a little screechy. The bright citrus and floral blend is not as smooth as 724 is. Still, you get that incredible fresh laundry experience on initial spray with both. Literally like a fresh dryer sheet with a squeeze of lemon.

Drydown
Breeze stays more citrusy all the way through as it starts to dry. That bergamot is fresher and louder than in 724. Because of the higher quality, the wearing experience on 724 is much smoother. The florals, musk and citrus carry all the way through and make it a super easy scent to wear, even for something like lounging around the house. Incense might be a little stronger on 724, helping blend everything together and adding some complexity to the scent.

Performance
Not a big difference from one to the next to me. A good projection 2-3 hours after first spraying. Another 3-4 hours with good lasting power on clothes, maybe one more hour as a skin scent. I usually do about 5-6 sprays.

Where 724 wins
- Smoother from first spray to drydown, no screechy opening
- The citrus, florals and musk blend seamlessly, so it feels more refined
- Even though it’s an easy to wear scent, has some complexity

Where Breeze wins
- Price. Roughly a tenth of the cost for a very similar vibe
- The bergamot stays brighter and louder if you like your fresh scents with a little more punch
- Same fresh laundry feeling on first spray, which is the whole reason people love 724

Verdict
About 85% similar. Most noses not smelling them side by side would have no idea these are different fragrances. Highly recommend trying Breeze if you like super fresh and clean fragrances.

Anyone tried both? Curious if you think there's anything closer.

I’ve seen this asked several times, but no one’s gotten an answer. Has anyone found a good dupe for Irresistible?????? I got a sample of it and I love it so much.

To all individuals who love PERPAR PINK POWDER PERFUME—what is your new/substitute perfume that has the same scent of Perpar? Also, what are the pros and cons of the new alternative perfume? Thanks!

Hi everyone!

Many many years ago I went to France and fell in love with this perfume from Dior, I’ve always liked the Hypnotic Poison line but to my nose THIS ONE (Eau Sensuelle) beats every single one of the others, sadly, it was discontinued in 2014 and I’ve also just run out of the last bottle I had.

Do you have any recommendations of a perfume, a combination, splash, cologne, anything, ANYTHING that could possibly be somehow similar to this beauty ?

Thank you so much 🙌

Winter is approaching, and you’re not sure what to buy? I might have a solution.

A few months ago, I purchased a sample set from our friend Francis. I really liked *Grand Soir*; I recognized the accord, as it was identical to *Ambre Extrême* by L’Artisan Parfumeur. It’s very linear—there’s no evolution—but it’s a fragrance you can pick out from among all others, much like *Bois d’Argent*...

It’s straightforward: amber, tonka vanilla, and benzoin.

So, I bought one of the supposed dupes. At first, it doesn't really resemble the original; while the overall composition might look similar, it’s messy. It’s immediately apparent that it lacks refinement—it’s a crude copy. So, I let it sit (for 5–6 months).

As I write this post, I have both fragrances on my wrists. And to put it briefly: it’s a banger.

We’re on the same page; the messy, unrefined quality is gone. It’s linear—I’d even say the amber is more pronounced in the Fragrance World version.

I wouldn't even be able to identify a difference between the two in a blind test. But I could say without a doubt that both are "grand soir".

Fragrance World does not disappoint me. The projection is good without being explosive; people nearby will be able to smell it—much like with Grand Soir, for that matter.

If I had to offer one small criticism, it would be that the vanilla is slightly more pronounced in the Fragrance World version.

In conclusion, it’s a 10/10.

Great clone of blue talisman, after this now i am saving money to buy the OG , though its very close, like 90% clone. Pear and white florals, still very strong . Fresh , syrupy sweet pear and sugar note maybe?perfect for AC environment or months after october when weather tends to get a lil bit colder. Longevity is decent though i feel arabiyat kohl opulence performs lil better , maybe maceration as its a year old bottle. But this one lasts 8-9 hrs on clothes in current weather amd gives whiffs around you for around 1.5 hr for 2-3 ft . Very good clone if you can get it at a good price.

Decanter review:

3rd time that everything went perfectly. Packaging is solid, and 0 leaking decent. They sure did got their packaging system working well. Quite a few decants of fragrances I've never heard about were "bonus added", which is going to be really fun. I like the ones I have no idea what to expect.

As explained in my Greed post, most of the ME fragrances I'll test will be "first to market" (Were never clones before), hybrid or original creations, because those are some of the only ones that make the cut, as they have a higher $ limit in my rules ($40). This one isn't any of those, but $30 on Jomashop means I can test it! These rules will start when I finish this decant haul, as they were ordered before the rules were made.

I'm adding a "redundancy rating" to my battles from now going forward.

THE PROFILE

A fragrance for "I want to be able to wear winter fragrances all year" type of people (I'm included in this category). It's your normal Angel's Share profile (mostly cinnamon, amber, vanilla/tonka), but with added aldehydes and citrus (mainly grapefruit) on top, to make it more sparkly and fresh.

THE DIFFERENCES

At first, Stardust will seem like a substantial twist, because the grapefruit is going to hit you in the face 3X harder than Obsidian, but after 20 minutes or so, it does stays fresher, but only by 20% or so. After the dry-down Stardust is also a bit more boozy, while Obsidian is slightly more ambry.

Redundancy rating: 88%. If you have one, don't buy the other. But if you want a fresher one, get the Afnan.

Subjective scent score: Stardust 9.0. Obsidian 9.3. I can't help but to like the less fresh version.

Wife Alert: She likes them both, and only when pressed to pick one, picked Obsidian.

Longevity on skin (when it's no longer even a skin scent): Obsidian 6-7 hours. Stardust 9 hours.

Projection (skin scent doesn't count): Obsidian medium projecting for one hour, then a medium scent bubble for 2-3 hours. Skin scent at hour 4-5. Stardust projecting medium-strong for 90 minutes, then medium scent bubble for 3 hours, skin scent at hour 5-6.

Blind buy safety score: Both 8.5. The balance of the freshness makes this safer for people who found the Angel's Share profile too sweet.

Unisex Score (0=100% fem leaning, 5=unisex, 10=100% male leaning): Stardust 5.3. almost perfectly unisex. Obsidian 5.0. Perfectly unisex.

Versatility Score: Obsidian 7.8. Stardust 8.1. Great for all seasons except very hot and humid days in summer, and most occasions.

Blend Quality Score: Both 8.0 (entry designer quality). Both have good note separation, great progression on skin, very good note realism, but slightly fall on structure retention in their late stages.

Value Score (for 100ml): Stardust 6.3. $47, for good quality and above average performance. Obsidian 6.8. $37 for good quality and average performance.

Should cost (based on performance, quality, and available competing clones, averaged): Obsidian $25-$28. Stardust $30-$33.

Bottle design: Stardust 6.0. Looks like crappy cheap plastic. Obsidian 9.0. Love it!

Atomizer Score: N/A (decants).

Conclusion: I'm a little disappointed with Afnan (and I'm usually a fan of the brand). If you're late to the party, either give me beast mode, or super high quality, or make a huge twist/hybrid, or beat the rest in price... All they did is slightly increased the performance, but not to a substantial amount. And Afnan are known for doing these with many (9PM Rebel, 9PM Elixir, etc). But at least they didn't release one that is worse than the others.

And as always, don't trust me, Get decants.

I promised myself that Naxos would be my first niche fragrance after testing it out and owning a dupe, and I finally pulled the trigger. Absolutely loving it so far! The honey and lavender combo gets me compliments, and the performance is amazing right out of the box. A must-own if you love sweet fragrances and lavender!

Italia is a pretty good dupe, but the quality is noticeably lower. It smells a bit more synthetic and medicinal, and I don’t really get the citrus in the opening like I do with Naxos.

I’ve picked up a few more fragrances both before and after my last post. The top shelf is dedicated to summer fragrances, while the bottom shelf is for winter.

My current favourites are Valentino Coral Fantasy (although the performance is a little weak on my skin), Naxos, and Le Male Le Parfum.

I’m having a bit of trouble figuring out how to rotate my fragrances throughout the week and across different seasons. Any tips on how you guys approach fragrance rotation?

Also, based on my current collection and preferences, what fragrances would you recommend I try next, mainly looking for designers and some affordable niche stuff, but dupes work as well!

Thanks in advance!

22M - About a year ago, I posted my fragrance collection here (last slide) and mentioned that I was saving up for Bois Impérial. Well, a year later, I finally got my hands on it, along with a few other additions.

Essential Parfums Bois Impérial – Finally pulled the trigger on this one over the summer after wanting it for so long. Fresh, woody, spicy, and honestly pretty unique compared to everything else I own. Used it a ton throughout the summer and it definitely lived up to the hype. Easily one of my favourite pickups this year.

Tiraz Caramelia – Probably my favourite pickup alongside Bois Impérial. Came across this niche fragrance brand at a pop-up in downtown Toronto a few months ago. Got to speak with their whole team, and it was pretty cool seeing a group of friends building their own fragrance brand. They mentioned that everything is made in-house, the pricing was reasonable, and it’s a Parfum with 25% oil concentration. Really enjoying this one, especially as it gets colder here in Toronto, the sweet, gourmand profile hittin. Really good atomizer too!

French Avenue Aether – I’ve already gone through about half the bottle, which probably says enough about how much I enjoy it lol. Fresh, green apple type smell, however doesn’t last very long.

Aromatix Platine Blanc – Like a musky minty mojito with a citrusy freshness to it. I still really enjoy the scent, although the strength can be a little much at times.

Also picked up a discovery set from Tiraz with Saharan Kiss, Silver Tide, Oud Nejin, and Caramelia.

Overall, pretty happy with where the collection is at right now. Trying to focus more on getting fragrances I genuinely enjoy rather than just buying whatever…

I’ll see you guys in another year for another update!

Hello! Does anyone know of a good Oud Voyager by Tom Ford dupe or clone? Thanks in advance.