M&S Perfume Dupes vs Parfumery: Which Fragrances are Better?
M&S perfume dupes have been in the industry of fragrances for a while, creating the same designer scents for a fraction of the price. However, despite it being the cheaper alternative, it doesn't take away from its quality. Many M&S scents are sophisticated fragrance choices, and recently they have been in the limelight for great creations of designer fragrances such as Le Labo Santal 33, Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, Jo Malone's Wood Sage and many, many more.
Of course, you are wondering how does Marks and Spencer actually compare with Parfumery, when it comes to cult classic perfume dupes, their staying power, quality of the fragrant top notes, heart notes and base note similarities and of course their price?
We have an in-depth review coming your way, and all will be revealed...
Popular M&S Perfume Dupes list for designer scents
To begin with, it's best if we run through some of the best dupe designer fragrances from Marks and Spencer, so you can have a good idea how extensive the collection actually is.
Soft Iris- Chanel Coco Mademoiselle
Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum is a cult classic that often is on our beauty dresser-but we leave it for best and for keepsake moments and special occasions. Well with the Soft Iris dupe from Marks and Spencer, let's just say you can smell the same everyday and not have to worry about finishing up the dupe as you can just pop to the store again and buy one for a tenth of the original price!
Offering similar notes as the Coco Mademoiselle, such as orange blossom Jasmine, Vetiver, Tonka Bean, Patchouli and Bergamot, this is a rich amber scent that has warmth and femininity, just like the signature scent from Chanel.
Seasalt and Neroli - Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt Cologne
The Wood Sage & Sea Salt Cologne from Jo Malone is another perfume designer favourite, for the fresh citrus notes and aquatic ambience the fragrance brings. While the dupe from Marks and Spencer is an affordable alternative, the notes are note exact and the fragrance has less woody output, due to the musk base, neroli blended and of course the mandarin orange. Nevertheless it does seem familiar to the Jo Malone scent, just perhaps a sibling rather than an identical match.
Fresh Mandarin- Carolina Herrera's Good Girl
Next on the list we have the Fresh Mandarin high street fragrance from Marks and Spencer. This is one of the perfumes that everyone loves for its staying power and similar scent to Carolina Herrera's Good Girl. The original perfume is a blend of white flowers, gourmand vanilla, tonka, cacao, cinnamon, amber, velvet rose and of course citrus notes. The M&S perfume dupe may not be the same size and bottle, however the notes are similar, and the creamy orange flower with the woody notes and creamy vanilla and tonka, give this density and warmth. You can check off long lasting sillage and longevity performance for this one!
Warm Neroli- Paco Rabanne's Lady Million
Remember the time when women and men were wearing Paco Rabanne's Lady Million and 1 Million? It's a classic, and classics always become duped sooner, rather than later... Marks and Spencer created Warm Neroli which, just like designer favourites, offers beautifully blended sweet neroli, a sweet blossom consisting of bold white flowers, in addition to amber musks and white honey. Paco Rabanne wasn't duped as well as the floral M&S Warm Neroli Eau de Parfum rendition.
Red Berries and Rose- Armani Sí
Although Red Berries and Rose is a four-notes eau de Toilette fragrance, the dry down is remarkably similar to the Armani Sí fragrance. The airy soft touch of freesia rose and vanilla, make this a beautiful scent for the darker cosy months. While it has been said the opening scent is more like Armani Sí Intense, it settles away from the fragrant top notes.
Midnight Blossom- YSL's Black Opium
It's rare that you find a pretty scent like this one, where vanilla and liquorice are paired together to create a dark sultry fragrance. The M&S perfume dupes seem to always get the main characteristics and smells of the original fragrances, and despite this scent being somewhat overly sensual at times, the soft florals such as jasmine and orange blossom, bring the Midnight Blossom back to earth. You also get a few hours of wear too, before you have to top up- which is definitely not bad for 7 pounds!
Pink Pepper- La Vie Este Belle
La Vie Este Belle is another fragrance which has become a beloved Eau de Parfum in the beauty industry. Pink Pepper, just like the original fragrance, offers uplifting and spicy accords that make you want more and spray this fragrance as much as possible, until you're surrounded by a peppery, floral cloud of goodness. While this dupe and high street version is by no means the exact same performance wise, the cheaper price will have you spraying away this fragrance, completely care-free.
Velvet Amber - Chanel No.5
Last but not least on our picks for M&S perfume dupes, we have the Velvet Amber, which is a clean, resembling warm fragrance replica of the Chanel No.5. Fans from all over the UK have officially declared this the best dupe on the high street and for very good reason! The sophisticated sweet and spicy accord mix, make it luxurious-without the guilt of the expenses that come with getting this.
M&S Perfume Dupes Pros
Low Priced
Of course, the biggest advantage to the M&S perfume dupes are ridiculously cheap and an affordable alternative which anyone can get their hands on. Hey, you could buy all the dupes you like in a day, and it probably still wouldn't cost the same as a high-end luxury designer scent.
Plenty of Places to get a bottle
Due to the prevalence of the great British stores in the UK, it is pretty easy to find a store and head on down to purchase your favourite scents, and even smell them if you are unsure! So you can really decide whether or not the dupe scents are for you.
M&S Perfume Dupes Cons
Bad longevity
Just like many dupes that circulate through the fragrance industry, you will find that the performance of the M&S perfume dupes perhaps doesn't last as much as you would like it to, but of course as mentioned above, there is a relatively guilt-free reapplication of the perfume dupes, because they are so cheap.
Synthetic smell
Due to the cheaper alternative ingredients that go into making the fragrances, the notes end up being synthetically made, and therefore give off an alcoholic unnatural smell when they are first sprayed. Nevertheless, once the fragrance dries down, you get what you really came for.
Popular Parfumery Fragrances
The Parfumery 'Inspired By' collection, offers almost 30 fragrances from the top names in the industry, including exclusive designer perfume dupes, to niche labels like Byredo, and Le Labo, and of course really old luxury brands like Chanel and Dior. Parfumery collection begins with a strong number of fragrance candidates.
Jasmin Inspired by Princes Kilian
Jasmin by Parfumery is the dupe for Princes by Kilian. Not only is it amazing that an exact dupe for a fragrance that hits over the 200-pound price mark, has been created, but for a tenth of the price you can get the same performance and the much loved marshmallow sweet notes that this fragrance has made many go crazy over. Just like the original fragrance, you get a zesty opening with the first spritz, that quickly tantalises the senses when it warms down on the skin and becomes a gourmand comfort scent.
Verte Inspired by Aventus for Her
Aventus is yet another high-end fragrance, which has made it into the ranks of dupes for Parfumery. Offering the Aventus for her dupe, Verte offers the same revitalising and energetic notes which give you a long lasting punchy fragrance that is perfect for the warmer months. Being a musky sweet fragrance, buyers of the Parfumery dupe have been raving of the fragrances' perfect balance of accords to ensure sweet- but not overly sweet projection. Many dupes get this balance wrong, and people have had to make do with that sacrifice, until now.
Charbon Inspired by Black Opium
Charbon has been included in the comparison due to M&S having their own version Midnight Blossom. While the M&S Black Opium dupe is probably one of the most significant and popular dupes for Marks and Spencer, the Charbon brings added sophistication, cosiness and sensuality. What makes the Charbon top-tier, is the longevity which meets the original YSL's Black Opium fragrance. M&S have not been able to match the projection nor the longevity, but Parfumery have.
Parfumery Pros
Cheaper than RRP
Parfumery offers a huge inspiration range with dupes that cash in on average at 23 pounds per bottle of perfume. The perfume dupes from Parfumery contain high-end fragrance notes which smell true to the real luxury perfume, yet still the price is much cheaper than the original fragrances!
Close smell due to reverse osmosis
Due to the reverse osmosis technique, you will see exact if not really similar smelling fragrances which ensure the fragrance can match the original fragrances performance when sprayed. This technique is the best up-market method to ensure great smelling fragrances.
Last longer
As touched upon on the previous point, the fragrances do last longer and meet the performance in terms of sillage and longevity of the original fragrances, due to the reverse osmosis technique. Its a game changer for dupe creations, and ensures fragrances from the perfumery collection do not smell synthetic and alcoholic during the first spritz.
Can add pheromones
The latest addition of pheromones that can be added to the dupes will enhance your personal connections to the dupe fragrances, making them settle better to your body chemistry, and really mould the fragrance to your personality and mood.
Parfumery Cons
Slightly higher price than dupes
If there were any cons to the Parfumery collection it would be the higher price point for dupes in comparison to supermarket brands like Marks and Spencer. Their average prices per bottle tend to be around the 10 pound mark. However Parfumery sells on average from 19-23 pounds per bottle which is a little bit more, but you are really getting what you are paying for- a fragrance that smells very, very similar to the designer niche fragrance you are dying for!
Conclusion
The final weigh-in M&S or Parfumery? Of course Parfumery. Whenever someone is looking for a dupe, performance and relative similarity is a must, and while Marks and Spencer does offer similar fragrances for much cheaper, their performance doesn't match the originals, nor does the quality of the ingredients. Furthermore, if you just push your budget by an extra 10 pounds, you can see how your favourite perfume dupes increase in quality significantly and smell very true to the original, from the moment you spray it. Parfumery also takes the initiative to increase their range in the fragrance dupes they offer, including niche and upper-end designer fragrances, which Marks and Spencers does not do.
