Like, on one hand, who *hasn’t* eyed that Tom Ford or Chanel bottle and thought, “Man, my rent could pay for that!” So, the idea of a perfume that smells, like, 90% the same but costs a fraction of the price? That’s tempting, I ain’t gonna lie. I mean, Dossier, Oakcha, Alt. – they’re all over TikTok promising you can smell bougie on a budget. And hey, simpler packaging? I’m cool with that! I’m not gonna eat the box.
But then there’s this little voice in my head (probably my grandma’s), that’s all, “Honey, you get what you pay for.” And is it *really* the same? I mean, they’re admitting to *imitating* the fragrances! They’re cutting down on costs by creating their own formulations. Which, okay, smart business move, but like, are they using the *good* stuff? Or are we talking headache-inducing, chemically-smelling-like-a-cleaning-product kind of thing? I’ve definitely had some experiences with cheap stuff that made me regret everything.
Plus, there’s the whole… ethics thing. Like, are they ripping off these big brands? Are they hurting the creative process? It’s a bit of a gray area, I think. They’re not counterfeiting exactly, ’cause they’re not pretending to *be* the original. They’re just, you know, inspired. Heavily inspired.
And honestly, some of these articles get me confused. They’re all, “Best Chanel dupes ranked!” Like, ranked how? By how close they smell? By how long they last? By how likely they are to make your nose fall off? Give me some specifics, people!
I also read somewhere that they carry like, over 1000 perfumes that smell just like designer brands! A THOUSAND?! Is that even possible? How many different smells *are* there?! Sounds a bit sus to me.
