At a Glance
The best perfume dupes in the UK are not the ones that smell identical in the first minute.
They are the ones that still smell good after the first hour, which is when most of them start to fade.
That is the clearest finding of the Which? blind test of December 2025.
This guide combines that test with a hands-on review from The Independent, then sorts dupes by where they are sold and what they cost once reapplication is counted.
In that test, the dupe closest to its original was Aldi’s £6.49 Hotel Collection Peony Blush, and most testers preferred The Essence Vault 82 to its designer rival.
Two of the guides read for this article come from shops that sell perfume, so this one sticks to what independent reviewers tested.
What did the Which? blind test show about perfume dupes?
In December 2025, Which? published its first perfume tests, using a panel of more than 40 people (Which?, 6 December 2025).
Panellists smelled four designer perfumes against four budget dupes, each decanted into an unbranded atomiser so nobody knew which was which.
| Original | Dupe | Panel result | Cost per ml, original vs dupe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium (£95, 50ml) | The Essence Vault 82 (£24.99, 100ml) | Most testers preferred the dupe | £1.90 vs £0.25 |
| Miss Dior (£107, 50ml) | Perfume Parlour Realistic for Women (£32, 100ml) | Original slightly preferred | £2.14 vs £0.32 |
| Jo Malone Peony & Blush Suede (£86, 50ml) | Aldi Hotel Collection Peony Blush (£6.49) | Original slightly preferred, very close | Dupe size not given |
| Paco Rabanne 1 Million (£66, 50ml) | Noted Aromas Las Vegas (£29.99) | Most preferred the original | Dupe size not given |
The cost per ml is calculated from the prices and sizes in the Which? release, and left out where the release gave no size.
On wear time, all participants noticed the dupes weakening after about an hour.
Most originals only started to fade after three hours or more.
One dupe, Las Vegas, was also noticeably weaker than 1 Million after just 15 minutes.
Four pairs and one panel make a useful signal, not a verdict on every dupe. Another bottle from the same maker, or a different skin, can behave differently.
Which? Home Products and Services Editor Natalie Hitchins said it is “well worth considering a dupe version of your favourite designer fragrance”.
The release adds that many dupes come in larger sizes, so reapplying may offset the shorter wear.
Which type of dupe fits which buyer?
The dupes in the two main independent reviews fall into three groups.
- Supermarket: the Which? panel found Aldi’s Hotel Collection Peony Blush, at £6.49, very close to an £86 Jo Malone scent, with the original only slightly preferred.
- High street: the Independent’s hands-on review (IndyBest, updated July 2026) praised Next’s eau nude, an imitation of a Chanel scent costing about £10, and Marks and Spencer’s soft gardenia.
- Online specialist: Which? tested The Essence Vault, Perfume Parlour and Noted Aromas, with prices between £24.99 and £32.
The same review said Marks and Spencer’s soft gardenia surprised both the reviewer and colleagues by not being Marc Jacobs Daisy.
It also judged Zara’s red temptation, a take on a Maison Francis Kurkdjian scent, to capture a good chunk of the original’s allure, though the sillage, meaning how far the scent travels, differed slightly.
The review put the saving at more than £250.
In the Which? test, price did not predict the result.
The £6.49 supermarket scent came closest to its original, while a £29.99 online dupe was the one most testers placed below its own original.
Prices move with promotions, so note the date next to any price before comparing two dupes.
Retailer-run guides need a different reading, because their authors also sell perfume.
Fragrance Republic (reviewed August 2026) advises judging a dupe by how it develops rather than by its opening, which matches the independent tests.
The P-Eleven guide (April 2026) says poor dupes can fade within an hour, but it gives no wear times for the scents it lists.
How can a dupe be judged beyond the first spray?
The Independent’s reviewer scored likeness “from both the initial spritz and dry-down, through to the end of the day”, and tracked the scent on skin and on clothing.
Fragrance Republic gives the same advice in simpler words: watch the development, not only the opening.
The dry-down is the stage after the opening notes fade, and it is the part that stays on the skin.
A home version of that test takes one day and a notebook.
- Spray the dupe on one wrist, and a sample of the original on the other where the original can be tried in a shop.
- Note the scent at 15 minutes, 1 hour and 3 hours, the time points the Which? panel reported, and again at 6 hours for a full-day view.
- Smell a sprayed sleeve as well as the skin, since the Independent tracked both.
- Judge how far the scent travels around the wearer, not only how it smells up close.
- Decide how many top-ups a normal day would need, and whether that is realistic.
Check whether the seller supplies a tester or sample size, and what the returns window is for an opened bottle. Fragrance Republic’s page (August 2026) mentions a 2ml tester with each bottle and a 60-day test period, but that is one seller’s policy, not a rule across the market.
Two typical cases show how the Which? timings play out in practice.
Typical case: a commuter who sprays at 7am and finishes at 5pm. The panel’s one-hour fade suggests a dupe would need a small travel atomiser, or a second spray at lunch.
Typical case: an evening out of about three hours. Most originals only began to fade after three hours or more, so a dupe may need one top-up halfway through.
These two scenarios are illustrative examples built from the Which? timings, not measurements of any particular bottle.
A scent smelled on a paper strip in a shop shows the opening only. How it settles on skin is what the Independent and Which? both judged.
What does a dupe really cost once reapplication is counted?
The cost per ml looks like a clear win for dupes, but a scent that fades sooner is used up faster.
Take the Black Opium pair from the Which? test, which works out at £1.90 per ml for the original and £0.25 per ml for the dupe.
Assume the dupe is sprayed three times to cover the hours the original covers once.
That is an assumption, not a measured figure, and on it the dupe would still cost about £0.75 against £1.90.
The Miss Dior pair gives the same picture, at £0.96 against £2.14 on the same assumption.
At these Which? prices, a dupe loses its price advantage only if it needs applying nearly eight times as often as the Black Opium original, or nearly seven times as often as Miss Dior. This assumes the same amount sprayed each time.
The saving only counts if the dupe is actually worn, and a bottle left in a drawer saves nothing.
Work out the cost per wear for your own pair
The tool below compares the price per ml of an original and a dupe, then shows what a wear costs if the dupe needs applying more often.
It starts with the Black Opium pair from the Which? test, and any prices and sizes can be typed over it.
Are perfume dupes legal in the UK, and what does “inspired by” mean?
The law sits mostly on the seller’s side, and it is less settled than shop shelves suggest.
A Mishcon de Reya briefing (22 July 2025) says no scents have been registered as UK or EU trade marks, so a fragrance’s smell has limited protection in practice.
It adds that reverse-engineering a formula is not unlawful in itself.
The risk lies in naming the original.
In the L’Oréal v Bellure case, the courts found infringement where a seller took advantage of the reputation of an earlier trade mark, and the briefing says this applied to product lists naming the imitated fragrances.
That is why sellers often use “inspired by” wording, and the same briefing notes it would be interesting to see how courts treat that phrasing.
This is a summary of one law firm’s commentary, not legal advice, and it concerns sellers rather than people buying a bottle for themselves.
In Summary
All four dupes in the Which? blind test weakened after about an hour, so the best perfume dupes in the UK are the ones that still smell good as they develop and are cheap enough to reapply.
Price was not a reliable guide, since a £6.49 supermarket scent came closest to its original while a £29.99 online dupe fell behind.
A one-day skin test and a cost per wear calculation say more about a dupe than any ranking.
Common Questions
Does an eau de parfum dupe last longer than an eau de toilette one?
Generally yes. The P-Eleven guide (April 2026), written by a perfume shop, says eau de parfum usually lasts longer than eau de toilette, though it does not give hours for either.
