Cheap Smell-alikes - Cheaper alternatives to Expensive Perfumes

Ishy_2

Yes, i will do hopefully.

Regarding the Al-Rehab oils, usually a local islamic shop will have their perfumes, and theyre quite cheap aswel. But be warned theyre extremely strong, and defintly linger on.

www.islamicitems.net/al-rehab-perfume-oils this website has a lot of their perfumes and theyre only 1.95, some good ones are bakhour, aroosah, silver, dalaal, secret man, rose. But i tell you again theyre all extremely strong and even out of the ones ive said above theyre all masculine type and you defintely wont like all of them. The ones i like from that selection my friends usually dont like them, but like i said if you can find a local shop you should be able to find them, theyre really popular.

Talking about the rose perfume oil your partner bought for you, i just recently bought Al Ward Al Musk by Rasaasi, you can read the review on fragrantica and youl see alot of people didnt like it, and the same can be said for everyone in my family, but i have a peculiar taste lol, its good not extremely great, but i wouldnt wear it at work, in the family yes because were indian and we are used to these scents. Amber Oudh by Rasaasi is very nice i think alot of people like that, also im thinking of trying Rose No 1 by Givaudan Swiss Arabian, they make really nice perfumes.

GothicPrincess87

Ishy wrote: »

Yes, i will do hopefully.

Regarding the Al-Rehab oils, usually a local islamic shop will have their perfumes, and theyre quite cheap aswel. But be warned theyre extremely strong, and defintly linger on.

this website has a lot of their perfumes and theyre only 1.95, some good ones are bakhour, aroosah, silver, dalaal, secret man, rose. But i tell you again theyre all extremely strong and even out of the ones ive said above theyre all masculine type and you defintely wont like all of them. The ones i like from that selection my friends usually dont like them, but like i said if you can find a local shop you should be able to find them, theyre really popular.

Talking about the rose perfume oil your partner bought for you, i just recently bought Al Ward Al Musk by Rasaasi, you can read the review on fragrantica and youl see alot of people didnt like it, and the same can be said for everyone in my family, but i have a peculiar taste lol, its good not extremely great, but i wouldnt wear it at work, in the family yes because were indian and we are used to these scents. Amber Oudh by Rasaasi is very nice i think alot of people like that, also im thinking of trying Rose No 1 by Givaudan Swiss Arabian, they make really nice perfumes.

I really do like rose perfumes i used to be mad on coconut but cant stand it anymore. I will have a look at some of al rehab oils later and see if i can find a decent one i wouldnt mind wearing a masculine one but think its a safer bet to stick to female ones i have only found one fragrance intended for men that i could wear and that was spicebomb but i think that leans more towards unisex.anyway but thank you very much for your suggestions i will definatly check them out later

Nicepeach

Hi all,

I asked a while ago for information regarding Perfume Parlour & took the plunge & ordered some (3 x smallest oils for £10.50).

Forgot to post back then but just to let you know I was VERY impressed & ordered some more on 6th May (i.e. 3 days ago) & have received it today! This time ordered 3 x largest oils for £19.50.

Thanks for the help Sofababe. x

autumngirl

Nicepeach wrote: »

Hi all,

I asked a while ago for information regarding Perfume Parlour & took the plunge & ordered some (3 x smallest oils for £10.50).

Forgot to post back then but just to let you know I was VERY impressed & ordered some more on 6th May (i.e. 3 days ago) & have received it today! This time ordered 3 x largest oils for £19.50.

Thanks for the help Sofababe. x

Nice to hear your feedback. Out of curiosity, which ones have you tried? Do any stand out as being particularly good smell-a-likes?

I have loads of Perfume Parlour oils but am always planning my next purchase...it can get a bit addictive if you're not careful!

GothicPrincess87

do any of you know how long pp oils keep for? i did google it but couldnt find a proper answer as im a bit worried the 60+ oils i have will go off before i have a chance to use them all

BitterAndTwisted

I only ever order the 3ml oils in case I'm not keen on them. My own feeling is that they should last a while as they don't contain anything volatile like the regular regular perfume formulations. I still have a couple that I bought a couple of years ago and they're still smelling exactly like they did when I first got them.

Ishy: one of the reasons why the traditional perfumes from the middle east aren't popular here is the very different climate. Very tenacious and cloying scents don't work well in colder climes. For that reason you should be careful not to apply too much. People don't often welcome being able to taste your scent half an hour after you've left the room! That is one of the many reasons why I'm glad that awful Georgio isn't popular any longer, That stuff stuck like glue. Stinky strong glue that wouldn't shift for days.

I took a chance and ordered the "Wild Patchouli" oil the other day, not having tested the original (Tom Ford, I think). It's delightful. There's deffo patchouli in there but not sledgehammer strong and completely dominant. The Prada Infusion D'Iris I'm less impressed with. It's very light and appears to fade quickly and there's too much white musk/white flowers which I'm not that fond of. But for only two quid I'm not worried about having made a mistake. I might use it to scent some candles I'm making so it won't go to waste.

spugzbunny

Hello!

I read this thread a few weeks ago and took the plunge at PP. Thanks sooooo much! I love my new perfume oils! I ordered:

Isomer -I do think it smells like l'eu d'issey but maybe not quite as complex BUT I can't afford the real thing and i will definitely buy this again.

Kenetic - the kenzo knock off. That's really nice. Very much the sort of thing I like! Don't know if it smells like the real thing though as I have never tried it!

Perfect? - or whatever the Katy Perry one is. That smells very similar and is lovely!

Out of interest how much does everyone apply? I roll it up and down each arm and then across my chest.

Nicepeach

Hi autumngirl,

Sorry, not been on computer for few days (had enough of it at work!).

My first order of the 3 smallest oils were:

Alluring Women (Chanel Allure). Seems good to be BUT I know it sounds a bit strange but I've been wearing this for years after having smelt it on a friend & loved it & I can't smell it on me! Made the mistake of buying it without testing it properly (just a quick squirt & thought it would "grow" on me!). Truth is I can't even smell it on myself BUT whenever I wear it I ALWAYS get compliments saying how lovely I smell! One chap I used to work with asked me what scent I used because he loved it & wanted to buy some for his wife! I warned him this was a risky thing to do but told him the name... "You what!" He exclaimed. "Chanel MANURE!!! I'm not asking for that in the shop! I explained that I thought he may have misheard... He bought it & she loved it!.

Army Cool (Armani Code), I LOVE this & still have a tiny bit of the "real" thing left so could easily compare PP version to it. It's great & I can't tell the difference.

Defend Women (Fendi). Really can't comment on this one as I bought it for a friend who can't seem to get it anywhere now. I've never smelt the real thing so can't vouch for how it compares but it's not my type of thing. Kind of a bit like a less pungent Opium to my nose but as I say I've not smelt the real thing.

My second batch which arrived in super quick time (3 x 12ml) was:

Alluring women, again. Who am I to stop smelling nice, even if I can't smell it!!!:rotfl:

Sky Women (D&G Light Blue). I love the D&G for summer & have been wearing it every summer for the past, about, 5 years. Initially, I didn't think it was as "lemony" a the D&G. Seemed to smell more of Cedar to me. But once on the skin it's a good copy. Again, I have a little left of the original so can compare easily.

Visible Women (Ricci Ricci by Nina Ricci). Original was bought for me as a gift set with some shower gel a couple of Christmases ago. I wouldn't have chosen it myself (I rarely veer from what I know) but I was pleasantly surprised & really liked the original & PP version compares well.

I have just ordered another 3 x 12ml of Army Cool (Armani Code) tonight. 1 is for a friend who also loves this & it's her birthday in June but the other 2 are just for me as this seems to sell out quickly so I won't have to go without my favourite. It's so much cheaper than the original, even at the very cheapest I could find it.

Hope this helps. x

Ishy_2

Hello, i received Baby Powder last week from Perfume Parlour. It does smell like Baby Powder but personally i think the actual fragrance of Baby Powder doesnt translate well into a Perfume. I also received Vera Wang Princess Night this smells good, like the original and lasts long. Frankincense and Myrrh, i never enjoyed the perfume oil much.

I also received Rose No1 from Swiss Arabian, i wasnt at all impressed with this perfume oil, its rarther citrussy and not at all rosy enough. It wasnt that bad but i had high expectations for this perfume oil.

I read above on the forum that Issomer never smelt like L'eau D'Issey, yes thats true, it actually smells exactly the same as L'ea D'Issey Florale.

Bitter and Twisted, thank you for your advice. Yes, i have read many times that the perfumes from warm climates dont translate well here and vice versa and for that reason i dont apply eastern perfumes that are too strong in a place where there will be many western people (for the reason you have said) i.e at college, in family i will lol. Thank you again.

sofababe

I find Issomer to be pretty close to Issey EDT, but if you are comparing it to the later edition which is EDP then its quite different. I personally find the EDP rather harsh whereas the original EDT from the 90s is a lighter very floral fragrance, nicer altogether. M&S Isis is also a very good copy of the original L'Eau d'Issey Miyake.