Last Updated on July 18, 2024
Finding the right scent can be challenging if you’re a baddie on a budget but still love luxury fragrances. In a perfect world, we could all walk into Bloomingdale’s and drop $400 on a full-size bottle of Tom Ford Bitter Peach at the drop of a hat. And while that may not be possible for most of us, we all deserve to smell fabulous nonetheless.
Sure, you can find plenty of designer dupes on the market claiming to smell just like the real thing. Xennials and elder millennials probably remember the Designer Imposters perfume craze of the 80s and ’90s, when we could go to our local drugstore for an aerosol can of perfume “inspired by” our favorite designer scents. Perfume in an aerosol can is never a good idea, something I learned the hard way when CK ONE was all the rage, but all I could afford was the fake version called “U.” I still remember wearing it to school one day only to walk into math class right after PE and have my classmates look around in horror, asking, “WHAT is that smell?”
Designer “inspired” perfumes haven’t improved much since then – a fact I recently confirmed at my local Five Below, where I searched for fake designer fragrances to sample for this article. And don’t get me wrong—I LOVE Five Below—but the scents I found were…not good.
So, can you get your hands on the real thing and not blow your budget? The answer is YES! Here are some of my favorites:
Versace Bright Crystal
This iconic scent is the stuff girly dreams are made of. It’s fresh, sweet, and lets everyone in the room know you are that girl. And because you are that girl, you deserve to wear the real thing. You could pay $45 for something like Bright Cristal (yeah, that’s how they really spelled it), which has zero staying power and, at its most potent, smells like “a weird 99-year-old lady,” as my third grader described it. Or, you can grab a 5ml vial of the real thing for under $13. Plus, the cute little pink sprayer fits into even your smallest purse, though mine will be living in my Marc Jacobs Candy Pink Mesh Tote this summer.
Viva La Juicy
Viva La Juicy has been a staple of my fragrance collection since I was a single gal running around the San Francisco clubbing scene in my favorite Steve Madden heels and matching handbag. Unlike many of the fragrances of my youth, this one has stood the test of time and followed me into my current “cool mom” phase. Viva La Juicy embodies everything I love about fragrance, with brilliant gourmand notes of caramel and praline, smoothed out with floral undertones of jasmine and amber. Plus, the bottle is gorgeous and looks amazing on my vanity. The only issue is I can never make my way through an entire bottle before it expires, leaving me with a bunch of wasted product I payed handsomely for. Five Below sells a “designer-inspired” version that isn’t as elegant and smells like straight-up vanilla, so I didn’t even bother paying the $5 for it and instead got the travel spray version of the real thing from MicroPerfumes. It was my first order from the site, and the size is perfect because I can definitely use this one up before the perfume expires.
Aquolina Pink Sugar
The scent of Pink Sugar is unmistakable. It’s like a sweet, slightly spicy cotton candy confection that brings all the boys to the yard – which it has for me many times! Once available at Ulta and Sephora, the scent has become much harder to find in stores over the years. I did find a dupe at Five Below that was so spicy it nearly knocked me out of my seat, but luckily, I found the real version for a great price. Even better, the site sells the full-size bottle for just $16.99, a few dollars cheaper than other retail stores. I got the big bottle and a travel size for my purse for under $30, which is a steal!
Black Orchid by Tom Ford
This sexy scent reminds me of something a seductive temptress would wear as she brings suitors to their knees. With notes of rich chocolate, black truffle, creamy vanilla, and bitter orange, this fragrance has been duplicated many times. Still, the imitators fall flat with offerings like woodsy vanilla that smell more like bingo night than date night. Black Orchid is a luxury purchase at $150 a bottle, but I found this cute mini version for under $20! The best part is I can slip it into my Louis Vuitton Félicie Pochette and still have room for my phone and Prada shades: even the ultra-fabulous love a good bargain, dahling.
Princess by Vera Wang
This sexy and sweet blend of fruity and floral notes makes Princess one of my favorite designer fragrances to wear during the day. It’s light, airy, and very sweet, which I love on warm summer days when spicy fragrances are too potent to wear as I run errands in the heat. There aren’t many knockoff versions of this fragrance, mainly because this unique blend is hard to replicate, but I did find a perfume oil that claimed to be inspired by the fragrance for $2. After wearing it for about an hour, I had to run home and wash it off, thus proving you really do get what you pay for. I’ll stick to my Vera Wang, thanks.
1 Million by Paco RabanneDescribed as a scent for “insolent gentlemen,” this masculine fragrance has a rich aroma that smells like aged leather and a stiff Old Fashioned. The sleek gold bottle screams opulence, as does the hefty price tag. While there are an abundance of imitations out there, none are worth even mentioning. And sure, $160 for a full-size bottle is a big chunk of change, but you can get a travel-size bottle of the real thing for under $13, so you can still smell rich wherever you go. Plus, the compact size means you can pack it into your carry-on while you’re jet-setting around the world as an international man of leisure would.