An inspired perfume is a fragrance made to smell like a well-known designer or niche perfume, sold under a different name by a different maker. The maker, the name and the bottle are all different; what it shares with the original is the scent profile. This guide explains how inspired perfumes are made, how they differ from the original and from counterfeits, and how to choose one from our range.
What "inspired by" means
Every perfume has a scent profile: the top notes you smell first, the heart that follows and the base that stays on the skin for hours. A perfumer who knows the original well can build a formula that follows the same profile from their own materials. The name on the label then tells you which fragrance it was modelled on: "Inspired by Aventus", "Inspired by Coco Mademoiselle".
The formula is the maker's own. Perfume formulas are closely guarded, so an inspired perfume is an interpretation, not a copy of the brand's recipe. A good one stays close to the original from the opening to the drydown. A weaker one gets the opening right and drifts after an hour or two.
Scent DNA is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to any of the brands our inspired fragrances are named after. The brand names are there to tell you what a scent smells like. All trademarks belong to their owners.
Inspired perfume, dupe, clone, counterfeit
"Dupe", "clone" and "alternative" are the words people search for, and they usually mean the same thing as "inspired": a different product that smells like a famous one. A counterfeit is something else. It copies the brand's name, bottle and packaging and pretends to be the original. That is illegal, and the liquid inside is rarely any good. An inspired perfume is sold openly as what it is.
Two ways to buy an inspired scent
We sell our inspired scents in two forms, and they suit different people.
| Inspired perfume oils | Inspired perfumes | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Concentrated fragrance oil, undiluted and alcohol-free | A finished 100ml eau de parfum spray |
| Sizes | From a 3ml sample up to bulk sizes by the kilo | 100ml |
| Best for | Wearing as a perfume oil, making your own perfume, candles, soap, diffusers | Wearing, straight out of the box |
| Where to find them | Inspired perfume oils | Inspired perfumes |
The oils are the same kind of material perfume makers work with, so they are also what you would buy to make your own eau de parfum, a roll-on or a scented candle. Our guide to making perfume oil at home walks through a first batch.
What Quality A, B and C mean
Some of our inspired oils come in more than one grade, shown as a Quality option on the product page. The scent profile is the same in every grade. What changes is the raw materials, and with them how far the scent projects and how long it lasts:
- Quality A is our highest grade: the richest materials, the strongest projection and the longest wear.
- Quality B is the middle grade: the same profile on more economical materials, with lighter projection and shorter wear than Quality A.
- Quality C is the most economical of the three: the lightest projection and the shortest wear.
- Quality D and E are economy grades on a few oils, at the lightest strength we supply.
The grades are relative to each other within one fragrance, so a product page only shows the grades that fragrance comes in. If you are going to wear the oil or sell a finished perfume, start with Quality A. For candles, wax melts or large batches where cost matters more than the last hour of wear, a lower grade is often the sensible choice. Most of our inspired oils come in a single grade, and those have no Quality option.
How to choose
- Start from a scent you know. Search by the name of the original on the inspired perfume oils page. The search also matches the house and the fragrance family.
- Filter by family or gender if you are exploring: woody, oud, floral, citrus and so on, for women, men or unisex.
- Buy a 3ml sample first. Every inspired oil comes as a sample, so you can test it on your own skin before buying a larger size. Skin chemistry changes how any perfume smells, and that applies to inspired perfumes as much as originals.
- Compare in the drydown, not the first spray. The opening is the easiest part to match. Smell the original and the inspired version side by side after two or three hours.
Some of our most popular inspired oils are Inspired by Aventus, Inspired by Coco Mademoiselle, Inspired by Sauvage and Inspired by Black Afgano.
How to wear an inspired perfume oil
A fragrance oil is concentrated, so a little goes a long way. Most people dilute it before wearing: a 15% to 25% concentration in a carrier oil or DPG, in a roll-on bottle, is a common starting point. Patch-test on the inside of your forearm and wait 24 hours before wearing it for a full day. Oils sit closer to the skin than an alcohol spray and tend to last longer on it. Our guide to making perfume last longer has more on that.
Can't find the scent you're looking for? Send us a message on WhatsApp with the name of the original and we'll tell you whether we have it.