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Can You Dupe A Luxury Fragrance? This Brand Is Making Me Reconsider

Author: Hannah FryeMay 29, 2024Assistant Beauty & Health EditorBy Hannah FryeAssistant Beauty & Health Editor

Hannah Frye is the Assistant Beauty Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.S. in journalism and a minor in women’s, gender, and queer studies from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Hannah has written across lifestyle sections including health, wellness, sustainability, personal development, and more.

Image by Hannah Frye x mbg creativeMay 29, 2024We carefully vet all products and services featured on mindbodygreen using our commerce guidelines. Our selections are never influenced by the commissions earned from our links.

A few years ago, I shifted my beauty routine toward clean, natural-forward products. Switching to cleaner skin care and makeup products was easy for the most part—but fragrance has always been a tricky category.

Unlike a face cream, perfume can hold memories, identity, and nostalgia. A specific scent can make you feel happy, relaxed, joyful, or sensual. There's a lot at stake when switching your go-to fragrance for a cleaner option.

Yet when I got my hands on my first bottle of Oakcha's paraben- and phthalate-free fragrance, I realized it might not be so difficult after all. These cruelty-free fragrances bring all the emotions associated with your favorite luxury perfumes sans the hormone disrupters.

What's more, every Oakcha scent is less than $50 despite taking inspiration from bottles that cost hundreds of dollars. That means I can still wear my favorite fragrance notes from luxury perfumes, like Baccarat Rouge, without paying a fortune.

Oakcha

Sweven

$50

Do Oakcha perfumes smell like their inspo scents?

Baccarat Rouge 540 is one of the most unique fragrances I've ever smelled. It's not the type of perfume I would wear daily—it's far too sophisticated and exotic for that—but rather something I keep for very special occasions.

As you can imagine, my expectations for Oakcha's spinoff of this perfume, Sweven, were very high. To my surprise, it smells the exact same (if not slightly better). With a 4.6-star average review from over 7,000 people, I'd bargain to say I'm not the only one who thinks so.

To me, Sweven smells less artificial than the inspirational scent. It's like smelling a real strawberry versus a strawberry-flavored candy. Both smell like strawberries, but one is more natural and down to earth.

Plus, the clean dupe has the same lasting power as the o.g. I applied one spritz to my wrist in the morning, and I was still smelling it without touching my wrist to my nose throughout the whole day until I showered that evening.

Image by Oakcha

What's inside

A fantastic fragrance experience is the first box checked—but there's so much more to love about this brand. First, Oakcha made a commitment to every fragrance, skipping two common hormone-disrupting chemicals: parabens and phthalates.

However, a clean formulation doesn't mean Oakcha compromises on potency. All of the company's perfumes are crafted as extrait de parfums, which have at least 20% perfume oil. Specifically, Oakcha opts for a 30% concentration of fragrance oils, which is how the brand's clean formulas last so long.

As a final perk, these fragrances are a fraction of the price of the luxury products they're inspired by. For example, Baccarat Rouge 540 costs $325 for 70 milliliters, while Oakcha Sweven costs $50 for 50 milliliters.

Oakcha has a long list of dupes, many of which are cult favorites in the fragrance world, such as Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle (Senora), Le Labo's Santal 33 (Ruhue), and Yves Saint Laurent's Libre (Desiree).

Plus, all of the bottles are made from color-coated glass and a magnetic cap, also duping the heavyweight, elegant experience of a luxury fragrance bottle.

You can also shop Oakcha's Signature Collection of original fragrances if you want something new that you haven't smelled on anyone yet—an admirable endeavor, in my opinion.

For the perfumeheads who fawn over cult classics, this is a must-know brand.

Senora

$30

Rhue

$45

Desiree

$35

What our other editors say

While I tested Sweven, our deputy commerce editor, Braelyn Wood, opted for Parallel. The fragrance is inspired by Le Labo's Another 13, which Wood has been wearing for more than five years.

"I couldn't believe how similar this perfume smelled to Another 13," says Wood. "I'm shocked by how similar it smells to the musky scent of Another 13 once it sets into your skin. I typically shell out $280 every six months for a refill of Another 13—and I'm relieved to know I can rely on Parallel to give my wallet a break without sacrificing the scent."

What's more, Wood was impressed by the sleek, sturdy packaging, which felt luxurious for the $50 price point. "I actually like displaying this perfume bottle in my collection," she adds.

The takeaway

Oakcha is elevating the perfume space by offering dupes of high-end, pricey fragrances for a fraction of the price and keeping their formulas free from hormone disrupters like phthalates and parabens.

I know how powerful a scent can be, and this brand ensures you don't have to rid away a smell you love forever for the sake of better-for-you ingredients. Plus, you'll save money while you're at it.

Oakcha

Sweven

$50