£26 perfume inspired by luxury brand hailed by shoppers

Designer perfumes are massively popular but also often come with a huge price tag that’s hard to justify. If the scent is going to fade away within three hours, is it worth spending hundreds on it?

As a result, there are a range of sites online selling budget-friendly scents that are ‘inspired by’ the more premium offerings. One of these sites is The Essence Vault which offers simple bottles with numbers on them to indicate what’s inside, although a look at the website makes it clear what the perfume inside is similar to.

Prices start at £4.99 a bottle and you can get it even cheaper with a bundle. The cheapest bundle is four bottles of 5ml fragrances – you can pick which four – for £18.97. There are many to choose from though with combinations of perfumes, candles, reed diffusers and even car fragrances. 

112 is inspired by celebrity favourite Love, Don’t Be Shy by Kilian which would regularly retail for at least £220. One shopper said: “First time using this perfume, smells amazing!

“This one is meant to be the one Rihanna uses, the original is around £300 and this right here… such a sweet, light and floral smell! Swear by essence, people smell my perfume compared to buying the big names!

“I can smell it on my jackets etc for days, even without use!! I’ve bought about seven so far, back to get more.”

A second added: “I spent 220 pounds for the original one for 50ml and the essence only cost me £26 for 100 ml, they have exactly the same smell, and believe me when I say the essence scent lasted longer compared to the original. I’ll be buying more before they get sold out.”

One shopper who loved the product did, however, note some discolouration: “I love the smell! Just wondering if anybody else’s fragrance has turned an orange colour? I’ve always kept mine in a cool place. I’m just noticing the other reviews show fragrance of a clearer colour.”

The brand boasts that their scents ‘smell just like the real thing’ and include the ‘same premium-quality ingredients’ with all of their scents being long-lasting but it is worth remembering that they are only ‘inspired by’ the designer offerings and may have differences. 

You can shop the full range of fragrances available on The Essence Vault here. Alternatively, if you want to browse designer scents The Fragrance Shop has a wide selection.