How are budget-friendly perfumes inspired by luxury scents, so affordable?

The Indian perfume market has seen a huge uptick in the number of new fragrance brands creating affordable scents “inspired” by designer, luxury, or niche fragrances. Instagram is full of videos with beauty bloggers recommending “perfume dupes.”

But the questions must be asked: how is it even possible for these emerging brands to capture the essence of an expensive perfume thus, whilst maintaining low prices? Which brands are managing to do this, and can we trust their offerings to be good quality? Can they replicate the DNA of the original concoction, and using what ingredients? We asked Swapnil Pathak Sharma, the perfumer behind the fragrance brand ‘Zighrana’, all these burning questions.

How are perfume “dupes” made?

A fragrance contains various chemicals which give it the smell, character and longevity it has. Cosmetic chemists can take samples of luxury or designer scents, analyse it in a lab, and work backwards to see what went into it to make it the way it is, by identifying its aromatic compounds, the base, stabilizing ingredients and more, which give it the smell it has.

Swapnil Pathak Sharma told us how this process usually works when it comes to making dupes: “Recreating a scent at a lower cost usually involves using synthetic substitutes instead of rare natural ingredients. High-end perfumes often contain precious, time-intensive extracts like natural oud, orris butter, and aged sandalwood, which are expensive due to their sourcing and production process. Affordable alternatives rely on lab-made aroma molecules that mimic these ingredients.”

This means, the ingredients used to make these “inspired,” affordable creations, are not the same as those that went to into luxury scents.

Are these budget-friendly interpretations of iconic scents good quality?

When buying affordable perfumes that smell really similar to expensive scents, many are concerned about what is in the cheaper product. Is it made using safe ingredients?

Swapnil also tells us if one should have concerns about brands cutting corners while making affordable fragrances that smell similar to expensive ones, “It depends on the brand and its sourcing ethics. A well-made, affordable perfume can be safe if it uses high-quality, skin-friendly ingredients. However, some low-cost perfumes may include harsh solvents, synthetic fixatives, or unregulated aroma chemicals that can cause skin irritation.”

When it comes to performance and longevity, Swapnil gives luxury brands credit for their formulations: "Premium brands invest in years of aging, complex extraction processes, and meticulous blending, creating a depth that cannot be replicated in a quick, mass-produced formula,” adding, “While synthetics can replicate a scent profile, they often lack the complexity, longevity, and evolution of high-quality natural essences.”

“When choosing any perfume, it’s always important to check for transparency in ingredients and brand credibility.”

However, the fact that fragrance brands rarely, if ever, display the full ingredients list of their products, thanks to their formulas being a trade secret, adds to this transparency problem.

Which brands create scents inspired by luxury fragrances?

While some perfume brands are upfront about creating inspired fragrances, others create similar potions but don’t allude to the similarities between their offerings and those from high-end brands at all.

The most globally well-known creator of affordable scents that smell comparable to luxury fragrances has to be Zara, which has managed to create several viral perfumes that share aromatic characteristics with iconic designer scents. The brand, however, does not claim that their perfumes are dupes of these luxury scents, or allude to any connection between their products and those of designer brands.

Closer to home, brands like EM5, MoodMist, RioRabbit, and Perfume Parlour a.k.a Scents By Saka, are some that are known for creating comparable scents inspired by luxury fragrances.

Do ethical questions about “dupes” apply here?

Naturally, there are questions raised about the ethics of this process. A nose crafts a unique scent by working with different compounds in different combinations, creating something new and special. The way a musician makes a song, or a filmmaker creates a movie, it’s also an idea and intellectual property. However, legal guidelines about patenting fragrance formulas aren’t equally stringent—or even present-- in all parts of the world. So, is creating something similar to an already-existing fragrance ethically, correct? Further, what about individuality and innovation?

As a perfumer whose creations were chosen as gifts for world leaders attending the G20 Summit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Swapnil is no stranger to the importance of brand identity at a global stage. That’s probably why she believes originality would go a long way in promoting India’s contribution in the perfume world, making a case for #MakeInIndia: “India has a rich legacy of attars and natural perfumery, with access to some of the world’s finest raw materials like sandalwood, oud, jasmine, and vetiver. Instead of following Western trends, we should focus on reviving and modernizing our traditional scents in a way that appeals to global audiences. If a fragrance takes cues from a popular international scent but reinterprets it with an Indian touch—perhaps using locally sourced ingredients or a different formulation approach—it can be a unique offering. However, direct copies or clones diminish the artistry of perfumery,” adding that for her own brand, Zighrana, her focus is on “honoring our heritage while innovating for contemporary preferences.”

When we consider the fact that what many call “dupes” are not actual imitations of the alleged “original,” it’s clear that such creations can and do involve a certain degree of innovation. Brands have to get creative to devise cost-effective formulations and often add their own twists to each scent in the process.

Why there’s a major price gap between luxury fragrances and “comparable” scents

Luxury brands are not affordable by definition, but today, they have raised their prices further. So the price gap between designer products and comparable affordable scents has grown even more. While many automatically assume that this huge difference in price is solely due to luxury scents being superior quality, that is an oversimplification.

Swapnil explains how price and quality are linked, but not always proportional to each other: “Perfume quality and cost are closely linked, but a well-made fragrance doesn’t always have to be expensive. Many brands use synthetic ingredients to keep prices low, which can sometimes affect depth and longevity. However, affordability doesn’t necessarily mean compromise—smart formulation, careful ingredient selection, and efficient production can create high-quality scents at a reasonable price.”

She also adds that a lot of high-end brands use high-quality raw materials sourced from across the world. When these materials are natural or scarce, the cost of the perfume they will be used in goes up further: “Truly rare ingredients like pure oud, saffron, or sandalwood will always come at a premium. The key is balancing cost with craftsmanship, ensuring that even budget-friendly perfumes maintain a rich, well-rounded composition.”

Naturally then, brands selling affordable scents with these notes can instead create synthetic aromatic compounds which smell like these ingredients, so that they don’t have to pay a bomb to extract these scents from natural sources.

Swapnil chalks up these differences to the brands intent: “Some brands reduce quality to cut costs, while others innovate to make quality affordable.”

But not all brands creating affordable scents inspired by luxury ones solely use synthetic compounds, since many natural ones are also reasonably priced. So where are luxury brands then spending more money, compared to smaller ones?

Swapnil says, “Luxury perfumes sell an experience. Packaging, marketing, celebrity endorsements, and high-end retail spaces add to the final price.” So, you don’t just pay for a scent here; you pay for the brand and everything that comes with it.

Based on this, it’s evident that what many brands making affordable variants do, is create something that smells similar to the original, but without the expensive ad campaigns, unique bottles, celebrity spokespersons, or expensive ingredients. All these factors, in combination, contribute to the price differences.

Thumbnail credit: Bhansali Productions, Amber Entertainment, Eros International, Storyblocks