The price differences between designer perfumes and scent twins can be enormous. While a high-quality designer perfume can quickly cost 100 euros or more for a 50 ml bottle, twin fragrances are often available for just 10 to 30 euros. The reason for this difference lies not only in the ingredients, but also in brand strategy, marketing and packaging.
Luxury brands invest large sums in research and development to create unique fragrance compositions. On top of that come elaborate advertising campaigns with celebrity faces, sophisticated packaging and exclusive sales strategies, all of which drive the price up further. High-quality ingredients, such as rare natural essences or special fragrance molecules, also influence the cost. In addition, customers pay for the brand name and the prestige associated with a designer fragrance.
Twin fragrances, on the other hand, focus on recreating well-known scents as cost-effectively as possible. Since no new compositions need to be developed, high research and licensing costs are eliminated. In addition, many dupe manufacturers forgo expensive marketing and opt for simple packaging, which significantly reduces production costs. Instead of luxurious flacons, many dupes are offered in plain, functional designs, which also contributes to the lower price.
Despite the clear price difference, there are qualitative differences, particularly in longevity and depth. While many fragrance twins smell almost identical to the original in the top notes, the drydown can develop differently over time or fade more quickly, as cheaper materials or fewer fixatives are often used.
