If you’ve been following Who What Wear Beauty for a while now, you already know we lean a tad fiendish when it comes to scent and the art of smelling good. Unfortunately for us and our wallets, however, the majority of our all-time favorite perfumes cost a pretty penny—sometimes upward of $200 and $300. Even though I don’t necessarily mind investing in high-quality scents that I love, affordable price points shouldn’t just be reserved for the cheap fares that we spritzed over our layered polos and tanks circa middle school.
And that’s exactly where Dossier comes in. It’s an affordable, alternative fragrance line that you might already be familiar with (thanks, TikTok) but prides itself on providing fragrance lovers with “premium-quality, ethical, affordable perfume for all.” And really, the brand is low-key serving us the best of all worlds when it comes to fragrance: transparency, craftsmanship (with every bottle, you’re receiving the highest-quality perfume sourced from Grasse, France), clean formulas (fragrances are vegan, eco-friendly, and 100% nontoxic and cruelty-free), sustainable and green (Dossier even gives returned bottles to charity), and anti-snob access that allows the masses to enjoy more affordable iterations of some of the most loved scents in the business. Brilliant, right?
“We create blends inspired by brand fragrances, upholding the same high-quality standards, in order to bring our customers an affordable alternative to their favorite designer perfumes,” Dossier explains on its website. That said, it is in no way affiliated with the mentioned brands, and Dossier is able to achieve said lower prices by eliminating unnecessary packaging, advertising, and prestige pricing that designer brands are known for. Instead, it focuses on the quality of the fragrances it creates and delivers a virtually identical scent for a fraction of the price. And as someone who has smelled the OG designer and boutique iterations and Dossier’s, I can verify that the claims are legit. Curious to see which 10 I’d recommend to you first? Keep scrolling!
Aside from perhaps Chanel N°5, Le Labo’s Santal 33 is likely the most famous perfume of all time—a cult favorite that eventually became so favorited that it’s now fairly mainstream. It’s still one of the best-smelling icons in the fragrance industry, and Dossier’s stab via Woody Sandalwood is eerily impressive. While the original contains violet accord, cardamom, iris, ambrox, cedarwood, leather, and sandalwood, Dossier’s $49 number features violet leaves, cardamom, orris, ambrox, cedarwood, cypress, musk, sandalwood, and amber.
Before Rihanna launched her own perfume, it was known across the lands that Kilian Paris’s Love, Don’t Be Shy was the singer’s absolute signature scent. It’s sweet (so if you’re not a sweet-perfume person, keep scrolling), but it is delicious, and the real question is Who doesn’t want to smell like Rihanna? Dossier’s version is an intricate replicate, including Kilian’s famed trio of marshmallow, vanilla, and orange blossom alongside neroli, bergamot, honeysuckle, jasmine, orris, amber, vanilla, and musk. It’s a show-stealing scent, so prepare for compliments and exclamations from strangers and loved ones alike.
There is just something so ethereally dreamy about Jo Malone’s salt-crusted, wind-whipped, and cliffside-inspired cologne. I don’t normally love green or overly earthy fragrances, but this one is creamy and rich enough to really ground it and turn it into magic once it hits your skin. (You can thank a seaside collision of ambrette seeds, sage, and sea salt.) Dossier’s version is very similar, as the brand uses a mineral salty accord and calone for that quintessential whiff of sea breeze plus other key players like fig tree, grapefruit, marine notes, ambrette, clary sage, and amber wood. Dare I say it’s even better?
MFK’s ultra-iconic Baccarat Rouge 540 has created such a frenzy in the fragrance-and-beauty space recently I actually dedicated an entire article to similar fragrances that won’t put a supermassive black hole on your credit card balance. Thus, it probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise that Dossier’s amber- and saffron-infused take (also containing orange blossom, jasmine, plum, cedarwood, oakmoss, and fir balsam) was the best and cheapest dupe I could find to the real $325 thing. Due to popular demand, it sells out fast and frequently, so don’t procrastinate.
Chanel’s fruity-floral ingenue Chance Eau Tendre was one of the very first “big-girl” perfumes I initially became obsessed with in high school. So yes, it’s a fragrance I hold very near and dear to my heart and which I’m still very much besotted with. Chanel’s blend of grapefruit-quince, white musks, jasmine, citron, and teakwood holds a ton of nostalgia for me, something that was completely replicated once I got a whiff of Dossier’s $29 melding of grapefruit, pear, blackcurrant, hyacinth, jasmine, lilac, orris, musks, and amber wood.
From October through December, I almost exclusively wear my unmatchable forever-favorite Replica perfume, By the Fireplace, which quite literally smells like a crackling fireplace offset by flame-crusted marshmallows and toasty chestnuts. Or rather, I thought it was unmatchable until I tried Dossier’s Woody Chestnut—a dead-ringer scent featuring the same famed trio of notes—clove, chestnut, and vanilla—with just as much cozy appeal minus the $76 investment.
Having to choose just one favorite perfume from Diptyque feels like cruel and unusual punishment, but if absolutely pressed, Do Son would have to be my top pick. (And many others in the fashion-and-beauty space would likely agree—it’s become a universal cult favorite among yummy-smelling people everywhere.) So can Dossier’s $29 version actually hold a candle? Well, yes. Yes, it surprisingly can. Tuberose (along with orange blossom and jasmine) is really the shining star note within Diptyque’s beloved concoction, and the same goes for Dossier’s Ambery Tuberose. The all-star notes? Orange blossom, rose, tuberose, daffodil, benzoin, musk, and orris.
While it might be daunting to mess with one of the most iconic scents of all time (and a legendary best seller within the Tom Ford fragrance family), Dossier’s Spicy Orchid is an applause-worthy doppelgänger. As someone who’s worn the original since I first became obsessed with perfume in high school (fun fact: It’s been around since 2006), I can confirm that Dossier’s intricate blend of cinnamon, pink pepper, mandarin, ylang-ylang, orchid, plum, sandalwood, vanilla, incense, and patchouli guarantees satisfaction and a happier bank account. It might be missing Black Orchid’s infamous addition of aphrodisiacal black truffle, but fear not—Dossier’s version is just as seductive.
Byredo’s Bal d’Afrique is one of the brand’s all-time most beloved scents—it’s a celebratory blend of olfactory genius, specifically crafted to celebrate the reach and influence of Africa through time, “particularly the way its myriad of cultures have shaped dance, art, and music,” according to the brand. It’s a sparkling hit of bergamot, African marigold, buchu, violet, cyclamen, vetiver, and Moroccan cedarwood, and Dossier’s remix comes pretty damn close, with intersecting notes like bergamot, violet, vetiver, cedarwood, and buchu.
I’ve loved YSL’s sweet yet somehow not sickly fragrance, Black Opium, for years. (It also happens to be the scent Zoë Kravitz is the face of for the brand!) So I was curious to see how Dossier’s $29 version would compare. Surprise, surprise: I truly could not tell a difference from my longtime, more expensive fave. Just like the OG, it contains key notes like coffee, white flowers, and vanilla. For those who love a warm and sweet gourmand fragrance that still feels complex and mature, this is for you.
