Perfume and aftershave is often a go-to gift when it comes to occasions like Valentine’s day.
But with Christmas having only just been and gone, sometimes the bank balance can still feel a little light to be splashing out on £50 fragrances.
And if, like my boyfriend, your partner spritzes their designer spray each and every day, even for just hanging around the house - well, it soon gets expensive...
And I’m certainly no snob when it comes to price - especially after discovering this Jo Malone dupe for £3.99 in Home Bargains, which smells just like the £94 designer version.
It can be quite difficult to spot such dupes in the shops, but it sure does help when even the packaging is inspired by the original product.
As soon as I saw this ‘Jour’ aftershave gift set for £4 on the shelf at Home Bargains, I knew instantly that it was going to be similar to Joop! Due to its deep burgundy packaging. The only thing missing was an exclamation mark.
Joop! was the aftershave my boyfriend wore when we first got together six years ago, so it’s always been one of my favourites of his.
The Joop! Homme 75ml gift set with shower gel was £47 at Superdrug, but has been reduced to £30 in the post-Christmas sale.
And despite the Home Bargains’ ‘Jour’ version only being a 50ml spray, it’s still only a fraction of the price at £4 - and the body wash is 150ml, double the size of the original version.
The original Joop! Was created by German designer Wolfgang JOOP in 1986, launching Joop! Homme three years later.
It offers an ‘oriental fragrance’ featuring top notes of orange blossom and bergamot, heart notes of cinnamon and amber, with base notes of tonka bean and musk - making it a warm and woody masculine fragrance with hints of floral scents.
Jour comes in a square bottle - slightly different to Joop!’s more rounded shape - but fits nicely in your hand for easy use.
Upon spritzing, my dad actually asked “is that Joop?”, as it’s such a distinctive and recognisable fragrance.
It’s the combination of sweetness and spice that makes Joop! so appealing to both men and women. It’s not overpowering or too strong, and is a great everyday choice, and I think that the cheaper Jour version is a brilliant smell-a-like at a much lower price point.
While it’s not an exact copy, it’s very similar, and would be a great gift for Valentine’s on a budget.
And they’re not the only retailer to sell their take on the original, with Poundland also selling a fragrance not too dissimilar to Joop! called ‘Jape’ for £1.
Their ‘King in a Million’ bottle - also a quid - smells a little like Paco Rabanne’s One Million, though I’ve found the fragrance doesn’t last quite as long with this one.
And famed for their dupes, Aldi are selling a £5.99 men’s fragrance that shoppers have said smells just like Dior Sauvage .
One reviewer wrote: “I use Sauvage and my girlfriend bought me Ferocious from Aldi and we can't tell the difference! Not as long lasting as the £85 sauvage but it's handy as an everyday cheaper alternative.”
Another added: “Bought as a stocking filler for my son..he loved it and says that it definitely a great dupe for Dior.”
