By Designer

7 Great Fragrances Close to J’adore

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J’adore has been one of Dior’s most successful perfumes over the past few decades and has generated a ton of flanker fragrances, under the same name. It is an easy to wear and balanced fragrance that utilizes white floral notes, fruits, and a musky base.

Since it has become so popular, many are looking for something similar to J’adore yet different, while others will want a cheaper option to try get close to the same experience.

In this post, I want to present some perfume options of ladies, that can give you a close experience to what you’ll get from the Dior best seller.

Favorite Similar Perfumes to Dior J’adore

Inspired By

Fruity Jasmine by Dossier– Coming back to update this list, I am adding two perfumes inspired by J’adore, the first is from Dossier. Fruity Jasmine is their take on the Dior formula, starting you off with mandarin, leaves, and sweet pea up top.

I haven’t tried this one from them as of yet. But, others from Dossier have been quite good. The main difference here, seems to be the inclusion of fewer fruity notes than what we get with our target fragrance. Still, mandarin and plum are present.

The floral heart looks to be the same. For under $30 (as of update), this is an easy one to take a chance on as a potential alternative.

J’adore Inspiration 2

Lo Amo by Fragrenza– Another one that I found from a good brand. Not sure that this one has fruit notes in the mix at all. but, the floral arrangement is ylang ylang, jasmine, and Damask rose.

So, I think they’re going more with the J’adore EDT styling (or another flanker) versus the original 1999 formulation. Actually, maybe L’absolu would be closer to what Lo Amo seems to be. Which is fine, Dior changes things up quite often anyway. 

This one is slightly more expensive than the Dossier option. But, having used them before Fragrenza does deliver with quality scents.

Very Similar Floral Notes, Slightly Different Presentation

Gabrielle Essence by Chanel Eau De Parfum Spray 3.4 oz / 100 ml (Women)– Gabrielle Essence isn’t an exact match of J’adore, but there is plenty of overlap between these perfumes.

Jasmine and ylang-ylang are the main floral notes of each. Essence also has a prominent orange blossom, which has some obvious similarities with the mandarin note in the Dior scent. As such, these two do strike a similar chord.

Essence, though, has even less of a fruity aroma than J’adore. The opening does feature some light peach and citrus, but that fades quickly. Though, the touch of coconut brings a creaminess to the base of the fragrance. 

J’adore also has a muskier and somewhat watery aroma, that the Chanel doesn’t really bring. Nonetheless, if you want this type of floral scent Gabrielle Essence is a similar choice. Gabrielle Essence Review

Focus on Freesia

Bond no.9 New York Astor Place Eau De Parfum Spray for Women, 3.3 Ounce– Astor Place has a similar structure to J’adore, some overlap in notes, but ultimately does its own thing in comparison. However, while it isn’t entirely such, it does present a similar experience overall.

Astor Place features the mandarin orange, musk, and violet. Most importantly, the freesia note that is in the heart of both of these fragrances, really makes the resemblance noticeable. In fact, it is greatly amped up in the Bond No. 9 perfume.

I noticed the citrus was prominent pretty early on, but in the back end of this perfume, I was getting more of teakwood and freesia notes. So, even in how it plays out the wear is close to what we’re looking for.

This isn’t going to be a cheaper option than just buying a bottle of Dior, but it does share that same style, and can give you another fragrance to consider when wanting a slightly different presentation. Astor Place Review

Alternative to J’adore in Joy

Eau de Soleil Blanc by Tom Ford– Smells similar to, but better than, J’adore in Joy. That J’adore flanker was pretty simple in its presentation: a salty white floral blend that has a stronger peach note than the original J’adore.

Eau de Soleil Blanc is a flanker to the original Tom Ford scent and kind of splits the difference between that and In Joy. The noticeable difference is going to be in the citrus notes, the depth, and the spicy touches found in Eau de Soleil Blanc.

Less salty, with a creamier vanilla/coconut combination, and that delicious citrus top. With that, you get a comparable white floral heart and overall beachy sort of feel. 

Eau de Soleil Blanc is an upgrade versus that In Joy flanker, in my opinion. Totally worth checking out if you want this kind of style.

 

A Potential Cheaper Option

Paris Hilton by Paris Hilton Women’s Eau De Parfum Spray 3.4 oz – More of a fruity/floral fragrance, but has a similarity to scents in the J’adore family. It’s not an exact of the original by any means, but there is lots of overlap between Paris Hilton EDP and those Dior releases.

Melon and peach are shared fruit notes. Though, this one also has berry and apple notes, which are more prevalent. Also, the floral heart of jasmine, lily, tuberose, and freesia is a dead ringer for J’adore. Add to that, a musky base and you got a worthwhile cheap substitute.

Again, the opening of this is much fruitier and juicier, but the dry down really does show a good amount of resemblance. The Paris Hilton line of fragrances don’t get enough credit, but this is a nice pickup for around $20. I really liked this one for what it is, when I tried this perfume, however many years ago.

Apple Laden 

Golden Delicious Dkny By DONNA KARAN FOR WOMEN 3.4 oz Eau De Parfum Spray– Lily, orchid, and rose mimic the heart of J’adore. Golden Delicious gives you an inexpensive choice, with a great juicy apple top note, instead of the mandarin and melon found in our target.

Light and fresh with a cleanliness provided by that apple and a lighter plum note, that peaks through. Then, comes that floral heart that gives you a pretty close experience to what you’d get with J’adore.

Is it an exact match? No, but you get a value fragrance of quality, that’s close enough and awesome in its own right. Sillage isn’t too heavy, but the performance on skin is good.

6 Perfumes Similar to Chanel Gabrielle

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Chanel released Gabrielle a number of years ago now. Since then, it has become a fairly popular white floral blend with a citrusy sort of opening. Not really groundbreaking stuff, but one that can be very nice to wear.

As such, people tend to want to find similar perfumes, which are either cheaper or other designer fragrances in the same sphere as  the pricy Chanel. In this post, I want to present 6 (well, 7, technically) fragrances that can serve as potential alternatives. 

 

Favorite fragrances that smell similar to Chanel’s Gabrielle

Ylang-Ylang Similarities

Floral Ylang Ylang– So, this is Dossier’s interpretation of the Gabrielle formula. To my knowledge, this is the only attempt at creating a ‘inspired by’ perfume based on the Chanel notes. At least among brands that I trust to have quality product..

Update: Another one has been released, see below.

This is going to be the one to go with, if you’re looking for a near match of the aroma that you get with our target scent.

This starts off with a bright use of grapefruit and blackberry, paired with a top note of lily. Then, you get into the floral heart led by ylang ylang with jasmine and tuberose.

Again, this is inspired by Gabrielle. So, it may not be exactly the same, but it is a very good impression for a much cheaper price than the designer original.

Dear Similarities

Dear Gabby by Alexandria– Here is the second alternative option for those who want a perfume inspired by the Gabrielle formula. This one comes from Alexandria Fragrances, who I’ve had good experiences with in the past.

Dear Gabby is an extrait de parfum concentration, which is higher than what you get with the original. Not necessarily stronger, but it likely will have a greater staying power and potentially bring some more projection while wearing.

Now, I haven’t tried this fragrance out as of this update. But, I’m including it as another option for those who don’t want the Dossier, and because this is a brand that I know to usually do a great job at matching the vibe of a designer scent.

 

J’adore Options

Christian Dior J’Adore Eau De Parfum Spray for Women, 3.4 Ounce– So, from the J’adore line by Dior, you have a few options. The original J’adore EDP is pretty similar. While J’adore l’absolu kind of goes between Gabrielle and Gabrielle Essence. 

I actually prefer the Chanel scents to either of these, but not by a huge margin, and you can generally find bottles of Dior a bit (sometimes significantly) cheaper. 

L’absolu goes with jasmine and tuberose as its floral highlights. It lacks the fruity notes, however. Meanwhile, J’adore EDP gives you ylang-ylang and jasmine, along with notes of plum and blackberry up top.

Inexpensive White Floral and Citrus

Vera Wang Eau De Parfum Spray, 3.4 Ounces–  The floral notes used between Gabrielle and Versa Wang are different. So is the overall quality, although this isn’t a cheap mess, by any means.

But, the structure of these two fragrances are similar. Clean and bright citrus up top, with a white floral heart and a musky/sandalwood base. The main difference is this one uses lily, lotus, Bulgarian rose, and gardenia as its floral bouquet.

It has more of a soapy quality than Gabrielle, but it retains some of that same sort of sweetness. An easy to wear scent with a low key profile, but quite presentable quality and longevity. 

Mix of a Few

 

White Diamonds Legacy– Obviously, there haven’t been a ton of new releases from the Elizabeth Taylor line. However, this updated take on the classic White Diamonds, actually has a good deal of overlap with how Gabrielle comes across.

Legacy is a more modern white floral than its namesake White Diamonds. Which, gives it a closer proximity to the Chanel.

This one has gardenia, orange blossom, and jasmine leading the floral heart. Gardenia is the most noticeable of them. But, that ylang ylang isn’t going to be in here. That’s the biggest difference.

Still, musky with sandalwood in the base, and we get a light citrus top also. Early on, the citrus notes are joined by a slight spice. Then, we get a great creaminess and a light sweetness throughout.

Not an exact match, but a likeable cheap alternative, and close relation.

A Fruitier Cheapie

Crush by Rihanna– Now, this isn’t a one to one with how it’s structured, as it has more of a fruity profile than does Gabrielle. However, this Rihanna perfume does hit a lot of the same beats.

The citrus notes are quite similar and ylang-ylang plays an important role here. Along with, an additional pink pepper.

Up top, you get the citrus blend. As it moves forward, ylang-ylang and berries become more prominent. Towards the end, you get some fresh woods, paired with the berries and some lingering orange from the opening.

Crush is like Gabrielle, while remaining completely unique and a great value play. It probably has the same level of performance, if not better than the Chanel scent. 

4 Perfumes Similar to Burberry Goddess

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Goddess has become a successful and very popular perfume for Burberry, since its release. It’s sure to have future flankers and other brands coming in to try and copy its scent. However, what are some alternatives or similar smelling perfumes to Goddess?

Which fragrances can currently fit the bill that are cheaper or have a slightly different aroma to the Burberry eau de parfum? Here is my ongoing list of potential options.

What Fragrances Smell Like or are Similar Alternatives to Burberry Goddess?

An Alternative Goddess Within

Goddess Within Her by Dua– Well, it didn’t take too long after the release of Burberry Goddess, to get the first ‘inspired by’ take of its formula on the market. This one, is from the Dua Brand.

It’s going to try and hit the same beats as the designer original. The cacao, ginger, vanilla, lavender, and the rest of the notes are all here. All that’s left is to get the weightings of each note correct (or close enough).

Now, I haven’t tried this one as of yet. But, I have owned a dozen or so similar fragrances from Dua, and they’ve all managed to hit quite near the target of the designer perfume they were trying to mimic.

Another 

Athena by Maison Alhambra– It took a while to get another fragrance that could be a legitimate alternative to the popular Burberry perfume, but Athena does the job well, and at a great price.

Lavender and vanilla really dominate this one, especially past that first opening stage. Not quite the same spice profile as Goddess and doesn’t seem as smooth. Jasmine and ylang-ylang also play a role here, which sort of gives it a different take on the target aroma.

Still, it’s very close to what you can expect, albeit not a perfect match. Ginger isn’t a factor and the dry down of this is more floral than the vanilla that I get with the Burberry.


A Playful Cheapie

Siren by Paris Hilton– Okay, this one is definitely not the same. If you’re looking for a cheaper near match with Goddess, go with the Dua above. However, this one does strike me a sweeter and tropical version of this perfume style.

Siren, is sort of a mix between Viva La Juicy and Goddess, but with a tropical flower flare. You get a good mix of the vanilla and a great creamy warmth like you do with those two fragrances. But, it’s all paired with fruits like apricot and there’s frangipani instead of the lavender note.

It’s all thickened by a honey note and supported by orchid. There’s some powderiness in the dry down of Siren. Again, not anything close to a one to one match, but Siren reminds me of aspects of Goddess.

Similar Style, Different Scent

Mon Guerlain– I wanted to include Mon Guerlain on the list. Not because, it smells exactly the same (it doesn’t), but because it has a similar style to Goddess. And some, who are unfamiliar with the one, might actually prefer it to the Burberry.

The focus here is also on the vanilla and lavender notes. Though, this one has more depth, a greater use of floral notes, and an interesting licorice note, which can come through at times.

Mon Guerlain is more balanced versus being so vanilla-centric. Lavender, jasmine, and even some iris are prominent. It lacks the cacao note, so, just a head’s up if that’s what you’re partial to in Goddess.

Yet, it does have a tonka bean and resinous aspect in the base which plays well with the vanilla notes. Mon Guerlain Review

Black Opium vs Prada Candy Perfume Comparison

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So, here we are, back with another round of perfume comparisons. Today, we have two sweet and popular designers scents for women: Black Opium EDP by Yves Saint Laurent vs. Prada Candy. Now, both of these are the eau de parfum versions of each respective scents. Which of these two gourmand perfumes smells the best? Which gives a better performance? Please continue below for my full take of them head to head.

Tale of the Tape: Black Opium vs. Candy

Black Opium

black opium perfume review

Notes include: coffee, vanilla, patchouli, pink pepper, orange blossom, cedar

Click here to try: Yves Saint Laurent Eau De Parfum Spray for Women, Black Opium, 3 Ounce

Read my original review: Black Opium

Prada Candy

Notes include: caramel, musk, and benzoin

Click here to try: Prada Prada Candy Eau De Parfum Spray for Women, 2.7 Ounce

Read my original review: Prada Candy

Opening

The opening of Black Opium is probably when it’s at its worst. It’s messy and has a lot going on. Orange blossom, vanilla, and cedar among other notes are heavily present and intense. The YSL scent just takes about ten minutes to work itself out before the perfume really gets going.

After that, we get a still super sweet fragrance, but the vanilla and emergent coffee pair up to straighten out the composition.

Meanwhile, Prada Candy, is also sweet just darker. It doesn’t have the intensity and swaps in caramel to be paired with benzoin and some musk.

I love the benzoin note here and it strikes me as being sort of like a more feminine version of Body Kouros, which is actually a Yves Saint Laurent cologne.

Between the two? I prefer the start to Prada Candy. Black Opium gets better, just the opening struggles for a bit. It’s kind of messy and I think some of the later flankers to Black Opium got it better, in this regard.

Edge: Candy

Projection

Black Opium is very strong perfume. A couple sprays should do it for just about any occasion and any more than that just won’t be necessary. Prada Candy is much more of a light to moderate scent and cannot compete with the sillage of Black Opium.

It’s probably a good thing for Candy, as if it were strong, it’d start to get annoying. Nonetheless, the stronger of the two is the YSL fragrance.

Edge: Black Opium

Longevity

I get about 6-7 hours from Prada Candy, on my skin. That’s solid and could be useful in a variety of scenarios. Still, it’s nothing that’s amazing or of great value versus the Prada price point.

However, Black Opium is an all day wear. I got double digit hours out of that perfume with no trouble at all. Performance wise, the YSL is dominant. Some later Black Opium flankers didn’t seem to ever reach this same level.

As far as I’ve experienced with the original, it hasn’t gotten noticeably weaker over the years.

Prada is serviceable, but Black Opium gets you plenty of bang for your buck.

Edge: Black Opium

Versatility

Both of these perfumes are cold weather wears. Both can be worn casually or at work. Plus, have enough sexiness to be worn out at night. Perhaps, Prada Candy is a bit safer for work because it isn’t as loud, but that’s really the only edge I see.

Either is a nice and sweet selection that can be a easy reach when the temperatures start to drop.

Edge: Push

Overall Scent

So, the both of these perfumes are of the sweet, gourmand, and cold weather variety. Prada Candy is fairly linear and moderate in its presentation and performance.

You get the sweet and salty caramel and then later, more of benzoin and musk. There is also a dash of powder in there for good measure.

Black Opium EDP is a bold fragrance that isn’t dark like the name would suggest. It’s really sweet with vanilla and coffee.

Add to that, a warm pink pepper note, and the ever present orange blossom note. It has more of a rich and cozy feeling than does Candy, while also being more complex and ultimately more interesting.

Which is better? I’d go with Black Opium. For most ladies, it will be the better bet. Now, if you want something subtler, Candy might be the way to go.

However, Black Opium gives a better performance and outside of the opening 10 minutes of confusion, it smells nicer than does Prada Candy.

Winner: Black Opium

Light Blue Eau Intense for Women by Dolce & Gabbana

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D&G’s Light Blue is one of the best selling ladies’ fragrances on the market. It was only natural that it would spawn a ton of flanker perfumes, as a result. The main follow up scent, is the subject of today’s review, Light Blue Eau Intense for Women. It was released in 2017. How does it smell? Is the performance any good? Is it worth a try?

What does Light Blue Eau Intense Smell Like?

Notes include: lemon, granny smith apple, amberwood, marigold, and jasmine

Click here to try: Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Eau Intense For Women Eau De Parfum Spray 3.3 oz

My Full Wear Review

Light Blue Eau Intense opens up with its fruity notes taking center stage. Initially, I get more of the granny smith apple note over the lemon, but that will reverse as it moves along.

Underneath this layer of fruit is the marigold, which provides Eau Intense with a fairly light floral, at least against the strength of the fruits. When drawn together, it has a very fresh and engaging scent, that lacks the cedar found in the original Light Blue.

I actually think that this is a nice change of pace from the original. The lemon is toned tone, mostly because the cedar isn’t there to enhance that sharpness.

Instead we get amberwood, which gives Eau Intense an added fresh kick, of a different kind.

For me, this is a fairly linear wear. I pretty much just get a muskier aroma, with added amberwood, and the lemon being the strongest of the fruits. The apple note, probably takes a 40% split.

Projection, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, Eau Intense, is exactly that. The first 30-60 minutes, this perfume is a bomb. It does settle down, eventually, but tread carefully when first applying.

The rest of the way, it’s certainly not weak, and won’t be a skin scent until the back half of the wear.

The performance is really good. Strong and lasts for a long time. It definitely got up there in the 9-10 hour range, during testing.

For a summertime scent or one for those who live in the tropics, that’s an amazing performance. This won’t get completely eaten up by the humidity and heat.

As I said, this is one for the warm to hot weather. It’s one of those rare birds, that can actually hang in that sort of climate. Of course, that can extend to the more moderate days of springtime, but you’d probably want another daily perfume for winter.

This is a daily wear type of fragrance. One you could wear to work, school, or casually. Not really a nighttime or formal perfume, but one to reach for when you need something fresh. Not a formal sort of scent, but can fit in a lot of different places otherwise.

It is an attractive fragrance, not sexy, but it does have a certain delicious appeal that will draw folks in and get complemented.

Overall Impressions of Light Blue Eau Intense

Do I like this perfume? Yes, I enjoy it more than the original, personally. However, that won’t be the case for everyone.

It is one of the better releases of the Light Blue series. But, one very much like the initial release. If you want a different smelling flanker, Sunset in Salina was surprisingly good.

What I do like about it, is the enhanced apple note, and its boldness. The performance is top notch, with an enticing cleanliness.

For some, that intensity, may scare them off. It can be too much, for those who cannot handle a little sharpness in their fragrances. I think that it settles down, with some time, but you might not want to get to that point.

I would suggest that if you want a lighter version of this or the original Light Blue, go with I Love Love by Moschino. Gives you the fruitiness and cedar freshness, with a more tolerable sillage.

You could also go with Light Blue Forever, as an updated sort of remix of the original Light Blue. Or one of the many perfume which attempt to ‘dupe’ Light Blue.

For anyone else? I would say that this is one to try out. This is especially true, if you happen to live in a hotter climate, as it could be one that you could end up using a lot.