Hey frag fam! Today's frag: Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille (Maison Alhambra Tobacco Touch) What can I say, Maison Alhambra has such balls to close copy not one, not two, but seven different fragrances from the Tom Ford private blend! With such cajones, I just had to throw this one in the dupe lineup against Tom Ford's highly successful and uber popular Tobacco Vanille. Let's see what we got! Test sprays had TV project loud and strong. So sweet and masculine, I didn't want to overdo it in the warmer Florida climate. Six sprays spread out across chest and shoulders. I put our dupe on my left arm for our comparison wearing. Doing a little research, I found Tobacco Vanille to be a 'linear' fragrance, having largely the same scent profile throughout the wear. And OMG, right out the gate it's a potent tobacco and vanilla scent, very upscale and mature. There are spice notes along the edges that contain and tame the raw power of the main accords. Without balance, this scent would become cloying and overwhelming. Thankfully, the blend is smoothly done and what I get is a wonderfully sophisticated, classy and mature fragrance. Tobacco Touch does its best to copy this profile with it's tobacco notes, but again, is unbalanced, favoring the sweetness from the vanilla and the spices playing more of an NPC role rather than a supporting actor... Throughout the wear, it was Tobacco Touch that was trying to keep up with Tobacco Vanille. TV's projection was much louder and its longevity was much longer than the dupe. Both scents dried down with the tobacco and vanilla notes, but TV anchored them with a woody base that continued its overall sophistication through to the end of the wear. TT petered out with a sticky sweet cinnamon like base. Tobacco Vanille I feel is more for the mature, refined gentleman. It's tobacco scent is smooth and refined while vanilla adds depth and character. Definitely a scent suitable in the colder months only. It could be worn during the day, but leans more toward the nighttime. Also, I see this in more formal settings, like at an upscale bar or wine club or to a formal dinner event. Longevity is beastly, 10+ hrs.

Hey gents, Joe A. here, rounding out this week's Dueling Dupes series with this oft' hyped one! Today's frag: Roja Elysium (Fragrance World Imperium) Opens with a nice blend of citrus, lemon and bergamot. Very clean, almost fizzy, if that makes any sense. I can see this frag being very versatile, from warm sunny days, to cool office settings, to chilly and bracing nights out. It is very pleasant and has a strong juniper smell throughout the wear. I love to see what Imperium has to offer... I have to admit, I went a little heavier on the sprays today because Elysium is such an agreeable scent. For the first couple of hours, it has a moderately strong projection. As it dries down, a clean vetiver appears and projection relaxes to a closer range. At the dry down, I do get a sense of vanilla mixed in, adding a touch of sweetness to balance the fresh vetiver. I can see this as someone's signature clean vetiver scent. It is very versatile and can work year round. It's not a beast scent, but can hold its own. Given the nice blend and balance, it's definitely unique. Longevity: over 9 hrs, Sillage: Mod to Soft after 2 hrs, Projection: Strong to start, then moderate to close at the end. Fragrance World's Imperium is not worried at all about Roja, with a nearly identical bottle design, tint, and even cap! From six feet away, it can be easily mistaken for the expensive frag. It starts out very close to Elysium with bright citrus and invigorating bergamot. After the opening, it settles down to a fresh green scent that stays pretty linear throughout the wear. The blend is incredibly good given it's price point and it's just as versatile as it's niche counterpart. This is an excellent substitute for Elysium and great for those not comfortable with the posh price of Elysium. Roja Elysium 100ml, Retail: 315 USD My Cost: 180 USD (Fragrance World's Imperium 100ml, My Cost: 33 USD) Final Verdict: Roja Elysium has two versions of this, the one here is the cologne (cheaper of the 2) With that said, this blue bottle is still expensive! It does balance out with it's great versatility and pleasant, mass pleasing aroma. Also, you may find yourself using a bit more just because it's that nice. For the average Joe, Fragrance World Imperium is a great entry level substitute that gets you very close to the original, and at its price, worth the blind buy pickup! Elysium is definitely worth getting a decant to try, and then if you can, save up for a full bottle. It's tough at around the 200 price point but worth it. Score 9/10

Hey Gents, I thought I could squeeze in one more great duel for you: Initio's Oud for Greatness (Lattafa's Oud for Glory) What a wonderful mixture of quality scents! So smooth and rich, but not overbearing, Initio's OFG opens with saffron and lavender that's both sweet and calming. A pleasant and non-offensive fragrance for sure. I'm looking forward to this wear! Initio's OFG has a saffron that reminds me a little of Baccarat Rouge 540. But it ends there as the lavender takes the scent in a different direction. It smooths out the saffron as it transitions nicely to the oud. I did an 6 spray application and it lasted all day! Very enjoyable. Projection is phenomenal for the first five or so hours, then settles into a soft/moderate scent. Longevity is beast mode, it's been 12 hours and I still catch sniffs of it! On dry down, I still catch oud anchored down with patchouli and musk. I pick up a slight leathery scent that, for me, feels like it rounds out the scent nicely. I can see this working in Fall, Winter, and a cool Spring. I also see it as a day and night scent, good for office as well as date night. Very versatile. Lattafa's OFG starts with a blast of alcohol! Note to self, don't spray then immediately put your nose into it!!! Lesson learned. After a little bit, the scent settles down and this one gets REAL CLOSE to Initio's OFG. Extremely close! There's saffron, lavendar, and woods that really mimics the niche fragrance. The blend is linear, however, and while smelling similar, I say it lacks a certain supple depth and exquisite richness found in Initio's OFG. Again, another great entry-level fragrance that doesn't burn a hole in your pocket! Initio's Oud for Greatness 90ml: Retail 410 USD, My Cost 212 USD Lattafa's Oud for Glory 100ml: My Cost 26 USD Final Verdict: Initio's Oud for Greatness is so good, so smooth, and so pricey! It's an excellent scent, blended well, with excellent projection and longevity! The spicy saffron opening yields to a smooth oud wood dry down, creating a whole rounded, versatile fragrance. I love this scent, just hate the price tag. Joe Average take on it: Get a Decant, try it out at least! And try out Oud for Glory!! Later, if you can muster up the funds, get Oud for Greatness from discounters and use coupons! A solid 9.5/10

Hey frag fam! In honor of this week's challege about fragrance dupes, I'd like to share some reviews I did doing just that! I'll post them here to not get them mixed up in the official weekly challenge channel! Let me know what you think! Starting our "Dueling Dupes" week, where copycating is the name of the game! Clones that copy not only the scent, but the presentation as well. These are the kids that kept asking you for the answers during test time at school! Today's frag duo: Mancera Red Tobacco (RT)(Monarch Red Tobacco Vanilla - RTV). Question. Can a niche house develop a high quality niche scent and still maintain the affordability that it's known for? The answer is YES! with Mancera's Red Tobacco. What a gorgeous sweet tobacco scent. Test sprays just filled the room, I can't wait to try this one out!! Research and test sprays both tell me to go light with this fragrance. Especially doubly so when doing a second fragrance. So, I go with 3 sprays each, original on the right arm and dupe on the left. Aaaannnddddddd, holy smokes!!! These are SO VERY CLOSE, it's practically impossible to tell the difference!! It's crazy good, warm sweet spicy tobacco! On the opening, I get this blast of cinnamon, oud and incense. It's loud and strong, but sweet and inviting. Almost a warm Christmas-y vibe, sitting by a fire while it's snowing outside. Both fragrances do this extremely well. Very, very subtle nuisances exist that only could be picked up by the frag enthusiast. RT has a bit of a fruity spin on the opening that quickly dissipates. RTV doesn't have this. RTV is slightly sweeter as RT is a bit less. In the mid, RT has a rich complex patchouli that adds a certain sweetness to the cinnamon as the leather base note continues to push. Woodsy notes add depth to this scent. RTV lacks this, as it's scent remains linear, with tobacco and vanilla. RT's transitioning between stages is smooth, as a top note fades, a middle or base note becomes more prominent. A rich, sultry, darker scent.

Hey frag fam! Today's frag: Tom Ford's Oud Wood (Maison Alhambra Woody Oud) Wow, I think a certain clone company has a "little man" complex. Seriously, MA just took TF's presentation and made it, well, bigger! But how's the juice? Well, let's find out... TF Oud Wood has been around awhile and seems to be very popular. Heralded as the "entry level" oud, I'm expecting a strong showing. I went with 8 sprays across the shoulders and chest. I applied the dupe to my left arm for comparison. Doing a little research, I found the Oud Wood is a 'linear' fragrance, having largely the same scent profile throughout the wear. And it is a smooth and easy going, woody scent that is not fecal or animalistic. Rather it's clean and even, balanced with a touch of cardamom and vanilla. The blend is expertly done, providing an even-keel to the main woodiness notes. Woody Oud starts in the same manner, but is less balanced, favoring a bit more sweetness than woodiness. There's a noticeable difference in projection. Where Oud Wood stays relatively soft, Woody Oud pushes out a bit further. Both are not beastly projectors, staying relatively close to the skin. The profiles are very similar, and can easily be the signature fragrances for the average Joe. Versatile, I see this being used year round, day and night, and good for the office as well as intimate date nights. Oud Wood is warm, a touch spicy, but not at all too strong. It's easy-going and inoffensive. Another noticeable difference is at what would be considered the "dry-down" stage, where Oud Wood is still a blend of woodiness, Woody Oud has transitioned more into a soft sweet, vanilla-y scent. The two fragrances diverge at this stage. Longevity for TF Oud Wood is, well, less than stellar. If I really bury my nose into my skin, I may get 5-5.5 hrs. Woody Oud lasts a bit longer, say another hour or so. So in the duplication, MA sticks to what the original does. Tom Ford Oud Wood 50ml: Retail 295 USD, My Cost 160 USD (Maison Alhambra Woody 80ml: 22 USD)