Sensible Swaps for Fragrance Snobs: Men's Edit

Way back in the day when I had far more money than sense, I was a notorious cologne snob. Wouldn't touch it if it didn't have a designer name and was under at least fifty bucks an ounce. Flash forward to being a mere mortal struggling to get by who still likes to smell good and I've learned to adapt to reality. Fortunately, Avon's men's fragrances have come a long, long way.

I used to hate them all. They all seemed to be okay at first but the dry down was horrid, in my opinion and they didn't last. Well, let me tell you, they've upped their game and some of their men's fragrances rival the designers in every way. They even outsold designer fragrances overall for one entire year recently. Yes, Avon fragrances beat out all the top designers.

My new trick is to hit my research assistant, DuckDuckGo Search Assist and type in the name of a fancy designer fragrance and ask for the fragrance profile. Then, I go compare on my online Avon site and find one that's strikingly similar. Works like a charm. And I can find fragrances I can actually afford to treat myself to from time to time. Here's my example with Christian Dior Sauvage.

Christian Dior Sauvage fragrance profile

Dior Sauvage is an aromatic fougere fragrance for men, featuring fresh top notes of Calabrian bergamot and pepper, heart notes of Sichuan pepper, lavender, and geranium, and base notes of ambroxan, cedar, and labdanum. It is known for its captivating blend of freshness and warmth, making it suitable for various occasions.

I'm pretty familiar with most of Avon's fragrances, so I know where to start looking for an alternative that would be similar. If you're just starting out, just type some of the fragrance notes into the search on the Avon site and it should pull up any fragrances by Avon that have those same notes. Genius.

It's not going to be exact because Avon doesn't make dupes or knockoffs. They make their own high quality fragrances in a wide variety of fragrance profiles to appeal to different tastes. But I quickly found one that would come close enough to suit me. Their iconic classic Mesmerize Cologne.

MESMERIZE FRAGRANCE FAMILY  

Fresh Aromatic (see "freshness and warmth" above for Sauvage)

NOTES 

• Top: Bergamot, Mandarin, Apple 

• Mid: Coriander, Spicy Cardamom, Myrrh 

• Base: Amber, Vanilla, Precious Woods 

Amber and the ambroxan from the Sauvage are in the same "olfactory family." Not exactly the same, but share a similar scent. The coriander in Mesmerize is going to hit similarly to the lavender and geranium in the Sauvage and the precious woods should come pretty close to Sauvage's cedar, if not even more spectacular and rich. The mandarin and apple are going to give Mesmerize the sweet freshness that I personally love in my fragrances, balanced with the richer, darker notes. And I'm thinking bergamot is gonna smell like bergamot even if theirs has a fancier first name.

Vial-on-card samples, just like you get at the fancy high priced department stores, are actually available if you'd like to try it before committing to a whole bottle. I'm not 100% sure customers can order but they come in a pack of five for just $2.50 and I would be willing to send samples on my own dime to anyone truly interested as long as I have the money to cover it at the time. Most of the readers here know me on Bluesky, so hit me up on there to talk samples. If you'd like to try to get them for yourself, just click the pic below.

Mesmerize samples