u/SalaryImpressive1002

Layton honestly ain’t for me at all smelled like luxury Vicks Vapor Rub.

Percival though? Yeahhhh that ones hard. Fresh, clean, expensive shower gel type vibe. Loved it.

Greenley was nice too, that green apple opening is fire

Sedley might be my favorite out the bunch though. Super fresh, smooth, rich summer energy.

Dylan Blue still solid. Easy dumb reach fragrance.

Prada Luna Rossa Carbon was nice too, a smoother, cleaner Sauvage type vibe.

Versace Pour Homme was cool but kinda basic to me honestly.

Grabbed an Aventus tester because my bottle getting low, but I think all these clones done burnt me out on Aventus DNA

Got a SMW tester because my other bottle broke and to see exactly how close these clones are and honestly… SMW still one of my favorites. That clean cold-air vibe just hit different.

First time smelling Virgin Island Water and yeah… absolutely not for me, I actually hate it.

Luna Rossa Ocean cool too, but I could definitely live without it.

Stronger With You EDT was nice though easy to wear, and smooth.
The Parfum version was just too much for me personally. Too heavy and thick compared to the EDT.

Definitely gonna pick up a couple of these in the 100ml eventually. And if anybody got recommendations for some REALLY good clones/dupes to save money on these crazy expensive bottles, let me know Clones been treating me real good lately.

I just got into clones/dupes a couple months ago and somehow I already have quite a few already 😂

This is one of them and it is a straight up banger. I’m pretty fond of the YSL line of fragrances, so I grabbed Dubai Nights Midnight. To my nose, it smells very close to YSL MYSLF with its own twist. Fresh, smooth, slightly sweet, masculine, and hella easy to wear.

What really surprised me is how quality this smells for the price. It doesn’t come off harsh or cheap at all, and the performance has been solid on my skin too.

This and other fragrances like this is honestly what keeps pulling me deeper into the clone game because these Middle Eastern houses are crazy good for their price points. If you like the MYSLF DNA, this one is definitely worth checking out.

Scent Quality
9/10

Similarity to YSL MYSLF
9.5/10

Longevity
7.5/10

Projection
7/10

Sillage
7.5/10

Compliment Factor
9/10

Versatility
9/10

Value for Money
10/10

One of my favorite designer fragrances period is Yves Saint Laurent Y EDP, so naturally I had to go down the clone rabbit hole and grab both Lattafa Fakhar Black and Armaf Odyssey Mega. Both are budget-friendly bangers in their own way.

Fakhar Black was my first pickup and honestly…I get why people hype it up so much. It captures that sweet fresh apple/ginger Y EDP vibe REALLY well, especially in the opening. To my nose it’s around 85–90% close overall. It smells slightly sweeter, more playful, and a little less refined than the original, but for the price you can’t beat it.

Odyssey Mega though…yeah this one’s nice especially by it being a blind buy.

This might actually be the closest Y EDP-style fragrance I’ve smelled so far. Probably between about 90–95% similarity, and honestly I can see why. Side by side, Odyssey Mega feels sharper, fresher, and closer to that sparkling clean feel that makes Y EDP addictive.

My personal take:
Fakhar Black = sweeter, smoother, more mass appealing
Odyssey Mega = closer to the actual Y EDP DNA

What’s funny is, I love them both but neither one fully replaces Y EDP for me because the original still smells more refined and blended overall, but both of these get WAY too close considering the price difference.

Hot take:
If somebody smelled Odyssey Mega in the air casually, I honestly don’t think 90% of people could tell it wasn’t Y EDP. 😂

Grabbed these from an Arabic designer fragrance store near me. I wanted to grab Hawas Ice too, but they were taxing compared to the prices I saw online, so I’m gonna wait on that one for now.

Don’t even have the original DNA to compare regular Rasasi Hawas to, but honestly…I don’t even feel like I need to. This stuff is fire all on its own. Sprayed it on earlier today and my wife told me she could smell me before she even saw me and she was at the front of the house while I was toward the back (house is around 3,000 sqft), so that should tell you everything about the projection. 😂 Simply 🔥

Now Hawas Tropical…I DO have the original DNA for that one, and this is damn near spot on. Probably never spending money on Paradise Garden again honestly.

Hawas Tropical caught me completely off guard because I expected it to be just another “sort of close” clone, but this actually captures the essence at like 95–97% to my nose. It’s not really a date night banger or club fragrance to me, but this is 100% vacation/summertime energy. Aruba this summer? Yeah…this is definitely coming with me.

Honestly one of the hardest parts about vacations for me is figuring out which fragrances I’m taking. Anybody else have that problem? 😂

Hot take:
I still think OG Hawas is the stronger performer and bigger compliment puller overall, but Hawas Tropical is the one I’d personally rather smell on myself for long periods of time. It feels less syrupy, smoother, and easier to wear in extreme heat.

Took people’s advice from here and started buying discovery sets/samples of fragrances I’m interested in instead of blind buying full 100ml bottles and instantly regretting it later.

I took these out and set them from best to worst based on my personal liking. Honestly, this little Lattafa Pride set surprised me way more than I expected. Also, I compared all of these to the original DNA since I either own the OG or have samples.

1. Ishq Al Shuyukh Silver
   This is the standout for me. It’s DAMN near Rabanne 1 Million Lucky to my nose, it’s like 95–97% close in the air. Same sweet fresh addictive DNA, just slightly fresher and brighter. Honestly one of the closest clone fragrances I’ve smelled, period.

2. Vintage Radio
   Really, really like this one. Definitely deserves the hype. It’s commonly compared to Initio Parfums Privés Paragon and I’d personally put it around 85% similar depending on what stage of the fragrance you’re in. Vintage Radio is sweeter, louder, and a little more playful while Paragon smells smoother and more refined. Still an amazing interpretation of the DNA.

3. Collection d’antiquités 1910
   This is VERY clearly inspired by Rabanne 1 Million Elixir. I’d say around 85% close overall. Smells super good in the opening and definitely captures that sweet fruity vanilla vibe, but the longevity on my skin was honestly kind of disappointing compared to the original. The OG is much stronger, denser, and projects more.

4. Shaheen Silver
   People compare this to Creed Aventus and I can definitely see the inspiration, but this one feels more like it’s “in the style of” Aventus instead of really cloning it. Decent fresh fruity-smoky vibe, but it’s missing some of the richness and smoothness that makes Aventus special.

Overall though, for the price of this discovery set, it was honestly a great buy because it helped me figure out what I actually want full bottles of and what I don’t.

The biggest thing I noticed with Lattafa is they’re not always trying to make exact photocopy clones. A lot of these feel like they take the DNA of a popular niche/designer fragrance and then add their own sweeter, louder, Middle Eastern twist to it.

Lattafa Art of Universe vs Ex Nihilo Blue Talisman

DNA Similarity
80–85% similar

Overall Vibe
Sweeter, louder, more addictive

Longevity
6–8 hours

Projection
strong first 2–4 hours

Compliment Factor

Longevity
6–8 hours

Projection
strong first 2–4 hours

Compliment Factor
Very high

Dry Down
Denser fruity musk

Quality
Slightly more synthetic but still impressive

Hot take…I know a lot of people probably won’t agree with this, but I actually ended up liking Lattafa Art of Universe a little more than Ex Nihilo Blue Talisman.

So I got this small sample of Blue Talisman from a store after smelling it in person because I wanted to wear it for a while and see how I really felt about it instead of judging it immediately. The more I smelled the sample throughout the day, the more I understood the hype. It smells super clean, sparkling, airy, and just overall really refined.

That led me to start doing what fragrance people always do, researching clones to see if anything actually comes close. Most of them haven’t really been enough for me, but Art of Universe is different.

It captures that same fresh fruity-musky DNA way closer than I expected, but to my nose it actually smells a little more vibrant and addictive. Blue Talisman smells smoother and more luxurious overall, but Art of Universe has something about it that keeps pulling me back in for another smell.

I’m not saying it’s “better quality” or a perfect 1:1 clone. I’m just saying if we’re talking pure enjoyment…I might actually prefer the smell of Art of Universe a little more. Especially considering the price difference, which is kind of crazy.