If you like
Opium
Yves Saint Laurent · 1977
The spiced amber people mean when they ask for an old-school oriental that smells nothing like modern ambers.
5 indie picks
Undernotes
Comparisons
19 comparisonsOne featured each day
One mainstream fragrance at a time, described in our own words, answered with independent alternatives that share its notes. No dupes, no affiliate links: just small houses working the same accord.
Amber & Resin. Labdanum, benzoin, balsams and glowing resins.
If you like
Flowerbomb
Viktor & Rolf · 2005
The explosive sweet floral people mean when they say a perfume smells like a bouquet dipped in sugar.
5 indie picksIf you like
Shalimar
Guerlain · 1925
Reached for by people who want an old-school powdery amber that still reads unmistakably like perfume.
5 indie picksIf you like
Coco Mademoiselle
Chanel · 2001
The rosy, patchouli-forward floral people describe as smelling expensive without being sweet.
5 indie picksIf you like
Angel
Thierry Mugler · 1992
The patchouli-and-chocolate scent people can smell coming from another room.
4 indie picksIf you like
Baccarat Rouge 540
Maison Francis Kurkdjian · 2015
The scent people can identify from across a room and the most cloned fragrance of the last decade.
5 indie picksIf you like
Black Opium
Yves Saint Laurent · 2014
The coffee-and-vanilla scent people reach for on nights out.
4 indie picksIf you like
Sauvage
Dior · 2015
The default 'clean guy' fragrance and a perennial best-seller.
4 indie picks
About these comparisons
Well-known fragrances are named here for one reason: they are the shared vocabulary most people have for a smell. We describe the accord in our own words, then point at independent houses working the same territory. There are no logos, no bottle photographs and no affiliate links, and Undernotes is not affiliated with any house named on these pages.