Like the rest of the luxury industry, perfumers are under assault from imitators set on cashing in on their brand image, and websites that openly claim to copy top fragrances are flourishing on the internet. I have purchased them before from stores around the United States and some of them were good, others not so much. The low price is a huge draw for shoppers to give such fragrance a test. I do agree that in terms of longevity not so much (about half of the original time for a very good copy). If you are into bottle collecting then knock yourself out.
It is interesting, I wonder about the legality of something like this. As far as I know, "knock offs" as long as they don't try to pass as the real thing (like those drug store "interpretations" of high-end perfumes) are OK (as long as they don't run afoul of trademarks...for instance copying a bottle shape or logo. Until then, perfumers are powerless to stop them in court.
To protect itself from copycats, perfumers have traditionally relied on secrecy - keeping their precious formulae under tight wraps. While, in theory, perfumers can patent the composition of a perfume, the great majority choose not to, precisely because it would require them to reveal their formula. By revaling hteir formula, few years form the date the patent expires, and anyone can copy the scent. Perfume Parlour says it currently uses a process called gas liquid chromatography to analyse the chemical composition of designer scents, and then distils its own imitation oils.
Counterfeit (forged) are illegal though. Of course, these will be resold as the real thing! I'm just surprised that they're not even bothering to hide the fact. However, you cannot advertise as selling the real thing, albeit for ridiculous prices and make no mention of a China or India connection. Perhaps they're the same people, backing up under pressure from manufacturer scrutiny, into a newer modus operandi. The companies would have every right to have the products seized in customs when they crossed a border. I mean, I would love to smell them for comparison purposes, but really......
But when the knockoff hints strongly that their products are intended to be mistaken for the real thing. So while manufacturing them may or may not be illegal, selling them almost certainly is. The company may or may not be able to get away with it since they are advertising them as replicas- I know of many American fashion stores that sell such Fragrances in New York garment district and beyond.
But keep on mind,
Apparently a scent cannot be patented - just the name. The exact formula can probably be patented, but it can still be imitated. As long as you don't claim it's the original, you're okay. Plus the originals and knock-offs are likely to me mixed in the same plants.
Replicas are often defended on the grounds of "consumerism." Were it not for the replicas, famous brands would cost more. Consumers (somehow!) deserve "affordable" perfume. And there are those people who like to smell good on a show lace budget.
Also, because the non famous brands would now have no market, they would have to hire advertising and marketing experts to sell their fragrance. This would lead to the creation of additional jobs. From a different point of view, the marketing giants who sell fine fragrances understand the art of pricing their products for maximum profit. While a replica may be priced somewhat below the original, its quality is often far lower. Where then is the value?
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