Option Review:30ml Spray
The original Oliver Peoples from Byredo is one of my absolute favorite scents of all time, and I was absolutely beguiled when I saw that there was a dupe of it that I could buy, because I only managed to buy one bottle of Oliver Peoples before it was discontinued all those years ago.
Does it live up to the the original scent?
Not exactly. The scents are all there and it definitely reminds me a lot of Oliver Peoples. The Bal D'Afrique dupe that I also ordered is a 5/5 and really smells maybe 95-99% like the original, where the Oliver Peoples is more like 85%.
To my nose, it lacks a bit of sweetness and the warm undertones from the original, and it even leans towards cooler undertones on my skin, when I put my nose up to it I feel like I'm breathing in some menthol almost, not in smell but just the "cold" sensation of it, which is the opposite of what I remember from the original. I'm not the best at describing notes and fragrances in perfume because I've been a very casual perfume fan up until lately unfortunately, so I will not claim to know which notes could cause this.
That said, this does smell good! It just isn't as beautiful as the original and it does seem like it has the same notes but maybe the wrong proportions or something missing/added to it that just changes the fragrance profile ever so slightly.
For the money it's absolutely worth it and I do foresee myself using it more as we move into fall because it seems better suited for that, whereas the original Oliver Peoples was amazing in the summer.
The longevity of just the regular 30ml spray is the most impressive part I'd say, I sprayed some on my hand around 8PM yesterday, now at 10AM today I can still smell it clearly.
If you're curious about the scent and you enjoy Bal D'Afrique and want something that's a little bit heavier? For the price I'd definitely recommend this anyway. But for the person who loved Oliver Peoples and been wishing for it to return? Well - try it, it's very close to the original but just don't expect it to be indiscernible from the original.
