What's the best cheap aftershave? And are they really a cheaper option to the real deal?
This means if we're looking for something good below £50's we've got two options. To look for the diamond in the rough brands, or the copycats. The fact is that it doesn't cost £100s to make these fragrances, and it's pretty easy to reverse engineer them with modern technology, so we've got a few options here that will allow you to smell expensive, without breaking the bank.
We're going to be rating the fragrances, on scent quality, staying power, value and talking about what situations they're most suitable for. We'll be looking at both clones and the best cheap aftershaves that are originals in their own right.
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The mid and based notes do help it work for the autumn months with some noticeable earthy tones of oakmoss and ambergris. This helps to build some much-needed depth and create an aroma which is rich and masculine. Although we still typically prefer it as a summer option.
Lots of guys use it as a signature smell because it’s got a bit of everything, which does mean if you can only have one aftershave then creed is a safe bet.
In terms of staying power Copycat's version lasts as long as the Creed original, and if we really sniff for it, the top notes come through a little stronger than the original after about 3 hours, but that's in line with how different people's skin would effect the scent profile anyway, so nobody would ever be able to tell.
It's another set of full marks for CopyCat's Aventus, the only real complaints that we've come across are the odd couple about the product getting damaged in shipping, but looks like CopyCat addressed that and resent out fresh fragrances.
You’ve got the typical nutmeg and grapefruit, as well as cardamom, which helps to make this a fairly nice smell which is oozing with masculine sensuality. It’s got a citrusy, spicy scent which helps to really echo the brooding and deep vibes of the original offering.
The fragrance is on the crisper side which does make it more suitable for warm weather, but it's definitely a going out scent. It does work quite well as a signature scent, but it wouldn't be our go to in winter.
As an EDP (or a full Parfum if you get the black version), it can last for 4-8hours respectively at a fraction of the cost. In terms of longevity, it matches or arguably beats out the original.
Strangely we couldn't find too many customer reviews of 299, but the ones that we could find were overwhelmingly positive, mostly echoing our sentiments of the clone perfume.
It’s a great smell which is good for warmer days - the kind where wearing leather is just impractical. But, we wouldn't say it's an everyday for most people, unless you're really into the rugged smell.
This one goes strong for a good 8 to 10 hours.
Again the customer reviews for leather were good, excluding people who just didn't like the smell overall, but they didn't compare it to the original, so we're not sure if they just don't like Tuscan Leather or if they didn't like the copy, for our part there's complaints here.
This is a great transitional scent, meaning it works for most situations, although we'd tend to slightly favour its woody fragrance for evening use against other cheap cologne options. And DS is definitely faithful recreation of the original, and in side by side tests we really couldn't tell the difference, at all. And we do mean not at all, if you were looking for it and had them side by side, some other copies are noticeably different, even if it's barely. Honestly this is probably the best cheap cologne if you're looking for something that smells the same as the original.
Dior Sauvage is at this point an iconic sent that's become almost an expected addition to a mans bathroom. It's become a signature fragrance for a lot of men, so it's not one of the best cheap colognes if you want to stand out from the crowd, but it's a safe choice for all situations.
As we already mentioned DS is a great cheap alternative cologne choice because it holds up against the dior parfum, that means it keeps going for around 10 hours. This is way better than the dior eau de toilette sitting it squarely near the top of our best cheap colognes.
These were all pretty much glowing. Honestly this was probably the best reviewed product we'd found.
Surprisingly adaptable, the floral top notes make it suitable for summer, but perhaps more interestingly it fades in almost the exact right way that if you put it on in the morning, come evening it will lead more with the iris midnotes and tonka beans making it a great evening option. This makes it a great cologne for the office.
It hangs round for 10-12 hours (they claim 12+, we noticed it being more like up to 12), it does change scent profile quite a bit through the day, but in the way you'd want it to getting more evening friendly as time progresses.
In general the customer reviews are great, with most people being pleasantly surprised at how the cheap perfume holds up in comparison to what they've come to expect from other men's fragrances. It holds 4.5* on Amazon, which is pretty high as far as male fragrances go.