Neroli Portofino by Tom Ford is a popular unisex fragrance that was initially launched in 2007 in a private collection and re-released in 2011. It quickly rose to the top of the charts of favourite scents due to its enticing fresh citrus-heavy formulation. The genius behind the fragrance is Rodrigo Flores-Roux, who created a heady product that immediately impacts the senses. A good Neroli Portofino dupe would need to contain at least some of the premium perfume oils contained in the original, but we would expect it to be far more cost-effective than the £130-ish price tag of the 30ml branded Eau De Parfum. In short we're looking for a high quality citrus lead scent, that's relatively complex.
High Notes: Citrus!!!!, Bergamot, Bitter Orange, Lemon, Mandarin, Lander Mid Notes: Neroli, Jasmine, Pittosporum Base Notes: Amber, Ambrette (Musk Mallow) and Angelica There's a lot going on here.
The catch when making a neroli portofino clone is that this is a very, very complex scent. So, what we're looking for is balance. A lot of impersonators tend to go to heavy on the lavender or the neroli meaning that as the top notes of citrus fade you're left with a confused scent that feels like you've walked into a perfume store rather than are wearing an luxury eau de parfum by Tom Ford. A lot of Neroli Portofino dupes fail here, and honestly we've only found a couple that hold a candle to the original past the first few seconds of wear.
Want to know more about neroli portofino?
A single spray of Neroli Portofino will last between eight and twelve hours. You would expect this from a top-quality branded Eau de parfum because they are made using expensive perfume oils.
You don't get the same longevity from an aftershave or eau de toilette, which is one of the main reasons why these versions of classic scents are so much cheaper.
Our favourite Neroli Portofino dupe does contain natural perfume oil, so it will deliver the same longevity as the original Eau de parfum but without the hefty price tag.
So we tried the various Neroli clones from the UK's leading dupe fragrances makers, match, the essence vault and copycat. Copycat came out on top, no questions asked. This is generally a trend as they just seem to be that bit better 8 times out of ten. Their neroli comes in at £50 for 100ml lasting as long as the original (which makes it comparible to the premium essence vault option here, also at £50s. So, the question is, what actually makes the copycat version the best of the UK's dupes. Copycat Neroli is "inspired by" (has copied) the citrus top notes contained in the Neroli Portofino formulation pretty much note for note. Copycat includes an irresistible blend of Bergamot, Mandarin, and Musk that gives you a heady citrus hit, followed by a warming afterglow of middle and base notes. Honestly it's basically the same as Tom Ford's Neroli Portofino, and we found it nearly identical in our over time side-by-side comparisons. Our testers found Copycat Neroli very fresh, and the scent lingered well after several hours of application. It was perhaps a little busy in the first couple of seconds, but it settled nicely. After about five hours in the office, our testers could still smell some of the warmer citrus notes, but the top citrus notes had bottomed out somewhat to allow the middle and base notes to come through, which is incredibly similar to the original. All in all a win for Copycat hands down.
We give Neroli by Copycat 5 out of 5 for its similarities to Tom Fords Neroli Portofino. It has excellent staying power and would easily last well into the night if sprayed on in the evening before you go out. It sits close to the original at a fraction of the price point and is well reviewed by Trust Pilot customers. We love the fact that you can get such a close copy for a fraction of the price of the original Tom Ford Neroli Portofino.
Maurer & Wirtz 4711 Original Eau De Cologne comes in as a close second to Copycat Neroli. Still, it lacks a little something that both the original Tom Fords Neroli Portofino and the Copycat dupe contain. Although this clone fragrance has a lovely fresh scent with a floral and herbal edge that complements it well, it has a soapy overtone that we couldn't help but notice. We did get a hit of woody tones coming through that would make it more appealing to men, but we think it has a lighter and fresher scent that women would prefer. The top notes include basil, bergamot, lemon, orange oil, and peach. The middle notes are Bulgarian rose, cyclamen, jasmine, lily, and melon. The base notes are cedar, musk, oakmoss, patchouli, sandalwood, and vetiver. Tom Fords Neroli Portofino and Copycat Neroli have a warmer edge that comes through after a while of wearing, but Maurer & Wirtz 4711 remains pretty stable throughout. There is no warm dry down, and it also lacks the longevity the other two have.
As far as Tom Ford Neroli Portofino clones go, the essence vault's 111 is really good, it loses out to the copycat version only due to it's staying power meaning it represents a slightly lower value proposition to it's counter part. It nails the citrus, with it perhaps being a little bit higher to the forefront than the Tom Ford original, this may be a little much for some people, but argueably preferential for others. The middle tones are slightly less prominant, which is part of why the top notes in this neroli portofino copy come through a little bit more strongly. The base notes are pretty much as is with no real noticable difference even after a 4 hour wear. Which is about when 111 fades out as opposed to copycat holding for 6-8 hours. All in all a great dupe when you consider the fact it's 15% of the price of the original. As usual from the essence vault, it's close enough to the original that any subtle differences won't be noticable once it mixes with your skins natural scent. Visit Essence Vault