I find that these have fallen by the wayside especially number 2. We have people trying to sell things and push their products on the sly websites and frags “ saying without say it”. I have had to check myself also especially when it comes to being respectful especially after being disrespected. I just was pondering no need for anyone to get upset.

Buckle up brethren, this one could get spicy. Be respectful but do not feel like you need to hold back. https://youtu.be/L12y8gYANCQ?si=usjLr5CgbmdEkZaX I recently watched this video talking about stepping away from the world of fragrance dupes, and it hit on something I think a lot of us eventually run into if we stay in the hobby long enough. Early on, I actually bought quite a few of them myself. At the time it made sense, I wanted to quickly experience a lot of different scent profiles and build a frame of reference for my nose. Instead of dropping serious money on niche bottles right away, picking up cheaper fragrances allowed me to explore different styles: ambroxan-heavy modern masculines, blues, gourmands, musks, orientals, etc. In that phase, they served a purpose. But over time I’ve become much more skeptical of the hype around them. One thing that has really started to bother me is the influencer habit of assigning percentage equivalence to the original fragrance. You’ll hear things like “90% of the original” or “95% the same.” In reality, fragrance doesn’t really work like that. A dupe might capture the general direction of a scent profile, but it rarely captures the full balance, texture, and refinement of the original. Once you’ve smelled enough fragrances, and you actually spend multiple wearings with the originals, those differences start to become pretty obvious. And frankly, they’re often not nearly as good as they’re hyped up to be. You may find a few here and there that you truly enjoy or prefer, but overall, it’s just not there. Another issue that creeps up over time is simple collection fatigue. When your collection is small, grabbing a few inexpensive bottles feels harmless. But once you get past roughly 25–30 bottles, those dupes start to feel like clutter more than anything else. They take up space, rarely get worn, and you realize there’s no realistic way you’re ever going to go through all that juice anyway.

Congrats @Will Southard on the launch of your house discovery set! Beautiful boxes and room for expansion.

The opening is a blast of Citrus coming from the Lemon, Bergamot, and Orange. At 15 minutes the citrus is still the dominant accord, but I am picking up something that reminds me of Pine Sol. At 30 minutes the Pine Sol resemblance is actually gone and I am now starting to pick up on the Vetiver. It is still very light, but you know it's there. 60 minutes into the wear the Vetiver is really making its presence known and is taking the lead position in this scent profile. The citrus is still present in the background and it provides a nice balance to the scent. The dry down of this fragrance is a very nice scent for the Spring/Summer. A fresh Citrus and Vetiver scent profile with undertones of a deeper woodiness from the Cedar. Performance: The projection of this fragrance is OK with it creating a scent bubble of about 18" for about 2 hours. The sillage is also OK with a scent trail of about 2 feet for almost 2 hours as well. Longevity on my skin is between 5 to 7 hours with the fragrance becoming a skin scent after about 3 hours. This is a FBW fragrance for me.

I’ve spent some time with both Punked By Cherries and Cherry Punk, and while Punked By Cherries definitely captures the general DNA, it still feels more like an interpretation than the real thing. Both revolve around that dark cherry, leather, and saffron profile, but Cherry Punk smells more refined and better blended to my nose. The cherry feels more natural and the leather is smoother. Everything transitions nicely from the sweet cherry opening into the darker leathery drydown. It just smells more polished overall. Punked By Cherries, on the other hand, hits harder and feels a bit louder. The cherry is there, but the leather comes across a little sharper and the overall scent is denser. It definitely reminds you of Cherry Punk, but it doesn’t fully capture the depth or balance of the original. Performance: - Punked By Cherries: Stronger overall. Projects more and lasts longer. - Cherry Punk: Good performance, but more moderate and refined. Quality: This is where the original wins for me. Cherry Punk smells more natural and complete, while Punked By Cherries gives you the idea but not all the nuance. My takeaway: - Cherry Punk: Better fragrance and better perfumery. - Punked By Cherries: Stronger and cheaper alternative. Punked By Cherries is a good clone and gets you in the ballpark, but like most clones it can’t fully recreate the complete profile, balance, and refinement of the original.