There’s a booming new market shaking up Australia’s beauty scene.
Copycat scents imitating designer brands are flooding the market, treading a fine legal line and offering a big savings for shoppers.
“Our fragrances are $12.99 each, and the high-end fragrances range from $300 up to $1000,” Total Beauty Network Chief Executive Tony Retchman said.
“You’re saving over 80 per cent,” Palermo Perfume’s Sal Al said.
While counterfeit cosmetics are illegal in Australia, that’s not what these are.
Companies are selling fragrances “inspired by” some of the biggest names in beauty.
“They’re supposed to smell like the original branded perfume, but they are not the original branded perfume,” Intellectual Property Lawyer Hayley Tarr said.
“We don’t ever say it’s an exact copy of the product,” Retchman said.
Some companies are even choosing to name the perfume they’re imitating.
A 70ml bottle of luxury fragrance Baccarat Rouge retails for $445.
The Dupe Spot has their own inspired fragrance for $35.
Popular Black Opium by Yves Saint Laurent will set you back $285 for 90mls, while DB Cosmetics dupe Poppy Noir is $12.99 for 100mls.
Where Chanel’s Chance costs $179, Palermo Perfumes sells their dupe for $35.
“The companies do need to navigate intellectual property laws very carefully,” Tarr said.
Especially if they’re hinting at the perfume they’re imitating.
“It may be that the name is similar, it may be that the coloring used is similar, maybe that the bottle shape is similar,” Tarr said.
And the growth in “dupe” products could shake up the wider market.
“Like we’ve seen in the supermarkets where these own brands have brought the prices down, we might see this crossover into luxury channels where the competition and price disparity is so great they actually have to look at it to meet the market,” retailing expert Lisa Asher.
There’s lots to love about buying designer, from there’s the quality and the prestige of the brand name itself.
Another drawcard is how long these big-name scents last on the skin but dupe creators claim their formulas last too.
