Sauvage

Nicholas Charles' Sauvage opens with a crisp burst of Calabrian bergamot and pepper that instantly recalls one of the best-selling fragrances of the modern era. Lavender, Sichuan pepper, star anise and nutmeg build a fresh, aromatic heart that tracks Dior's widely recognised composition closely. Ambroxan, cedar wood and vanilla finish things off with the smooth, slightly synthetic warmth that made the original's ambroxan base so instantly identifiable and endlessly imitated. The genuine Sauvage EDT is already known in the community for being weaker in performance than its EDP sibling, typically running four to six hours - and this dupe compresses that further still, with the ambroxan reading a touch louder and cruder in the opening before fading to almost nothing within a couple of hours. Even so, the fresh, citrus-spicy-ambroxan profile that made Sauvage a household name comes through clearly enough to make this a fun, low-stakes everyday alternative.