Another 13 - 4

The Essence Vault's No. 4 is built around the same ambroxan-forward idea that made Le Labo's Another 13 famous: a synthetic musk note pushed to the front of the composition rather than buried in the base. The dupe opens with a bright, slightly sharper burst of pear and citrus than the original's more restrained fruit accord, before moving into a jasmine-and-moss heart that gestures at the designer's sheer, 'magazine-page' florals without quite matching their transparency. The base leans on ambrette seed and musk for a clean, intimate finish. Where it diverges most is texture and staying power - Another 13 is prized for a complex, almost animalic warmth that develops for hours on skin, while No. 4 reads flatter and noticeably louder in the first half hour before settling into a simpler, shorter-lived musk. It still delivers the core appeal of a modern, gender-neutral clean scent that works from office to evening, just without the original's depth or longevity.