Some beauty products aren’t worth spending a lot of money on (we’ve found some brilliant bargain moisturisers, face masks and mascaras), but you’ll typically be hard pushed to get change from £50 when buying a perfume, with some designer scents reaching well into the hundreds.
Luckily, TikTok, once again, has found a solution. The social media site is THE place to head to for news on beauty bargains, with thousands of videos from users claiming they’ve found cheaper dupes for more expensive beauty buys. And the latest one to go viral is a bargain alternative to designer unisex fragrance Le Labo Santal 33 Eau De Parfum, a fragrance loved by celebrities like Alexa Chung, Jodie Comer and Justin Bieber, and has an A-list price tag to match – a 50ml bottle costs £157.
But users think they’ve found a high street alternative – M&S Apothecary Warmth Eau De Parfum. Designed to “evoke a warming feeling of comfort” (says M&S), like Le Labo’s offering this contains notes of cardamom, cedarwood and sandalwood – however priced at just £9.50 for 50ml here, it’s a fraction of the cost of the luxe original.
“Oh my god, it is the SAME – not even slightly different – as Le Labo Santal 33. Run, do not walk!” says TikTok user @skin.ting in a video revealing the find, which currently has over 19K likes.
Another TikToker @skincareshaun agrees: “It honestly smells identical [to Le Labo Santal 33],” he says in a video comparing the two. “It’s literally flying off the shelves, so if you want it, I’d check it out quick,” he advises.
If, like Shaun, this perfume does happen to have sold out in your local M&S store, it’s still currently available on the website. Here shoppers have also noted the similarity between the two fragrances: “Just like a well known brand…just a fraction of the price,” one remarked coyly, while another was more direct: “Very reminiscent of Le Labo Santal 33.”
Some customers, however, have found one negative that you might not get with an expensive EDP – how long the scent lasts on the skin, with several mentioning that it needs topping up throughout the day. But a luxe scent with change from a tenner? We’ll definitely be checking this out the next time we’re stocking up on Percy Pigs!
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