Ambery Vanilla

Black Opium has been my signature scent for years, so much so that I splurged on one of the larger bottles. It was only when I noticed that there was a visible difference in the perfume I'd used over the course of six months that I thought I may want to invest in a dupe, to make the more expensive original last a bit longer. Dossier was the first dupehouse that came to mind, and I was NOT disappointed by this (despite being prepared to be.) It is not a direct 1:1 if you have one on either wrist, as I tested -- I found that Dossier's take had a much more floral opening, and did not dry down to the same depth of darker undertones that are present in Black Opium. That said, if I hadn't had the original to test against, I'm not sure I would have detected a difference at all. I do want to try other dupes, but it's out of a sense of curiosity rather than seeking to replace Ambery Vanilla.

I got this before ever smelling Black Opium, I just thought the notes looked nice. I wore this to a night lab that always had the AC cranked up to the max, I was always so cold but this scent helped make me feel a little more warm and cozy. Then someone two tables over asked the room, “Who has Black Opium on right now??” Take that however you want hahaha but I can see this getting really cloying and heavy in the summer. Amazing longevity though, it lasts me all day and makes me feel sultry ;)

This smells like the best version of a fancy toasted marshmallow in a bottle. It's pretty sweet and gourmand. (To me,it doesn't smell artificial,or sickly) It's just mainly a sweet,toasted, and good enough to eat type of perfume. Very little fruit/floral notes. I don't really get coffee, licorice or even much patchouli at all. Not sure how else to describe this. It's seriously so nice. I can't imagine anyone who likes sweet fragrances,hating on this.

never smelled the og black opium but i love this! starts very powdery but the drydown is mostly sweet and peppery. it's gourmand but classy, and the longevity is amazing. sillage/projection is on the higher end of average imo. edit: have since smelled the og and somehow i like this one better! black opium is more powdery and bland/generic on me, while this has brighter, more distinct florals and a little bit more sweetness

Yes it is in fact a very good Black Opium dupe. Zara's Gardenia remains my favorite dupe so far, I find it the easiest to wear. I got BO first, my bottle is still at half, my 100ml Gardenia lasted only a couple of months. I sold Ambery Vanilla almost as soon as i got it, not for any bad reason, I just found it redundant in my collection. Overall a very sweet scent, can become cloying after a while.

Upon the first spray, I smelled white florals which opened into a smooth, bold vanilla with a bit of coffee underneath. It’s definitely more of a sweet coffee with an almost chocolatey undertone which I personally enjoyed. I could barely smell the pear or citrus notes in it, but I’m very pleased with how it turned out on my skin. Definitely more suitable for night wear.

I don't know how close it is to the original because I haven't smelt the original for a long time, but I really love the scent of this. I'm not an expert on perfume, but to me this smells floral with a bit of vanilla. The spice is very minor on me. It lasted a few hours but got less strong over that time so I did have to respray. I will definitely repurchase.

I have both this version and original black opium 3 oz. Honestly, this one is a great dupe. Its 30 dollars! Black opium is over 100. It's not 100 percent identical but it's a good budget friendly option. This and Britney spears perogative are great cheap options. Black opium isn't cheap. I only plan to use it sparingly. This I can use daily.

I like! I like! It is a spot on dupe of Black Opium, and it gets better with time. Approved! And, if you are a "clean ingredients" girl, then this one is even better as their website states, "Our fragrances are 100% non-toxic, cruelty-free, vegan, and eco-friendly, so that you can indulge guilt-free."

A princess, very conceited, perfumes herself with this. It's sweet enough for her, but not annoyingly so, just enough to compliment her. What I love about this scent is the kick of spice it brings to the sweet jasmine... it's fun, in that way. I think the vanilla/mandarin combo makes this princess-y.

This is straight up baking vanilla, a 50/50 mix of imitation extract and the good Madagascar stuff. Simple and comfortable, it’s an easy perfume to put on while doing mundane things where you want to smell sweet and nice. Performance is average, it doesn’t last longer than 4 hours on me.

Divine. Does not smell cheap at all. Beguiling and well-blended. I think, like the original, this is a lot more versatile than people give it credit for. On me it does not feel heavy, and feels appropriate for daily wear, though not necessarily casual. Love it.

Very similar to Black Opium but a bit brighter and more floral imo. I love that it's a bit less intense than Black Opium, so I'm not constantly worried about over-spraying. Plus the cap is magnetic and made of actual metal!! Love love love

I own Black Opium and wear it regularly. This isnt identical, but it's a pretty decent dupe if you're trying to save money. Smells great and has good longevity.

The darker the juice gets, the better it smells. I love love love this one so much. It lasts all day, and the scent is sweet and delicate.

quite a good dupe for black opium, just certainly less spicy. however, for the scent and the staying power, a great value for the price.

This one I like more than the original. It has a sweetness to it!! Definitely recommend!

This is amazing. It projects and lasts forever on me.

I have never sampled black opium as it is WAY out of my budget. It smells similar to finery's midnight cafe which is better because it has a creamier more sensual scent to it but dossier's is nice also. I hope the soapy note that is ruining this will dissipate over time even though dossier's schtick is "Well we don't have big bottles because top notes fade after a while and because the environment." AKA "Finish this bottle fast and spend more money to buy another one before this one starts to lose it's scent." This happens with most fragrances these days but at least dossier admits it. (Some of us have to stretch our couple of times a year purchase we treated ourselves to.) As is the case with finery's as well. I learned with my bottle of finery's without a trace it's starting to get a rancid scent from the nozzle, not when I wear it though. EDP's are not suppose to lose any notes, that's how our Mothers and Grandmothers were able to keep their fragrances for years and they didn't change or go rancid because they used to be made with quality ingredients and preservatives. I love the magnetic top on this budget frag that will seal it and make it last longer but also I absent mindedly pick up my bottles up by the top and some tops are not as secure as some others so points for that. Some people have some bizzare opinions about it. It is not amber heavy imo and it as a person that grew up in malls in their heyday, this does not smell like a mall mishmash of scent notes. It sure as heck doesn't smell like walmart. Walmart smells like any variation of YBM and B.O. Like reviewer "FragPizzle" (Love the name btw) says "Smells like a floral, fruity, sort of spicy vanilla that dries down to a mature scent. This feels very adult but not old lady." Not very adult but adult enough and definitely not old lady. I hate that reference. I want to smell good when I'm old.

This is Dossier's edition of Black Opium. I've only ever tested the original in store, so by memory, I think it's generally pretty close. I own Britney Spears' Prerogative, which a lot of people also compare to Black Opium. Although they smell fairly similar, especially in the dry down, I like Prerogative more because it has better longevity and sillage. I find that Prerogative is also a little more complex than this. I smell jasmine (stronger in the opening), vanilla, with a *tiny* bit of coffee. I do really enjoy the scent, and if you like to layer fragrances, this is generic enough to layer with different fragrances. I purchased a sample set at CVS with a coupon, so I feel like it's a good deal for that price, but I don't like it enough to pay full price. I won't repurchase once I use this up.

This is all right, even good. It's not for me (I say as I search for something that is) but it's fine. I liked it better than their "Floral Honeysuckle," which was overwhelmingly floral but not in a good way (to me). It's got a bit of depth but it's a little cheap smelling, kiiiind of like a perfume version of a wax block, Bath & Body Works scent, or Glade air spray. And that isn't wholly a bad thing. I think on many people's skin this would be super perfect. When I say it's like a perfume version, I mean it's got more depth than those items above. It's almost got a fabricky scent. Kind of a fall vanilla feeling. I'd like to compare it to what it's a dupe of, but the person letting me test looked impatient.

Quite lovely! And it absolutely reminds me of a jasmine heavy version of its inspiration. Opens with a burst of fresh pear and orange blossom, quickly settling into a smoky (coffee), jasmine forward, musky and sweet amber-vanilla. I do get a bit of liquorice in the drydown if I breathe it in up close. Very strong, very floral. You must be a lover of jasmine & amber to fully appreciate. It has a vibe akin to one of my discontinued favorites, Mugler Alien Essence Absolue. Not a dupe for, but of a similar character.

I own this and I've smelled Black Opium many times before and they are literally like a 97% match. I don't get the coffee note and it doesn't smell as strong as Black Opium but other than that, they're pretty much the same. I actually prefer that it's a little weaker than Black Opium because super strong perfumes can be head ache inducing sometimes. It lasts very long on clothes. Fancy, sexy, mysterious smell. I'm looking forward to buying more dupes from Dossier.

I hate black opium, but I really like this. Make it make sense. lol This is better balanced to my nose. Black opium assaulted my nostrils and smelled very perfume-y and like the perfumer threw together any loud note they could find. This I get amber, pear, white florals, and vanilla for the first couple hours. I only detect the coffee after it’s dried down for a few hours. The opening reminds me a bit of JPG La Belle Le Parfum. It’s a syrupy pear.

This is a gourmandy fragrance. The vanilla coffee and patchouli come out the most, not very woody or spicy at all to me. I don't get that much of the fruit, it dies down really fast and you're mostly just left with the coffee, which I kinda like. I use it as a layering scent mostly, a cheap way to add coffee smell to other scents. I was trying to find a good coffee perfume and this unexpectedly filled that role. I likely will repurchase.

This is a decent take of YSL's Black Opium. Compared to the original, it has a spicier opening, which kinda reminds me of Phlur's Vanilla Skin. It also sports a less sweet dry-down, which is exactly what I wish it had more of, however it's nothing a vanilla forward perfume oil layered underneath won't fix. Longevity and sillage are decent, nothing to write home about.

honestly i was unsure of this one at first. the first notes of licorice and pepper are very sharp and off putting, but the jasmine and vanilla come through really quickly and dry down beautifully. its so warm and theres a darkness i enjoy, my boyfriend stays sniffing me when i have it on. 3-4 sprays lasts all day.

I like this fragrance. I get a lot of the gourmand-y notes and not the spicy notes but that's okay for me. It doesn't last very long (like 3 hrs) but that's a great excuse to apply more. On a side note, this smells amazing layered with Somebody Wood by Phlur for more woody base notes.

It’s nice but on me it’s pretty floral-y even after drying down and not that sweet. I was surprised to see everyone is rating it as a fall and winter scent. I could probably get away with wearing it during the summer.

I love Black Opium, and this dupe is a great alternative. I love to smell expensive without breaking the bank, and considering my obsession with scents, these dupe brands are keeping me out of debt. T

i totally get the coffee note in the base layer, it's just barely there but gives it a nice shape :3 great perfume for the price but again it is a 30 dollar fragrance

This is soft and warm. It’s not as deep as Black Opium. The coffee note in black opium is stronger. But they dry down exactly the same. It’s a great dupe for me.

This is a decent dupe, but it doesn't last long enough. I can't smell it 5 mn post spray. Heavy amber, definitely for cold weather.

Solid dupe! Just reminds me of 2016 when every girly (myself included) was rocking the OG.

This is an update to my previous review from Jan 2026: I've had my bottle sitting in a dark dresser drawer for 7 months, and it's finally wearable. When I first received it, it repulsed me. I considered just getting rid of it then, but decided to let it macerate and see if anything changed. The notes have definitely blended better, and I can pick out individual notes, whereas initially it just smelled incredibly loud and spicy, like an 80s/early 90s vanilla spice bomb. Thankfully the strong patchouli I was noticing at first try has blended well with other notes so it isn't as loud. (I recently had the unfortunate experience of visiting a used bookshop that reeked of patchouli. The books I purchased are unreadable because they are still saturated in that scent, and my skin and clothes soaked in that odor and assaulted my nose that rest of that day, so patchouli has moved to the top of my list of most disliked notes. 😬) It's July, so unfortunately this isn't the season for this type of fragrance, but I can see myself wearing this a lot in the late fall and winter. It's a warm vanilla scent with licorice and white florals in the background. The pink pepper is there too, quite bold in the initial spray, but thankfully it fades well, leaving just a hint of spiciness. This scent reminds me a bit of Lolita Lempicka, which was so popular in the early 2000s. That was my first thought after spraying it on. It actually reminds me of several other fragrances from that era, including Bvlgari BLV Notte, if anyone remembers that one! It's nice, though. It reminds me of happy times as a teen and young adult spent sniffing all the perfumes at TJ Maxx, back before they started locking up the pricier fragrances. So I would describe this as a throwback fragrance more than something fresh and modern. I've never smelled Black Opium, but if it's close to this I'm a little surprised it's so popular at the moment, considering that it isn't very unique. I would rate somewhere around 3 out of 5 for warmth, pleasantness, and the nostalgia factor.

I've had this for a while & just started playing around with it after considering buying the OG...smh. I do like it but it isn't a love. Let me set the stage, I own about 60 bottles of perfume, I prefer gourmand and some light/fruity florals but mostly gourmands. I am searching for some gourmand like coffee scent along the lines of Mancera's Caffe Amore since they are always sold out & ended up here. I don't smell the coffee, licorice or vanilla at all. I get the flowers & maybe some pear & a little mandarin but I might be reaching or hoping. I mostly get the light flowery stuff which is ok but I need the other stuff as well to make this different from 30% of the other stuff I already have. It has decent sillage & projection & is feminine & safe for work but this scent profile isn't anything revolutionary or unique. I defiantly wouldn't pay more than $40 for this. It needs to be layered with something else to make it memorable but otherwise, its a perfectly acceptable "generic" standard flowery gourmand, mass produced scent.

this was one of my first fragrances and I did not rejoice.. I found it super astringent and headache inducing.. after trying born in roma green stravaganza, I realized it was the combination of citrus and coffee that just turns me off.. similar things happen to me when I smell citrus and wood combined... I can't do it!!! It started to grow on me, but I was never reaching for it.. so I gave it to my cousin, who (i hope) gets much better use out of it than I did. I also have the feeling it fits her lifestyle better. she goes out way more than I do and is still in her late teens/early 20's... I'll report back her thoughts once I get them!

Strong fruitchouli. I should have known better, but I ignored the patchouli note when I added it to my cart because I was excited about some of the others. If you love Flowerbomb or Coco Mademoiselle and can handle something louder than those you may enjoy this. I wore CM for several years as a teen/young adult and currently have a dupe of Flowerbomb, but I've grown a bit tired of this fragrance format. I have never sniffed Black Opium so I can't compare with that. I will update in a few months once this macerates- I'm hoping the predominate mandarin and patchouli notes will settle down and blend with the other notes a bit better.

After the very spicy opening which went away after about 60 seconds, it smelled exactly like I had pressed my nose up against a jasmine plant to smell it. Kind of reminds me of my trip to New Orleans where they had star jasmine growing EVERYWHERE. Smells pretty nice but a little misleading considering the name is Ambery Vanilla. Where Amber? Where Vanilla? I can kinda sorta get some vanilla if I stick my face right up where I sprayed it but I do not smell any of the other notes at all. A literal one note scent to me. Maybe if I layer it with an actual vanilla fragrance...

This smells exactly like Black Opium and it is extremely strong! I accidentally sprayed too much and gave myself a headache lol. I like this perfume, but I do wish it was a bit softer. Something about it is a bit screechy to me, maybe it’s the pink pepper, not sure. Edit: I will say, it does get less screechy and headache inducing as the day goes. It mellows out into something very ambery and warm, which I quite like. However, there are other fragrances I prefer. It is very possible that I am just not a black opium gal, so take my review with a grain of salt.

Now that I’ve had my bottle for a year, it’s a lot more comparable to the OG, however, this one is still dominated by white florals. They lean the slightest bit grape-y. The citrus is really strong as well. I get vanilla, amber even though it’s not a listed note and a tiny hint of coffee. This lacks the depth of the original and is not 97% close.. however, it is a nice, affordable alternative. I have no problems with longevity. I get on the higher end of moderate wear time as well as moderate sillage.

I have never sampled black opium but this was too generic sharp floral perfumey for me. Maybe it was the licorice. It's not soft or gentle feminine. It's feminine but a brutal kind of femininity. A jaded, rough, hardship overcoming feminine. The woman who wears this as a signature everyday scent does not care what anyone thinks of her. She is very pragmatic and conservative. I decluttered it. Projection and longevity were definitely excellent. It just wasn't for me.

There's a stink to this that I don't get in Black Opium. I think it's the jasmine. It's a little stinky, but not pissy. I'm not overly bothered by it, but it does take a looooong time for it to simmer down. I think I waited 3 hours before I started getting any hint of coffee or sweetness like Black Opium. It's not an every day wear type of thing for me. I have to be in the mood for it.

This should not be called Ambery Vanilla. It is neither. It begins and ends as a white floral on my skin. It smells nice but it lacks complexity in my opinion. Pretty relentless floral. The scent transported me to the Jo Malone counter at a department store where all the testers have mixed together and smell ambiguous.

I usually love Dossier. Most of their perfumes are STRONG and the people around me can smell them. But this one was a let down. It's not strong at all, it feels like it disappears after one spray. I'm sure if I let it sit for a little while, maybe it'll get better? Will update in a month I suppose.

This smells similar to the original, but it is much weaker. The dry down smells like I used a nice soap. It is a skin scent. However, there is a slight weird dirty smell (sort of like a public bathroom) mixed in initial scent and on dry down. It isn’t a strong smell but it is noticeable.

After sitting for a few months, I'm finally able to get some scent profile. I like it a lot more than when I first opened it, although the longevity is not nearly as good as online reviews say. Not Dossier's best work, in my opinion, but still a nice, floral perfume.

Ehh. It smells like literally everyone else. Not sure what I expected as it's meant to be a black opium dupe lol, but it honestly just bores the heck out of me lol. Doesn't last very long and certainly doesn't project. At least it was cheap!

I really wanted to like this, especially with all of the notes being what I look for in a good perfume. And I love jasmine scents, but this one was way too sweet and headache-inducing. More suited to gourmand lovers in my opinion.

Unfortunately unfulfilled, it doesn’t stay very long and the vanilla coffee pink pepper / licorice blend isn’t that enticing either. No “spicy” staying power either.