The Cupbearer

Great knock off of the genius of QB. I've tested the OG in person, but it's just a little out of my price range, so I settled for this. Some Duas are way off or unnecessarily sweet. This is a little sharp and rough around the edges, but to me, everything is there. Very Metallic, bright, citrusy. Mega complement getter. The projection is huge, but by the time it dries down, it's so fun, friendly, and uniquely sparkly that everyone can't help but say "OMG, what are you wearing?" This needs to go on in the morning because you wouldn't want to sleep with someone who recently applied this. It's just really strong and unique. I did 4 sprays before I went to the theater and I needed my husband to reassure me that while everyone could smell me through my coat it was not obnoxious. I can't stand a feminine perfume, but this isn't masculine either. Nothing like it.

Ganymede is my signature scent, and I love Dua so I was extremely excited to try their interpretation. To me it's about 80% similar to Ganymede which is why I rank this as a like and not a love. It's not as impactful as the OG. It lacks some of the strong dry hay note that Ganymede has. But for the price point, I'll use Cupbearer as my default and just top off with a spritz of my treasured Ganymede.

Sigh. I want to love this SO much, but I just can't bring myself to. I am obsessed with Ganymede, but like many others, have brought myself to pull the trigger at its typical price point. A friend recommended Cupbearer to me after I smelled it on him, so I ordered it. After about 3 weeks of on and off wear, it's very close to the OG, probably 80% of the way there, but it has two crucial missteps for me (at least how it plays on my skin). First, it lacks that peppery body that Ganymede has, which balances out the metallic, cleaner scents beautifully. This means that Cupbearer can be a bit more sharp and less refined, especially in its opening stages. Second, and most importantly for me, I think they went too heavy on the metallic notes (the akigalawood, maybe?) so that it starts smelling very pungent, almost Play-Doh like at its heart. And that note is something I pick up throughout the life of the scent, which can be pretty long lasting. I've even tried layering it with other scents to try and get it to a background airyness, but it cuts through every time. Oh well. I'm gonna try another dupe house that's supposed to be more in line with the original and maybe let this one sit for a bit and see what maturation does. Otherwise I'll just have to bite the bullet and get my grail!

I have never ever thrown away a fragrance.....until I wore this fragrance. The scent that came off of my skin with this was rotten burnt metallic leather and I regretted spraying this on myself for the entire day. I tried washing it off but it would not go away. This actually made me avoid any and all leather fragrances for almost a year. I have not smelled the original so I can't compare it similarity, all I can say is this was one of the worst fragrance experiences I've ever had.