How we score dupes

We don't sell dupes and we don't belong to any brand. Our only job is to tell you, as honestly as the evidence allows, how close each alternative really is — and to show you exactly where that judgement comes from.

The short version

Every alternative on DupeLuxe gets a consensus score from 0 to 100. The higher the number, the more independent sources agree it's a close match to the original — and the closer the measured similarity. Every score links back to the sources behind it, so you can check our work.

Where our data comes from

For fragrance, we aggregate three independent kinds of evidence:

Brand "inspired-by" mappings. Affordable fragrance houses publicly state which luxury original each of their scents is built to evoke. We record that mapping (and link to the product), but we don't republish their marketing copy.
Community clone lists. Long-running, public, community-maintained dupe spreadsheets that catalogue thousands of clone↔original pairings. We use them as corroboration and link to the source.
Verified similarity ratings. Where an independent, published similarity percentage exists for a pairing, we use it directly as the score and cite it.

For makeup, the closest-dupe relationships are heavily documented across editorial and community sources. We compile the well-established pairings, then verify each alternative is genuinely affordable and currently available before it earns a place.

How the number is built

For each alternative we ask two questions: how many independent sources agree it's a dupe of this original, and how close do they measure it?

When an independent verified similarity rating exists, we use that percentage as the score.
Otherwise, the score reflects how many independent sources corroborate the match — a single brand's own claim carries less weight than a pairing confirmed across several independent lists.

We translate the score into a plain-language tier:

90–100 — Closest match. As close as affordable dupes get.
80–89 — Very close. Clearly recognisable, with minor differences.
70–79 — Good enough. Captures the impression; expect some compromise.
Below 70 — Worth a look. In the right ballpark, but not a true match.

What we deliberately don't do

We don't pretend to have smelled or tested every product ourselves. We're an aggregator of evidence, not a lab. Where we describe how a dupe differs, it's grounded in the original's documented profile and the sources we cite — never invented to sound authoritative.
We don't let commissions move scores. We may earn an affiliate commission when you buy through our links, but that never changes a score, a ranking, or a verdict. The score is computed before any link is attached.
We don't pad pages with thin filler. When we can't say anything genuinely useful about an obscure product, we keep that page out of search rather than fabricate.
We don't copy competitors' databases. We build our own first-party dataset and cite our sources.

Prices

Amazon prices come from Amazon's official Product Advertising / Creators API and are refreshed regularly; direct-from-brand prices come from the brand's own store. Prices and availability change constantly — always confirm the live price on the retailer's page before buying. Where we show an Amazon price, it carries the date it was last checked.

Found something wrong?

We'd genuinely like to know. If a score looks off, a product is discontinued, or a source has changed, see our editorial standards for how we handle corrections.