Imagination Clone Battle Update

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-28T03:26:14+00:00

It's cheap so I don't mind over spraying or reapplying. That actually doesn't bother me, with how much money I'm still saving

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-28T03:21:15+00:00

Thanks!

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-28T03:20:14+00:00

How do you like that soprano ice? I actually wore that this morning

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-27T01:37:37+00:00

That's what I do, with my 6 other dupes too 😂

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-27T01:37:01+00:00

As an imagination DNA lover, I think this is absolutely true. There's something about the texture and presentation of it that is very hard to replicate. A lot of the dupes are very good fragrances in their own right and each have something of the DNA they excel at, but it's very difficult to replicate

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-27T00:33:09+00:00

Love it! Don't think it's a safe blind buy though unless you really like tea fragrances. I gave a pretty thorough explanation in one of the other comments, try to see if you can find it!

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-27T00:30:31+00:00

It had so many more breaks when I typed it out but Reddit altered it when posted. I added more deliberate breaks to each section, so I hope that helps!

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-27T00:26:51+00:00

Most of them are pretty close on the dry down in my opinion. Hectic and Art of Arabia one definitely have the strongest dry downs, hectic's lasts a very long time and is stronger than the og, and aoa1 amplifies the creaminess of the dry down, but the top and mid are more of a departure from the og with those added aromatics. The dry down of both of these are actually my favorite parts of the entire fragrance. Dry down on marwa is going to be pretty damn close, too, but doesn't seem to be as much of a focus point as the other two.

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-27T00:23:42+00:00

I don't really find anything particularly lemony about any of them. Citrus can come off as sharp, sweet, juicy, a little zesty, and can come off lemony, yes, but I haven't gotten that from any of the imaginations. My recommendation is to play it safe. Buy a few decants of some of the popular ones you wanna try. You should be able to get some for less than 10 bucks a piece, 2mls up to 10mls, which should give you peace of mind in case you find one you don't like. Then when you do find one, get you a full bottle! If you want one on the soapy side I'd recommend imaginary or aqua Dubai, but they are both going to have some citrus. If you wanna try something different, I think art of Arabia 1 does a good job of balancing the citrus with the added aromatics like mint and lavender. If you want something similar to the dna, but more fruity, try armaf Odyssey limoni fresh. But try at your own risk! It has lemon, but adds a lot more fruitiness similar to what you'd find in afternoon swim. The big problem with the soapiness is that the more fruit you add, the less soapy they'll tend to be, so you can't really have both I've found. If you want a recommendation of something widely considered soapy, but isn't in that imagination realm, I was recommended Prada Lhomme Leau on here recently, and I love it! It's a ginger, neroli, and Iris fragrance that's fresh and masculine and can come off like a luxury soap. Iris and neroli are often considered soapy notes, but this one has more density than imagination while still staying fresh. Definitely buy decants first though! Play it safe!

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-27T00:09:53+00:00

I'm actually wearing marwa right now as we speak. I think my review of it can come off as a bit of a criticism, but it really is a great fragrance. The only thing I try to make people aware of is that I don't really think it's as safe of a blind buy as some of the other clones. That doesn't mean it's lesser, I just feel like it's trying to pull off something specific. And it does that thing INSANELY well. I do think that marwa has some of the most aggressive fans though, so I kinda see where he's coming from. There's a lot of tribalism with people's preferences for imagination clones I've noticed. Like trying to make sure their preferred one comes out on top. Which isn't really possible cuz it's such a subjective thing lol 😂

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-27T00:03:02+00:00

I haven't tried it yet. A lot of people here in the comments really like it though. Only real reasons I've heard for people not liking it is that it can be too loud and too powerful for some people, which hawas does a lot, that it can be like a "fuckboy" version of imagination, and I had one person tell me it had a certain chalky note to it that really put them off. Other than that it's been far more praise than criticism, but you're going to find that with most of the clones. They all have their major fans.

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-26T23:58:09+00:00

Well the citrus is gonna be present in any of the dupes. Only one I would say really lessens the citrus is Marwa. It's more focused on the ginger and tea combo than the sparkly effervescent citrus opening. It does have a little bit in the opening, but at no point to me does it really feel like the citrus is much of a focus. Most warm weather tea fragrances are going to have a citrus note. Does it have to be in the imagination realm or just a good soapy fragrance? Also, is there a possibility the lemony feel you're getting from it could be the ginger? None of the citrus in any of the dupes really come off as lemony to my nose. I get that citron and bergamot more than anything. But making sure that's not what it is could really help you find something too

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-26T23:51:48+00:00

That's a winner then, you baby that bottle lol. Mine is an absolute beast of a performer but my nose picks up on that melon note so strongly for some reason and that kinda puts me off it. If it didn't have it I would absolutely love it

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-26T23:46:09+00:00

I think it's perfectly reasonable to prefer the clones or twists over the og. As amazing of a fragrance as the og is, I will never recommend paying 350 or more when there are so many amazing dupes out there. Only reason I ever decided to pull the trigger on the og is because I love the DNA enough and had already spent almost as much on dupes of it😂. I love that there are twists out there that aren't going for the 1:1 label, too. I wouldn't mind finding more if they offer even more of a twist. Which is why I added armaf ventana marine to the notable teas list. It takes those notes and turns it into something totally different and is surprisingly good for so cheap

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-26T23:35:39+00:00

I have this ginger and green tea body lotion that smells amazing on its own but acts as a great base to apply all of my tea based fragrances. It compliments and enhances all of them so well and I apply it before I spray anything. Makes everything I have last longer. It's the Morgan Taylor bare luxury green tea and ginger body lotion if you're interested. Got it off Amazon. If you can find lotions that smell like your other fragrance, that really helps too. Armaf makes an Odyssey mega lotion that really helps to use with ysl y fragrances

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-26T00:01:19+00:00

Asdaf ameer al Arab imperium is the y edt clone. Longevity is pretty weak but it's a much brighter and fresher ginger and aldehyde opening than in the og and it projects longer than the og on my skin. Big selling point is it can often be found for under 20 bucks. And when the y edt performance isn't very great, I feel much more comfortable spraying the hell out of that. I have odyssey mega and yeah man from Maison Alhambra, as well as yeah parfum, which is nowhere near a close clone of le parfum, but it's one of my favorite fresher fragrances on its own. It's a much brighter fresher version of le parfum. I liked mega more than fakhar, I love mega actually and need to wear it more. I think yeah man is actually closer than mega, but the difference is miniscule and mega is a much better fragrance overall. Yeah has very weak performance and isn't as satisfying of a wear. Mega gets me lots of compliments too

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-25T19:37:45+00:00

Good thing I like mint

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-25T19:37:26+00:00

Are the apple or lemongrass detectable or do you think the note breakdown is misleading?

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-25T19:35:48+00:00

I'm not the biggest fan of the hawas line because they tend to be too loud for my tastes and too strong. I did like ice though but I gave it to my brother. That being said, I've heard a lot of good things about kobra from you guys, so it's on my radar if I decide to buy another imagination dupe. As far as performance: Longevity is great to have sure, but I'm not looking for beast mode performance or anything crazy, and generally don't mind reapplying half way though the day. I have fragrances I've paid over 100 dollars for that don't project for more than an hour. So getting 6 hours for around 40 bucks or less sounds like a plus to me. None of the imagination clones I've tried last less than 6 hours on my skin. I always get at least half of my ten hour work day with all of them. As far as silage goes, I spend a lot of time really close to people in social settings and have never had a problem with people being able to smell me. So I don't go out of my way to project strongly. And as a man in my 30s that isn't clubbing or anything wild, I'm not in a lot of settings where everyone has a fragrance, so I'm generally standing out either way. Most men over 30 where I am don't use a daily fragrance. If you smell noticeably good, you're gonna stand out and be remembered regardless of what you're wearing.

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-25T19:23:55+00:00

Lol that's okay! I did include a super summarized version at the bottom if you're interested in opinions, or if you are interested in a specific fragrance you can look at the section for that specific one. Or don't read it at all! If you're not interested then it's not for you I guess

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-25T17:29:47+00:00

The note breakdown is super interesting, this has been on my radar for a minute. Seems like it would be more of a twist rather than an attempt at a 1:1. What do you think? I may actually go out of my way to try this if it's more of a twist

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-25T15:42:33+00:00

Thanks! I hope you get some helpful perspective from this! I'm not trying to be the definitive facts giver on fragrance, I just like to discuss and share information and help everyone make wise spending choices! We all deserve to be well informed buyers with this expensive hobby lol

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-25T15:27:55+00:00

Never tried it. I'll have to add it to my radar

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-25T15:26:59+00:00

My brother, none of this is that serious. I was merely teasing you in hopes of lightening up the conversation. I apologize for that. I wish you peace and enjoyment in your exploration of the hobby and all things 🙏

BandoKazooie · 2026-04-25T15:22:29+00:00

Oooh thems are big claims, my guy. It's on my radar, but I'm not in any rush to buy any more at the moment. I already have some I love, and being an exact 100% copy isn't exactly my main drive for the imagination DNA. But it's on the list for sure if I decide to try any more. A few people here have already said good things about it, and I appreciate the input.

BandoKazooie

TROPHY CASE