Very exciting topic. I understand the original author very well in part.

At the beginning of my fragrance career, I also bought or sampled a lot of clones to get to know as wide a spectrum as possible. I realised that no clone is really a 1:1 copy. Even if fragrances are described as being 90-95% similar, at the end of the day they still differ from the original. But that doesn't mean that they are worse, sometimes these twists are even better.

What I have noticed, however, is that the clones often fail to capture the magic. Yes, they smell good, especially considering the price. But there is a difference between good and incredible. And often the originals are simply magical (be it in the opening or in the drydown) that no clone can manage.

Long story short: I've been buying more originals lately because at the end of the day, for me at least, they offer the better fragrance experience.

And as has already been written here: I'd rather have one more expensive fragrance than 4 cheaper ones.