"In my opinion, fragrances are the most personal beauty products on your vanity. The perfumes and colognes you love and hate can say a lot about you. If your favorite is Marc Jacob’s Daisy, you’re feminine and joyful and probably haven’t worn anything else since high school. If you love Black Opium by YSL, you probably go out a lot and are incredibly sexy. But if you’re looking for a new signature scent, there’s one brand our entire team swears by: Replica fragrances by Maison Margiela.
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We all know the power of a scent memory. Maybe it’s the perfume you were wearing when you met your partner or the smell of your favorite sunscreen from that beach vacation you took. They bring you back to special moments. Replica flipped that idea on its head and turned your favorite moments into fragrances. They pull inspiration from everyday events, like a lazy Sunday or a walk through the park in the springtime, and turn them into unique unisex fragrances.
Our editors are known to talk through every new Replica release and share our favorites with each other, but they can be a little difficult to purchase if you haven’t smelled them before. Here, we’re breaking down every single one we love and what they actually smell like.
Seasonless Scents
Family: Florals For those who love fragrances that are light and airy, this one smells like folding laundry right when it comes out of the dryer (like a real adult). This is the kind of fragrance I’d spray all over every item of clothing I own to make sure they smell this good all the time. Family: Fresh This has an ocean-y scent that reminds me of a rich, sexy guy in Sperrys—but with substance. It has light coconut notes too, which make this great in the summer, but I personally think this would be a lovely scent all year long. If “Beach Walk” is too "suntan lotion" and not enough “preppy boat day” for you, this is your beachy scent. Family: Warm & Spicy This is one of the most unique scents in the Replica family. It has a warm, coffee-ish scent, but the lavender undertone makes it smell just like a lavender latte. This one smells the least like what it’s supposed to of all the Replica fragrances, but it’s still a solid perfume nonetheless. If you like a warm scent but worry that the others in the line are too strong or too musky for the spring and summer, try this. Family: Fresh If you love the smell of soap, this is exactly it. It smells like a gorgeous, expensive bar of soap that you spent $30 on and keep in a beautiful dish on your sink. It’s light and quite neutral though, so it’s ideal for those who prefer a clean scent. One of our editors prefers a light scent that won’t cling to her clothes too much or give her a headache, and she swears by this fragrance. Family: Fresh This is the only Replica fragrance I could describe as “sweet.” It has a very unique mixture of those earthy matcha notes mixed with white chocolate and vanilla, making the dry down sweet and feminine. If you want a unique fragrance, go for this. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever smelled before.
Notes: Lily of the Valley, Iris, White Musk
Notes: Aquatic Accord, Coriander, Red Seaweed Essence
Notes: Coffee Accord, Lavender, Milk Mousse Accord
Notes: Soap Bubble Accord, Rose Superessence, White Musk, Coconut Milk Accord
Notes: green tea accord, white chocolate accord, cedar essence
Spring/Summer Scents
Family: Fresh On a scale of summery and suntan scents, using Banana Boat Oil on your wrists is 10 in intensity, and this is a 5. It’s a lot more sophisticated but still evokes the same feelings of going to a dinner on the beach after laying in the sand all day. The coconut milk notes are strong, and it has great staying power. This was the first scent that made me fall in love with Replica, and it’s still one of the best. Family: Florals Floral scents can get juvenile really quick (re: the convo above about Marc Jacob’s Daisy), but this is sophisticated. It’s exactly what I picture walking through Central Park in the middle of April would smell like. The addition of the pear adds a fruity flair, giving this a better fragrance profile instead of smelling like a bunch of different flowers. Family: Fresh Citrus scents are some of the most underrated fragrance styles in my opinion, but that's because they’re often done wrong (think: Sweet Pea from Bath and Body Works). This lemony fragrance has a light, fruity, and crisp scent that still has a little bit of warmth. If I was traveling to Southern Italy, I’d wear this (it’d be a little on the nose, but that’s fine). Tip: On the scale of lemon scents, my absolute favorite is the new Atelier Cologne Lemon Island. I like that it’s a bit stronger!
Notes: Bergamot, Heliotrope, Coconut Milk
Notes: Pear Accord, Lily of the Valley Accord, Musks
Notes: Kalmansi Accord, Coriander, Musk
Fall/Winter Scents
Family: Warm & Spicy If sitting next to a bonfire with a s’more and hot beverage in hand is your idea of a dream evening, then this is likely your dream fragrance. It smells like a fancy campfire. You know the scent that clings to your clothes after you go camping? It’s exactly that but if all your clothes were like, Hugo Boss. This scent is very strong, so for those who want something incredibly unique and intense when they walk into a room, look no further. I don’t love it as a perfume, but it’s intoxicating as a candle. Family: Warm & Spicy If you’re smelling me in the fall or winter, you’re likely smelling this. This is the end-all, be-all musky, sexy-man smell that isn't too much like a campfire (see above), and it has enough sweetness, so it doesn't just smell like I doused myself in my boyfriend’s cologne (which I’m not against either). This is the sexiest scent in the Replica family, and it’s my go-to scent to wear on a date. It kind of smells like ordering a whiskey on the rocks, if you know what I mean. Family: Warm & Spicy If you want a woodsy scent from Replica that's still subtle, try this one. It’s the least intense and has the most feminine feel to it while still having that typical warm, spicy smell, thanks to the cedarwood notes. However, with that, I find that it’s one of the least unique of all the Replica scents. It reminds me a lot of the various Le Labo scents and has some similarities to other familiar tonka bean fragrances (like YSL Libre, Tom Ford Oud Wood, and Maison Louis Marie Bois de Balincourt). But that isn’t a negative and just means that if you like those scents, this would probably be a solid buy.
Notes: Clove Oil, Chestnut Accord, Vanilla Accord
Notes: Pink Pepper, Rum Absolute, Tobacco Leaf Absolute
Notes: Pepper Essence, Tonka Bean Asolute, Cedarwood
I love fragrance, and throughout the years, my KKW Fragrance collection has grown to 10 products—not a single one I had tried before purchasing. That means, naturally, there are some that I absolutely love and some that I really missed the mark on.