Welcome to the soft launch of my all-new fragrance blog!
My name is Ali Bokhari and I’m the brains behind Ali Perfumewala, my all-new site for fragrance industry news and reviews.
I know, I know … the site is quite empty now, you’ll see a lot of improvements and content filling it in the next few weeks.
If you don’t already know me, I’ve been writing and sharing perfume reviews, news and analysis on 20+ of the hottest Facebook fragrance groups for quite a while. I finally decided it was time to carve out my own space.
This is my first article for my dedicated site, sharing my first impressions of two clone fragrances: FOMO Alpha Desire and FOMO Midnight Riviera.
(Use coupon code FOMO4 to get free shipping for the next 10 days on any fragrance orders over $50 CAD from FragranceBuy.ca or FragFlex.com, the creators behind FOMO! This offer is not limited to FOMO fragrances.)
What’s a Perfumewala, you ask? It’s just an Urdu word that means a person known for fragrances, maybe a seller, maybe an influencer, or maybe more to the point, someone who just thinks about perfumery all the time … like me.
I’ve been a journalist for 10 years and a corporate communications manager for another 10 with big companies like Ford, TD Bank and Black & McDonald. Now I own landscaping and writing businesses.
I don’t earn a living from fragrances; they are just a hobby, albeit one I’m very passionate about.
I want this site to be a place for people who like to read honest, detailed commentary. If you want something a bit less intellectual and a lot more ADHD, well … there’s a site called TikTok you might have heard of.
What I hope is that my site will be a place where people who care and think more deeply about fragrances feel at home and learn new things. That is all.
Enough business, about those frags
Yes, FOMO wanted me to review Alpha Desire and Midnight Riviera so much that they sent me 100 ml bottles of each fragrance for free. They also gave me the coupon code I mentioned above to track how many transactions happen as a result of my writing, which I’m very curious to find out.
To FOMO’s credit, they told me all they want is for me to be 100% authentic, to say what I think. I didn’t need them to tell me that, but I did appreciate it. I would never be fake with my readers, whether I’m sent bottles or anything else, and I believe I should always be open about the nature of my relationship with companies I praise or criticize.
I got my start in fragrances with aquatics and have a soft spot in my heart for them. Davidoff Cool Water and Armani Acqua di Gio ruled my heart.
I still have high hopes I’ll find lightning in a bottle whenever I read marine or sea notes, a desire that’s taken my nose everywhere from designers like Armani Acqua di Gio Parfum to niche frags like Zoologist Squid.
So when FOMO sent me two of their four all-new elixirs, I expected the one with the swimming trunks to win me over, NOT the beastmode frag that I would soon learn smells like lavender, makeup, saffron and vanilla.
I love surprises.
‘Your shipment was delivered’
Music to the ears of any frag head who has impatiently waited for a delivery.
Working on fall cleanups throughout the day is usually fun for me, but this time it was torture. Even if my delivery was just two clone fragrances, I could not have been more excited — not that I knew what they were.
“We promise to let you know what they’re cloning,” Gary from FOMO helpfully explained, “but I’d love to see your thoughts when you get them before letting an inspiration cause any pre-judgement, so the first impression you can enjoy them for what they are.”
I didn’t mind the challenge. “Bring it on!” I thought. I had a strong, sneaking suspicion FOMO Midnight Riviera was a clone of Mancera French Riviera.
Looking up French Riviera, I realized the notes were exactly the same. Plus, the name made it obvious.
The second fragrance was much more difficult. I actually ended up putting Alpha Desire’s notes into ChatGPT and asked what it thought. It came up with everything from Bortnikoff Golden Saffron to YSL Libre Le Parfum to Maison Francis Kurkdjian BR540. None of that seemed right.
As I drove home, I decided I would just have to try out both FOMO frags and make up my own mind about what they could be.
An unboxing experience from hell
Unfortunately, in all honesty, to say the unboxing experience for both fragrances was not good would be a huge understatement.
I don’t want to take too much time talking about packaging and bottles, but it could have ended in disaster.
The boxes themselves were beautiful and had a clamshell opening design. However, as I excitedly took them out of the shipping carton I heard a horrible clanking sound. I froze, wondering if a bunch of perfume was about to spill all over me.
What had happened was that while the boxes had foam cutouts to secure the bottles, neither bottle was seated properly. They were loose. As for the clanking, the hard, heavy, gold-coloured metal caps had come off and were knocking against the glass bottles.
How bad was it? The caps on both bottles were supposed to have a little faceted jewel made of glass mounted on the front. On my bottle of Alpha Desire, the jewel had come off, probably due to the cap hitting the inside of the box while it was in transit.
I pulled off the magnetic cap and stared at it, and that’s when I had my next shock.
The bottle caps were open on top with the atomizer buttons exposed to the air. There were no real caps, just glorified collars. They were magnetized, which was nice, but I always thought the point of having a cap was to limit air from oxidizing the juice too quickly.
Without any caps to seal the bottles, they may as well have been shipped without caps. It was so disappointing. Yes, they did look beautiful, but it didn’t feel like a person who understood the importance of preserving fragrances designed these.
I don’t care if I have a bottle of something niche worth hundreds of dollars or a cheap $10 drugstore frag (yes, I have both!), there are some things that every manufacturer must get right. Secured bottles with caps are high on that list.
Ok, I’m going to chill. Rant over.
FOMO Midnight Riviera: Thoughts and impressions
This article is just a quick first-impressions review, but in trying both fragrances there was a clear winner, one that I could actually see myself buying if I hadn’t just been given it.
It’s possible that both fragrances will change as oxidization develops the juice. It’s even possible your skin is different from mine. I understand all of that, I’m just sharing my own personal experience upon opening both frags.
I’ll start with Midnight Riviera (which I was later informed was indeed a clone of Mancera French Riviera). While it had an excellent pressurized atomizer, the fragrance was very much mid. That’s the kindest thing I can say.
It was fresh, fruity and aquatic, characteristics that I wanted to enjoy, but couldn’t. I don’t think it’s because of the winter weather we are currently experiencing. It just does not do enough of anything well enough to recommend.
I want to be fair, so … clearly Midnight Riviera is a pleasant fragrance. It’s clean and uplifting, something very important to me when I’m covered in dirt while gardening, but there just wasn’t much about it that was special. It’s so entirely forgettable … nothing about it makes me want to wear it or even reach out and sniff the cap.
Performance was as expected from a fresh fragrance, which is to say it projected a few feet for about two hours before becoming a skin scent and fading away at 5–6 hours after application. The sillage was similarly okay, nothing amazing.
Yes, the Midnight Riviera bottle is a beautiful Tiffany blue, which just so happens to be my favourite colour, but to me this is a case where the packaging is clearly much better than what’s inside. It’s not that the juice is bad, but at the $60 CAD price point, there are so many competitors that are just better.
I could only see myself buying Midnight Riviera for the friend who owns at most 1–2 frags and has nothing beyond a passing interest in perfumery. You know, the kind of guy who wears spring/summer frags at the wrong time of year, like now.
Alpha Desire, on the other hand, has my full attention.
FOMO Alpha Desire: Thoughts and impressions
I am going to share an opinion that might create some confusion and stir, but it is my true opinion.
Putting aside Midnight Riviera, I picked up Alpha Desire. Also packing a very nice pressurized atomizer, I sprayed it on both sides of my neck.
WOW. I actually chuckled out loud.
Forget whether or not Alpha Desire is a clone of something. This is a solid, elegant, handsome fragrance that has perfectly filled a hole in my collection I had not until now known I needed.
Thinking about what Alpha Desire could be, I did — not for the last time — wonder if FOMO had cloned Dior Homme. I knew the notes did not include iris, which would have been a blatant and immediate tip-off that I was holding a Dior clone (and a damn good one), but I immediately got the waxy, powdery experience I expected from the Dior that reminded me of makeup.
What made Alpha Desire very different from Dior Homme, in my mind, was that I also got an amped-up vanilla and saffron.
I learned the following day that FOMO Alpha Desire is a clone of Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme Noir Ambre. I had never heard of the fragrance that was the inspiration for Alpha Desire, but the little I’ve read since says it is incredibly difficult to find.
In this race there’s only one clear winner
There’s one last thing I’m going to mention.
Today was very busy. I had an all-day landscaping project and, in between, Friday prayers (Friday is the holiest day of the week for Muslims, and there are special prayers in the afternoon). I had to smell good for both occasions.
As I put my wavering unsure hand out over my frags collection, I paused.
Which one did I grab? It was FOMO Alpha Desire.
What a performer. It projected strongly for me from 8:30 AM into the afternoon, and I was still getting delicious whiffs of it when I finished my workday around 5:30 PM. I only stopped smelling the sillage after I showered and scrubbed it off more than nine hours later.
I could easily see myself wearing this fragrance for dressy-casual events. I’m not sure about wearing it in the summer, but it works perfectly well in cold weather like this time of year in Toronto.
I love niche, designer and clone fragrances. I am not a fanboy of any particular house; I’m pretty much agnostic when it comes to what fragrances I think I should wear. If something smells good, I’m buying it.
FOMO Alpha Desire is that kind of fragrance, it’s worth at least trying. See it at FragranceBuy.ca a FragFlex.com.
FOMO Alpha Desire Elixir de Parfum (100 ml):
“FOMO Alpha Desire is a captivating woody fragrance for men and women, exuding sensual elegance. It opens with invigorating notes of bergamot, lavender, and eucalyptus, leading to a warm, spicy heart of cedar, saffron, geranium, and gurjum balsam. The scent settles into a rich, comforting base of cashmere, vanilla, amber, and patchouli, creating a harmonious blend of freshness, warmth, and depth, perfect for a confident, modern allure.”
FOMO Midnight Riviera Elixir De Parfum (100 ml):
“FOMO Midnight Riviera is a vibrant, zesty fragrance for men and women, inspired by coastal nights and ocean breezes. It opens with a lively burst of orange, lemon, ginger, tangerine, and pepper, leading to a refreshing heart of sea notes, tiare flower, pine, vetiver, and mimosa. The scent settles into a serene base of sea salt, white musk, and amber, blending citrus brightness with marine depth for a fresh, elegant, and effortlessly modern allure.”
Use coupon code FOMO4 to get free shipping for the next 10 days on any fragrance orders over $50 CAD from FragranceBuy.ca or FragFlex.com, the creators behind FOMO! This offer is not limited to FOMO fragrances.