Another 13 Shades The Dua Brand 2021

Hello dear fragrance lovers,

this is my first review and I will try to express it in my own words. I’m not a great writer, so please forgive me if the description is a bit clumsy... :-)

A few weeks ago, I ordered two samples from a lovely Souk vendor (thank you Maxi) and as a surprise scent, he kindly included a sample of Le Labo - AnOther 13 for a blind test.
Out of pure curiosity, because I found the idea of testing a fragrance without knowing what to expect so cool,
I sprayed AnOther 13 before the two I had actually ordered.
I was very positively surprised by how fresh, clean, and somewhat woody it smelled. It has something very special/unique that I find hard to describe...

I liked it so much that I kept sniffing it and spent the next day pondering what kind of fragrance it could be.
The other two fragrances were nice, but they didn’t interest me nearly as much as this one.
It was like a bullseye!

I liked it so much that I got another 5ml from Souk. I knew, however, that it wouldn’t last long.... :-)
So I thought before spending so much money on an original bottle, I would try the well-known brand The Dua Brand and ordered the Another 13 Shades from America.
Less than 5 days later, it arrived and I was very curious how close it would come to the original.

The packaging is justified by the price, a simple black box with a magnetic closure. Nothing more.
The first spray unfortunately brought the first disappointment. It smells more citrusy and also slightly minty and a bit rougher/less rounded. I thought to myself, maybe it just needs some time....

However, even after 1 hour and after 2 hours, it was still very far from the original for me.
The original is simply much rounder, more harmonious, and fresher. It also has something very special that I find hard to describe.

For me, the experience remains that Another 13 Shades is not a bad fragrance, but it only reaches about 60% of the original, and for me, they are two different fragrances.

Therefore, in the future, I will only reach for original fragrances and save my money a few days longer.

I hope I could help some of you who also like the original AnOther 13 as much as I do and are considering buying the "copy."